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 terms of available VM APIs 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.
     • Implementable in an alternative VM.