Electron Snap Installer

5.2.0 verified Sat Apr 25 auth: no javascript

Builds Snap packages for Electron applications that have already been bundled with electron-packager. Current stable version is 5.2.0, released in 2021 with dependency reductions, TypeScript definitions, and a default confinement change from classic to strict. Requires Node 10+ and snapcraft. Key differentiators: integrates with Electron Forge, autodetects base snap option, and handles Electron sandbox features for Snap confinement.

Common errors

error Error: spawn snapcraft ENOENT ↓

cause snapcraft is not installed or not in PATH

fix

Install snapcraft: sudo snap install snapcraft --classic

error Error: Invalid snap name: my.app (invalid characters) ↓

cause Snap names must be lowercase alphanumeric with hyphens

fix

Ensure the 'name' option uses only [a-z0-9-]

error TypeError: installer is not a function ↓

cause Using CommonJS require on an ESM-only module

fix

Use import or dynamic import: const installer = (await import('electron-installer-snap')).default

error Error: The 'src' directory does not exist: /path/to/nonexistent ↓

cause Specified src path is incorrect or missing

fix

Run electron-packager first and provide the correct output directory

Warnings

breaking The default confinement has changed from 'classic' to 'strict' in v5.2.0. ↓

fix Explicitly set confinement to 'classic' if your app requires classic confinement, or adjust your app to work under strict confinement.

breaking Callback-style support was removed in v4.0.0. ↓

fix Use async/await or util.callbackify() to convert the promise-based API.

gotcha Node.js 10 is the minimum required version; Node.js 8 support was dropped in v5.0.0. ↓

fix Ensure your Node.js version is >= 10.

deprecated The 'snapcraft' command-line tool must be installed separately and may not be in PATH. ↓

fix Install snapcraft (e.g., 'sudo snap install snapcraft --classic') and ensure it's available, or specify its path via the 'snapcraft' option.

gotcha EINVAL errors often occur when the 'src' path points to an invalid or incomplete Electron app directory. ↓

fix Verify that 'src' contains the full electron-packager output (with app binary, resources, etc.).

gotcha Snap builds may fail if the 'base' option is not set correctly for your Electron version. ↓

fix Set the 'base' option (e.g., 'core18', 'core20') explicitly or rely on autodetection; check snapcraft requirements.

Install

npm install electron-installer-snap

yarn add electron-installer-snap

pnpm add electron-installer-snap

Imports

default

wrong

const installer = require('electron-installer-snap')

correct

import installer from 'electron-installer-snap'

ESM-only since v4; use dynamic import or transpile for CJS

createApp
```
import { createApp } from 'electron-installer-snap'
```
Named export for advanced use; available since v5 with TypeScript types

SnapcraftConfig

wrong

import { SnapcraftConfig } from 'electron-installer-snap'

correct

import type { SnapcraftConfig } from 'electron-installer-snap'

TypeScript-only interface, not a runtime export

Quickstart

Shows how to use the JavaScript API with async/await to create a Snap package from an electron-packager output directory.

import installer from 'electron-installer-snap';

const options = {
  src: 'out/myappname-linux-x64',
  dest: 'dist/',
  arch: 'amd64',
  name: 'myapp',
  productName: 'My App',
  version: '1.0.0',
  description: 'My Electron App',
  summary: 'A snap of My App',
  license: 'Apache-2.0',
  base: 'core18',
  confinement: 'strict',
  grade: 'stable',
  assumes: ['snapd2.43'],
  plugs: ['home', 'x11', 'wayland', 'unity7', 'pulseaudio', 'opengl'],
  slots: [],
  stages: ['-usr/share/man'],
  after: [],
  electronVersion: '11.0.0',
  snapcraft: '/snap/bin/snapcraft',
  template: '/path/to/template.snapcraft.yaml',
};

async function buildSnap() {
  try {
    await installer(options);
    console.log('Snap package created successfully');
  } catch (err) {
    console.error('Snap creation failed:', err);
  }
}

buildSnap();