Portable electron app is extracted in a different folder every time it opens; Can't use Auto-Launch !

[GeorgeFlorian]

I am building an app in which I am trying to use Auto-Launch, but I can't, because every time the app runs, it gets unpacked in a different temporary folder.

I building a portable app using these settings:

{
  "name": "automat-parcare-kiosk",
  "private": true,
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "type": "module",
  "main": "electron/main.js",
  "build": {
    "electronVersion": "32.1.2",
    "appId": "com.ceva.automat-plata-parcare",
    "productName": "Ceva - Automat Plata Parcare",
    "directories": {
      "output": "dist_electron",
      "buildResources": "build"
    },
    "files": [
      "dist/**/*",
      "electron/**/*",
      "build/**/*"
    ],
    "win": {
      "target": "portable",
      "icon": "build/m_icon.ico",
      "artifactName": "Ceva-Automat-Plata-Parcare-${version}.exe"
    }
  },

I am copying it to Desktop and running it from Desktop, so why doesn't it point to it existing on Desktop ?

Why is a portable app getting "unpacked" every time it runs ? Why isn't it just an exe that just runs ?

Here are some logs:

// Log path using app.getAppPath() - the path to the app's source or packaged directory
log.info('app.getAppPath:', app.getAppPath());

// Log path using process.execPath - the path to the Electron executable
log.info('process.execPath:', process.execPath);

// Log path using process.argv[0] - the path to the Electron executable
log.info('process.argv[0]:', process.argv[0]);

// Log path using __dirname - the directory of the current executing script
log.info('__dirname:', __dirname);

// Log path using app.getPath('userData') - the path to the user data directory
log.info('app.getPath("userData"):', app.getPath('userData'));

// Log a manually resolved path (useful for testing)
log.info('Manually resolved path (assuming EXE name):', path.join(app.getAppPath(), 'Ceva-Automat-Plata-Parcare-1.0.0.exe'));

// Example: Resolving paths dynamically to see where the executable might be
log.info('Resolved path to executable (if running from package):', path.resolve(app.getAppPath(), 'Ceva-Automat-Plata-Parcare-1.0.0.exe'));

// Use app.getPath('exe') to get the location of the current executable on Windows (not applicable on Linux/macOS)
if (process.platform === 'win32') {
  log.info('app.getPath("exe") (Windows only):', app.getPath('exe'));
}

[2024-12-12 13:33:44.127] [info]  app.getAppPath: C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Temp\2q7AFnpuMktS0Sw4jB8vcOd3hrA\resources\app.asar
[2024-12-12 13:33:44.129] [info]  process.execPath: C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Temp\2q7AFnpuMktS0Sw4jB8vcOd3hrA\Ceva - Automat Plata Parcare.exe
[2024-12-12 13:33:44.130] [info]  process.argv[0]: C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Temp\2q7AFnpuMktS0Sw4jB8vcOd3hrA\Ceva - Automat Plata Parcare.exe
[2024-12-12 13:33:44.132] [info]  __dirname: C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Temp\2q7AFnpuMktS0Sw4jB8vcOd3hrA\resources\app.asar\electron
[2024-12-12 13:33:44.133] [info]  app.getPath("userData"): C:\Users\user\AppData\Roaming\automat-parcare-kiosk
[2024-12-12 13:33:44.135] [info]  Manually resolved path (assuming EXE name): C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Temp\2q7AFnpuMktS0Sw4jB8vcOd3hrA\resources\app.asar\Ceva-Automat-Plata-Parcare-1.0.0.exe
[2024-12-12 13:33:44.136] [info]  Resolved path to executable (if running from package): C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Temp\2q7AFnpuMktS0Sw4jB8vcOd3hrA\resources\app.asar\Ceva-Automat-Plata-Parcare-1.0.0.exe
[2024-12-12 13:33:44.138] [info]  app.getPath("exe") (Windows only): C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Temp\2q7AFnpuMktS0Sw4jB8vcOd3hrA\Ceva - Automat Plata Parcare.exe
[2024-12-12 13:33:44.599] [info]  App will auto-start when Windows starts

[mmaietta]

This is correct behavior, portable app's are expected to be ephemeral, so their extraction/runtime dir is unique - this also allows multiple instances of the app to run. If you'd like to reuse the same directory, there is a config property that you can use to have a consistent string: https://www.electron.build/electron-builder.interface.portableoptions#unpackdirname