Linux

The top-level linux key contains set of options instructing electron-builder on how it should build Linux targets. These options applicable for any Linux target.

Linux Target Overview

electron-builder supports a wide range of Linux package formats. Choose based on your target audience and distribution method:

Target	Format	Best For	Distro Support
AppImage	Single file	Broad compatibility, no install	Universal
deb	Debian package	Ubuntu, Debian, Mint	Debian-based
rpm	RPM package	Fedora, RHEL, openSUSE	Red Hat-based
snap	Snap package	Ubuntu-primary	Any (snapd required)
flatpak	Flatpak	Cross-distro sandboxed	Any (flatpak required)
pacman	Arch package	Arch Linux, Manjaro	Arch-based
apk	Alpine package	Alpine Linux, containers	Alpine
freebsd	FreeBSD pkg	FreeBSD	FreeBSD
p5p	Solaris IPS	Solaris, illumos	Solaris-based
zip, 7z, tar.*	Archive	Custom CDN distribution	Universal
dir	Directory	Development/debugging	N/A

The default targets are AppImage and Snap.

Common Linux Configuration

Options set in the linux key apply to all Linux targets:

linux:
  target:
    - AppImage
    - deb
    - rpm
  category: Utility                  # freedesktop.org category
  synopsis: "A short description"    # one-line description
  description: "Full description"    # longer description
  maintainer: "Name <email>"         # package maintainer
  vendor: "My Company"               # package vendor
  mimeTypes:
    - application/x-myapp
  executableArgs:
    - --enable-features=WebContentsFocusOnResize

Desktop File Customization

All Linux targets include a .desktop file for application menu integration. Customize it via linux.desktop:

linux:
  desktop:
    entry:
      Name: My Application
      Comment: A fantastic application
      Categories: Office;Productivity
      Keywords: productivity;notes;organizer
      StartupWMClass: my-app       # helps window managers match window to icon
      Terminal: false
      Type: Application
    desktopActions:
      NewWindow:
        Name: New Window
        Exec: my-app --new-window
      NewFile:
        Name: New File
        Exec: my-app --new-file

Standard freedesktop.org category values include: AudioVideo, Audio, Video, Development, Education, Game, Graphics, Network, Office, Science, Settings, System, Utility.

See the freedesktop.org specification for all valid keys.

Icon Configuration

Provide a directory of PNG icons named with their size:

linux:
  icon: build/icons/

Files must be named NxN.png (e.g., 256x256.png, 512x512.png). If not specified, electron-builder auto-generates Linux icons from the macOS .icns file (if present) or the Windows .ico file.

Recommended sizes: 16, 24, 32, 48, 64, 96, 128, 256, 512 pixels.

Debian Package (deb)

The deb target creates a .deb package installable via apt on Debian, Ubuntu, Mint, and other Debian-based distributions.

deb:
  depends:
    - libgtk-3-0
    - libnotify4
    - libnss3
    - libxss1
    - libxtst6
    - xdg-utils
    - libatspi2.0-0
    - libuuid1
    - libsecret-1-0
  recommends:
    - libappindicator3-1    # system tray support
  packageCategory: utils
  priority: optional

Common depends packages for Electron apps:

• libgtk-3-0 — GTK3 (required)
• libnotify4 — desktop notifications
• libnss3 — NSS (Chromium networking)
• libxss1 — screen saver extension
• libxtst6 — X test extension
• xdg-utils — desktop integration utilities
• libatspi2.0-0 — accessibility
• libuuid1 — UUID support
• libsecret-1-0 — keychain/Secret Service

Priority values: required, important, standard, optional (use optional for most apps)

RPM Package (rpm)

The rpm target creates a .rpm package for Fedora, RHEL, CentOS, openSUSE, and other RPM-based distributions.

rpm:
  depends:
    - libXScrnSaver
    - libnotify
    - libappindicator
    - nss
    - gtk3
  compression: xz     # gz | bzip2 | xz | lzo (default: xz)
  packageCategory: Applications/Internet

Common depends for Electron on RPM systems:

• gtk3 — GTK3
• libnotify — notifications
• libXScrnSaver — screen saver
• nss — networking

After-install/after-remove scripts:

rpm:
  afterInstall: build/scripts/after-install.sh
  afterRemove: build/scripts/after-remove.sh

Pacman Package (pacman)

Beta

The pacman target is in beta. Test thoroughly before distributing.

