cargo-bundle vs electron-packager
cargo-bundle
github.comelectron-packager
github.comSide by side
| Figure | cargo-bundle | electron-packager |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 0 | 1 |
| Spec score · Software Packaging Tools | 7.9 (#7) | 7.9 (#8) |
| Configuration | Projects configure bundle metadata in a `[package.metadata.bundle]` section of Cargo.toml, including fields such as name, icon, description, and copyright. | The CLI supports optional flags, and its ignore option filters files and folders with a regular expression. |
| Purpose | cargo-bundle generates installers or app bundles for GUI executables built with Cargo. | Electron Packager bundles Electron app source code with a renamed Electron executable and supporting files into folders ready for distribution. |
Plans
In their own words
cargo-bundle
cargo-bundle has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
electron-packager
electron-packager bundles Electron app source code with a renamed Electron executable and supporting files into folders ready for distribution. It works as a command-line tool or a Node.js library called through JavaScript. Packager can find or download a matching Electron release and build for a selected platform and architecture, all valid combinations, or the host combination. Output targets include Windows, macOS—including Mac App Store targets—and Linux; these are also the listed host platforms. Documented target architectures include x86, x86_64, arm64, universal macOS, Linux armv7l, and Linux mips64el, though some depend on Electron versions. CLI options include a regular-expression ignore filter for files and folders. Electron Forge uses Packager internally, and installer tools can use its output folders to create distributables. The free, open-source Node.js tool requires Node.js 22.12.0 or higher, and local installation is recommended. Signing a macOS or Mac App Store bundle requires building on a macOS host. The project also notes that even a minimal zipped app is approximately the size of the matching zipped Electron binary.