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What is the difference between the 2 electron-builder targets for Mac OS X: mac vs mas? I understand that mas is for distribution in the Mac App Store, and mac is for distribution outside of it.

  1. Is the mas package able to auto-update when a new version is published as a Github release? Or must the update be done through the Mac App Store?

  2. How do you decide which mac targets to use, do they all have a specific use case?

    • pkg
    • dmg
    • zip

Thank you for clearing up my confusion!

Athena Wisdom
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1 Answers1

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Interesting Question!!.

  1. Is the mas package able to auto-update when a new version is published as a Github release? Or must the update be done through the Mac App Store?
    • No mas is not able to auto update coz, it is targeted for the Application Store. We need to manually update it in the app store
  2. How do you decide which mac targets to use, do they all have a specific use case? pkg / dmg /zip
    • DMG is the format where app is installed in OS level i.e it can be accessed through any user. you simple drag and drop the app is the application folder
    • PKG is like a app installer, where there are steps of installation. Main advantage of PKG is that it gives us option to install the app at a user level which means app can be install for a specific user only just like window OS. Example in the picture below. enter image description here
raman
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  • Great insight! How will you decide whether to distribute your app using pkg, dmg, or both? – Nyxynyx Aug 07 '19 at 16:15
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    its based on how we are using the machine. If the machine we are using is solely for one person like a personal mac, i would recommended **DMG** because it give us a less hassle if there are some update for the App. And If the machine are being used by multiple people like in case of educational institute or libraries. It better to go with **PKG** for user level installation since the app will have access by that particular user only – raman Aug 07 '19 at 16:21
  • Where does the `.pkg` install the application to? After installing for current user only, I can find the app using Spotlight Search, but cannot find it in the **Applications** folder nor in the current user's home directory – Athena Wisdom Aug 07 '19 at 17:40
  • @AthenaWisdom it should be in `cd ~/Applications`. – raman Aug 07 '19 at 17:50
  • Thank you @raman, can you provide some insight on windows platform as well? exe vs msi? I am using electron-builder for packaging, finding difficulties in choosing right target. If you can redirect me to the link, which gives pros & cons, it will be great help. – Shoib Mohammed A Feb 15 '21 at 04:57