Build a Desktop App with Electron… But Should You?




A complete beginner’s tutorial for Electron JS ⚡ along with an overview of its pros and cons. In about 10 minutes, we build a desktop screen recorder from scratch with JavaScript that is installable on Mac, Windows, or Linux.

Full Electron Tutorial: https://fireship.io/lessons/electron-screen-recorder-project-tutorial
Source Code: https://github.com/fireship-io/223-electron-screen-recorder
Electron Forge: https://www.electronforge.io/

#tutorial #javascript #electron

Install the quiz app 🤓

iOS https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fireship/id1462592372?mt=8
Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.fireship.quizapp

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My VS Code Theme

– Atom One Dark
– vscode-icons
– Fira Code Font

Original source


38 responses to “Build a Desktop App with Electron… But Should You?”

  1. Anyone having issues with npx create-electron-app my-app and 'Error: EPERM: operation not permitted, mkdir 'C:UsersBraden''? There seems to be some issue when you have a space in your name in your user folder…

  2. Since Electron v5.0, official docs advice against “nodeIntegration: true” for security purposes. It recommends using a preload.js to add only the necessary node.js function as a property of window for access in renderer.js

  3. Electon should not be used for things like chat clients or VoIP clients etc that can be made WAY more efficient even in Python, not to mention C, Cpp or D.
    Electron should only be used either as a LAST RESORT, temporary measure or for something that is only intended to be ran for a short perioid of time.
    Discord is the periapsis of this. A chat client that can eat up to 1GB of ram and very many CPU cycles. While other programs achieve the same stuff while being IMMENSELY less resource heavy and less wasteful.

  4. I don't understand how those electron apps can be more than a simple "web" inside a container of the "window's application though, that's the only thing i can make when i used electron, but when i see the examples, some have quite an advanced features that the API documentation of electrons don't show. How did they do it? the Electron docs only show simple event listeners, notification, etc etc. I mean, some used electron to create IDE software like visual studio. How the heck can you create a Visual studio code with javascript, html, css? You make the linter with JS + CSS ? haha

    With slack, i can understand since it's just a glorified chat system. But Visual Studio Code and Yeoman, etc still makes me curious, any idea, Fireship? (Visual Studio code use electron: https://www.electronjs.org/apps )

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