# Breaking Changes Breaking changes will be documented here, and deprecation warnings added to JS code where possible, at least [one major version](tutorial/electron-versioning.md#semver) before the change is made. ### Types of Breaking Changes This document uses the following convention to categorize breaking changes: - **API Changed:** An API was changed in such a way that code that has not been updated is guaranteed to throw an exception. - **Behavior Changed:** The behavior of Electron has changed, but not in such a way that an exception will necessarily be thrown. - **Default Changed:** Code depending on the old default may break, not necessarily throwing an exception. The old behavior can be restored by explicitly specifying the value. - **Deprecated:** An API was marked as deprecated. The API will continue to function, but will emit a deprecation warning, and will be removed in a future release. - **Removed:** An API or feature was removed, and is no longer supported by Electron. ## Planned Breaking API Changes (13.0) ### Removed: `shell.moveItemToTrash()` The deprecated synchronous `shell.moveItemToTrash()` API has been removed. Use the asynchronous `shell.trashItem()` instead. ```js // Removed in Electron 13 shell.moveItemToTrash(path) // Replace with shell.trashItem(path).then(/* ... */) ``` ## Planned Breaking API Changes (12.0) ### Default Changed: `contextIsolation` defaults to `true` In Electron 12, `contextIsolation` will be enabled by default. To restore the previous behavior, `contextIsolation: false` must be specified in WebPreferences. We [recommend having contextIsolation enabled](https://github.com/electron/electron/blob/master/docs/tutorial/security.md#3-enable-context-isolation-for-remote-content) for the security of your application. For more details see: https://github.com/electron/electron/issues/23506 ### Removed: `crashReporter` methods in the renderer process The following `crashReporter` methods are no longer available in the renderer process: - `crashReporter.start` - `crashReporter.getLastCrashReport` - `crashReporter.getUploadedReports` - `crashReporter.getUploadToServer` - `crashReporter.setUploadToServer` - `crashReporter.getCrashesDirectory` They should be called only from the main process. See [#23265](https://github.com/electron/electron/pull/23265) for more details. ### Default Changed: `crashReporter.start({ compress: true })` The default value of the `compress` option to `crashReporter.start` has changed from `false` to `true`. This means that crash dumps will be uploaded to the crash ingestion server with the `Content-Encoding: gzip` header, and the body will be compressed. If your crash ingestion server does not support compressed payloads, you can turn off compression by specifying `{ compress: false }` in the crash reporter options. ### Deprecated: `shell.moveItemToTrash()` The synchronous `shell.moveItemToTrash()` has been replaced by the new, asynchronous `shell.trashItem()`. ```js // Deprecated in Electron 12 shell.moveItemToTrash(path) // Replace with shell.trashItem(path).then(/* ... */) ``` ## Planned Breaking API Changes (11.0) There are no breaking changes planned for 11.0. ## Planned Breaking API Changes (10.0) ### Deprecated: `companyName` argument to `crashReporter.start()` The `companyName` argument to `crashReporter.start()`, which was previously required, is now optional, and further, is deprecated. To get the same behavior in a non-deprecated way, you can pass a `companyName` value in `globalExtra`. ```js // Deprecated in Electron 10 crashReporter.start({ companyName: 'Umbrella Corporation' }) // Replace with crashReporter.start({ globalExtra: { _companyName: 'Umbrella Corporation' } }) ``` ### Deprecated: `crashReporter.getCrashesDirectory()` The `crashReporter.getCrashesDirectory` method has been deprecated. Usage should be replaced by `app.getPath('crashDumps')`. ```js // Deprecated in Electron 10 crashReporter.getCrashesDirectory() // Replace with app.getPath('crashDumps') ``` ### Deprecated: `crashReporter` methods in the renderer process Calling the following `crashReporter` methods from the renderer process is deprecated: - `crashReporter.start` - `crashReporter.getLastCrashReport` - `crashReporter.getUploadedReports` - `crashReporter.getUploadToServer` - `crashReporter.setUploadToServer` - `crashReporter.getCrashesDirectory` The only