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Widget Build And Installer ​

How nwm build packages your widget and creates a self-contained installer.

Table of Contents ​

Build Command ​

Run from your widget project folder:

bash
nwm build

What nwm build Does ​

nwm build performs these steps:

  1. Validates required meta.json fields.
  2. Recreates dist/ from scratch.
  3. Copies Novadesk.exe into dist/ and renames it to <name>.exe.
  4. Copies your widget project into dist/Widgets/ (excluding dist/).
  5. Applies metadata and icon to <name>.exe.
  6. Generates an installer executable in dist/ using installer_stub.exe.

Output Structure ​

Typical output:

  • dist/
    • YourWidgetName.exe
    • setup.exe
    • Widgets/
      • index.js
      • ui/
        • script.ui.js
      • assets/
        • icon.ico
      • meta.json

setup.exe name depends on setup.setupName in meta.json.

Required meta.json Fields ​

nwm build fails if any of these are missing or empty:

Top-level:

  • name
  • version
  • author
  • description
  • icon

setup object:

  • setup.installDir
  • setup.startMenuFolder
  • setup.setupName
  • setup.setupIcon

setup Options ​

Supported installer options:

  • setup.createDesktopShortcut (boolean, default true)
  • setup.createStartupShortcut (boolean, default false)
  • setup.runOnStartup (boolean, default false)
  • setup.installDir (string, required)
  • setup.startMenuFolder (string, required)
  • setup.setupName (string, required)
  • setup.setupIcon (string, required)
  • setup.enableUninstall (boolean, default true)
  • setup.launchAfterInstall (boolean, default false)

Example:

json
{
  "setup": {
    "createDesktopShortcut": true,
    "createStartupShortcut": false,
    "runOnStartup": false,
    "installDir": "%ProgramFiles%\\MyWidget",
    "startMenuFolder": "MyWidget",
    "setupName": "MyWidgetSetup",
    "setupIcon": "assets/icon.ico",
    "enableUninstall": true,
    "launchAfterInstall": false
  }
}

Installer Name Rules ​

  • Installer output name comes from setup.setupName.
  • If .exe is missing, nwm appends it automatically.

Examples:

  • setupName: "setup" -> dist/setup.exe
  • setupName: "MyWidgetSetup" -> dist/MyWidgetSetup.exe
  • setupName: "MyWidgetSetup.exe" -> dist/MyWidgetSetup.exe

Installer Stub Behavior ​

nwm uses installer_stub.exe as the base executable for the installer.

Lookup order:

  1. Next to nwm.exe
  2. Parent directory fallback
  3. Fallback to nwm.exe (with warning) if stub is not found

Install-Time Behavior ​

When the generated installer runs:

  • Installs files to setup.installDir (environment variables are expanded).
  • Creates Start Menu shortcut in setup.startMenuFolder.
  • Optionally creates Desktop shortcut.
  • Optionally creates Startup shortcut (createStartupShortcut or runOnStartup).
  • Optionally creates Uninstall.exe and uninstall registry entry.

Notes ​

  • icon is used for the built app executable (YourWidgetName.exe).
  • setup.setupIcon is used for the installer executable.
  • Unknown extra keys in setup are ignored.
  • createStartupShortcut and runOnStartup currently result in the same behavior (Startup shortcut creation).
  • launchAfterInstall is carried in installer metadata but is not currently acted on by the installer runtime.