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Changelog

Source: NEWS.md

shinyelectron 0.2.0

This release grows shinyelectron from an R shinylive exporter into a general Shiny-to-desktop toolkit, adding Python apps, five runtime strategies, and multi-app suites.

Breaking changes

  • app_type now takes only "r-shiny", "py-shiny", or NULL (autodetected), and shinylive is a runtime_strategy rather than an app type. The old "r-shinylive" and "py-shinylive" values still work with a deprecation warning and will be removed in a future release.

New features

  • Python Shiny apps are supported alongside R. app_type autodetects "r-shiny" or "py-shiny" from appdir, so export(appdir, destdir) works with no other arguments.
  • runtime_strategy selects how an app runs, and all five strategies work with both languages: shinylive (the default; compiled to WebAssembly and run offline in the browser), bundled (embeds a portable R or Python runtime), system (uses an installed interpreter), auto-download (fetches the runtime on first launch), and container (runs in Docker or Podman).
  • Multi-app suites bundle several apps into one Electron shell with a launcher. An apps array in _shinyelectron.yml lists them, and each app can set its own runtime_strategy.
  • export() and build_electron_app() gain a sign argument for macOS signing and notarization and Windows Authenticode, driven by the usual CSC_* and APPLE_* environment variables.
  • enable_auto_updates(), disable_auto_updates(), and check_auto_update_status() manage electron-updater configuration.
  • install_r_portable(), install_python_standalone(), and install_nodejs() download and cache portable runtimes, and cache_dir(), cache_info(), and cache_remove() inspect and prune the cache.
  • dependencies.r.version, dependencies.python.version, and dependencies.electron.version pin the versions a build uses; each accepts null, "latest", or an exact version.
  • App dependencies are detected automatically for native, bundled, and container builds, from library() and require() calls for R and requirements.txt or pyproject.toml for Python.
  • A configurable lifecycle splash and preloader report startup progress, and a system tray and application menu are set through _shinyelectron.yml.
  • The Electron shell streams the renderer console (webR, Pyodide, and Shiny output) into the app log, so browser-side messages and errors appear alongside the main-process logs.
  • app_check() validates an app before building, wizard() generates a config interactively, show_config() prints the merged configuration, and available_examples() and example_app() browse the bundled demos.
  • app_dependencies() reports the R or Python packages a Shiny app or multi-app suite uses, which helps install an app’s dependencies before a shinylive build.
  • Apps can supply a Posit _brand.yml for theming.
  • Prebuilt demo installers are published for every strategy and platform, listed in the new Download Prebuilt Demos article.

Minor improvements and fixes

  • The runtime_strategy argument overrides a suite’s build.runtime_strategy for apps that set no per-app strategy, so a suite built as shinylive really is shinylive rather than falling back to the config default.
  • A _brand.yml that names palette colors (for example primary: plum) resolves those references before theming the shell.
  • Error screens allow selecting and copying the message and log details.
  • Building with the shinylive strategy checks that the app’s R packages are installed and names any that are missing, since shinylive::export() compiles the WebAssembly bundle from installed packages.
  • build_electron_app() refuses to overwrite protected directories such as ~, /, and R.home().
  • convert_shiny_to_shinylive() removes its temporary copy on every exit path.
  • export() cleans up partial output when a build fails, so a retry no longer needs overwrite = TRUE, for single apps and multi-app suites alike.
  • export() no longer aborts or deletes a finished build when a run_after or open_after step fails; those steps now only warn.
  • init_config() escapes app names so the generated YAML round-trips, and build.type may be omitted and autodetected.
  • run_electron_app() reports the real exit code and stderr on failure and returns NULL when interrupted.
  • sitrep_shinyelectron() also checks the Python shinylive CLI and shiny package.
  • Directory copying keeps consistent cross-platform semantics on Windows.
  • Python subprocesses spawn without LD_LIBRARY_PATH, fixing a Linux No module named shinylive error.
  • Portable runtimes extract with the system tar on macOS and Linux and bsdtar on Windows, handling archives R’s internal tar cannot read.
  • Native apps bind to an OS-assigned free port to avoid collisions, and native startup failures surface in the lifecycle splash.
  • The system strategy checks for R >= 4.4.0 or Python >= 3.9.0 and fails with an actionable message.
  • Invalid configuration values warn and fall back to defaults instead of aborting later in the build.
  • Configuration keys that were never read (splash.width, splash.height, preloader.enabled, lifecycle.splash_min_duration) are removed, and menu.template accepts only "default" and "minimal".
  • Downloaded runtimes are verified against upstream SHA-256 checksums before extraction.
  • Vignettes cover getting started, configuration, runtime strategies, multi-app suites, code signing, containers, security, and auto-updates.

shinyelectron 0.1.0

  • Initial release with r-shinylive support.
  • Export R Shiny apps as standalone Electron desktop applications via WebR.
  • Cross-platform builds for macOS, Windows, and Linux.
  • Node.js local installation and management.
  • Configuration via _shinyelectron.yml.
  • Automatic updates via electron-updater.