Project electron is not create

[Rubens_Junior]

Wappler Version : v7.1.2
Operating System : Windows 11
Server Model: Local
Database Type: none
Hosting Type: none

Expected behavior

When creating a new project with the Bootstrap + Capacitor template, I expect Wappler to generate the full structure needed for a desktop application and allow me to add Electron under the Platform tab. I also expect the project to correctly use Capacitor, as selected during setup — not Cordova.

Actual behavior

• The project is missing parts of the expected structure for a desktop app.
• The option to add Electron is not available in the Platform tab.
• Despite selecting Capacitor, the project ends up using the Cordova framework.

How to reproduce

1. Create a new Wappler project.
2. Choose the Bootstrap with Capacitor option.
3. Finish the setup and open the project.
4. Go to the Platform tab — the Electron option is not available.
5. Check the framework being added — Cordova is included instead of Capacitor.

[Rubens_Junior]

anyone to help?

[Cheese]

Hi Rubens,
The Team are just finishing up their Summer break and should be back to answer your questions over the next few days. I've just set-up a test Project selecting Desktop / Bootstrap and then added the Electron Platform and all worked including Capacitor being installed and set as the runtime for the Project. My output is below:

---

Updated Node Package: @capacitor/core ^5.7.8

Installing Node Packages...

added 2 packages, and audited 3 packages in 1s

found 0 vulnerabilities
Copy files for capacitor_core
Node Packages Installed Successfully!
Copy file capacitor.js
Copy file capacitor.js.map
Linux Homebrew is correctly installed.

Checking NodeJS installation and version...
v20.18.1
NodeJS is correctly installed.

Installing Capacitor ...

added 107 packages, and audited 110 packages in 2s

19 packages are looking for funding
run npm fund for details

found 0 vulnerabilities
Copy files for capacitor_core

Checking NodeJS installation and version...
v20.18.1
NodeJS is correctly installed.

Checking Capacitor installation and version...
7.4.2
Capacitor is correctly installed.

System check successful!
If you are experiencing some build errors please make sure to check the Platform Guide for electron:

Electron

Added Node Package: @capacitor-community/electron *

Installing Node Packages...

added 26 packages, and audited 136 packages in 3s

found 0 vulnerabilities

Adding electron to your project ...
Node Packages Installed Successfully!

• Adding Electron platform
• Adding Electron platform: start
  Adding Electron platform: start
• Adding Electron platform: extracting template
  Adding Electron platform: extracting template
• Adding Electron platform: copying capacitor config file
  Adding Electron platform: copying capacitor config file
• Adding Electron platform: setting up electron project
  Adding Electron platform: setting up electron project
• Adding Electron platform: installing npm modules
  Adding Electron platform: installing npm modules
  Adding Electron platform: completed in 17.92s
• Copying Web App to Electron platform
• Copying Web App to Electron platform: start
  Copying Web App to Electron platform: start
• Copying Web App to Electron platform: Copying /home/anon/Documents/Projects/testElectron/www into /home/anon/Documents/Projects/testElectron/electron/app
  Copying Web App to Electron platform: Copying /home/anon/Documents/Projects/testElectron/www into /home/anon/Documents/Projects/testElectron/electron/app
  Copying Web App to Electron platform: completed in 2.06ms
• Updating Electron plugins
• Updating Electron plugins: start
  Updating Electron plugins: start
• Updating Electron plugins: searching for plugins
  Updating Electron plugins: searching for plugins
• Updating Electron plugins: generating electron-plugins.js
  Updating Electron plugins: generating electron-plugins.js
  Updating Electron plugins: completed in 1.40ms
  electron added successfully!
  Copy files for capacitor_core

---

I can not replicate your issue specifically. All seems to be working fine here on 7.1.2 Ubuntu.

[Rubens_Junior]

Hello Cheese, thank you for your response.

To give you more context: I reinstalled Wappler, and on the first attempt to create a new desktop project, everything worked as expected — the Electron platform was installed correctly, and all necessary packages were set up automatically.

However, when I try to create a second desktop project (without reinstalling Wappler again), the issue comes back. The Electron platform does not get installed, and the expected dependencies/packages that usually appear during a fresh project setup are simply missing.

