How to get app's Build Number through Electron - electron

Question

I would like to get my MacOS app's build number at runtime, the same way I get the app version:
const { app } = require('electron');
console.log(app.getVersion()); // 1.0.0
The problem is that Electron doesn't seem to have any built-in method to retrieve the app's build number.
In a MacOS application, the build number is the one between parenthesis in the "About" panel. For example:
I'm packaging my Electron macOS app using forge.config.js, with the following config:
{
[...]
appVersion: '1.0.0',
buildVersion: '123456',
}
When I package my application for macOS, the About Panel shows the version correctly, displaying 1.0.0 (123456).
Is there a way to access the build number at runtime? Or, at least, injecting it into the packaged app so I can retrieve it somehow.

Answer 1

buildVersion ends up getting written to your Mac app bundle's your.app/Contents/Info.plist file under the CFBundleVersion field. So you'd have to read and parse the Info.plist xml file at runtime to get it, AFAIK there is no easier built in way. Not too hard to do, though it might just be easier for you to append this info to your appVersion like 1.0.0-123456 as that can be any string, there is no requirement that it be in semver or any particular format.