This adds a new flag, allowing the user to define global shortcuts that trigger input events within the main window. That way, I could easily wrap SoundCloud and Deezer to create a native app which reacts on my keyboard media buttons.
18 KiB
API
Table of Contents
- Table of Contents
- Command Line
- Target Url
- [dest]
- Help
- Version
- [name]
- [platform]
- [arch]
- [app-copyright]
- [app-version]
- [build-version]
- [electron-version]
- [no-overwrite]
- [conceal]
- [icon]
- [counter]
- [bounce]
- [width]
- [height]
- [min-width]
- [min-height]
- [max-width]
- [max-height]
- [x]
- [y]
- [show-menu-bar]
- [fast-quit]
- [user-agent]
- [honest]
- [ignore-certificate]
- [disable-gpu]
- [ignore-gpu-blacklist]
- [enable-es3-apis]
- [insecure]
- [internal-urls]
- [flash]
- [flash-path]
- [disk-cache-size]
- [inject]
- [full-screen]
- [maximize]
- [hide-window-frame]
- [title-bar-style]
- [verbose]
- [disable-context-menu]
- [disable-dev-tools]
- [crash-reporter]
- [zoom]
- [single-instance]
- [tray]
- [basic-auth-username]
- [processEnvs]
- [file-download-options]
- [always-on-top]
- [global-shortcuts]
- Programmatic API
Command Line
nativefier [options] <targetUrl> [dest]
Command line options are listed below.
Target Url
The url to point the application at.
[dest]
Specifies the destination directory to build the app to, defaults to the current working directory.
Help
-h, --help
Prints the usage information.
Version
-V, --version
Prints the version of your nativefier
install.
[name]
-n, --name <value>
The name of the application, which will affect strings in titles and the icon.
For Linux Users: Do not put spaces if you define the app name yourself with --name
, as this will cause problems (tested on Ubuntu 14.04) when pinning a packaged app to the launcher.
[platform]
-p, --platform <value>
Automatically determined based on the current OS. Can be overwritten by specifying either linux
, windows
, osx
or mas
for a Mac App Store specific build.
The alternative values win32
(for Windows) or darwin
, mac
(for macOS) can also be used.
[arch]
-a, --arch <value>
Processor architecture, automatically determined based on the current OS. Can be overwritten by specifying either ia32
, x64
or armv7l
.
[app-copyright]
--app-copyright <value>
The human-readable copyright line for the app. Maps to the LegalCopyright
metadata property on Windows, and NSHumanReadableCopyright
on OS X.
[app-version]
--app-version <value>
The release version of the application. By default the version
property in the package.json
is used but it can be overridden with this argument. If neither are provided, the version of Electron will be used. Maps to the ProductVersion
metadata property on Windows, and CFBundleShortVersionString
on OS X.
[build-version]
--build-version <value>
The build version of the application. Maps to the FileVersion
metadata property on Windows, and CFBundleVersion
on OS X.
[electron-version]
-e, --electron-version <value>
Electron version without the v
, see https://github.com/atom/electron/releases.
[no-overwrite]
--no-overwrite
Specifies if the destination directory should be not overwritten, defaults to false.
[conceal]
-c, --conceal
Specifies if the source code within the nativefied app should be packaged into an archive, defaults to false, read more.
[icon]
-i, --icon <path>
Packaging for Windows
The icon parameter should be a path to a .ico
file.
Packaging for Linux
The icon parameter should be a path to a .png
file.
Packaging for macOS
The icon parameter can either be a .icns
or a .png
file if the optional dependencies are installed.
If you have the optional dependencies iconutil
, Imagemagick convert
, and Imagemagick identify
in your PATH
, Nativefier will automatically convert the .png
to a .icns
for you.
Manually Converting .icns
iConvertIcons can be used to convert .pngs
, though it can be quite cumbersome.
To retrieve the .icns
file from the downloaded file, extract it first and press File > Get Info. Then select the icon in the top left corner of the info window and press ⌘-C
. Open Preview and press File > New from clipboard and save the .icns
file. It took me a while to figure out how to do that and question why a .icns
file was not simply provided in the downloaded archive.
[counter]
--counter
Use a counter that persists even with window focus for the application badge for sites that use an "(X)" format counter in the page title (i.e. Gmail).
[bounce]
--bounce
(macOS only) When the the counter increases, the dock icon will bounce for one second. This only works if the --counter
option is active.
[width]
--width <value>
Width of the packaged application, defaults to 1280px
.
[height]
--height <value>
Height of the packaged application, defaults to 800px
.
[min-width]
--min-width <value>
Minimum width of the packaged application, defaults to 0
.
[min-height]
--min-height <value>
Minimum height of the packaged application, defaults to 0
.
[max-width]
--max-width <value>
Maximum width of the packaged application, default is no limit.
[max-height]
--max-height <value>
Maximum height of the packaged application, default is no limit.