In short, only the first project after a clean Wappler installation behaves correctly. From the second project onward, the environment is incomplete and unusable for desktop development unless I reinstall Wappler again.

Let me know if you need any logs or further details to investigate this behavior.

[Cheese]

All seems to work on a second Project. Still experiencing this same bug from many versions ago though.

Building your project for electron ...
electron sync successfully!

> helloworld@1.0.0 build
> tsc && electron-rebuild

error TS2688: Cannot find type definition file for 'minimatch'.
  The file is in the program because:
    Entry point for implicit type library 'minimatch'


Found 1 error.

Build error 2: 
> helloworld@1.0.0 build
> tsc && electron-rebuild

error TS2688: Cannot find type definition file for 'minimatch'.
  The file is in the program because:
    Entry point for implicit type library 'minimatch'


Found 1 error.


Error building your project for electron!

This goes way back and would have thought should have been resolved. I can't find the Bug Report on it however. @patrick

Despite then installing minimatch:

anon@anon:~/Documents/Projects/electronTest$ npm install --save-dev @types/minimatch
npm WARN deprecated @types/minimatch@6.0.0: This is a stub types definition. minimatch provides its own type definitions, so you do not need this installed.

added 1 package, and audited 137 packages in 570ms

29 packages are looking for funding
  run `npm fund` for details

found 0 vulnerabilities

package.json

{
  "name": "wappler_desktop_app",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "dependencies": {
    "@capacitor-community/electron": "*",
    "@capacitor/core": "^5.7.8"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "@capacitor/cli": "^7.4.2",
    "@types/minimatch": "^6.0.0"
  },
  "author": "electron <electron@example.com>"
}

Run Gemini CLI in the terminal within the Project and after a few minutes:

Maybe that helps debug the issue @patrick?

[Cheese]

Build success but took a few attempts pasting errors in to Gemini CLI and building again several times (each time piping the errors to Gemini).

Sorry @Rubens_Junior went off on a tangent fixing the build process! But couldn't replicate your issue though (instead stumbled on some others in the process).

You can see Capacitor is installed correctly though. Had no issues there.

[Cheese]

@Rubens_Junior

Here is a walkthrough on how to install the Gemini CLI (FREE to use all you need is a GMail account). Very useful for inline fixes (can use in the Wappler Terminal or any Terminal) and very competent indeed (makes Chat GPT Modals feel ten years old). Uses Googles Gemini 2.5 Pro Modal...

Opencode and Gemini CLI integrations?

You will need to install Node and then install Gemini CLI. Instructions below for Windows, Linux, and Mac: Windows Prerequisites Windows 10 (21H2+) or Windows 11 PowerShell 5.1+ or Windows Terminal Node.js ≥18 LTS and npm ≥9 Admin rights (for global installs) reddit.com+12gemini-cli.blog+12medium.com+12 Install Options Quick trial (no install): powershell CopyEdit npx https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli Global install (recommended): powershell CopyEdit npm inst…

[Rubens_Junior]

Some of the issues you mentioned I was able to solve with the help of GPT. However, there’s a behavior I still can’t fully explain.

This morning, I tried creating a new desktop project again and, surprisingly, everything worked correctly. The option to add Electron appeared normally in the bottom left corner, and Capacitor was automatically added to the project as expected.

It’s not necessarily an error — it’s as if Wappler, in some cases, simply doesn’t install everything needed for a new project with Electron during creation. In other words, the behavior seems to be intermittent, which makes it difficult to pinpoint the exact cause.

[Rubens_Junior]

I noticed something that might help clarify the issue.

I tried creating a second project just now for testing. I closed all open files in Wappler, restarted the app, and then created the project — but it was created without Capacitor, without installing the required packages, and without showing the usual modal asking whether I want to install them. The project ended up incomplete.

Then I opened an existing project, and from there, I created a new one — and everything worked perfectly.

I think I’ll record a short video to show you exactly what’s happening. It might help to visualize the problem more clearly.

[Cheese]

@Rubens_Junior

I think I’ll record a short video to show you exactly what’s happening. It might help to visualize the problem more clearly.

Sounds like a good idea and then I can try to replicate it.