Distribution

After you build your CLI, you can ship it in two common ways:

• npm package for users who install through npm, pnpm, yarn, or bun
• Standalone binary for users who just download an executable

Publish as an npm Package

Build first:

seed build

For npm distribution, point your bin field at the bundled output and publish dist/:

{
  "type": "module",
  "bin": {
    "my-cli": "./dist/index.js"
  },
  "files": ["dist"],
  "scripts": {
    "build": "seed build",
    "prepublishOnly": "seed build"
  }
}

Then publish normally:

npm publish

This is the right choice when your users are already comfortable installing CLIs from npm and running them on Node.js.

Ship Standalone Binaries

Compile first:

seed build --compile --target node24-macos-arm64,node24-linux-x64,node24-win-x64 --outdir dist

This produces platform-specific executables you can attach to GitHub Releases, upload to your own download page, or distribute through internal artifact storage.

Use standalone binaries when you want:

• zero Node.js installation steps for end users
• platform-specific release artifacts
• a download-first distribution model instead of npm install

Platform Packaging, Signing, and Notarization

Seed's build command uses Hakobu as its build backend. Seed handles entry discovery and build defaults; Hakobu handles target packaging and advanced platform-specific distribution work.

Use the Hakobu docs for:

• build target details
• bundle mode behavior
• macOS signing and notarization
• Windows signing and metadata
• broader cross-platform distribution guidance

Recommended Hakobu references:

• Build targets
• Bundle mode
• Distribution & signing