Create Angular Desktop App Using Electron

Introduction

 

In this article, we'll learn to build cross-platform Desktop app for Angular 8/7 by integrating it with Electron.

 

Electron

 

Electron is an open-source framework developed and and maintained by GitHub. It is a popular platform for building cross-platform desktop apps for Windows, Linux and macOS with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS.It is essentially a web application that is self-contained as a desktop application.

 

In this guide, we will look at how to create an Electron application with the Angular framework using TypeScript. We will cover, 

• Building a project from scratch
• Packaging the desktop application for distribution
• Using live reloading for development

Installing AngularCLI

 

Let’s get started by installing Angular CLI, which is the official tool for creating and working with Angular projects. Open a new terminal and run the below command.

 

npm install -g @angular/cli 

 

Steps to follow,

 

Step 1

 

Create an Angular project setup using the below command or however you want to create it.

 

ng new projectname

 

Example,

 

ng new angularElectron

 

 

Step 2

 

Now, we must install Electron in our Angular app. Open a new terminal and run the below command.

 

npm install electron --save-dev

 

 

Even after installing, Electron will be unaware of the Angular app. So, it should be linked with the Angular app in order to work.

 

Step 3

 

Create a script file named as main.js and copy the below code in it. This file is used to link the Angular project with Electron.

const {
    app,
    BrowserWindow
} = require('electron')
// Keep a global reference of the window object, if you don't, the window will
// be closed automatically when the JavaScript object is garbage collected.
let win

function createWindow() {
    // Create the browser window.
    win = new BrowserWindow({
        width: 800,
        height: 600,
        webPreferences: {
            nodeIntegration: true
        }
    })
    // and load the index.html of the app.
    win.loadFile('dist/angularElectron/index.html')
    // Open the DevTools.
    win.webContents.openDevTools()
    // Emitted when the window is closed.
    win.on('closed', () => {
        // Dereference the window object, usually you would store windows
        // in an array if your app supports multi windows, this is the time
        // when you should delete the corresponding element.
        win = null
    })
}
// This method will be called when Electron has finished
// initialization and is ready to create browser windows.
// Some APIs can only be used after this event occurs.
app.on('ready', createWindow)
// Quit when all windows are closed.
app.on('window-all-closed', () => {
    // On macOS it is common for applications and their menu bar
    // to stay active until the user quits explicitly with Cmd + Q
    if (process.platform !== 'darwin') {
        app.quit()
    }
})
app.on('activate', () => {
    // On macOS it's common to re-create a window in the app when the
    // dock icon is clicked and there are no other windows open.
    if (win === null) {
        createWindow()
    }
})
// In this file you can include the rest of your app's specific main process
// code. You can also put them in separate files and require them here.

Change the path of index.html in the script based on your project path.

 

Refer line#18

 

 

Step 4

 

In Index.html, modify the below line

<base href="/"> to <base href="./">

Refer line#6

 

 

Step 5

 

In package.json, add the below line to link the newly created script file.

 

"main":"main.js",

 

In Scripts, add the below code to run Electron with short code.

 

"electron":"ng build && electron ."

 

Refer line#12

 

 

Step 6

 

Now, run the application

 

npm run electron

 

 

On successful execution of the above command, the following Angular UI window pops out.