Try it in 10 seconds

npx hexvero demo

Needs Node.js 22.12 or newer. It copies two builds of a small example app (NotesDesk 1.4.0 and 1.5.0) into ./hexvero-demo and shows what changed. Excerpt, … marks cuts:

What changed between notesdesk-1.4.0.asar and notesdesk-1.5.0.asar
  Two builds of a small example Electron app, read statically. Nothing was executed.

  interfaces (2)
    + preload.js::notesdesk::checkUpdate  @ b: preload.js:9, handler main.js:30 · link direct
    - preload.js::notesdesk::openInShell  @ a: preload.js:9, handler main.js:30 · link direct
  …
  ipcChannels (2)
    + update:check  @ b: receiver main.js:30, sender preload.js:9
    ? shell:open  @ a: receiver main.js:30, sender preload.js:9
        the other side has values there that could not be resolved
  windows (1)
    ~ main.js::win  @ b: main.js:8
        nodeIntegration: true → false, nodeIntegrationInEffect: "on" → "off", sandbox: false → true
  …
  endpoints (1)
    + main.js::fetch::https://updates.notesdesk.example/latest.json  @ b: main.js:30 · literal

? means hexvero could not tell, so shell:open is reported as unknown, not as removed. Then turn it into a gate:

$ npx hexvero check hexvero-demo/notesdesk-1.4.0.asar hexvero-demo/notesdesk-1.5.0.asar --policy hexvero-demo/policy.json
hexvero check fail: the policy is violated
  ✗ new-interface-member  notesdesk.checkUpdate  new · fail
  ✗ new-external-host  updates.notesdesk.example  new · fail
  …
$ echo $?
3

npx hexvero ui --demo --open shows the same comparison in a local web UI with the source lines of both builds side by side. The full tour: walkthrough.

Why

• A release review asks what the update changed: which channels a page can now reach, which preload members appeared, which window got more permissive, which servers the code now calls.
• A diff of the shipped bundle does not answer that. It is minified JavaScript inside an app.asar; running the app to find out is not always allowed, and a checklist scanner looks at one build, not the change.
• hexvero answers it from the files: each change with the file and line it was read from in both builds, what it could not establish, and a policy that fails CI on a new member, host or more permissive window. Nothing is executed.

What it reads

IPC and bridge map	window → contextBridge member → IPC channel → ipcMain handler, with how each link was read
Window settings	webPreferences per window, and whether nodeIntegration and sandbox are in effect
Runtime and fuses	Electron, Chromium and Node versions, fuses and the ASAR integrity record, read from packaged binaries
Hosts and storage	network endpoints and localStorage/sessionStorage keys, literal or inferred
CI gate and SARIF	hexvero check: exit 0 pass, 3 violated, 4 not decidable; baseline, suppressions, SARIF 2.1.0
MCP for agents	16 tools with small paged answers, so a coding agent can run the same review
Local web UI	the comparison with both builds' source lines side by side, plus an offline HTML report

Inputs: an app.asar, a macOS .app, a Windows or Linux install directory, or the release .zip you publish. Installers (.dmg, setup .exe, AppImage) need unpacking first. Per-platform paths: docs/cli.md.

On your own app

npx hexvero compare old/YourApp.app new/YourApp.app --report report.html   # one offline HTML page
npx hexvero init old/YourApp.app                                            # starting policy, current hosts allowed
npx hexvero check old/YourApp.app new/YourApp.app --policy .hexvero/policy.json

To accept what is there today, add --baseline .hexvero/baseline.json --update-baseline once; later runs fail only on new findings.

One build instead of two, with the single-build checks known from Electronegativity (CSP, shell.openExternal, permission handlers, window settings, certificate and command-line switches; from 0.13 also <webview>, custom protocols, executeJavaScript with code that is not a literal, resources over plain http and an Electron runtime past its end of support):

npx hexvero audit YourApp.app --format sarif > audit.sarif   # exit 3 when a rule is violated

Use it in CI

Pinned to a version so a release cannot change your results unannounced: