Electron API History Migration Guide

This document demonstrates how to add API History blocks to existing APIs.

API history information

Here are some resources you can use to find information on the history of an API:

Breaking Changes

• breaking-changes.md

Additions

• git blame
• Release notes
• electron-api-historian

Example

NOTE

The associated API is already removed, we will ignore that for the purpose of this example.

If we search through breaking-changes.md we can find a function that was deprecated in Electron 25.0.

<!-- docs/breaking-changes.md -->
### Deprecated: `BrowserWindow.getTrafficLightPosition()`

`BrowserWindow.getTrafficLightPosition()` has been deprecated, the
`BrowserWindow.getWindowButtonPosition()` API should be used instead
which returns `null` instead of `{ x: 0, y: 0 }` when there is no custom
position.

<!-- docs/api/browser-window.md  -->
#### `win.getTrafficLightPosition()` _macOS_ _Deprecated_

Returns `Point` - The custom position for the traffic light buttons in
frameless window, `{ x: 0, y: 0 }` will be returned when there is no custom
position.

We can then use git blame to find the Pull Request associated with that entry:

$ grep -n "BrowserWindow.getTrafficLightPosition" docs/breaking-changes.md 
523:### Deprecated: `BrowserWindow.getTrafficLightPosition()`
525:`BrowserWindow.getTrafficLightPosition()` has been deprecated, the

$ git blame -L523,524 -- docs/breaking-changes.md
1e206deec3e (Keeley Hammond 2023-04-06 21:23:29 -0700 523) ### Deprecated: `BrowserWindow.getTrafficLightPosition()`
1e206deec3e (Keeley Hammond 2023-04-06 21:23:29 -0700 524)

$ git log -1 1e206deec3e
commit 1e206deec3ef142460c780307752a84782f9baed (tag: v26.0.0-nightly.20230407)
Author: Keeley Hammond <vertedinde@electronjs.org>
Date:   Thu Apr 6 21:23:29 2023 -0700

    docs: update E24/E25 breaking changes (#37878) <-- This is the associated Pull Request

Verify that the Pull Request is correct and make a corresponding entry in the API History:

NOTE

Refer to the API History section of styleguide.md for information on how to create API History blocks.

#### `win.getTrafficLightPosition()` _macOS_ _Deprecated_

<!--
```YAML history
deprecated:
  - pr-url: https://github.com/electron/electron/pull/37878
    breaking-changes-header: deprecated-browserwindowgettrafficlightposition
```
-->

Returns `Point` - The custom position for the traffic light buttons in
frameless window, `{ x: 0, y: 0 }` will be returned when there is no custom
position.

You can keep looking through breaking-changes.md to find other breaking changes and add those in.

You can also use git log -L :<funcname>:<file>:

$ git log --reverse -L :GetTrafficLightPosition:shell/browser/native_window_mac.mm
commit e01b1831d96d5d68f54af879b00c617358df5372
Author: Cheng Zhao <zcbenz@gmail.com>
Date:   Wed Dec 16 14:30:39 2020 +0900

    feat: make trafficLightPosition work for customButtonOnHover (#26789)

Verify that the Pull Request is correct and make a corresponding entry in the API History:

#### `win.getTrafficLightPosition()` _macOS_ _Deprecated_

<!--
```YAML history
added:
  - pr-url: https://github.com/electron/electron/pull/22533
changes:
  - pr-url: https://github.com/electron/electron/pull/26789
    description: "Made `trafficLightPosition` option work for `customButtonOnHover` window."
    breaking-changes-header: behavior-changed-draggable-regions-on-macos
```
-->

Returns `Point` - The custom position for the traffic light buttons in
frameless window, `{ x: 0, y: 0 }` will be returned when there is no custom
position.

We will then look for when the API was originally added:

$ git log --reverse -L :GetTrafficLightPosition:shell/browser/native_window_mac.mm
commit 3e2cec83d927b991855e21cc311ca9046e332601
Author: Samuel Attard <sattard@slack-corp.com>
Date:   Thu Mar 5 14:22:12 2020 -0800

    feat: programmatically modify traffic light positioning (#22533)

Alternatively, you can use git blame:

$ git checkout 1e206deec3e^
HEAD is now at e8c87859c4 fix: showAboutPanel also on linux (#37828)

$ grep -n "getTrafficLightPosition" docs/api/browser-window.md
1867:#### `win.getTrafficLightPosition()` _macOS_ _Deprecated_

$ git blame -L1867,1868 -- docs/api/browser-window.md
0de1012280e (Cheng Zhao    2023-02-17 19:06:32 +0900 1867) #### `win.getTrafficLightPosition()` _macOS_ _Deprecated_
3e2cec83d92 (Samuel Attard 2020-03-05 14:22:12 -0800 1868) 

$ git checkout 0de1012280e^
HEAD is now at 0a5e634736 test: rename & split internal module tests (#37318)

$ grep -n "getTrafficLightPosition" docs/api/browser-window.md 
1851:#### `win.getTrafficLightPosition()` _macOS_

$ git blame -L1851,1852 -- docs/api/browser-window.md
3e2cec83d92 (Samuel Attard 2020-03-05 14:22:12 -0800 1851) #### `win.getTrafficLightPosition()` _macOS_
3e2cec83d92 (Samuel Attard 2020-03-05 14:22:12 -0800 1852)

$ git checkout 3e2cec83d92^
HEAD is now at 1811751c6c docs: clean up dark mode related docs (#22489)

$ grep -n "getTrafficLightPosition" docs/api/browser-window.md
(Nothing)

$ git checkout 3e2cec83d92
HEAD is now at 3e2cec83d9 feat: programmatically modify traffic light positioning (#22533)

Verify that the Pull Request is correct and make a corresponding entry in the API History:

#### `win.getTrafficLightPosition()` _macOS_ _Deprecated_

<!--
```YAML history
added:
  - pr-url: https://github.com/electron/electron/pull/22533
changes:
  - pr-url: https://github.com/electron/electron/pull/26789
    description: "Made `trafficLightPosition` option work for `customButtonOnHover` window."
    breaking-changes-header: behavior-changed-draggable-regions-on-macos
deprecated:
  - pr-url: https://github.com/electron/electron/pull/37878
    breaking-changes-header: deprecated-browserwindowgettrafficlightposition
```
-->

Returns `Point` - The custom position for the traffic light buttons in
frameless window, `{ x: 0, y: 0 }` will be returned when there is no custom
position.