Electron 12.0.0

Electron 12.0.0 has been released! It includes upgrades to Chromium 89, V8 8.9 and Node.js 14.16. We've added changes to the remote module, new defaults for contextIsolation, a new webFrameMain API, and general improvements. Read below for more details!

The Electron team is excited to announce the release of Electron 12.0.0! You can install it with npm via npm install electron@latest or download it from our releases website. Continue reading for details about this release, and please share any feedback you have!

Notable Changes

Stack Changes

• Chromium 89
  • New in Chrome 88
  • New in Chrome 89
• Node.js 14.16
  • Node 14.16.0 blog post
  • Node 14.0.0 blog post
• V8 8.9
  • V8 8.8 blog post
  • V8 8.9 blog post

Highlight Features

• The ContextBridge exposeInMainWorld method can now expose non-object APIs. #26834
• Upgraded from Node 12 to Node 14. #23249
• Added a new webFrameMain API for accessing sub-frames of a WebContents instance from the main process. #25464
• The default values of contextIsolation and worldSafeExecuteJavaScript are now true. #27949 #27502

See the 12.0.0 release notes for a full list of new features and changes.

Breaking Changes

• Deprecated the remote module. It is replaced by @electron/remote. #25293
  • If you are currently using the remote module, we've written a guide to migrating to @electron/remote here.
• Changed the default value of contextIsolation to true. #27949
• Changed the default value of worldSafeExecuteJavaScript to true. #27502
• Changed the default of crashReporter.start({ compress }) from false to true. #25288
• Removed Flash support: Chromium has removed support for Flash, which was also removed in Electron 12. See Chromium's Flash Roadmap for more details.
• Required SSE3 for Chrome on x86: Chromium has removed support for older x86 CPUs that do not meet a minimum of SSE3 (Streaming SIMD Extensions 3) support. This support was also removed in Electron 12.

More information about these and future changes can be found on the Planned Breaking Changes page.

API Changes

• Added webFrameMain API: The webFrameMain module can be used to look up frames across existing WebContents instances. This is the main process equivalent of the existing webFrame API. More information about this new API can be found here, and in our documentation.
• app API changes:
  • Added non-localized serviceName to 'child-process-gone' / app.getAppMetrics(). #25975
  • Added new app.runningUnderRosettaTranslation property to detect when running under rosetta on Apple silicon. #26444
  • Added exitCode to render-process-gone details (app & webContents). #27677
• BrowserWindow API changes:
  • Added BrowserWindow.isTabletMode() API. #25209
  • Added resized (Windows/macOS) and moved (Windows) events to BrowserWindow. #26216
  • Added new system-context-menu event to allow preventing and overriding the system context menu. #25795
  • Added win.setTopBrowserView() so that BrowserViews can be raised. #27713
  • Added webPreferences.preferredSizeMode to allow sizing views according to their document's minimum size. #25874
• contextBridge API changes:
  • Allowed ContextBridge exposeInMainWorld method to expose non-object APIs. #26834
• display API changes:
  • Added displayFrequency property to the Display object to allow getting information about the refresh rate on Windows. #26472
• extensions API changes:
  • Added support for some chrome.management APIs. #25098
• MenuItem API changes:
  • Added support for showing macOS share menu. #25629
• net API changes:
  • Added a new credentials option for net.request(). #25284
  • Added net.online for detecting whether there is currently internet connection. #21004
• powerMonitor API changes:
  • Added powerMonitor.onBatteryPower. #26494
  • Added fast user switching event to powerMonitor on macOS. #25321
• session API changes:
  • Added allowFileAccess option to ses.loadExtension() API. #27702
  • Added display-capture API for session.setPermissionRequestHandler. #27696
  • Added a disabledCipherSuites option to session.setSSLConfig. #25818
  • Added extension-loaded, extension-unloaded, and extension-ready events to session. #25385
  • Added session.setSSLConfig() to allow configuring SSL. #25461
  • Added support for explicitly specifying direct, auto_detect or system modes in session.setProxy(). #24937
  • Added Serial API support. #25237
  • Added APIs to enable/disable spell checker. #26276
• shell API changes:
  • Added a new asynchronous shell.trashItem() API, replacing the synchronous shell.moveItemToTrash(). #25114
• webContents API changes:
  • Added a small console hint to console to help debug renderer crashes. #25317
  • Added frame and webContents properties to the details object in webRequest handlers. #27334
  • Added webContents.forcefullyCrashRenderer() to forcefully terminate a renderer process to assist with recovering a hung renderer. #25580
  • Added setWindowOpenHandler API for renderer-created child windows, and deprecate new-window event. #24517
• webFrame API changes:
  • Added spellcheck API to renderer. #25060

Removed/Deprecated Changes

The following APIs have been removed or are now deprecated:

• Deprecated the remote module. It is replaced by @electron/remote. #25293
• Removed deprecated crashReporter APIs. #26709
• Removed links to the Electron website from the default 'Help' menu in packaged apps. #25831

End of Support for 9.x.y

Electron 9.x.y has reached end-of-support as per the project's support policy. Developers and applications are encouraged to upgrade to a newer version of Electron.

What's Next

In the short term, you can expect the team to continue to focus on keeping up with the development of the major components that make up Electron, including Chromium, Node, and V8. Although we are careful not to make promises about release dates, our plan is release new major versions of Electron with new versions of those components approximately quarterly. The tentative 13.0.0 schedule maps out key dates in the Electron 13.0 development life cycle. Also, see our versioning document for more detailed information about versioning in Electron.

For information on planned breaking changes in upcoming versions of Electron, see our Planned Breaking Changes doc.