non-deprecated methods remaining in the `crashReporter` module in the renderer are `addExtraParameter`, `removeExtraParameter` and `getParameters`. All above methods remain non-deprecated when called from the main process. See [#23265](https://github.com/electron/electron/pull/23265) for more details. ### Deprecated: `crashReporter.start({ compress: false })` Setting `{ compress: false }` in `crashReporter.start` is deprecated. Nearly all crash ingestion servers support gzip compression. This option will be removed in a future version of Electron. ### Removed: Browser Window Affinity The `affinity` option when constructing a new `BrowserWindow` will be removed as part of our plan to more closely align with Chromium's process model for security, performance and maintainability. For more detailed information see [#18397](https://github.com/electron/electron/issues/18397). ### Default Changed: `enableRemoteModule` defaults to `false` In Electron 9, using the remote module without explicitly enabling it via the `enableRemoteModule` WebPreferences option began emitting a warning. In Electron 10, the remote module is now disabled by default. To use the remote module, `enableRemoteModule: true` must be specified in WebPreferences: ```js const w = new BrowserWindow({ webPreferences: { enableRemoteModule: true } }) ``` We [recommend moving away from the remote module](https://medium.com/@nornagon/electrons-remote-module-considered-harmful-70d69500f31). ## Planned Breaking API Changes (9.0) ### Default Changed: Loading non-context-aware native modules in the renderer process is disabled by default As of Electron 9 we do not allow loading of non-context-aware native modules in the renderer process. This is to improve security, performance and maintainability of Electron as a project. If this impacts you, you can temporarily set `app.allowRendererProcessReuse` to `false` to revert to the old behavior. This flag will only be an option until Electron 11 so you should plan to update your native modules to be context aware. For more detailed information see [#18397](https://github.com/electron/electron/issues/18397). ### Removed: `.getWebContents()` This API, which was deprecated in Electron 8.0, is now removed. ```js // Removed in Electron 9.0 webview.getWebContents() // Replace with const { remote } = require('electron') remote.webContents.fromId(webview.getWebContentsId()) ``` ### Removed: `webFrame.setLayoutZoomLevelLimits()` Chromium has removed support for changing the layout zoom level limits, and it is beyond Electron's capacity to maintain it. The function was deprecated in Electron 8.x, and has been removed in Electron 9.x. The layout zoom level limits are now fixed at a minimum of 0.25 and a maximum of 5.0, as defined [here](https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src/+/938b37a6d2886bf8335fc7db792f1eb46c65b2ae/third_party/blink/common/page/page_zoom.cc#11). ### Behavior Changed: Sending non-JS objects over IPC now throws an exception In Electron 8.0, IPC was changed to use the Structured Clone Algorithm, bringing significant performance improvements. To help ease the transition, the old IPC serialization algorithm was kept and used for some objects that aren't serializable with Structured Clone. In particular, DOM objects (e.g. `Element`, `Location` and `DOMMatrix`), Node.js objects backed by C++ classes (e.g. `process.env`, some members of `Stream`), and Electron objects backed by C++ classes (e.g. `WebContents`, `BrowserWindow` and `WebFrame`) are not serializable with Structured Clone. Whenever the old algorithm was invoked, a deprecation warning was printed. In Electron 9.0, the old serialization algorithm has been removed, and sending such non-serializable objects will now throw an "object could not be cloned" error. ### API Changed: `shell.openItem` is now `shell.openPath` The `shell.openItem` API has been replaced with an asynchronous `shell.openPath` API. You can see the original API proposal and reasoning [here](https://github.com/electron/governance/blob/master/wg-api/spec-documents/shell-openitem.md). ## Planned Breaking API Changes (8.0) ### Behavior Changed: Values sent over IPC are now serialized with Structured Clone Algorithm The algorithm used to serialize objects sent over IPC (through `ipcRenderer.send`, `ipcRenderer.sendSync`, `WebContents.send` and related methods) has