Try the new native dependency checker (Help Wanted)

If your app uses native dependencies, chances are you have had to configure the externals array in vue.config.js. Included in v2.0.0-rc.3 is a new way of checking for native deps that should allow you to completely remove your externals array. It is currently disabled by default, but I would like to replace the old version by v2.0.0.

To test it, simply upgrade to v2.0.0-rc.3 and update your vue.config.js like so:

module.exports = {
  pluginOptions: {
    electronBuilder: {
      nodeIntegration: true,
-       externals: ['native-dep', ...]
+       experimentalNativeDepCheck: true
    }
  }
}

Now, run electron:serve and it should automatically detect native deps and compilation should succeed. If this works for you, please 👍 this issue. If not, please leave a comment with the native deps you are using.

[nklayman]

@romansp the old checker reports express as an external, while the new one doesn’t. Even though express doesn’t have any native code, it seems people recommend adding it as an external regardless, so you may want to add it to your externals array.

[nklayman]

Closing as the new native dep checker is enabled by default in v3 alpha. While there are some issues with it, it’s still much better than the old one and I don’t know of any ways to improve it as of now.