Desktop App

The desktop preview runs Node Banana in an Electron window with a local server. Packaged apps support update checks and installation.

To install the app, see Install the desktop app.

Update the app

Packaged apps check for updates shortly after launch and every six hours. A failed background check retries after 30 minutes without interrupting your work. On macOS, Help → Check for Updates… also checks manually. The Windows menu remains hidden; use the update notice when it appears.

1. If a newer version appears in the notice, select Update to download it.
2. Wait for the download to finish.
3. Save your work.
4. Select Restart to update.

The app does not download a release until you select Update. After download, quitting the app also installs the update. Skip suppresses that version until a manual check. Closing the notice hides it until the next check. If installation fails, the notice links to the release for a manual download.

Mac updates require a signed build; an unsigned preview needs a manual installation. Windows updates run the downloaded installer silently. Development runs do not install updates. Profiles with NODE_BANANA_ELECTRON_USER_DATA set do not check automatically.

Window controls

On Windows, the app has no native title bar or visible menu bar. Drag the workflow tab strip to move the window. Double-click the strip to maximise or restore it. The top-right buttons minimise, maximise or restore, and close the window. Press F11 to toggle fullscreen.

Credentials and environment import

The desktop profile is separate from your browser profile. Provider keys and ComfyUI credentials use encrypted storage. If secure storage fails on macOS, unlock the keychain and choose Retry secure storage. On either platform, Use for this session only keeps credentials in memory. Session-only credentials disappear after you close the app.

Recover unreadable stored keys

On Windows, a changed encryption key can make existing stored credentials unreadable. Retrying does not repair that file. If the app offers Reset stored keys, you can start with an empty credential store. Reset moves the unreadable file aside instead of deleting it. Enter your keys again in Settings → Providers.

The reset option appears only for unreadable encrypted credentials. Other storage errors preserve the existing file and do not offer reset.

Import environment settings

1. Open Settings → Providers → Import from .env.
2. Choose an existing .env or .env.local file.
3. Check the imported provider and ComfyUI settings.

The import leaves the source file unchanged and keeps existing non-empty credentials. Imported credentials take effect immediately. Canceling the settings dialog does not undo the import.

The import supports the Gemini, OpenAI, Anthropic, Replicate, fal.ai, Kie.ai, and WaveSpeed provider variables. For the shared Comfy account key, use Settings → Providers → ComfyUI. The desktop importer treats COMFY_API_KEY as remote-server authentication. The browser server also uses that variable for Comfy Router, so these paths differ. It also supports these ComfyUI variables:

Save and recover work

Workflows remain ordinary files that the browser app can also open. The desktop app uses native folder dialogs. Recovery checkpoints record unsaved tabs after one second without edits, or every five seconds during continuous edits. Large media and slow storage can delay checkpoints.

After a crash, Restore Session restores the saved tabs, noodles, viewport, media, and costs. Interrupted nodes show a stopped explanation. Recovery does not submit requests again or resume remote jobs. If a provider still has an active job, check that job before you run it again.

If you confirm a tab discard, its unsaved edits do not return through recovery. Recovery supplements normal saves.

Data and diagnostics

On Windows, you can also select Open logs in the disconnected-server banner.

The profile also stores your skipped update version. Assets and Storage explains the separate project and generation folders. Recovery content is private to your user account, but it is not encrypted.

The local server uses http://127.0.0.1:47831 and accepts authenticated desktop-session requests. If that port is occupied, the app offers Retry, Open Logs, and Quit. It does not stop the other process or choose another port.

If the server stops, choose Restart Server. If the editor crashes, choose Recover Editor to open checkpoint recovery.

For development, NODE_BANANA_ELECTRON_PORT changes the port. Each port has separate browser-origin storage. NODE_BANANA_ELECTRON_USER_DATA selects an alternative absolute profile directory. Keep the defaults for ordinary use.

Run from source

This section is for contributors who build the app. Use Node.js 22.12 or newer in an app checkout on develop.

npm ci
npm run electron:dev

The command starts both the desktop window and its local server. UI edits reload automatically. After changes inside electron/, restart the command.

For a local production build:

npm run build
npm run electron:start

Build preview packages

Run packaging on the target platform: Windows x64 or an Apple Silicon Mac. On Windows, install ImageMagick 7 and make its magick command available on your PATH. The Windows packaging check uses Windows 11 x64 with Node.js 23.

npm run electron:package

The default command creates unsigned packages. On macOS, npm run electron:package -- --sign enables signing and notarization with configured Apple credentials. The app repository's desktop preview guide describes the release credentials and publishing setup.

The command writes these artifacts to dist-electron/:

Intel Mac, Windows ARM64, and Linux packages are outside this preview.

Next steps

• If an update fails, see Desktop update errors.
• To manage project and generation folders, see Assets and Storage.