Creates a .pkg.tar.zst package for Arch Linux and Arch-based distributions (Manjaro, EndeavourOS, etc.):

pacman:
  depends:
    - gtk3
    - libnotify
    - nss
    - libxss
    - libxtst
    - xdg-utils
    - at-spi2-core
    - libsecret

Alpine APK Package (apk)

Creates an .apk package for Alpine Linux, commonly used in Docker containers:

apk:
  depends:
    - gtk+3.0
    - libnotify
    - nss

musl libc

Alpine uses musl libc rather than glibc. Electron bundles its own copy of glibc-dependent libraries, but some native modules may not be compatible with Alpine without recompilation.

FreeBSD Package (freebsd)

Creates a .pkg package (not to be confused with macOS PKG) for FreeBSD systems:

freebsd:
  depends:
    - gtk3
    - libnotify
    - nss

FPM Passthrough Options

The DEB, RPM, Pacman, APK, FreeBSD, and P5P targets are built using FPM internally. Pass additional FPM command-line arguments:

deb:
  fpm:
    - "--deb-changelog=CHANGELOG.md"
    - "--deb-no-default-config-files"

AppArmor Profile (Ubuntu 24+)

Ubuntu 24.04 introduced mandatory AppArmor profiles for application sandboxing. Specify a custom profile:

deb:
  appArmorProfile: build/apparmor-profile

Without a profile, the app may be restricted by Ubuntu's default profile. See the AppArmor documentation for profile syntax.

Base Linux Configuration

Interface: LinuxConfiguration

Extends

• CommonLinuxOptions.PlatformSpecificBuildOptions

Properties

appId?

readonly optional appId?: string | null

The application id. Used as CFBundleIdentifier for MacOS and as Application User Model ID for Windows (NSIS target only, Squirrel.Windows not supported). It is strongly recommended that an explicit ID is set.

Default

com.electron.${name}

Inherited from

PlatformSpecificBuildOptions.appId

---

artifactName?

readonly optional artifactName?: string | null

The artifact file name template. Defaults to ${productName}-${version}.${ext} (some target can have other defaults, see corresponding options).

Inherited from

PlatformSpecificBuildOptions.artifactName

---

asar?

readonly optional asar?: boolean | AsarOptions | null

Whether to package the application's source code into an archive, using Electron's archive format.

Node modules, that must be unpacked, will be detected automatically, you don't need to explicitly set asarUnpack - please file an issue if this doesn't work.

Default

true

Inherited from

PlatformSpecificBuildOptions.asar

---

asarUnpack?

readonly optional asarUnpack?: string | string[] | null

A glob patterns relative to the app directory, which specifies which files to unpack when creating the asar archive.

Inherited from

PlatformSpecificBuildOptions.asarUnpack

---

category?

readonly optional category?: string | null

The application category.

Inherited from

CommonLinuxOptions.category

---

compression?

readonly optional compression?: CompressionLevel | null

The compression level. If you want to rapidly test build, store can reduce build time significantly. maximum doesn't lead to noticeable size difference, but increase build time.

Default

normal

Inherited from

PlatformSpecificBuildOptions.compression

---

defaultArch?

readonly optional defaultArch?: string

The default architecture to build for when no --arch flag is specified. Defaults to the current machine's architecture.

Inherited from

PlatformSpecificBuildOptions.defaultArch

---

description?

readonly optional description?: string | null

As description from application package.json, but allows you to specify different for Linux.

Inherited from

CommonLinuxOptions.description

---

desktop?

readonly optional desktop?: LinuxDesktopFile | null

The Desktop file

Inherited from

CommonLinuxOptions.desktop

---

detectUpdateChannel?

readonly optional detectUpdateChannel?: boolean

Whether to infer update channel from application version pre-release components. e.g. if version 0.12.1-alpha.1, channel will be set to alpha. Otherwise to latest. This does not apply to github publishing, which will never auto-detect the update channel.

Default

true

Inherited from

PlatformSpecificBuildOptions.detectUpdateChannel

---

disableDefaultIgnoredFiles?

optional disableDefaultIgnoredFiles?: boolean | null

Whether to exclude all default ignored files(https://www.electron.build/contents#files) and options. Defaults to false.

