buildby

Detect what desktop apps are built with.

简体中文 · Install · Usage · Tech Stacks

buildby inspects desktop applications on macOS and Windows, then tells you whether each app is built with native technologies (Swift, Objective-C, Win32) or a cross-platform framework such as Electron, Flutter, Tauri, Qt, JVM, CEF, NW.js, React Native, wxWidgets, Unity, or .NET.

It also surfaces signature and notarization details for single-app inspection, including developer name, Team ID, signature status, Apple notarization on macOS, Authenticode status on Windows, and Hardened Runtime status.

Highlights

• Fast file-system based detection with no admin privileges required.
• Single-app inspection, full installed-app scan, and per-stack filters.
• Signature and notarization metadata for macOS and Windows apps.
• npm package, GitHub Release artifact, and GitHub Packages publishing.
• Works as a small global CLI: buildby <app name>.

Screenshots

Inspect a single app	Scan all installed apps	Filter by tech stack

Install

# Install from npm
npm i -g @wavever/buildby

# Clone and link globally
git clone https://github.com/wavever/buildby.git
cd buildby
npm install
npm link

# Or run directly
node bin/buildby.js <command>

Previously published as desktop-app-build-by. That name is now deprecated — please switch to npm i -g @wavever/buildby. The CLI command stays buildby. See CHANGELOG.md for details.

Usage

Inspect a single app

buildby wechat
buildby discord
buildby "visual studio code"
buildby "clash verge"

Output example:

  Discord
  /Applications/Discord.app

   CROSS-PLATFORM   ⚡ Electron

  Cross-platform desktop apps with web technologies (HTML/CSS/JS)
  https://www.electronjs.org

  Evidence:
    • Electron Framework.framework
    • app.asar

  Bundle ID: com.hnc.Discord
  Version:   0.0.335
  Size:      375.4 MB

  Signature & Notarization
    Developer:        Discord, Inc.
    Team ID:          53Q6R32WPB
    Signature:        Signed
    Notarization:     Notarized
    Hardened Runtime: ✓ Yes

The Signature & Notarization section is only printed for single-app inspection (buildby <name> and --path). --scan and --<stack> skip it so batch scans stay fast.

Scan all installed apps

buildby --scan

Scans all apps in /Applications (macOS) or Program Files (Windows) and groups them by tech stack with a distribution chart.

Filter by tech stack

buildby --electron      # All Electron apps
buildby --flutter       # All Flutter apps
buildby --tauri         # All Tauri apps
buildby --qt            # All Qt apps
buildby --jvm           # All JVM apps (Java/Kotlin/Scala)
buildby --cef           # All CEF apps (Chromium Embedded Framework)
buildby --dotnet        # All .NET / MAUI / WPF apps
buildby --nwjs          # All NW.js apps
buildby --reactnative   # All React Native apps
buildby --native        # All native apps (Swift/ObjC/Win32)

Inspect a custom path

buildby --path /Applications/SomeApp.app
buildby --path "C:\Program Files\SomeApp"

Detected Tech Stacks

Stack	Description	Detection Method
⚡ Electron	Node.js + Chromium	Electron Framework.framework, app.asar
🐦 Flutter	Google's UI toolkit	FlutterMacOS.framework, flutter_windows.dll
🌐 CEF	Chromium Embedded Framework	Chromium Embedded Framework.framework, libcef.dll
🦀 Tauri	Rust + system WebView	Binary strings + resources/ dir, WebView2Loader.dll
🔷 Qt	C++ cross-platform	Qt*.framework, Qt5Core.dll / Qt6Core.dll
☕ JVM	Java/Kotlin/Scala	jbr/, libjvm.dylib, .jar files
🔵 .NET	Microsoft .NET / MAUI / WPF	MonoBundle/, coreclr.dll, .dll files
🟩 NW.js	Node.js + Chromium (node-webkit)	nwjs Framework.framework, app.nw
⚛️ React Native	Facebook's React for desktop	React.framework, hermes.dll
🖥️ Native	Platform-native technologies	Fallback when no cross-platform signatures found

Platform Support

Platform	App Discovery	Detection
macOS	/Applications, ~/Applications	Framework dirs, otool -L, plist metadata
Windows	Program Files, Program Files (x86), AppData/Local/Programs	DLL files, directory structure

How It Works

Detection is purely file-system based — no admin privileges, no binary disassembly.

1. Framework directory scan — check Contents/Frameworks/ for known framework bundles (Electron Framework, FlutterMacOS, Chromium Embedded Framework, Qt*.framework, etc.)
2. Resource file patterns — look for app.asar, flutter_assets, app.nw, etc.
3. JVM detection — detect bundled JRE/JBR runtimes and .jar files
4. Tauri detection — use otool -L (macOS) to check for system WebKit linkage + resources/ directory
5. Metadata extraction — parse Info.plist for bundle ID, version, and display name
6. Signature & notarization — invoke codesign -dv + spctl --assess on macOS, or PowerShell Get-AuthenticodeSignature on Windows, to surface developer / Team ID / publisher and Apple notarization or Authenticode trust status
7. Fallback — apps with no cross-platform signatures are classified as Native

Detection runs in priority order so the most distinctive signatures are checked first.

Requirements

• Node.js >= 18
• macOS or Windows
• macOS: otool, codesign, spctl (all bundled with Xcode Command Line Tools)
• Windows: powershell on PATH (for Authenticode signature reading)

License

MIT