Electron - How to add external files?

Question

I have an Electron app. I try to make the app open an .exe file. I created a directory in the root folder named lib and placed the .exe file there. In development, I have no problem opening the file by using __dirname + '/lib/file.exe, but when I package the app (using yarn dist), it does not open the exe file and there is no lib folder anymore on the dist folder.

I tried writing to console the default location using console.log(__dirname) and it outputs \dist\win-unpacked\resources\app.asa (which is a file).

How can I add an external file that can be accessed when the app is packaged?

Answer 1

Managed to solve it by using extraResources. Should be declared under build in your package.json file.

For example:

1. Create a new folder named extraResources adjacent to pacakge.json

2. Add the following code to your package.json file:

   "build": {
       "extraResources": ["./extraResources/**"]
   }
   

3. Then, you can access the files inside this folder by using __dirname + '/../extraResources/' from your main app.

Answer 2

Add the following code to package.json:

 "build": {
    "extraResources": [
      {
        "from": "./src/extraResources/",
        "to": "extraResources",
        "filter": [
          "**/*"
        ]
      }
    ]
  }

Then, you can access the files using

const configFile = path.join(path.dirname(__dirname), 'extraResources','config.json');

I use the following folders structure which allows me to run the app any way.

from project folder: node_modules\.bin\electron.cmd src\main\index.js

from unpacked source dist\win-unpacked\app.exe check-for-update

from installed folder C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Programs\app\app.exe

+-- dist
|   +-- win-unpacked
|      +-- resources
|         +-- extraResources
|            config.json
+-- node_modules
+-- src 
|   +-- extraResources
|      config.json
|      someFile.js
|   +-- main
|      index.js
|   +-- render
|      index.js