dev-utils

Cross-Platform Build & Packaging Guide

This guide details how to clone, install, test, and package standalone native binaries for Windows (.exe), macOS (.dmg, .zip), and Linux (.AppImage, .deb, .rpm).

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1. System Requirements

• Node.js: Version 18.x or 20.x LTS (Download Node.js)
• Package Manager: npm (bundled with Node.js)
• Git: Installed and available in your system PATH

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2. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/techwasti/dev-utils.git
cd dev-utils

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3. Install Dependencies & Run Tests

# Install required dependencies
npm install

# Run complete unit test suite
npm test

# Run tests with code coverage report
npm run test:coverage

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4. Launching in Development Mode

# Starts the application with live TypeScript compilation and hot reload
npm start

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5. Building Native Executables Locally

DevUtils uses electron-builder to package stand-alone executables that run out of the box with zero runtime dependencies.

On Windows (.exe Installer & Portable)

npm run dist:win

• Output directory: release/
• Generated files:
  • DevUtils Desktop-Setup-1.0.0.exe (NSIS Installer with Start Menu / Desktop shortcuts)
  • DevUtils Desktop-1.0.0.exe (Standalone portable single-file executable)

On macOS (.dmg & .zip)

Note: macOS packaging should be run on a macOS machine.

npm run dist:mac

• Output directory: release/
• Generated files:
  • DevUtils Desktop-1.0.0-mac.dmg (Apple Disk Image installer)
  • DevUtils Desktop-1.0.0-mac.zip

On Linux (.AppImage, .deb, .rpm)

Note: Linux builds require standard packaging dependencies (e.g. libarchive-tools, libfuse2).

npm run dist:linux

• Output directory: release/
• Generated files:
  • DevUtils Desktop-1.0.0-linux.AppImage (Self-contained runnable bundle on any Linux distro)
  • DevUtils Desktop-1.0.0-linux.deb (Debian / Ubuntu package)
  • DevUtils Desktop-1.0.0-linux.rpm (Fedora / Red Hat package)

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6. Automated Multi-OS Builds with GitHub Actions

You don’t need access to every physical operating system to build multi-platform binaries.

Our pre-configured workflow .github/workflows/build-and-release.yml automatically runs on:

• windows-latest
• macos-latest
• ubuntu-latest

Whenever you push a tag (e.g. git tag v1.0.0 && git push origin v1.0.0), GitHub Actions will:

1. Run all unit tests to ensure stability.
2. Build .exe, .dmg, and .AppImage binaries concurrently across all 3 platforms.
3. Automatically publish a draft/final GitHub Release with the binary downloads attached.

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