Packaging

Desktop packaging is driven by the sublime CLI and powered by Electron Forge.

sublime dev:desktop     # Forge start — Webpack dev server + HMR + live navigation recompile
sublime build:desktop   # Forge make — produces platform packages

dev:desktop compiles the navigation layer on startup and keeps watching the storybooks, recompiling on every change (the generated nav files are git-ignored). Both commands keep their old names — desktop:dev / desktop:build — as aliases.

What build:desktop produces

Electron Forge makers generate the packages. The default makers favour a fast, reliable build on every OS:

Platform	Maker	Output
Windows	MakerZIP	.zip (portable, unzip-and-run)
macOS	MakerZIP	.zip
Linux	MakerDeb, MakerRpm	.deb, .rpm

The packages are copied into dist/desktop/ at your project root, alongside the other platforms' outputs (dist/web, dist/mobile) — see Where your builds go.

Want a Windows installer?

ZIP is the default on Windows because the Squirrel installer maker is slow and can appear to hang on large or unsigned apps. To ship a Windows auto-update installer, opt in: install the maker and add it to desktop/forge.config.ts (the file ships with commented instructions):

npm i -D @electron-forge/maker-squirrel

import { MakerSquirrel } from '@electron-forge/maker-squirrel';
// …
makers: [
  new MakerSquirrel({}),   // .exe installer (expect a multi-minute pack step)
  new MakerZIP({}),
  new MakerRpm({}),
  new MakerDeb({}),
],

Two Forge plugins harden and complete the build:

• plugin-auto-unpack-natives unpacks native Node modules from the asar — so a defineNative service that depends on real native modules (SQLite, serialport, escpos) packages correctly.
• plugin-fuses flips Electron security fuses at package time: OnlyLoadAppFromAsar, asar integrity validation, and RunAsNode: false.

Where the config lives

The Forge config and webpack configs live in your app's desktop/ folder, where Forge expects them — not hidden in the framework:

desktop/
  forge.config.ts                 # makers + WebpackPlugin + Fuses + AutoUnpackNatives
  webpack.main.config.ts
  webpack.renderer.config.ts
  src/
    main/ main.ts, preload.ts
    renderer/ index.html, index.ts   # mounts the web app

@sublime-ui/desktop provides the reusable runtime (the bridge, the secure window shell, and the built-in services); your desktop/ folder owns the packaging configuration. In development the renderer loads from the Webpack dev server (with HMR); in a packaged build it loads from file:// inside the asar.