been switched from a custom algorithm to V8's built-in [Structured Clone Algorithm][SCA], the same algorithm used to serialize messages for `postMessage`. This brings about a 2x performance improvement for large messages, but also brings some breaking changes in behavior. - Sending Functions, Promises, WeakMaps, WeakSets, or objects containing any such values, over IPC will now throw an exception, instead of silently converting the functions to `undefined`. ```js // Previously: ipcRenderer.send('channel', { value: 3, someFunction: () => {} }) // => results in { value: 3 } arriving in the main process // From Electron 8: ipcRenderer.send('channel', { value: 3, someFunction: () => {} }) // => throws Error("() => {} could not be cloned.") ``` - `NaN`, `Infinity` and `-Infinity` will now be correctly serialized, instead of being converted to `null`. - Objects containing cyclic references will now be correctly serialized, instead of being converted to `null`. - `Set`, `Map`, `Error` and `RegExp` values will be correctly serialized, instead of being converted to `{}`. - `BigInt` values will be correctly serialized, instead of being converted to `null`. - Sparse arrays will be serialized as such, instead of being converted to dense arrays with `null`s. - `Date` objects will be transferred as `Date` objects, instead of being converted to their ISO string representation. - Typed Arrays (such as `Uint8Array`, `Uint16Array`, `Uint32Array` and so on) will be transferred as such, instead of being converted to Node.js `Buffer`. - Node.js `Buffer` objects will be transferred as `Uint8Array`s. You can convert a `Uint8Array` back to a Node.js `Buffer` by wrapping the underlying `ArrayBuffer`: ```js Buffer.from(value.buffer, value.byteOffset, value.byteLength) ``` Sending any objects that aren't native JS types, such as DOM objects (e.g. `Element`, `Location`, `DOMMatrix`), Node.js objects (e.g. `process.env`, `Stream`), or Electron objects (e.g. `WebContents`, `BrowserWindow`, `WebFrame`) is deprecated. In Electron 8, these objects will be serialized as before with a DeprecationWarning message, but starting in Electron 9, sending these kinds of objects will throw a 'could not be cloned' error. [SCA]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Web_Workers_API/Structured_clone_algorithm ### Deprecated: `.getWebContents()` This API is implemented using the `remote` module, which has both performance and security implications. Therefore its usage should be explicit. ```js // Deprecated webview.getWebContents() // Replace with const { remote } = require('electron') remote.webContents.fromId(webview.getWebContentsId()) ``` However, it is recommended to avoid using the `remote` module altogether. ```js // main const { ipcMain, webContents } = require('electron') const getGuestForWebContents = (webContentsId, contents) => { const guest = webContents.fromId(webContentsId) if (!guest) { throw new Error(`Invalid webContentsId: ${webContentsId}`) } if (guest.hostWebContents !== contents) { throw new Error('Access denied to webContents') } return guest } ipcMain.handle('openDevTools', (event, webContentsId) => { const guest = getGuestForWebContents(webContentsId, event.sender) guest.openDevTools() }) // renderer const { ipcRenderer } = require('electron') ipcRenderer.invoke('openDevTools', webview.getWebContentsId()) ``` ### Deprecated: `webFrame.setLayoutZoomLevelLimits()` Chromium has removed support for changing the layout zoom level limits, and it is beyond Electron's capacity to maintain it. The function will emit a warning in Electron 8.x, and cease to exist in Electron 9.x. The layout zoom level limits are now fixed at a minimum of 0.25 and a maximum of 5.0, as defined [here](https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src/+/938b37a6d2886bf8335fc7db792f1eb46c65b2ae/third_party/blink/common/page/page_zoom.cc#11). ## Planned Breaking API Changes (7.0) ### Deprecated: Atom.io Node Headers URL This is the URL specified as `disturl` in a `.npmrc` file or as the `--dist-url` command line flag when building native Node modules. Both will be supported for the foreseeable future but it is recommended that you switch. Deprecated: https://atom.io/download/electron Replace with: https://electronjs.org/headers ### API Changed: `session.clearAuthCache()` no longer accepts options The `session.clearAuthCache` API no