[x]
--x <value>
X location of the packaged application window.
[y]
--y <value>
Y location of the packaged application window.
[show-menu-bar]
-m, --show-menu-bar
Specifies if the menu bar should be shown.
[fast-quit]
-f, --fast-quit
(macOS only) Specifies to quit the app after closing all windows, defaults to false.
[user-agent]
-u, --user-agent <value>
Set the user agent to run the created app with.
[honest]
--honest
By default, Nativefier uses a preset user agent string for your OS and masquerades as a regular Google Chrome browser, so that sites like WhatsApp Web will not say that the current browser is unsupported.
If this flag is passed, it will not override the user agent.
[ignore-certificate]
--ignore-certificate
Forces the packaged app to ignore certificate errors.
[disable-gpu]
--disable-gpu
Disable hardware acceleration for the packaged application.
[ignore-gpu-blacklist]
--ignore-gpu-blacklist
Passes the ignore-gpu-blacklist flag to the Chrome engine, to allow for WebGl apps to work on non supported graphics cards.
[enable-es3-apis]
--enable-es3-apis
Passes the enable-es3-apis flag to the Chrome engine, to force the activation of WebGl 2.0.
[insecure]
--insecure
Forces the packaged app to ignore web security errors, such as Mixed Content errors when receiving HTTP content on a HTTPS site.
[internal-urls]
--internal-urls <regex>
Regular expression of URLs to consider "internal"; all other URLs will be opened in an external browser. Defaults to URLs on same second-level domain as app.
Example:
nativefier https://google.com --internal-urls ".*?\.google\.*?"
[flash]
--flash
If --flash
is specified, Nativefier will automatically try to determine the location of your Google Chrome flash binary. Take note that the version of Chrome on your computer should be the same as the version used by the version of Electron for the Nativefied package.
Take note that if this flag is specified, the --insecure
flag will be added automatically, to prevent the Mixed Content errors on sites such as Twitch.tv.
[flash-path]
--flash-path <value>
You can also specify the path to the Chrome flash plugin directly with this flag. The path can be found at chrome://plugins, under Adobe Flash Player
> Location
. This flag automatically enables the --flash
flag as well.
[disk-cache-size]
--disk-cache-size <value>
Forces the maximum disk space to be used by the disk cache. Value is given in bytes.
[inject]
--inject <value>
Allows you to inject a javascript or css file. This command can be run multiple times to inject the files.
Example:
nativefier http://google.com --inject ./some-js-injection.js --inject ./some-css-injection.css ~/Desktop
[full-screen]
--full-screen
Makes the packaged app start in full screen.
[maximize]
--maximize
Makes the packaged app start maximized.
[hide-window-frame]
--hide-window-frame
Disable window frame and controls.
[title-bar-style]
--title-bar-style <value>
(macOS only) Sets the style for the app's title bar. See more details at electron's Frameless Window documentation.
Consider injecting a custom CSS (via --inject
) for better integration. Specifically, the CSS should specify a draggable region. For instance, if the target website has a <header>
element, you can make it draggable like so.
/* site.css */
/* header is draggable... */
header {
-webkit-app-region: drag;
}
/* but any buttons inside the header shouldn't be draggable */
header button {
-webkit-app-region: no-drag;
}
/* perhaps move some items out of way for the traffic light */
header div:first-child {
margin-left: 100px;
margin-top: 25px;
}
nativefier http://google.com --inject site.css --title-bar-style 'hiddenInset'
[verbose]
--verbose
Shows detailed logs in the console.
[disable-context-menu]
--disable-context-menu
Disable the context menu
[disable-dev-tools]
--disable-dev-tools
Disable the Chrome developer tools
[crash-reporter]
--crash-reporter <value>
Enables crash reporting and set the URL to submit crash reports to
Example:
nativefier http://google.com --crash-reporter https://electron-crash-reporter.appspot.com/PROJECT_ID/create/
[zoom]
--zoom <value>
Sets a default zoom factor to be used when the app is opened, defaults to 1.0
.
[single-instance]
--single-instance
Prevents application from being run multiple times. If such an attempt occurs the already running instance is brought to front.
[tray]
--tray
Application will stay as an icon in the system tray. Prevents application from being closed from clicking the window close button.
[basic-auth-username]
--basic-auth-username <value> --basic-auth-password <value>
Set basic http(s) auth via the command line to have the app automatically log you in to a protected site. Both fields are required if one is set.
[processEnvs]
--processEnvs <json-string>
a JSON string of key/value pairs to be set as environment variables before any browser windows are opened.
Example:
nativefier <your-geolocation-enabled-website> --processEnvs '{"GOOGLE_API_KEY": "<your-google-api-key>"}'
[file-download-options]
--file-download-options <json-string>
a JSON string of key/value pairs to be set as file download options. See electron-dl for available options.
