diff --git a/electron/build-backend.js b/electron/build-backend.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3711021
--- /dev/null
+++ b/electron/build-backend.js
@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+
+/**
+ * Build script to ensure PyInstaller backend is built before Electron packaging
+ * This script is called by electron-builder before packaging
+ */
+
+const { spawn } = require('child_process');
+const path = require('path');
+const fs = require('fs');
+
+function runCommand(command, args, cwd) {
+    return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+        console.log(`Running: ${command} ${args.join(' ')} in ${cwd}`);
+        const process = spawn(command, args, { 
+            cwd, 
+            stdio: 'inherit',
+            shell: true 
+        });
+        
+        process.on('close', (code) => {
+            if (code === 0) {
+                resolve();
+            } else {
+                reject(new Error(`Command failed with exit code ${code}`));
+            }
+        });
+        
+        process.on('error', (err) => {
+            reject(err);
+        });
+    });
+}
+
+async function buildBackend() {
+    const projectRoot = path.resolve(__dirname, '..');
+    const buildDir = path.join(projectRoot, 'build');
+    const backendDistPath = path.join(buildDir, 'electron', 'dist', 'fourdst-backend');
+    
+    console.log('Building PyInstaller backend...');
+    console.log(`Project root: ${projectRoot}`);
+    console.log(`Build directory: ${buildDir}`);
+    console.log(`Target platform: ${process.platform}`);
+    
+    try {
+        // Check if meson build directory exists
+        if (!fs.existsSync(buildDir)) {
+            console.log('Meson build directory not found. Setting up build...');
+            await runCommand('meson', ['setup', 'build', '--buildtype=release', '-Dbuild-py-backend=true'], projectRoot);
+        } else {
+            // Ensure py-backend option is enabled
+            console.log('Reconfiguring meson build with py-backend enabled...');
+            await runCommand('meson', ['configure', 'build', '-Dbuild-py-backend=true'], projectRoot);
+        }
+        
+        // Build the backend using meson
+        console.log('Building backend with meson...');
+        await runCommand('meson', ['compile', '-C', 'build'], projectRoot);
+        
+        // Verify the backend executable was created
+        const executableName = process.platform === 'win32' ? 'fourdst-backend.exe' : 'fourdst-backend';
+        const backendExecutable = path.join(backendDistPath, executableName);
+        
+        if (fs.existsSync(backendExecutable)) {
+            console.log(`✅ Backend executable built successfully: ${backendExecutable}`);
+            
+            // Make executable on Unix systems
+            if (process.platform !== 'win32') {
+                const { execSync } = require('child_process');
+                execSync(`chmod +x "${backendExecutable}"`);
+                console.log('✅ Backend executable permissions set');
+            }
+        } else {
+            throw new Error(`Backend executable not found at: ${backendExecutable}`);
+        }
+        
+    } catch (error) {
+        console.error('❌ Failed to build backend:', error.message);
+        process.exit(1);
+    }
+}
+
+// Run the build if this script is called directly
+if (require.main === module) {
+    buildBackend().catch(error => {
+        console.error('Build failed:', error);
+        process.exit(1);
+    });
+}
+
+module.exports = { buildBackend };
diff --git a/electron/fourdst-backend.spec b/electron/fourdst-backend.spec
index 60ea4b3..9a43bee 100644
--- a/electron/fourdst-backend.spec
+++ b/electron/fourdst-backend.spec
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 # -*- mode: python ; coding: utf-8 -*-
 
 import sys
+import os
 from pathlib import Path
 
 # This is a PyInstaller spec file. It is used to bundle the Python backend
@@ -14,6 +15,15 @@ project_root = Path(SPECPATH).parent
 # We need to add the project root to the path so that PyInstaller can find the 'fourdst' module.
 sys.path.insert(0, str(project_root))
 
+# Platform-specific configurations
+platform = sys.platform
+print(f"Building for platform: {platform}")
+
+# Determine executable name based on platform
+exe_name = 'fourdst-backend'
+if platform == 'win32':
+    exe_name += '.exe'
+
 # The main script to be bundled.
 analysis = Analysis(['bridge.py'],
                pathex=[str(project_root)],
@@ -35,7 +45,7 @@ exe = EXE(pyz,
           analysis.scripts,
           [],
           exclude_binaries=True,
-          name='fourdst-backend',
+          name=exe_name,
           debug=False,
           bootloader_ignore_signals=False,
           strip=False,
diff --git a/electron/main/app-lifecycle.js b/electron/main/app-lifecycle.js
index 6098e08..51605c7 100644
--- a/electron/main/app-lifecycle.js
+++ b/electron/main/app-lifecycle.js
@@ -2,8 +2,13 @@ const { app, BrowserWindow, ipcMain, nativeTheme } = require('electron');
 const path = require('path');
 
