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RFC Template

Feature Name

Summary

One paragraph explanation of the feature.

Motivation

Why should we do this? What use cases does it support? What is the expected outcome?

Guide-level explanation

Explain the feature as if it were already implemented in Electron and you were teaching it to an Electron app developer.

This section should:

  • Introduce new named concepts.
  • Show concrete examples of how the feature is used.
  • Explain how the feature will impact existing use cases of Electron.
  • If applicable, describe the migration path from an older set of Electron features or APIs.
  • Discuss how this impacts the ability to read, understand, and maintain Electron code. Will the proposed feature make Electron code more maintainable? How difficult is the upgrade path for existing apps?

When writing this section, make sure to clearly account for API differences or considerations for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Reference-level explanation

This is the technical portion of the RFC. Explain the design in sufficient detail that:

  • Its interaction with other features is clear.
  • It is reasonably clear how the feature would be implemented.
  • Corner cases are dissected by example.
  • Any new dependencies on Chromium code are outlined.

The section should return to the examples given in the previous section, and explain more fully how the detailed proposal makes those examples work.

Drawbacks

Why should we not do this?

Rationale and alternatives

  • Why is this design the best in the space of possible designs?
  • What other designs have been considered and what is the rationale for not choosing them?
  • What is the impact of not doing this?
  • If this is an API proposal, could this be done as a JavaScript module or a native Node.js add-on instead? Does the proposed change make Electron code easier or harder to read, understand, and maintain?

Prior art

Discuss prior art, both the good and the bad, in relation to this proposal. A few examples of what this can include are:

  • Does this feature exist in other frameworks and what experience have their community had?
  • Does this feature exist as a userland implementation, and what can be learned from it?
  • Is this related to a change upstream in Chromium or Node.js?
  • Does this proposal help Electron further align with evolving web standards?

This section is intended to encourage you as an author to think about the lessons from prior implementations to provide readers of your RFC with a fuller picture. If there is no prior art, that is fine - your ideas are interesting to us whether they are brand new or if it is an adaptation from other technologies.

Unresolved questions

  • What parts of the design do you expect to resolve through the RFC process before this gets merged?
  • What parts of the design do you expect to resolve through the implementation of this feature before stabilization?
  • What related issues do you consider out of scope for this RFC that could be addressed in the future independently of the solution that comes out of this RFC?

Future possibilities

Think about what the natural extension and evolution of your proposal would be and how it would affect the project as a whole in a holistic way. Try to use this section as a tool to more fully consider all possible interactions with the project in your proposal.

This is also a good place to "dump ideas", if they are out of scope for the RFC you are writing but otherwise related.

If you have tried and cannot think of any future possibilities, you may simply state that you cannot think of anything.

Note that having something written down in the future possibilities section is not a reason to accept the current or a future RFC; such notes should be in the section on motivation or rationale in this or subsequent RFCs. The section merely provides additional information.