Why Does My Electron Packaging Process Fail with Exit Code 1?

When working on my Electron project, I faced a rather uninformative error while trying to package my application. Here, I’m sharing how I tackled this problem, aiming to help anyone else who finds themselves stuck in similar situations.

First off, let’s set some context. My project structure is relatively straightforward, and I am using Electron Forge to handle the packaging. Below is what my forge.config.js and package.json files look like.

forge.config.js

const { FusesPlugin } = require('@electron-forge/plugin-fuses');
const { FuseV1Options, FuseVersion } = require('@electron/fuses');

module.exports = {
  packagerConfig: {
    asar: true,
  },
  rebuildConfig: {},
  makers: [
    {
      name: '@electron-forge/maker-squirrel',
      config: {},
    },
    {
      name: '@electron-forge/maker-zip',
      platforms: ['darwin'],
    },
    {
      name: '@electron-forge/maker-deb',
      config: {},
    },
    {
      name: '@electron-forge/maker-rpm',
      config: {},
    },
  ],
  plugins: [
    {
      name: '@electron-forge/plugin-auto-unpack-natives',
      config: {},
    },
    new FusesPlugin({
      version: FuseVersion.V1,
      [FuseV1Options.RunAsNode]: false,
      [FuseV1Options.EnableCookieEncryption]: true,
      [FuseV1Options.EnableNodeOptionsEnvironmentVariable]: false,
      [FuseV1Options.EnableNodeCliInspectArguments]: false,
      [FuseV1Options.EnableEmbeddedAsarIntegrityValidation]: true,
      [FuseV1Options.OnlyLoadAppFromAsar]: true,
    }),
  ],
};

package.json

{
  "name": "lambda",
  "productName": "lambda",
  "version": "alpha-1.0.0",
  "main": "src/index.js",
  "scripts": {
    "start": "electron-forge start",
    "package": "electron-forge package",
    "make": "electron-forge make",
    "publish": "electron-forge publish",
    "lint": "echo \"No linting configured\""
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "@electron-forge/cli": "^7.4.0",
    "@electron-forge/maker-deb": "^7.4.0",
    "@electron-forge/maker-rpm": "^7.4.0",
    "@electron-forge/maker-squirrel": "^7.4.0",
    "@electron-forge/maker-zip": "^7.4.0",
    "@electron-forge/plugin-auto-unpack-natives": "^7.4.0",
    "@electron-forge/plugin-fuses": "^7.4.0",
    "@electron/fuses": "^1.8.0",
    "electron": "12.2.3",
    "tailwindcss": "^3.4.3"
  },
  "keywords": [],
  "author": "skyrxzz",
  "description": "something but not empty",
  "license": "MIT",
  "dependencies": {
    "electron-squirrel-startup": "^1.0.1",
    "gkm": "^0.2.0",
    "robotjs": "^0.6.0"
  }
}

Attempting to package the application by running yarn run package --platform win32 results in an exit code 1 error, which isn’t very helpful:

$ electron-forge package --platform win32
✔ Checking your system
  › Determining targets...
  ❯ Packaging for x64 on win32
    ✔ Copying files
    ⠸ Preparing native dependencies
    ⠸ Finalizing package
◼ Running postPackage hook
error Command failed with exit code 1.
info Visit https://yarnpkg.com/en/docs/cli/run for documentation about this command.

The error message doesn’t provide specific details about what went wrong during the packaging process, which is incredibly frustrating. Here’s how I went about debugging and resolving this issue.

Step-by-step Debugging Approach

1. Isolate the Problem Area: Given that the error occurs during the packaging step, I needed to isolate whether the issue lies in my configuration or some project dependency.

1. Inspect the Configuration: The forge.config.js file contains several settings and plugins. Ensuring these are all correctly configured and compatible with my Electron version is important. Here, the electron-fuses and @electron-forge/plugin-fuses are some notable configurations I’ve added.

1. Check the Project Dependencies: Occasionally, packaging errors are caused by binary dependencies that need prebuilding. This point made me consider issues like compatibility between electron, other dependencies, or necessary native modules.

1. Inspect the Console for Errors: Sometimes the error could stem from various post-package operations, including file operations or scripts executed late in the build. However, the console didn’t give me much to go on, so I looked deeper.

Potential Causes and Solutions

1. Compatibilities Between Plugins and Electron Version: Given that Electron 12.2.3 might not work seamlessly with the latest versions of electron-forge tools, ensuring that all versions match can resolve many issues. Updating or downgrading as needed often helps:

yarn add electron@latest
    yarn add @electron-forge/cli@latest

1. Native Module Issues: If your project relies on native modules like robotjs, they might require rebuilding for the specific Electron version. Ensure all native modules are correctly built:

yarn add electron-rebuild --dev
    npx electron-rebuild

1. Error Logs and Verbose Logging: Augmenting the error detail by setting a verbose log can sometimes help:

DEBUG=electron-forge:* yarn run package --platform win32

1. Review Post-package Scripts: If the errors are due to issues in any scripts or actions executed after the package, ensuring these processes are smooth could resolve the problem.

1. Electron Squirrel Startup Config: Sometimes, electron-squirrel-startup can introduce issues on Windows builds. Ensuring that it’s only executed in production packaging might help.

Final Thoughts

Most likely, the error you are encountering is due to compatibility issues between your electron, electron-forge, and possibly your native dependencies. Ensuring proper compatibility and resolving native module dependencies should be the first line of action. Using more verbose logging should also bring about clear indications of what went wrong if the above solutions don’t resolve the issue.

I hope this detailed breakdown helps you avoid the frustration I went through and gets you back on track with your Electron project!