 // Handle creating/removing shortcuts on Windows when installing/uninstalling.
-if (require('electron-squirrel-startup')) {
-  app.quit();
+try {
+  if (require('electron-squirrel-startup')) {
+    app.quit();
+  }
+} catch (error) {
+  // electron-squirrel-startup is not available or not needed on this platform
+  console.log('electron-squirrel-startup not available, continuing...');
 }
 
 let mainWindow;
diff --git a/electron/main/backend-bridge.js b/electron/main/backend-bridge.js
index 4954cf0..e3de303 100644
--- a/electron/main/backend-bridge.js
+++ b/electron/main/backend-bridge.js
@@ -6,10 +6,16 @@ const { spawn } = require('child_process');
 function runPythonCommand(command, kwargs, event) {
     const buildDir = path.resolve(__dirname, '..', '..', 'build');
     let backendPath;
+    
+    // Determine executable name based on platform
+    const executableName = process.platform === 'win32' ? 'fourdst-backend.exe' : 'fourdst-backend';
+    
     if (app.isPackaged) {
-        backendPath = path.join(process.resourcesPath, 'fourdst-backend');
+        // In packaged app, backend is in resources/backend/ directory
+        backendPath = path.join(process.resourcesPath, 'backend', executableName);
     } else {
-        backendPath = path.join(buildDir, 'electron', 'dist', 'fourdst-backend', 'fourdst-backend');
+        // In development, use the meson build output
+        backendPath = path.join(buildDir, 'electron', 'dist', 'fourdst-backend', executableName);
     }
 
     console.log(`[MAIN_PROCESS] Spawning backend: ${backendPath}`);
diff --git a/electron/package-lock.json b/electron/package-lock.json
index f9ee86d..729335c 100644
--- a/electron/package-lock.json
+++ b/electron/package-lock.json
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
       "dependencies": {
         "@electron/remote": "^2.0.0",
         "adm-zip": "^0.5.14",
+        "electron-squirrel-startup": "^1.0.1",
         "fs-extra": "^11.0.0",
         "js-yaml": "^4.1.0",
         "plotly.js-dist": "^2.26.0",
@@ -19,8 +20,7 @@
       "devDependencies": {
         "adm-zip": "^0.5.14",
         "electron": "^31.0.2",
-        "electron-builder": "^24.0.0",
-        "electron-squirrel-startup": "^1.0.1"
+        "electron-builder": "^24.0.0"
       }
     },
     "node_modules/@develar/schema-utils": {
@@ -1800,7 +1800,6 @@
       "version": "1.0.1",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/electron-squirrel-startup/-/electron-squirrel-startup-1.0.1.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-sTfFIHGku+7PsHLJ7v0dRcZNkALrV+YEozINTW8X1nM//e5O3L+rfYuvSW00lmGHnYmUjARZulD8F2V8ISI9RA==",
-      "dev": true,
       "license": "Apache-2.0",
       "dependencies": {
         "debug": "^2.2.0"
@@ -1810,7 +1809,6 @@
       "version": "2.6.9",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/debug/-/debug-2.6.9.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-bC7ElrdJaJnPbAP+1EotYvqZsb3ecl5wi6Bfi6BJTUcNowp6cvspg0jXznRTKDjm/E7AdgFBVeAPVMNcKGsHMA==",
-      "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
       "dependencies": {
         "ms": "2.0.0"
@@ -1820,7 +1818,6 @@
       "version": "2.0.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/ms/-/ms-2.0.0.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-Tpp60P6IUJDTuOq/5Z8cdskzJujfwqfOTkrwIwj7IRISpnkJnT6SyJ4PCPnGMoFjC9ddhal5KVIYtAt97ix05A==",
-      "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT"
     },
     "node_modules/emoji-regex": {
diff --git a/electron/package.json b/electron/package.json
index 6102616..29191f7 100644
--- a/electron/package.json
+++ b/electron/package.json
@@ -6,7 +6,9 @@
   "scripts": {
     "start": "electron .",
     "dev": "electron .",
+    "prebuild": "node build-backend.js",
     "build": "electron-builder",
+    "prepack": "node build-backend.js",
     "pack": "electron-builder --dir"
   },
   "repository": {
@@ -23,8 +25,7 @@
   "devDependencies": {
     "electron": "^31.0.2",
     "adm-zip": "^0.5.14",
-    "electron-builder": "^24.0.0",
-    "electron-squirrel-startup": "^1.0.1"
+    "electron-builder": "^24.0.0"
   },
   "dependencies": {
     "fs-extra": "^11.0.0",
@@ -32,7 +33,8 @@
     "adm-zip": "^0.5.14",
     "@electron/remote": "^2.0.0",
     "python-shell": "^5.0.0",
-    "plotly.js-dist": "^2.26.0"
+    "plotly.js-dist": "^2.26.0",
+    "electron-squirrel-startup": "^1.0.1"
   },
   "build": {
     "appId": "com.fourdst.bundlemanager",
@@ -40,6 +42,20 @@
     "directories": {
       "output": "dist"
     },
+    "icon": "toolkitIcon.png",
+    "files": [
+      "**/*",
+      "node_modules/**/*",
+      "!node_modules/electron/**/*",
+      "!node_modules/electron-builder/**/*"
+    ],
+    "extraResources": [
+      {
+        "from": "../build/electron/dist/fourdst-backend/",
+        "to": "backend/",
+        "filter": ["**/*"]
+      }
+    ],
     "mac": {
       "category": "public.app-category.developer-tools",
       "target": [
diff --git a/electron/styles.css b/electron/styles.css
index 37ce023..6f7e17a 100644
--- a/electron/styles.css
+++ b/electron/styles.css
@@ -504,7 +504,7 @@ body.dark-mode .info-button:hover {
   flex-direction: column;
   overflow: hidden;
   min-width: 0;
-  padding: 20px;
+  padding: 0;
 }
 
 #welcome-screen {