electron_skill

Overview

This skill provides comprehensive guidance for building cross-platform desktop applications with Electron. It covers main and renderer processes, IPC patterns, window and menu management, packaging, and security best practices. Use it to implement Electron features, debug apps, and prepare production builds.

How this skill works

The skill maps user requests to focused examples and API references organized like the official Electron docs. For a given topic it points to targeted example files (main, renderer, preload, IPC, BrowserWindow, menus, packaging) and matching API entries, then returns practical code snippets, templates, and best-practice advice. Examples include CommonJS and ES module patterns and guidance for Electron Forge and packaging tools.

When to use it

• You want to build or prototype a desktop app with Electron
• You need to implement IPC between main and renderer or preload scripts
• You need help creating or managing BrowserWindow instances and native menus
• You are packaging, distributing, or auto-updating an Electron app
• You need guidance on Electron security and process separation
• You want recipes for debugging, testing, or native module handling

Best practices

• Keep main and renderer responsibilities separated and use preload scripts for controlled APIs
• Never enable nodeIntegration in renderer; expose safe APIs via contextBridge
• Use ipcMain/ipcRenderer with validated messages and avoid executing untrusted input
• Clean up windows, listeners, and resources to prevent leaks
• Use Electron Forge or electron-builder for reproducible packaging and CI builds
• Implement auto-update and crash reporting before shipping to users

Example use cases

• Create a minimal app with a single BrowserWindow, preload script, and secure IPC bridge
• Implement file dialogs and system tray integration with native menu items
• Build a multi-window editor where main process manages windows and renderer handles UI
• Package and sign apps for Windows, macOS, and Linux using Electron Forge or electron-builder
• Add an auto-updater and crash reporting flow for production releases