How to Identify Installer Type and Extract It without Installing, Part 4: Electron Installer

Electron is a framework based on Chromium browser so we can develop desktop application just like a webmaster crafting a website. We can use familiar tools like JavaScript, HTML, and CSS; and build cross-platform—Windows, macOS, or GNU/Linux—desktop application easier.

   The main drawback is that there is a significant file size overhead—about the size of a typical Chromium browser. So, don't expect a slim application when it's based on Electron.

How to Extract Electron Files

It is usually packed in .exe extension, and can be easily extracted with 7-Zip.

   Let's do an example this time with Boostnote installer, boostnote-win-0.8.19.exe.

1. Open the installer with 7-Zip "Open archive",
   
2. This is a typical Electron installer. The most important one is the .nupkg package, usually the one with the biggest size, in this example boost-0.8.19-full.nupkg,
   
3. Let's "Open inside" boost-0.8.19-full.nupkg,
   
4. Browse into lib folder and we'll find our bounty, net45 folder,
   
   
5. As you can see here, the net45 folder contains the main application binaries. Extract the whole net45 folder then rename it,
   Important: Do not just "Select All" the net45 folder contents and extract them. We found out in Discord for example, some of the extracted files might corrupt.

That's the end of our extraction series for now, if you have any suggestions just tweet us!

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