Distribute as a binary

The default Pear distribution model assumes users already have the pear runtime installed; they open pear://<your-link> to launch your application. For users who don't — or for app stores that want a self-contained download — Pear supports compiling a small bootstrap binary that pulls the platform and the application from the swarm at first launch. For why this stays small, see Storage and distribution.

The binary is bootstrap-only: it doesn't ship the application's code or assets, only the references needed to fetch them. Once a user has run any version, future releases reach them via the swarm without recompilation — the same delivery channel covered in Deploy your application.

Steps

1. Clone the pear-appling template repository. It's a CMake-based project that produces native binaries for macOS, Linux, and Windows from one source tree.

2. Edit CMakeLists.txt with your application metadata. Application name, pear:// link, identifier, version, and platform-specific signing inputs all live in this single file. See the template's README for the full property list.

3. Compile per platform. The template documents the toolchain expectations (Xcode, MSVC, gcc) and the CMake invocations for each. Output is one small binary per platform — typically a few MB — that bootstraps Pear when launched.

4. Distribute the binary via your channel of choice (GitHub Releases, an MSI/dmg, an app store, a download link). End users run it; on first launch it replicates the Pear platform and your application, then runs it. On subsequent launches, the swarm delivers any new version of the application — usually no recompile or redistribution is needed.

When this is the wrong tool

• For users who already run Pear, pear://<your-link> is the lighter path: zero compilation, instant updates.
• For mobile distribution, see the platform-specific paths under Bare modules (Bare iOS / Bare Android) — pear-appling targets desktop OSes.