Default

false

Inherited from

PlatformSpecificBuildOptions.disableDefaultIgnoredFiles

---

electronLanguages?

readonly optional electronLanguages?: string | string[]

The electron locales to keep. By default, all Electron locales used as-is.

Inherited from

PlatformSpecificBuildOptions.electronLanguages

---

electronUpdaterCompatibility?

readonly optional electronUpdaterCompatibility?: string | null

The electron-updater compatibility semver range.

Inherited from

PlatformSpecificBuildOptions.electronUpdaterCompatibility

---

executableArgs?

readonly optional executableArgs?: string[] | null

The executable parameters. Pass to executableName

Inherited from

CommonLinuxOptions.executableArgs

---

executableName?

readonly optional executableName?: string | null

The executable name. Defaults to productName Note: Except for Linux, where this would constitute a breaking change in previous behavior and lead to both invalid executable names and Desktop files. Ref comments in: https://github.com/electron-userland/electron-builder/pull/9068

Inherited from

PlatformSpecificBuildOptions.executableName

---

extraFiles?

optional extraFiles?: string | FileSet | (string | FileSet)[] | null

The same as extraResources but copy into the app's content directory (Contents for MacOS, root directory for Linux and Windows).

Inherited from

PlatformSpecificBuildOptions.extraFiles

---

extraResources?

optional extraResources?: string | FileSet | (string | FileSet)[] | null

A glob patterns relative to the project directory, when specified, copy the file or directory with matching names directly into the app's resources directory (Contents/Resources for MacOS, resources for Linux and Windows).

File patterns (and support for from and to fields) the same as for files.

Inherited from

PlatformSpecificBuildOptions.extraResources

---

fileAssociations?

readonly optional fileAssociations?: FileAssociation | FileAssociation[]

The file associations.

Inherited from

PlatformSpecificBuildOptions.fileAssociations

---

files?

optional files?: string | FileSet | (string | FileSet)[] | null

A glob patterns relative to the app directory, which specifies which files to include when copying files to create the package.

Defaults to:

[
"**/*",
"!**/node_modules/*/{CHANGELOG.md,README.md,README,readme.md,readme}",
"!**/node_modules/*/{test,__tests__,tests,powered-test,example,examples}",
"!**/node_modules/*.d.ts",
"!**/node_modules/.bin",
"!**/*.{iml,o,hprof,orig,pyc,pyo,rbc,swp,csproj,sln,xproj}",
"!.editorconfig",
"!**/._*",
"!**/{.DS_Store,.git,.hg,.svn,CVS,RCS,SCCS,.gitignore,.gitattributes}",
"!**/{__pycache__,thumbs.db,.flowconfig,.idea,.vs,.nyc_output}",
"!**/{appveyor.yml,.travis.yml,circle.yml}",
"!**/{npm-debug.log,yarn.lock,.yarn-integrity,.yarn-metadata.json}"
]

Development dependencies are never copied in any case. You don't need to ignore it explicitly. Hidden files are not ignored by default, but all files that should be ignored, are ignored by default.

Default pattern **/* is not added to your custom if some of your patterns is not ignore (i.e. not starts with !). package.json and **/node_modules/**/* (only production dependencies will be copied) is added to your custom in any case. All default ignores are added in any case — you don't need to repeat it if you configure own patterns.

May be specified in the platform options (e.g. in the mac).

You may also specify custom source and destination directories by using FileSet objects instead of simple glob patterns.

[
{
 "from": "path/to/source",
 "to": "path/to/destination",
 "filter": ["**/*", "!foo/*.js"]
}
]

You can use file macros in the from and to fields as well. from and to can be files and you can use this to rename a file while packaging.

Inherited from

PlatformSpecificBuildOptions.files

---

forceCodeSigning?

readonly optional forceCodeSigning?: boolean

Whether to fail if app will be not code signed.

Default

false

Inherited from

PlatformSpecificBuildOptions.forceCodeSigning

---

generateUpdatesFilesForAllChannels?

readonly optional generateUpdatesFilesForAllChannels?: boolean

Please see Building and Releasing using Channels.

Default

false

Inherited from

PlatformSpecificBuildOptions.generateUpdatesFilesForAllChannels

---

icon?

readonly optional icon?: string

The path to icon set directory or one png file, relative to the build resources or to the project directory. The icon filename must contain the size (e.g. 32x32.png) of the icon. By default will be generated automatically based on the macOS icns file.

Overrides

PlatformSpecificBuildOptions.icon

---

maintainer?

readonly optional maintainer?: string | null

The maintainer. Defaults to author.

---

mimeTypes?

readonly optional mimeTypes?: string[] | null

The mime types in addition to specified in the file associations. Use it if you don't want to register a new mime type, but reuse existing.

Inherited from

CommonLinuxOptions.mimeTypes

---

protocols?

readonly optional protocols?: Protocol | Protocol[]

The URL protocol schemes.

Inherited from

PlatformSpecificBuildOptions.protocols

---

publish?

optional publish?: Publish

Publisher configuration. See Auto Update for more information.

Inherited from

PlatformSpecificBuildOptions.publish

---

releaseInfo?

readonly optional releaseInfo?: ReleaseInfo

The release info. Intended for command line usage:

-c.releaseInfo.releaseNotes="new features"

Inherited from

PlatformSpecificBuildOptions.releaseInfo

---

synopsis?

readonly optional synopsis?: string | null

The short description.

Inherited from

CommonLinuxOptions.synopsis

---

target?

readonly optional target?: TargetConfigType

Target package type: list of AppImage, flatpak, snap, deb, rpm, freebsd, pacman, p5p, apk, 7z, zip, tar.xz, tar.lz, tar.gz, tar.bz2, dir.

electron-builder docker image can be used to build Linux targets on any platform.

Please do not put an AppImage into another archive like a .zip or .tar.gz.

Default

AppImage

Overrides

PlatformSpecificBuildOptions.target

---

vendor?

readonly optional vendor?: string | null

The vendor. Defaults to author.

Debian Package Options

The top-level deb key contains set of options for Debian packages.

Interface: DebOptions

Extends

• LinuxTargetSpecificOptions

Properties

afterInstall?

readonly optional afterInstall?: string | null

File path to script to be passed to FPM for --after-install arg.

Inherited from

LinuxTargetSpecificOptions.afterInstall

---

afterRemove?

readonly optional afterRemove?: string | null

File path to script to be passed to FPM for --after-remove arg.

Inherited from

LinuxTargetSpecificOptions.afterRemove

---

appArmorProfile?

readonly optional appArmorProfile?: string | null

File path to custom AppArmor profile (Ubuntu 24+)

Inherited from

LinuxTargetSpecificOptions.appArmorProfile

---

artifactName?

readonly optional artifactName?: string | null

The artifact file name template.

Inherited from

LinuxTargetSpecificOptions.artifactName

---

category?

readonly optional category?: string | null

The application category.

Inherited from

LinuxTargetSpecificOptions.category

---

compression?

readonly optional compression?: "gz" | "bzip2" | "xz" | "zst" | null

Default

xz

Overrides

LinuxTargetSpecificOptions.compression

---

depends?

readonly optional depends?: string[] | null

Package dependencies. If need to support Debian, libappindicator1 should be removed, it is deprecated in Debian. If need to support KDE, gconf2 and gconf-service should be removed as it's no longer used by GNOME.

Default

["libgtk-3-0", "libnotify4", "libnss3", "libxss1", "libxtst6", "xdg-utils", "libatspi2.0-0", "libuuid1", "libsecret-1-0"]

Overrides

LinuxTargetSpecificOptions.depends

---

description?

readonly optional description?: string | null

As description from application package.json, but allows you to specify different for Linux.

Inherited from

LinuxTargetSpecificOptions.description

---

desktop?

readonly optional desktop?: LinuxDesktopFile | null

The Desktop file

Inherited from

LinuxTargetSpecificOptions.desktop

---

executableArgs?

readonly optional executableArgs?: string[] | null

The executable parameters. Pass to executableName

Inherited from

LinuxTargetSpecificOptions.executableArgs

---

fpm?

readonly optional fpm?: string[] | null

Advanced only The fpm options.

Example: ["--before-install=build/deb-preinstall.sh", "--after-upgrade=build/deb-postinstall.sh"]

Inherited from

LinuxTargetSpecificOptions.fpm

---

icon?

readonly optional icon?: string

Inherited from

LinuxTargetSpecificOptions.icon

---

maintainer?

readonly optional maintainer?: string | null

Inherited from

LinuxTargetSpecificOptions.maintainer

---

mimeTypes?

readonly optional mimeTypes?: string[] | null

The mime types in addition to specified in the file associations. Use it if you don't want to register a new mime type, but reuse existing.

