Creating Installers

Overview

Create professional installers for your Wails application on all platforms.

Platform Installers

Windows

NSIS Installer

# Install NSIS
# Download from: https://nsis.sourceforge.io/

# Create installer script (installer.nsi)
makensis installer.nsi

installer.nsi:

!define APPNAME "MyApp"
!define VERSION "1.0.0"

Name "${APPNAME}"
OutFile "MyApp-Setup.exe"
InstallDir "$PROGRAMFILES\${APPNAME}"

Section "Install"
    SetOutPath "$INSTDIR"
    File "build\bin\myapp.exe"
    CreateShortcut "$DESKTOP\${APPNAME}.lnk" "$INSTDIR\myapp.exe"
SectionEnd

WiX Toolset

Alternative for MSI installers.

macOS

DMG Creation

# Create DMG
hdiutil create -volname "MyApp" -srcfolder bin/MyApp.app -ov -format UDZO MyApp.dmg

Code Signing

# Sign application
codesign --deep --force --verify --verbose --sign "Developer ID" MyApp.app

# Notarize
xcrun notarytool submit MyApp.dmg --apple-id "email" --password "app-password"

App Store

Use Xcode for App Store distribution.

Linux

DEB Package

# Create package structure
mkdir -p myapp_1.0.0/DEBIAN
mkdir -p myapp_1.0.0/usr/bin

# Copy binary
cp bin/myapp myapp_1.0.0/usr/bin/

# Create control file
cat > myapp_1.0.0/DEBIAN/control << EOF
Package: myapp
Version: 1.0.0
Architecture: amd64
Maintainer: Your Name
Description: My Application
EOF

# Build package
dpkg-deb --build myapp_1.0.0

RPM Package

Use rpmbuild for RPM-based distributions.

AppImage

# Use appimagetool
appimagetool myapp.AppDir

Automated Packaging

Using GoReleaser

.goreleaser.yml

project_name: myapp

builds:
  - binary: myapp
    goos:
      - windows
      - darwin
      - linux
    goarch:
      - amd64
      - arm64

archives:
  - format: zip
    name_template: "{{ .ProjectName }}_{{ .Version }}_{{ .Os }}_{{ .Arch }}"

nfpms:
  - formats:
      - deb
      - rpm
    vendor: Your Company
    homepage: https://example.com
    description: My Application

Best Practices

✅ Do

• Code sign on all platforms
• Include version information
• Create uninstallers
• Test installation process
• Provide clear documentation

❌ Don’t

• Don’t skip code signing
• Don’t forget file associations
• Don’t hardcode paths
• Don’t skip testing

Next Steps

• In-App Updater - Add self-updates to your app
• Cross-Platform Building - Build for multiple platforms