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Contributing a new API to Node-API

Node-API is the ABI-stable API for native addons. We encourage contributions to enhance the API, while also ensuring compatibility and adherence to guidelines. When adding a new API to Node-API, please follow these principles and guidelines:

Core principles

  1. Adherence to Node-API standards

    • Must be a C API.
    • Must not throw exceptions.
    • Must return napi_status.
    • Should consume napi_env.
    • Must operate on primitive data types, pointers to primitive data types, or opaque handles.
    • Must be a necessary API, not a convenience API (which belongs in node-addon-api).
    • Must not break ABI compatibility with other Node.js versions.

  2. Maintaining VM agnosticism

    • New APIs should be compatible with various JavaScript VMs.

Documentation and testing

  1. Documentation

    • PRs introducing new APIs must include corresponding documentation updates.
    • Experimental APIs must be clearly documented as experimental and require an explicit compile-time flag to opt-in (#define).

  2. Testing

    • PRs must include at least one test case demonstrating API usage.
    • Should include test cases for various interesting uses of the API.
    • Should provide a sample demonstrating realistic usage, similar to a real-world addon.

Process and approval

  1. Team discussion

    • New APIs should be discussed in a Node-API team meeting.

  2. Review and approval

    • A new API addition must be signed off by at least two Node-API team members.
    • Should be implemented in at least one other VM implementation of Node.js.

  3. Experimental phase

    • New APIs must be marked as experimental for at least one minor Node.js release before promotion.
    • Must have a feature flag (NODE_API_EXPERIMENTAL_HAS_<FEATURE>) for distinguishing experimental feature existence.
    • Must be considered for backporting.
    • Exit criteria from experimental status include:
      • Opening a PR in nodejs/node to remove experimental status, tagged as node-api and semver-minor.
      • Approval by the Node-API team.
      • Availability of a down-level implementation if backporting is needed.
      • Usage by a published real-world module.
      • Implementation in an alternative VM.