Electron Forge is an all-in-one tool for packaging and distributing Electron applications. It combines packaging, code signing, installers, and publishing into one pipeline and supports custom plugins, makers, and publishers.
Skills are based on Electron Forge (docs as of 2026-01-30), generated from electron-forge-docs.
Core References
| Topic | Description | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Why Electron Forge | Motivation, value proposition, Forge vs Builder | core-why-electron-forge |
| Build Lifecycle | Package → Make → Publish; hooks; cross-platform | core-build-lifecycle |
| CLI | Init, import, package, make, publish, start; flags; programmatic API | core-cli |
Configuration
| Topic | Description | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Configuration | forge.config.js, packagerConfig, makers, publishers, plugins, hooks, buildIdentifier | config-configuration |
| Hooks | generateAssets, preStart, postPackage, preMake, postMake, readPackageJson, etc. | config-hooks |
| TypeScript config | forge.config.ts, ForgeConfig, constructor syntax | config-typescript |
| Plugins overview | Bundler (Webpack, Vite) and utility plugins | config-plugins-overview |
| Webpack plugin | main/renderer config, magic globals, HMR, native modules | config-plugins-webpack |
| Vite plugin | build/renderer entries, HMR globals, native externals | config-plugins-vite |
| Makers overview | Config, platforms; DMG, ZIP, Squirrel, deb, rpm, etc. | config-makers-overview |
| Publishers overview | GitHub, S3, Nucleus; config; auto-update | config-publishers-overview |
Features
| Topic | Description | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Import existing project | import command and manual setup | features-import-existing-project |
| Built-in templates | webpack, vite, TypeScript variants; create-electron-app | features-templates |
Guides
| Topic | Description | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Code signing | macOS and Windows; where to configure | guides-code-signing |
Advanced
| Topic | Description | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Auto update | update.electronjs.org, S3, custom servers (Nucleus, etc.) | advanced-auto-update |
| Debugging | Main process: CLI, VS Code, JetBrains | advanced-debugging |
| Writing plugins | PluginBase, getHooks, startLogic | advanced-extending-plugins |
| Writing makers | MakerBase, isSupportedOnCurrentPlatform, make | advanced-extending-makers |
| Writing publishers | PublisherBase, publish; multi-call behavior | advanced-extending-publishers |
| Writing templates | ForgeTemplate, requiredForgeVersion, initializeTemplate | advanced-extending-templates |