Electron Installer Redhat is a free, open source helper for developers who want to package an Electron desktop app as a Red Hat .rpm file. It is written for JavaScript and TypeScript developers who ship software to Fedora and other RPM-based Linux systems. The project lists Linux as its platform, so this page explains both what it does and how far it reaches on Windows.
Read the project status before you start. The last code update was on October 27, 2017, and there have been no code updates since, so treat the tool as unmaintained. It can still serve as a reference or a starting point for a simple packaging job, but test every package on a clean system. Current source and release notes are on the GitHub repository's Releases page.
What Is Electron Installer Redhat Used For?
Electron Installer Redhat solves one specific problem: getting an Electron app into the RPM format. Electron lets developers build desktop applications with web technologies such as JavaScript, HTML and CSS. Once the app is built, it still needs a package that a Linux system can recognize, track and remove cleanly.
Typical use cases include a small team shipping a dashboard or a utility to Fedora users, or a developer testing how an app installs on a Red Hat-style system before a wider release. In each case the packaging step is the same: take the built output, describe it in a package definition, and produce a .rpm file.
The tool does not write your app or manage its code. It sits at the end of the pipeline, so the quality of the result depends on the build you give it. Good packaging starts with a clean, tested application folder.
Who Is Electron Installer Redhat For?
This tool is aimed at developers and release engineers rather than everyday users. If you are looking for a ready-made application to run, a packaging helper sits earlier in the chain: it helps prepare someone's software in a clean form for installation.
The most natural audience is people who already maintain an Electron project and use Red Hat-based Linux systems. Someone comfortable with Node.js, command-line builds and basic package management will find the workflow familiar. Beginners without that background will likely need to learn the basics of RPM packaging first.
Windows users may still find it relevant when they need to reproduce a Linux package or study how Electron packaging works across platforms. Because the project is no longer updated, it fits best as a learning resource, a reference for an existing pipeline, or a starting point you plan to review and update yourself.
How Electron Packaging and RPM Files Work
An Electron app typically ships as a folder containing a runtime, your compiled code and resource files. Packaging tools bundle that folder into a format the operating system understands. On Red Hat-style systems, that format is RPM.
An RPM package is built from a spec file. The spec file describes the name, version, summary, files to install and dependencies. Fields such as Requires tell the package manager which other packages must be present. Building the package also needs rpmbuild, the standard tool that creates the .rpm archive from that description.
This is why the tool depends on rpmbuild. The helper prepares the metadata and calls the build step, while rpmbuild produces the final file. When something goes wrong, the error often appears in the spec file or in a missing dependency, so reading the build log closely is the fastest fix.
Key features
Red Hat package output
Scripted packaging from JavaScript
Spec file metadata
How to install Electron Installer Redhat on Windows
- 1
Get the program from the official source
Download only from the official website or the project's GitHub Releases page at github.com/brave/electron-installer-redhat. Choose the latest tagged version and avoid mirrors or archives from unknown sites.
- 2
Verify the download
Compare the SHA-256 checksum of the file with the value published alongside the release, or check a signature if one is provided. If the values do not match, delete the file and download it again.
- 3
Prepare rpmbuild
Install rpmbuild with your system package manager on a Fedora or other RPM-based machine. On Windows, rpmbuild is a Linux tool, so the usual approach is to work inside a Linux environment such as WSL.
-
Add the module to your project
Install the package into your Electron project with npm, then reference it from your build script with a require call, as shown in the how-to section below.
System requirements
- rpmbuild installed on the machine that builds the .rpm file
- A Linux environment, such as a Fedora system or WSL, for running rpmbuild
How to use Electron Installer Redhat
Electron Installer Redhat runs inside a build script rather than as a standalone window. The steps below describe the general workflow for an Electron project on a Linux build machine.
- Build your Electron app into a finished output folder, and confirm that it runs correctly.
- Load the module in your Node.js script with var installer = require('electron-installer-redhat').
- Set the options for your package, such as the app name, version and the Requires list for runtime packages.
