electron-packager vs InstallAware

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.

InstallAware 2026 is a setup builder for app and game developers working across Windows, macOS, and Linux. Its listed output formats include MSI, EXE, MSIX, APPX, App-V, DEB, RPM, and PKG. The multi-platform page names Apple Intel, Apple Silicon, GTK2, Qt5, and Windows x86 targets. Setups can be deployed over the web, while a minimum setup can work without an internet connection. The Developer edition builds MSIX packages and can bridge Win32, Win64, and.NET applications to the Windows Store. It also supports switching between Native Code and Windows Installer setup engines at runtime. InstallAware can create an App-V package from a setup project and includes a viewer for inspecting package contents. A free Visual Studio extension analyzes solution dependencies and creates and builds a setup from a Visual Studio solution. The freeware edition costs nothing, is listed as free for commercial use, and requires Visual Studio. InstallAware offers a 30-day trial and free peer support forums, with optional Gold support for priority technical support.