Keep specific folders after update

[ribeirogab]

• Electron-Builder Version: 24.6.4

• Node Version: 20.10.0

• Electron Version: 26.2.1
• Electron Type (current, beta, nightly): current

• Target: Windows

Related issues:

• Keep folders after update #7292
• files are deleted after update #2181

I would like to understand why all folders and files are excluded on automatic update.

I have a use case where I need to maintain a specific folder that is in the application directory. This folder is downloaded at run time and is of considerable size, making it impossible to download every time the application is opened.

NOTE: I cannot save to AppData or another persistent directory as I give the user the option to choose the installation directory.

Thanks!

[ribeirogab]

Workaround from #2181 (comment)

Use NIS script to create a customRemoveFiles macro, where when it is an update it will ignore the deletion:

build/installer.nsh:

!macro preInit
${ifNot} ${isUpdated}
	SetRegView 64
	WriteRegExpandStr HKLM "${INSTALL_REGISTRY_KEY}" InstallLocation "C:\MyApp"
	WriteRegExpandStr HKCU "${INSTALL_REGISTRY_KEY}" InstallLocation "C:\MyApp"
	SetRegView 32
	WriteRegExpandStr HKLM "${INSTALL_REGISTRY_KEY}" InstallLocation "C:\MyApp"
	WriteRegExpandStr HKCU "${INSTALL_REGISTRY_KEY}" InstallLocation "C:\MyApp"
${endIf}
!macroend

!macro customRemoveFiles
${if} ${isUpdated}
  !insertmacro quitSuccess
${else}
  RMDir /r $INSTDIR
${endIf}
!macroend

electron-builder (package.json in my case):

{
  "build": {
    "nsis": {
      "allowToChangeInstallationDirectory": true,
      "createDesktopShortcut": true,
      "oneClick": false,
      "license": "license.txt",
      "include": "build/installer.nsh"
    }
  }
}

DISCLAIMER: I don't know if this could have a negative impact on the application.

[qkrooz]

Hello!

Where do you specify the folder to not be deleted?

[github-actions]

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