- Call the packaging function from the script so it runs the rpmbuild step against your spec settings.
- Open the generated .rpm file on a test system, install it and confirm the app starts.
- Uninstall the package and reinstall it once more to check that removal is clean.
- Keep the script and settings in version control so the next build follows the same steps.
Pros & cons
- Free and open source, so the code can be read and reviewed
- Focused on one job: turning Electron builds into Red Hat packages
- Simple to call from JavaScript, which fits existing build scripts
- Public GitHub repository makes it easy to study how the packaging works
- No code updates since October 2017, so it may not match current Electron or RPM behavior
- Platform is listed as Linux, and Windows support needs checking before you rely on it
- Requires rpmbuild and some RPM knowledge to get good results
- Narrow scope: it covers the RPM format only, not other installer types
Is Electron Installer Redhat safe?
Treat this tool with caution. The project has had no code updates since 2017, so it may not include fixes for newer security issues in Electron or the packaging stack. Download only from the official website or the GitHub Releases page for the project. Before running it, compare the SHA-256 checksum of the file with the published value, or check the signature when one is provided. Never run packaging scripts from a random download or a forum post. Build in an isolated environment, review the script line by line, and do not give it access to signing keys or production credentials unless you have checked every step.
- Official source only. Download from github.com/brave/electron-installer-redhat. Ignore ads and lookalike domains.
- Check the SHA-256. Compare the installer hash with the value the developer publishes before running it.
- Never share your seed phrase. No developer, support agent or website — including CryptApps — will ever ask for it.
Alternatives
Electron Installer Redhat occupies a narrow niche: packaging Electron apps as RPM files. Most of the similar programs in this catalog are different kinds of tools. PSBT Commander focuses on building Bitcoin transaction files, Dumplings is an analysis tool for CoinJoin, and Subzero is about keeping bitcoin reserves offline. They solve crypto-related problems rather than distribution problems, so none of them replaces a packager. If your goal is to ship an app on Linux, this tool is closer to a build helper than to any of them. For a different output format, general-purpose Electron packaging tools may be a better match.
Specifications
- Price
- Free
- Type
- Open source
- License
- —
- Latest version
- v0.5.0
- Last update
- 27 Oct 2017
- Windows support
- Likely (builds for Windows; check releases)
- Source code
- github.com/brave/electron-installer-redhat
Frequently asked questions
Electron Installer Redhat is listed for Linux, and Windows builds may exist, but the project does not present itself as a Windows tool. Check the GitHub Releases page for current builds before planning a Windows workflow. In practice, you will likely build the RPM on a Linux machine or inside WSL.
It is free and open source, which lets you read the code, but its last update was in October 2017. Download it only from the official GitHub repository, verify the SHA-256 checksum, and test the package on an isolated machine before using it on real systems. Treat it as a reference tool rather than a fully maintained product.
Install it into your Electron project, load it in a Node.js build script, and call the packaging function with your app details. The tool then uses rpmbuild to produce a .rpm file. The how-to section on this page lists the steps in order.
Its main output is a Red Hat .rpm package, not a Windows installer. Other packaging tools are designed around Windows formats and may suit that workflow better. Use this tool when your target is Fedora or a related Linux distribution.
The project status shows no code updates since 2017, so it should be considered unmaintained. It can still work for simple packaging tasks, but you should test thoroughly and expect to resolve any issues yourself.
None of the programs in this catalog directly replaces an Electron-to-RPM packager, since the others cover Bitcoin transactions, CoinJoin analysis and offline storage. For packaging itself, look at other Electron packaging tools that generate RPM and other formats, and compare their maintenance activity before choosing.
Verdict
Electron Installer Redhat is a narrow, free, open source helper for packaging Electron apps as Red Hat .rpm files. It suits developers who already understand Linux packaging and want a small script-level tool. It is less suitable for beginners, for anyone who needs active maintenance, or for Windows users looking for a ready-made installer. Before adopting it, check the latest release on the official website or the GitHub Releases page and test the output on a clean system.