Programmatic API

The package exposes the same core operations used by its CLI. This API is useful for advanced integrations and test harnesses; most applications should start with the CLI.

defineConfig

Adds type inference to an Electron-aware Vite+ configuration.

import { defineConfig } from "electron-vite-plus";

export default defineConfig(({ mode }) => ({
  electron: {
    main: { entry: "src/main/index.ts" },
    renderer: { root: "src/renderer" },
  },
  define: {
    __APP_MODE__: JSON.stringify(mode),
  },
}));

buildApp(options?)

Loads the configuration in build mode, resolves target configs, and builds every enabled target.

import { buildApp } from "electron-vite-plus";

await buildApp({
  root: "./apps/desktop",
  mode: "production",
  outDir: "out",
});

startDevServer(options?, hooks?)

Starts the full development lifecycle and returns a handle with the renderer URL and an asynchronous close() method.

import { startDevServer } from "electron-vite-plus";

const server = await startDevServer({ port: 5174 });
console.log(server.rendererUrl);

await server.close();

Advanced integrations can provide hooks for custom Electron process creation and main/preload rebuild notifications.

previewApp(options?)

Builds unless skipBuild is enabled, launches Electron, waits for it to exit, and resolves to the process exit code.

import { previewApp } from "electron-vite-plus";

const code = await previewApp({
  skipBuild: true,
  electronArgs: ["--enable-logging"],
});

Configuration helpers

loadElectronConfig(options?, command?) resolves the Vite file and Electron block. createTargetConfigs(config) expands that resolved model into main, preload, and renderer Vite configurations.

The package also exports its public TypeScript interfaces, including ElectronOptions, ElectronProcessConfig, DevOptions, PreviewOptions, and ResolvedElectronConfig.

Alpha API

Programmatic exports are available, but their stability is not yet guaranteed during the Alpha line. Prefer the documented CLI where possible.