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Native module "fswin" not working on Windows (typescript boilerplate)

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Assessment

Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Newbie friendliness
35/100
Issue type
Bug
Clarity
Mostly clear
Activity status
Stale
Tech stack
electron, node.js, typescript
Domain
build-system, desktop

Research direction

Start in examples/examples/typescript, especially index.tsx, and reproduce the failure with yarn dev after adding fswin. Compare the TypeScript example with the normal JavaScript ERB version and inspect the packaging or bundling path implicated by the ELECTRON_ASAR.js error. Done means fswin loads successfully in development and in the packaged app on Windows.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Description

Prerequisites

  • Using yarn
  • Using node 10.x
  • Using an up-to-date master branch
  • Using latest version of devtools. See wiki for howto update
  • Link to stacktrace in a Gist (for bugs)
  • For issue in production release, devtools output of DEBUG_PROD=true yarn build && yarn start
  • Tried solutions mentioned in #400

Expected Behavior

I can add and use the native module fswin when using the typescript boilerplate.

Current Behavior

I just don't get the module fswin to work with the typescript example of ERB; the app does not load and the following error in ELECTRON_ASAR.js:160 is written into the DevTools console:

Uncaught Error: The specified module could not be found.
\\?\D:\development\workspace\test-ts-fswin-error\node_modules\fswin\electron\x64\fswin.node
    at process.module.(anonymous function) [as dlopen] (ELECTRON_ASAR.js:160:31)
    at Object.Module._extensions..node (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:722)
    at Object.module.(anonymous function) [as .node] (ELECTRON_ASAR.js:160:31)
    at Module.load (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:602)
    at tryModuleLoad (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:541)
    at Function.Module._load (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:533)
    at Module.require (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:640)
    at require (internal/modules/cjs/helpers.js:20)
    at Object.<anonymous> (D:\development\workspace\test-ts-fswin-error\node_modules\fswin\index.js:3)
    at Object.<anonymous> (D:\development\workspace\test-ts-fswin-error\node_modules\fswin\index.js:7)

The fswin.node file exist in the folder reported by the error. As I read in various github issues, such an error can occur even if the .node file exists if the native module did not get compiled correctly, due to DLLs not present on the working machine.

But since I can use the module with pure NodeJS, and also with the normal JS version of ERB (tested with ae89980), I am sure that the module got compiled correctly.

It seems to me like the module not getting bundled correctly when using your typescript boilerplate example.

Since I could not figure out the problem, I would be glad if you could help me!

Further notes:

  • I tried both the traditional require and also the ES6 import syntax, without success.
  • The error also occurs when using UPGRADE_EXTENSIONS=1 yarn dev, or yarn package and starting the packaged app.

Steps to Reproduce (for bugs)

  1. git clone https://github.com/electron-react-boilerplate/examples

  2. cd examples/examples/typescript

  3. yarn

  4. yarn add fswin

  5. for testing purposes, add the following lines to index.tsx:

...
import { configureStore, history } from './store/configureStore';
import './app.global.css';

const fswin = require('fswin'); // ADDED
console.log(fswin); // ADDED

const store = configureStore();
...
  1. yarn dev --> Error is shown in the DevTools console, counter app is not loaded

erb-typescript-fswin-error

Context

I am working with the file system on windows and want to know if files are hidden or system-files. Since both node and electron don't expose APIs for that, I have to use a native module, and fswin seems to be a good choice for that.
As you can see with the steps to reproduce, no changes in the boilerplate were made.

Your Environment

  • Node version : 10.15.1
  • Yarn version : 1.13.0
  • Version or Branch used : 90294db
  • Operating System and version : Windows 10 64-bit
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Forks
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