2cfe88578b
* Remove hak * Remove dockerbuild * Refactor to support new @matrix-org/seshat * Cleanup workflows * Update windows requirements * Restore dockerbuild * Reduce size of doc * lint * clear up unused stuff * bump tests * another package update
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Native Node Modules
For some features, the desktop version of Element can make use of native Node modules. These allow Element to integrate with the desktop in ways that a browser cannot.
Currently the only native module is Seshat, which adds support for local event indexing and full text search in E2E encrypted rooms.
Prebuilt binaries
Seshat is consumed via the @matrix-org/seshat
npm package, which ships prebuilt binaries for every platform Element Desktop supports as
per-platform optionalDependencies:
| Platform | Architectures | SQLCipher |
|---|---|---|
| Linux | x64, arm64 | static |
| macOS | x64, arm64 | static |
| Windows | x64, arm64 | static |
pnpm only installs the binary matching the machine running the install. Building for
another architecture (for example a Windows arm64 package on an x64 machine, or the macOS
universal package) needs pnpm to install the extra binaries too. This is done by adding a
supportedArchitectures block to
pnpm-workspace.yaml before running pnpm install, for example for a macOS universal build:
supportedArchitectures:
os: [current] # Assuming you are on "darwin"
cpu: [x64, arm64]
The CI workflows do this automatically. The electron-builder configuration prunes binaries for other platforms and architectures from the packaged app, so only the ones needed by the target end up in the package.
Verifying a Linux package
The Linux CI workflow checks every .node file in the packaged app with
apps/desktop/scripts/glibc-check.sh to ensure it does not require a newer glibc than
our oldest supported distribution ships. If you upgrade Seshat and this check fails,
the MAX_GLIBC value in .github/workflows/build_desktop_linux.yaml documents the current ceiling.
Building from source
Should you need to build Seshat yourself, for example for an unsupported platform or to
link against the system SQLCipher, follow the instructions in the
Seshat repository
and use pnpm link to substitute the resulting package for @matrix-org/seshat.