Generating configurable, cross-platform self-extracting executables has been the purview of commercial software for, well, forever. We wanted folks of all operating systems to be able to download and run our software locally. We also didn’t want to break the bank. After much deliberation, we decided to build the solution ourselves, making cross-platform installer generation easy and accessible.

Introducing the Zephyr Installer Plugin Ecosystem

With Zephyr Build Plugins, you can generate any self-extracting executable targeting any supported platform from any supported platform, as well as executables for every supported platform on any supported platform from the same build. Even better? Generated executables do not require any JVM to be installed on the end
user’s system to function.

You can create self-extracting executables with code-signing, as well as modifiable icons, metadata and run permissions for Windows, Mac and Linux. Additionally Zephyr Build Plugins can generate ICO and ICNS icons from PNG, SVG and other formats. We currently support Maven for all platforms, but plan to support Gradle as well. Bazel and Ant support will be available with a commercial license.

Use Cases

Create a self-extracting executable targeting (Windows, Mac, or Linux)

Executables can be built on your current operating system (Mac, Windows, or Linux) with no modifications or third-party requirements.

Sign generated executables

Executables can be signed for any supported platform with the same configuration. Sign Windows executables with Authenticode on Mac, Linux, or Windows, or sign Mac app packages with CodeSign on Mac, Linux, or Windows.

Generate ICO/ICNS files

Traditionally, having ICO or ICNS icon files on hand has been a prerequisite, requiring third-party commercial tools, online icon generators, etc. The Zephyr build ecosystem allows you to generate ICO/ICNS files from standard raster formats like PNG and SVG with a variety of sizes.

Attach ICO/ICNS files to your executable

Inserting branding icons into executables has been a platform-dependent chore, but Zephyr allows you to brand your generated executable in a platform-independent way.

Create installers for JVM-based programs

Previously, installers for JVM-based programs required the installer to download the JVM, or forced the end-user to install it. Zephyr allows you to launch IzPack installers using a JVM bundled with your application

Automate everything!

Since these tools are included as build plugins for the most popular build systems, you can completely eliminate any manual steps in your installer generation process!

You can find the Maven plugin documentation at https://zephyr.sunshower.io/site/