Electron is a framework for developing cross-platform desktop applications with web technologies (JavaScript, HTML and CSS), essentially packaging web apps into native desktop apps that look and behave consistently across operating systems. The infrastructure (back-end) is coded in
Node.js, and the interface (front-end) is built on
Chromium tools, the open source part of
Google Chrome. It was developed by
GitHub in 2013 and was originally named
Atom Shell in reference to the
Atom editor from whom it originated.
The framework has gained significant traction in a relatively short period of time, but it also has some weaknesses: Some
Electron apps are slower compared to their native counterparts. Additionally, some have reported absurd CPU usage with Electron apps. Huge file size is also a common problem, but this does not mean all Electron apps have the same problems.
So,
in defense of Electron, here's a list of ten Electron-based software that don’t suck.