longer accepts options for what to clear, and instead unconditionally clears the whole cache. ```js // Deprecated session.clearAuthCache({ type: 'password' }) // Replace with session.clearAuthCache() ``` ### API Changed: `powerMonitor.querySystemIdleState` is now `powerMonitor.getSystemIdleState` ```js // Removed in Electron 7.0 powerMonitor.querySystemIdleState(threshold, callback) // Replace with synchronous API const idleState = powerMonitor.getSystemIdleState(threshold) ``` ### API Changed: `powerMonitor.querySystemIdleTime` is now `powerMonitor.getSystemIdleTime` ```js // Removed in Electron 7.0 powerMonitor.querySystemIdleTime(callback) // Replace with synchronous API const idleTime = powerMonitor.getSystemIdleTime() ``` ### API Changed: `webFrame.setIsolatedWorldInfo` replaces separate methods ```js // Removed in Electron 7.0 webFrame.setIsolatedWorldContentSecurityPolicy(worldId, csp) webFrame.setIsolatedWorldHumanReadableName(worldId, name) webFrame.setIsolatedWorldSecurityOrigin(worldId, securityOrigin) // Replace with webFrame.setIsolatedWorldInfo( worldId, { securityOrigin: 'some_origin', name: 'human_readable_name', csp: 'content_security_policy' }) ``` ### Removed: `marked` property on `getBlinkMemoryInfo` This property was removed in Chromium 77, and as such is no longer available. ### Behavior Changed: `webkitdirectory` attribute for `` now lists directory contents The `webkitdirectory` property on HTML file inputs allows them to select folders. Previous versions of Electron had an incorrect implementation where the `event.target.files` of the input returned a `FileList` that returned one `File` corresponding to the selected folder. As of Electron 7, that `FileList` is now list of all files contained within the folder, similarly to Chrome, Firefox, and Edge ([link to MDN docs](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/HTMLInputElement/webkitdirectory)). As an illustration, take a folder with this structure: ```console folder ├── file1 ├── file2 └── file3 ``` In Electron <=6, this would return a `FileList` with a `File` object for: ```console path/to/folder ``` In Electron 7, this now returns a `FileList` with a `File` object for: ```console /path/to/folder/file3 /path/to/folder/file2 /path/to/folder/file1 ``` Note that `webkitdirectory` no longer exposes the path to the selected folder. If you require the path to the selected folder rather than the folder contents, see the `dialog.showOpenDialog` API ([link](https://github.com/electron/electron/blob/master/docs/api/dialog.md#dialogshowopendialogbrowserwindow-options)). ## Planned Breaking API Changes (6.0) ### API Changed: `win.setMenu(null)` is now `win.removeMenu()` ```js // Deprecated win.setMenu(null) // Replace with win.removeMenu() ``` ### API Changed: `contentTracing.getTraceBufferUsage()` is now a promise ```js // Deprecated contentTracing.getTraceBufferUsage((percentage, value) => { // do something }) // Replace with contentTracing.getTraceBufferUsage().then(infoObject => { // infoObject has percentage and value fields }) ``` ### API Changed: `electron.screen` in the renderer process should be accessed via `remote` ```js // Deprecated require('electron').screen // Replace with require('electron').remote.screen ``` ### API Changed: `require()`ing node builtins in sandboxed renderers no longer implicitly loads the `remote` version ```js // Deprecated require('child_process') // Replace with require('electron').remote.require('child_process') // Deprecated require('fs') // Replace with require('electron').remote.require('fs') // Deprecated require('os') // Replace with require('electron').remote.require('os') // Deprecated require('path') // Replace with require('electron').remote.require('path') ``` ### Deprecated: `powerMonitor.querySystemIdleState` replaced with `powerMonitor.getSystemIdleState` ```js // Deprecated powerMonitor.querySystemIdleState(threshold, callback) // Replace with synchronous API const idleState = powerMonitor.getSystemIdleState(threshold) ``` ### Deprecated: `powerMonitor.querySystemIdleTime` replaced with `powerMonitor.getSystemIdleTime` ```js // Deprecated powerMonitor.querySystemIdleTime(callback) // Replace with synchronous API const idleTime = powerMonitor.getSystemIdleTime() ``` ### Deprecated: `app.enableMixedSandbox()` is no longer needed ```js // Deprecated app.enableMixedSandbox() ``` Mixed-sandbox