App won't start after unzipping on Mac Catalina

• Version: 22.4.0

• Target: Mac / Zip

Description:

After building an electron app for macOS with Zip target, it won’t open after unzipping it by default Archive Utility app on Catalina.

Steps to reproduce:

1. Build an electron app with the next build config:

"build": {
    "mac": {
      "target": "zip",
      "icon": "./images/electron-icon-mac.icns",
      "category": "Development",
      "identity": null,
      "sign": false
    }
}

1. Run build command electron-builder -m --x64.

2. Unzip created zip on Mac (Catalina 10.15) using Archive Utility app.

3. Try to open the unzipped .app file.

Actual result:

Can’t open .app file.

Notes:

1. If unzip app with any other archiver as Better Zip or The Unarchiver, the app file works. But most MacOS users use the default Archive Utility app, so this is a major issue.

2. As I have noticed the problem occurs because of bad symlinks for Electron Framework, Libraries, and Resources in my_electron_app.app/Contents/Frameworks/Electron Framework.framework

Not working version:

Working version:

1. Also, I tried to remove line 65 in my node_modules/app-builder-lib here: https://github.com/electron-userland/electron-builder/blob/master/packages/app-builder-lib/src/targets/ArchiveTarget.ts#L65

if (this.isWriteUpdateInfo && format === "zip") {
    // updateInfo = await (0, _differentialUpdateInfoBuilder().appendBlockmap)(artifactPath);
}

After I removed that line and built the app (zip), the symlinks were created correctly and the app started successfully.

[alectrocute]

Still relevant.

[gerbus]

@kjg this is the only workaround so far: https://github.com/electron-userland/electron-builder/issues/4299#issuecomment-557316888