hydraulic-software / conveyor

Gradle plugin, user guide and discussion forums for Conveyor

Conveyor

Conveyor makes distributing desktop and command line apps as easy as shipping a web app. It's a tool not a service, it generates self-upgrading packages for Windows, macOS and Linux using each platform's native package formats without requiring you to have those operating systems.

➡️ Try installing an app that uses it

➡️ Get started!

➡️ Say hello via chat

➡️ Say hello using GitHub Discussions

This repository

This repo contains the parts of the product that are open source:

• The user guide.
• The Gradle plugin.
• A GitHub Action.

and you can find the code + package config for the Eton Notes sample app in a separate repository.

• Sophisticated software updates
  • Platform native package types and update systems, without any lockin.
  • Chrome-style silent background updates
  • Web-style synchronous update on launch
  • Advanced delta updates.
  • No code changes necessary.
• App framework integration:
  • Electron: simpler than Forge/Builder/Squirrel, generates ASAR files, can read package.json files.
  • JVM: bundles a jlink optimized JVM, custom native launchers, many optimizations and usability improvements for desktop apps.
  • Flutter: easily ship apps that share code with mobile.
• Excellent support for CI/CD:
  • Package and deploy directly for every platform you support from any Linux build agent, without needing Mac/Windows workers.
  • Automatic releasing to the Microsoft Store, web servers, S3 or GitHub releases
  • A GitHub Action
  • Support for cloud signing services and HSMs, eliminating the need for USB Windows signing keys.
• Easy and powerful code signing:
  • Can sign/notarize apps for every OS from any OS
  • Generates CSRs for easier purchasing from certificate authorities
  • Can store root keys in the macOS keychain for extra security
  • Handles keys of different formats
  • Self-signing and Microsoft Store support for reducing the cost of certificates
• Icon generation, rendering and format conversion
• Generates a download page for you
  • Auto-detects the user's OS and CPU architecture
  • "Big Green Button" download UX.
• Scaffold projects for native C++, Electron, JavaFX (JVM) and Jetpack Compose Desktop (JVM)
• Pierce the abstraction! Over 120 different settings let you take control of every OS specific detail, or ignore them to accept the smart defaults.

Helping out

If you'd like to:

• Contribute improvements to the documentation or Gradle plugin, just open up a pull request.
• Get help privately, email us.
• Ask questions, or get help publicly, use GitHub discussions or the chat room.