mode is now enabled by default. ### Deprecated: `Tray.setHighlightMode` Under macOS Catalina our former Tray implementation breaks. Apple's native substitute doesn't support changing the highlighting behavior. ```js // Deprecated tray.setHighlightMode(mode) // API will be removed in v7.0 without replacement. ``` ## Planned Breaking API Changes (5.0) ### Default Changed: `nodeIntegration` and `webviewTag` default to false, `contextIsolation` defaults to true The following `webPreferences` option default values are deprecated in favor of the new defaults listed below. | Property | Deprecated Default | New Default | |----------|--------------------|-------------| | `contextIsolation` | `false` | `true` | | `nodeIntegration` | `true` | `false` | | `webviewTag` | `nodeIntegration` if set else `true` | `false` | E.g. Re-enabling the webviewTag ```js const w = new BrowserWindow({ webPreferences: { webviewTag: true } }) ``` ### Behavior Changed: `nodeIntegration` in child windows opened via `nativeWindowOpen` Child windows opened with the `nativeWindowOpen` option will always have Node.js integration disabled, unless `nodeIntegrationInSubFrames` is `true`. ### API Changed: Registering privileged schemes must now be done before app ready Renderer process APIs `webFrame.registerURLSchemeAsPrivileged` and `webFrame.registerURLSchemeAsBypassingCSP` as well as browser process API `protocol.registerStandardSchemes` have been removed. A new API, `protocol.registerSchemesAsPrivileged` has been added and should be used for registering custom schemes with the required privileges. Custom schemes are required to be registered before app ready. ### Deprecated: `webFrame.setIsolatedWorld*` replaced with `webFrame.setIsolatedWorldInfo` ```js // Deprecated webFrame.setIsolatedWorldContentSecurityPolicy(worldId, csp) webFrame.setIsolatedWorldHumanReadableName(worldId, name) webFrame.setIsolatedWorldSecurityOrigin(worldId, securityOrigin) // Replace with webFrame.setIsolatedWorldInfo( worldId, { securityOrigin: 'some_origin', name: 'human_readable_name', csp: 'content_security_policy' }) ``` ### API Changed: `webFrame.setSpellCheckProvider` now takes an asynchronous callback The `spellCheck` callback is now asynchronous, and `autoCorrectWord` parameter has been removed. ```js // Deprecated webFrame.setSpellCheckProvider('en-US', true, { spellCheck: (text) => { return !spellchecker.isMisspelled(text) } }) // Replace with webFrame.setSpellCheckProvider('en-US', { spellCheck: (words, callback) => { callback(words.filter(text => spellchecker.isMisspelled(text))) } }) ``` ## Planned Breaking API Changes (4.0) The following list includes the breaking API changes made in Electron 4.0. ### `app.makeSingleInstance` ```js // Deprecated app.makeSingleInstance((argv, cwd) => { /* ... */ }) // Replace with app.requestSingleInstanceLock() app.on('second-instance', (event, argv, cwd) => { /* ... */ }) ``` ### `app.releaseSingleInstance` ```js // Deprecated app.releaseSingleInstance() // Replace with app.releaseSingleInstanceLock() ``` ### `app.getGPUInfo` ```js app.getGPUInfo('complete') // Now behaves the same with `basic` on macOS app.getGPUInfo('basic') ``` ### `win_delay_load_hook` When building native modules for windows, the `win_delay_load_hook` variable in the module's `binding.gyp` must be true (which is the default). If this hook is not present, then the native module will fail to load on Windows, with an error message like `Cannot find module`. See the [native module guide](/docs/tutorial/using-native-node-modules.md) for more. ## Breaking API Changes (3.0) The following list includes the breaking API changes in Electron 3.0. ### `app` ```js // Deprecated app.getAppMemoryInfo() // Replace with app.getAppMetrics() // Deprecated const metrics = app.getAppMetrics() const { memory } = metrics[0] // Deprecated property ``` ### `BrowserWindow` ```js // Deprecated const optionsA = { webPreferences: { blinkFeatures: '' } } const windowA = new BrowserWindow(optionsA) // Replace with const optionsB = { webPreferences: { enableBlinkFeatures: '' } } const windowB = new BrowserWindow(optionsB) // Deprecated window.on('app-command', (e, cmd) => { if (cmd === 'media-play_pause') { // do something } }) // Replace with window.on('app-command', (e, cmd) => { if (cmd === 'media-play-pause') { // do something } }) ``` ### `clipboard` ```js // Deprecated clipboard.readRtf() // Replace with clipboard.readRTF() // Deprecated clipboard.writeRtf() // Replace with clipboard.writeRTF() // Deprecated clipboard.readHtml() // Replace with clipboard.readHTML() // Deprecated clipboard.writeHtml() // Replace with clipboard.writeHTML() ``` ### `crashReporter` ```js // Deprecated crashReporter.start({ companyName: 'Crashly', submitURL: 'https://crash.server.com', autoSubmit: true }) // Replace with crashReporter.start({ companyName: 'Crashly', submitURL: 'https://crash.server.com', uploadToServer: true }) ``` ### `nativeImage` ```js // Deprecated nativeImage.createFromBuffer(buffer, 1.0) // Replace with nativeImage.createFromBuffer(buffer, { scaleFactor: 1.0 }) ``` ### `process` ```js // Deprecated const info = process.getProcessMemoryInfo() ``` ### `screen` ```js // Deprecated screen.getMenuBarHeight() // Replace with screen.getPrimaryDisplay().workArea ``` ### `session` ```js // Deprecated ses.setCertificateVerifyProc((hostname, certificate, callback) => { callback(true) }) // Replace with ses.setCertificateVerifyProc((request, callback) => { callback(0) }) ``` ### `Tray` ```js // Deprecated tray.setHighlightMode(true) // Replace with tray.setHighlightMode('on') // Deprecated tray.setHighlightMode(false) // Replace with tray.setHighlightMode('off') ``` ### `webContents` ```js // Deprecated webContents.openDevTools({ detach: true }) // Replace with webContents.openDevTools({ mode: 'detach' }) // Removed webContents.setSize(options) // There is no replacement for this API ``` ### `webFrame` ```js // Deprecated webFrame.registerURLSchemeAsSecure('app') // Replace with protocol.registerStandardSchemes(['app'], { secure: true }) // Deprecated webFrame.registerURLSchemeAsPrivileged('app', { secure: true }) // Replace with protocol.registerStandardSchemes(['app'], { secure: true }) ``` ### `` ```js // Removed webview.setAttribute('disableguestresize', '') // There is no replacement for this API // Removed webview.setAttribute('guestinstance', instanceId) // There is no replacement for this API // Keyboard listeners no longer work on webview tag webview.onkeydown = () => { /* handler */ } webview.onkeyup = () => { /* handler */ } ``` ### Node Headers URL This is the URL specified as `disturl` in a `.npmrc` file or as the `--dist-url` command line flag when building native Node modules. Deprecated: https://atom.io/download/atom-shell Replace with: https://atom.io/download/electron ## Breaking API Changes (2.0) The following list includes the breaking API changes made in Electron 2.0. ### `BrowserWindow` ```js // Deprecated const optionsA = { titleBarStyle: 'hidden-inset' } const windowA = new BrowserWindow(optionsA) // Replace with const optionsB = { titleBarStyle: 'hiddenInset' } const windowB = new BrowserWindow(optionsB) ``` ### `menu` ```js // Removed menu.popup(browserWindow, 100, 200, 2) // Replaced with menu.popup(browserWindow, { x: 100, y: 200, positioningItem: 2 }) ``` ### `nativeImage` ```js // Removed nativeImage.toPng() // Replaced with nativeImage.toPNG() // Removed nativeImage.toJpeg() // Replaced with nativeImage.toJPEG() ``` ### `process` * `process.versions.electron` and `process.version.chrome` will be made read-only properties for consistency with the other `process.versions` properties set by Node. ### `webContents` ```js // Removed webContents.setZoomLevelLimits(1, 2) // Replaced with webContents.setVisualZoomLevelLimits(1, 2) ``` ### `webFrame` ```js // Removed webFrame.setZoomLevelLimits(1, 2) // Replaced with webFrame.setVisualZoomLevelLimits(1, 2) ``` ### `` ```js // Removed webview.setZoomLevelLimits(1, 2) // Replaced with webview.setVisualZoomLevelLimits(1, 2) ``` ### Duplicate ARM Assets Each Electron release includes two identical ARM builds with slightly different filenames, like `electron-v1.7.3-linux-arm.zip` and `electron-v1.7.3-linux-armv7l.zip`. The asset with the `v7l` prefix was added to clarify to users which ARM version it supports, and to disambiguate it from future armv6l and arm64 assets that may be produced. The file _without the prefix_ is still being published to avoid breaking any setups that may be consuming it. Starting at 2.0, the unprefixed file will no longer be published. For details, see [6986](https://github.com/electron/electron/pull/6986) and [7189](https://github.com/electron/electron/pull/7189).