electron-vite

The standard Vite-powered build tool and project scaffold for Electron apps

Best for: Developers starting a new Electron desktop app who want Vite's fast dev experience and a choice of framework templates.
Skip if: You need a feature-rich desktop SaaS starter with auth/licensing/updates built in - this is a build tool and project scaffold, not a full app template.

electron-vite is a free, open-source build tool that brings Vite's fast HMR and dev experience to Electron desktop apps. Its create-electron-vite scaffolder generates a ready-to-run project with TypeScript, and optional Vue, React, Svelte, or SolidJS templates, plus source protection via V8 bytecode compilation.

Pros

Fast HMR for renderer and hot reload for main/preload processes
Templates for TypeScript, Vue, React, Svelte, and SolidJS out of the box
Source code protection via V8 bytecode compilation
Actively maintained and widely adopted as the de facto Electron+Vite tool

Cons

It's a build tool/scaffolder, not a full-featured app boilerplate with auth or payments
No built-in auto-update, licensing, or distribution tooling - you add those yourself
Requires picking and wiring your own UI framework and state management