Every game created by the BENNE Editor includes browser and Windows packaging commands. Run them from the game's root folder after installing its npm dependencies.

itch.io browser build

Run npm run build:itch. The command type-checks and builds the game, validates itch.io's file count and size limits, then writes releases/<package-name>-itch.zip. Upload that ZIP as an HTML project and mark it as playable in the browser. The ZIP contains index.html at its root. Vite uses relative asset URLs so the game works under itch.io's generated path.

To inspect the production build locally, run npm run preview and open the printed URL. Opening dist/index.html directly as a file does not reproduce web hosting.

Windows desktop build

Run npm run build:windows. This creates a portable Windows ZIP in releases/windows/ with Electron and an itch desktop app launch manifest. The first build may download an Electron runtime. Players extract the whole ZIP and run its .exe; they do not need Node.js.

If the Windows Electron runtime is already in the local Electron cache, BENNE uses it without downloading again. For a custom runtime ZIP, set BENNE_ELECTRON_DIST to its path.

The package's name supplies the archive name and save-data folder. Add "benne": { "displayName": "My Game" } to package.json to set the window and executable name. Add a PNG at src/game/assets/images/icon.png for the Windows icon; without it, Electron uses its default icon. The window starts at three times the internal resolution from game-config.json, limited by the screen size. You can change the factor with benne.desktopWindowScale.

For local desktop play, run npm run desktop. F11 or Alt+Enter toggles fullscreen; Escape leaves fullscreen. Browser and desktop saves are separate. npm run test:desktop checks the wrapper's path handling and browser/desktop bridge; npm run test:desktop:smoke checks the actual game window after a build.

Upload the Windows ZIP as a separate itch.io file marked Windows. The browser-playable checkbox belongs only on the HTML ZIP. Windows builds are unsigned and should be played on Windows before release.

Script controls for desktop menus

game.isDesktop is true in desktop builds and false on the web or in editor previews. game.quit() closes the Electron app at that line of the script; in a browser it does nothing. For example, a game menu can show its Quit button only on desktop: quit.visible = game.isDesktop.

If WebGL cannot start or the graphics context is lost, the built game displays a readable message and offers a restart. Saved games remain available; restarting discards unsaved progress.