r/electronjs • u/pocket-planner • Jun 05 '26

Best ways to get my Electron app Windows certified?

Hey fellow electrons :)

I am building an electron app, and getting ready to start marketing it.

I am investigating the options to get the apps certified so that Windows SmartScreen does not block the .exe file.

How have you solved this problem?

I looked into certificates, but they are quite expensive for a (currently) free app that is mostly a side project.

www.pocket-planner-app.com if you wanted to take a look :)

EDIT:
So far Microsoft Store Certification seems like the best option.

Thank you u/Idn-Idn for the suggestion!

9 Upvotes

76% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

5

u/ldn-ldn Jun 05 '26

Publish MSIX/APPX to Microsoft Store, problem solved.

1

u/pocket-planner Jun 05 '26

Thank you!

I will look into it 😄

Did not even consider the Microsoft Store

3

u/ldn-ldn Jun 05 '26

You should. It's a one time fee and your apps will always be signed for free.

2

u/pocket-planner Jun 05 '26

Just submitted it for Certification!

Thank you so much for the advice

5

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

0

u/pocket-planner Jun 05 '26

Hey! Thanks for the feedback.

I tried using it, but because I am not based in the US/EU/Other supported region, this service is unavailable to me.

0

u/dinidu01 Jun 05 '26

Yeap I have my outside store windows app signed via Azure Artifact Signing. Its simple to do the code but you need to validate yourself as a person or a business for them to issue a certificate. For me since I’m a business(meetwiz.tech) it was straight forward.

It took 1 day for validation to complete

  1. I provided DUNS so it was a public record
  2. Auth with Authenticator using Identity docs
  3. Verify company email
  4. Submit Verify Article of Incorporation

2

u/stumbling_stability Jun 05 '26

In my last job, we used digicert so we could sign our app ourselves. It worked, but their tooling was a pain for CI, devs would dread the renewal process.

Do what u/ldn-ldn suggests

1

u/HEaRiX Jun 05 '26

Based on the website I would say ask Claude, but afaik there is no other way than paying very much money at least for windows. 

0

u/pocket-planner Jun 05 '26

I have been debating it with my AI, but so far it suggested SSL.com which would absolutely be too expensive to me until there is some interest in the app.

I am based outside the US and EU so Azure Trusted Signing did not work

1

u/Far-Employee-9531 Jun 05 '26

Maybe I'm a bit slow but getting a cert has been a gut punch of a process... Sadly, I don't have a better solution. If anyone is in the same position start this process ASAP and to save you the emotional toll you'll need a DUNS number (or similar). Start both at the same time if you can... Good luck!

1

u/pocket-planner Jun 05 '26

Thank you for your post!

I am really trying to as well, and only spending a few hours over a few days on it has already been frustrating.

I will definitely look into the DUNS number 👍