Inherited from

LinuxTargetSpecificOptions.mimeTypes

---

packageCategory?

readonly optional packageCategory?: string | null

The package category.

Overrides

LinuxTargetSpecificOptions.packageCategory

---

packageName?

readonly optional packageName?: string | null

The name of the package.

Inherited from

LinuxTargetSpecificOptions.packageName

---

priority?

readonly optional priority?: string | null

The Priority attribute.

---

publish?

optional publish?: Publish

Inherited from

LinuxTargetSpecificOptions.publish

---

recommends?

readonly optional recommends?: string[] | null

The recommended package dependencies.

Default

["libappindicator3-1"]

---

synopsis?

readonly optional synopsis?: string | null

The short description.

Inherited from

LinuxTargetSpecificOptions.synopsis

---

vendor?

readonly optional vendor?: string | null

Inherited from

LinuxTargetSpecificOptions.vendor

All LinuxTargetSpecificOptions can also be specified in deb to customize Debian packages.

LinuxTargetSpecificOptions — APK, FreeBSD, Pacman, P5P and RPM Options

The top-level apk, freebsd, pacman, p5p and rpm keys contain options for their respective Linux targets.

Interface: LinuxTargetSpecificOptions

Extends

• CommonLinuxOptions.TargetSpecificOptions

Extended by

• DebOptions
• PacmanOptions
• RpmOptions

Properties

afterInstall?

readonly optional afterInstall?: string | null

File path to script to be passed to FPM for --after-install arg.

---

afterRemove?

readonly optional afterRemove?: string | null

File path to script to be passed to FPM for --after-remove arg.

---

appArmorProfile?

readonly optional appArmorProfile?: string | null

File path to custom AppArmor profile (Ubuntu 24+)

---

artifactName?

readonly optional artifactName?: string | null

The artifact file name template.

Inherited from

TargetSpecificOptions.artifactName

---

category?

readonly optional category?: string | null

The application category.

Inherited from

CommonLinuxOptions.category

---

compression?

readonly optional compression?: "gz" | "bzip2" | "xz" | "xzmt" | "gzip" | "zst" | "zstd" | null

The compression type passed to fpm. For deb, rpm, and pacman targets prefer the typed per-format interfaces (DebOptions, RpmOptions, PacmanOptions) which narrow this to only the values that fpm actually accepts for that format.

Default

xz

---

depends?

readonly optional depends?: string[] | null

Package dependencies. rpm defaults to ["gtk3", "libnotify", "nss", "libXScrnSaver", "(libXtst or libXtst6)", "xdg-utils", "at-spi2-core", "(libuuid or libuuid1)"] pacman defaults to ["c-ares", "ffmpeg", "gtk3", "http-parser", "libevent", "libvpx", "libxslt", "libxss", "minizip", "nss", "re2", "snappy", "libnotify", "libappindicator-gtk3"]

---

description?

readonly optional description?: string | null

As description from application package.json, but allows you to specify different for Linux.

Inherited from

CommonLinuxOptions.description

---

desktop?

readonly optional desktop?: LinuxDesktopFile | null

The Desktop file

Inherited from

CommonLinuxOptions.desktop

---

executableArgs?

readonly optional executableArgs?: string[] | null

The executable parameters. Pass to executableName

Inherited from

CommonLinuxOptions.executableArgs

---

fpm?

readonly optional fpm?: string[] | null

Advanced only The fpm options.

Example: ["--before-install=build/deb-preinstall.sh", "--after-upgrade=build/deb-postinstall.sh"]

---

icon?

readonly optional icon?: string

---

maintainer?

readonly optional maintainer?: string | null

---

mimeTypes?

readonly optional mimeTypes?: string[] | null

The mime types in addition to specified in the file associations. Use it if you don't want to register a new mime type, but reuse existing.

Inherited from

CommonLinuxOptions.mimeTypes

---

packageCategory?

readonly optional packageCategory?: string | null

The package category.

---

packageName?

readonly optional packageName?: string | null

The name of the package.

---

publish?

optional publish?: Publish

Inherited from

TargetSpecificOptions.publish

---

synopsis?

readonly optional synopsis?: string | null

The short description.

Inherited from

CommonLinuxOptions.synopsis

---

vendor?

readonly optional vendor?: string | null