Example:
nativefier <your-website> --file-download-options '{"saveAs": true}'
[always-on-top]
--always-on-top
Enable always on top for the packaged application.
[global-shortcuts]
--global-shortcuts shortcuts.json
Register global shortcuts which will trigger input events like key presses or pointer events in the application.
You may define multiple global shortcuts which can trigger a series of input events. It has the following structure:
[
{
// Key is passed as first argument to globalShortcut.register
"key": "CommandOrControl+Shift+Z",
// The input events exactly match the event config in Electron for contents.sendInputEvent(event)
"inputEvents": [
{
// Available event types: mouseDown, mouseUp, mouseEnter, mouseLeave, contextMenu, mouseWheel, mouseMove, keyDown, keyUp or char
"type": "keyDown",
// Further config depends on your event type. See docs at: https://github.com/electron/electron/blob/master/docs/api/web-contents.md#contentssendinputeventevent
"keyCode": "Space"
}
]
}
]
Important note for using modifier keys:
If you want to trigger key events which include a modifier (Ctrl, Shift,...), you need to keyDown the modifier key first, then keyDown the actual key including the modifier key as modifier property and then keyUp both keys again. No idea what this means? See the example for MediaPreviousTrack
below!
For more details, please see the Electron documentation:
- List of available keys: https://github.com/electron/electron/blob/master/docs/api/accelerator.md
- Details about how to create input event objects: https://github.com/electron/electron/blob/master/docs/api/web-contents.md#contentssendinputeventevent
Example shortcuts.json
for https://deezer.com
& https://soundcloud.com
to get your play/pause/previous/next media keys working:
[
{
"key": "MediaPlayPause",
"inputEvents": [
{
"type": "keyDown",
"keyCode": "Space"
}
]
},
{
"key": "MediaPreviousTrack",
"inputEvents": [
{
"type": "keyDown",
"keyCode": "Shift"
},
{
"type": "keyDown",
"keyCode": "Left",
"modifiers": [
"shift"
]
},
{
"type": "keyUp",
"keyCode": "Left",
"modifiers": [
"shift"
]
},
{
"type": "keyUp",
"keyCode": "Shift"
}
]
},
{
"key": "MediaNextTrack",
"inputEvents": [
{
"type": "keyDown",
"keyCode": "Shift"
},
{
"type": "keyDown",
"keyCode": "Right",
"modifiers": [
"shift"
]
},
{
"type": "keyUp",
"keyCode": "Right",
"modifiers": [
"shift"
]
},
{
"type": "keyUp",
"keyCode": "Shift"
}
]
}
]
Programmatic API
You can use the Nativefier programmatic API as well.
# install and save to package.json
npm install --save nativefier
In your .js
file:
var nativefier = require('nativefier').default;
// possible options, defaults unless specified otherwise
var options = {
name: 'Web WhatsApp', // will be inferred if not specified
targetUrl: 'http://web.whatsapp.com', // required
platform: 'darwin', // defaults to the current system
arch: 'x64', // defaults to the current system
version: '0.36.4',
out: '.',
overwrite: false,
asar: false, // see conceal
icon: '~/Desktop/icon.png',
counter: false,
bounce: false,
width: 1280,
height: 800,
showMenuBar: false,
fastQuit: false,
userAgent: 'Mozilla ...', // will infer a default for your current system
ignoreCertificate: false,
ignoreGpuBlacklist: false,
enableEs3Apis: false,
insecure: false,
honest: false,
zoom: 1.0,
singleInstance: false,
fileDownloadOptions: {
saveAs: true // always show "Save As" dialog
},
processEnvs: {
"GOOGLE_API_KEY": "<your-google-api-key>"
}
};
nativefier(options, function(error, appPath) {
if (error) {
console.error(error);
return;
}
console.log('App has been nativefied to', appPath);
});
Addition packaging options for Windows
[version-string]
Object (deprecated as removed in electron-packager
9.0.0, please use the
win32metadata
parameter instead)
[win32metadata]
--win32metadata <json-string>
a JSON string of key/value pairs of application metadata (ProductName, InternalName, FileDescription) to embed into the executable (Windows only).
Example:
nativefier <your-geolocation-enabled-website> --win32metadata '{"ProductName": "Your Product Name", "InternalName", "Your Internal Name", "FileDescription": "Your File Description"}'
Programmatic API
Object
Object (also known as a "hash") of application metadata to embed into the executable:
CompanyName
FileDescription
OriginalFilename
ProductName
InternalName
(Note that win32metadata
was added to electron-packager
in version 8.0.0)
In your .js
file:
var options = {
...
win32metadata: {
CompanyName: 'Your Company Name',
FileDescription: 'Your File Description',
OriginalFilename: 'Your Original Filename',
ProductName: 'Your Product Name',
InternalName: 'Your Internal Name'
}
};
More description about the options for nativefier
can be found at the above section.