ende desktop

ende desktop compiles an Ende project into a self-contained desktop application. The output binary bundles your code, the Ende runtime, and a rendering backend into one redistributable executable per platform.

ende desktop main.ts
ende desktop --hmr main.ts
ende desktop --output MyApp.app main.ts

This page covers the command-line flags. For the full guide (backends, Ende.BrowserWindow, bindings, auto-update, DevTools, and distribution) see the Desktop apps section.

Runtime flags

ende desktop accepts the same runtime and permission flags as ende run. The permissions you grant at compile time are baked into the compiled binary:

ende desktop --allow-read --allow-net main.ts

Backend

--backend selects the rendering engine. It accepts webview (the default) or cef. The raw backend is selected through the desktop.backend field in ende.json. See Backends for the tradeoffs.

ende desktop --backend webview main.ts

Build output

--output (-o) sets the output path; its extension determines the format (.app, .dmg, .AppImage, and so on):

ende desktop --output ./dist/MyApp.dmg main.ts

Use --icon to set the application icon (.ico on Windows, .icns or .png on macOS), and --include / --exclude to add or remove files from the compiled binary. These can also be configured in ende.json; see Configuration.

Cross-compilation

--target builds for another platform, and --all-targets builds for every supported platform at once. No platform-specific toolchain is needed on the host:

ende desktop --target aarch64-apple-darwin main.ts
ende desktop --all-targets main.ts

See Distribution for the supported target triples and output formats.

Development

--hmr runs the app with hot module replacement during development. See Hot module replacement.

ende desktop --hmr main.ts

The --inspect, --inspect-wait, and --inspect-brk flags attach a debugger to both the Ende runtime and the renderer. --inspect-renderer overrides the CEF renderer's debugger listen address. See DevTools.

Configuration

Most settings can live in the desktop block of ende.json instead of being passed on every build:

{
  "desktop": {
    "app": {
      "name": "MyApp",
      "identifier": "com.example.myapp",
      "icons": {
        "macos": "./icons/icon.icns",
        "windows": "./icons/icon.ico",
        "linux": "./icons/icon.png"
      }
    },
    "backend": "cef",
    "output": {
      "macos": "./dist/macos",
      "windows": "./dist/windows",
      "linux": "./dist/linux"
    },
    "release": { "baseUrl": "https://updates.example.com" },
    "errorReporting": { "url": "https://errors.example.com/report" }
  }
}

For the full schema, see Configuration.