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Dev tools · May 20, 2025

Astra – a new js2exe compiler

Hi everyone I'm new here and i wanted to introduce my project i've been working on. Astra is a simple but powerful node.js to exe compiler. It uses esbuild and Node SEA. It uses postject to inject your code to nodejs binary. It focuses more on compiling cli and Servers like pkg or nexe (express) than fullstack applications like electron or tauri. It has rich ESM and typescript support. It has good DX and cli UX. I made it bc i didn't like using pkg or nexe, they cause a lot of problems with esm. LIMITATIONS: Now it has problems compiling projects with depencides containing binaries (e.g.…

Astra – a new js2exe compiler launched on May 20, 2025 with 61 votes, #598 of 7,905 launches that month and more than 95% of that year's launches. The site was still online in September 2026, 1 year on.

Visit github.com ↗Alternativestop 8% of May 2025

In plain words

Astra is a Node.js to executable compiler designed for building command-line tools and server applications. It uses esbuild and Node SEA with postject to bundle code into Windows binaries. The tool offers strong ESM and TypeScript support with an emphasis on developer experience. Unlike similar tools like pkg or nexe, Astra handles ESM modules more reliably. Currently, it has limitations with dependencies containing native binaries and only supports Windows compilation.

written from the facts on this page · September 2026

From the sources

🚀 Fast, reliable and easy-to-use js-to-exe compiler. - astracompiler/cli

It's aiming to compile servers (express, fastify) or CLIs (commander) so it's not replacement of electron. For now it only compiles windows applications. (I'm working on macOS and linux) Different than the others - Astra is a new approach to compiling JavaScript/TypeScript applications. It uses a different method than other compilers like pkg or nexe. Compile newest versions of Node.js - Astra supports the latest Node.js versions. Fast build time - Powered by esbuild , Astra ensures the fastest possible compilation speed. Improved support for ECMAScript - Astra supports compiling ESM-based applications, with workarounds for limitations in Node.js SEA. Delightful DX - With signale , inquirer…from github.com

In the maker’s words, at launch

Hi everyone I'm new here and i wanted to introduce my project i've been working on. Astra is a simple but powerful node.js to exe compiler. It uses esbuild and Node SEA. It uses postject to inject your code to nodejs binary. It focuses more on compiling cli and Servers like pkg or nexe (express) than fullstack…

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