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@@ -1,16 +1,16 @@
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-# Creating an Electron Browser Module API
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+# Creating a New Electron Browser Module
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-Welcome to the Electron API guide! If you are unfamiliar with creating electron APIs within the `browser` module, this guide serves as a checklist for some of the necessary steps that you will need to implement.
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+Welcome to the Electron API guide! If you are unfamiliar with creating a new Electron API module within the [`browser`](https://github.com/electron/electron/tree/main/shell/browser) directory, this guide serves as a checklist for some of the necessary steps that you will need to implement.
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This is not a comprehensive end-all guide to creating an Electron Browser API, rather an outline documenting some of the more unintuitive steps.
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-## Adding Your Files To Electron's Project Configuration
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+## Add your files to Electron's project configuration
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-Electron uses [GN](https://gn.googlesource.com/gn) as a meta build system to generate files for its compiler, [Ninja](https://ninja-build.org/). This means that in order to tell Electron to compile your code, we have to add your API's code and header file names into [`filenames.gni`](https://github.com/electron/electron/blob/main/filenames.gni).
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+Electron uses [GN](https://gn.googlesource.com/gn) as a meta build system to generate files for its compiler, [Ninja](https://ninja-build.org/). This means that in order to tell Electron to compile your code, we have to add your API's code and header file names into [`filenames.gni`](https://github.com/electron/electron/blob/main/filenames.gni).
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-You will need to append your api file names alphabetically into the appropriate files like so:
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+You will need to append your API file names alphabetically into the appropriate files like so:
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-```cpp
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+```cpp title='filenames.gni'
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lib_sources = [
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"path/to/api/api_name.cc",
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"path/to/api/api_name.h",
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@@ -32,13 +32,13 @@ lib_sources_linux = [
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]
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```
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-Note that the Windows, MacOS and Linux array additions are optional and should only be added if your API has specific platform implementations.
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+Note that the Windows, macOS and Linux array additions are optional and should only be added if your API has specific platform implementations.
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-## Create API Documentation
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+## Create API documentation
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-Type definitions are generated by Electron using [`docs-parser`](https://github.com/electron/docs-parser) and [`typescript-definitions`](https://github.com/electron/typescript-definitions). This step is necessary to ensure consistency across Electron's API documentation. This means that for your API type definition to appear in the `electron.d.ts` file, we must create a `.md` file. Examples can be found in [this folder](https://github.com/electron/electron/tree/main/docs/api).
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+Type definitions are generated by Electron using [`@electron/docs-parser`](https://github.com/electron/docs-parser) and [`@electron/typescript-definitions`](https://github.com/electron/typescript-definitions). This step is necessary to ensure consistency across Electron's API documentation. This means that for your API type definition to appear in the `electron.d.ts` file, we must create a `.md` file. Examples can be found in [this folder](https://github.com/electron/electron/tree/main/docs/api).
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-## Setting Up `ObjectTemplateBuilder` and `Wrappable`
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+## Set up `ObjectTemplateBuilder` and `Wrappable`
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Electron constructs its modules using [`object_template_builder`](https://www.electronjs.org/blog/from-native-to-js#mateobjecttemplatebuilder).
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@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ Here is a basic example of code that you may need to add, in order to incorporat
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In your `api_name.h` file:
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-```cpp
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+```cpp title='api_name.h'
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#ifndef SHELL_BROWSER_API_ELECTRON_API_{API_NAME}_H_
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#define SHELL_BROWSER_API_ELECTRON_API_{API_NAME}_H_
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@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ class ApiName : public gin::Wrappable<ApiName> {
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In your `api_name.cc` file:
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-```cpp
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+```cpp title='api_name.cc'
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#include "shell/browser/api/electron_api_safe_storage.h"
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#include "shell/browser/browser.h"
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@@ -125,15 +125,11 @@ void Initialize(v8::Local<v8::Object> exports,
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} // namespace
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```
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-## Link Your Electron API With Node
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+## Link your Electron API with Node
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-To learn about how Electron links with Node, [click here.](https://www.electronjs.org/blog/electron-internals-using-node-as-a-library#link-node-with-electron)
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+In the [`typings/internal-ambient.d.ts`](https://github.com/electron/electron/blob/main/typings/internal-ambient.d.ts) file, we need to append a new property onto the `Process` interface like so:
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-In the [`internal-ambient.d.ts`](https://github.com/electron/electron/blob/main/typings/internal-ambient.d.ts) file:
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-
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-We need to append a new property onto the `Process` interface found in this file like so:
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-
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-```ts
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+```ts title='typings/internal-ambient.d.ts'
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interface Process {
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_linkedBinding(name: 'electron_browser_{api_name}', Electron.ApiName);
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}
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@@ -141,22 +137,22 @@ interface Process {
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At the very bottom of your `api_name.cc` file:
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-```cpp
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+```cpp title='api_name.cc'
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NODE_LINKED_MODULE_CONTEXT_AWARE(electron_browser_{api_name},Initialize)
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```
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-In your [`shell/common/node_bindings.cc`](https://github.com/electron/electron/blob/main/shell/common/node_bindings.cc) file:
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+In your [`shell/common/node_bindings.cc`](https://github.com/electron/electron/blob/main/shell/common/node_bindings.cc) file, add your node binding name to Electron's built-in modules.
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-Add your node binding name to Electron's built-in modules.
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-
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-```cpp
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+```cpp title='shell/common/node_bindings.cc'
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#define ELECTRON_BUILTIN_MODULES(V) \
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V(electron_browser_{api_name})
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```
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-## Expose Your API to TypeScript
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+> Note: More technical details on how Node links with Electron can be found on [our blog](https://www.electronjs.org/blog/electron-internals-using-node-as-a-library#link-node-with-electron).
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+
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+## Expose your API to TypeScript
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-### Export Your API as a module
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+### Export your API as a module
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We will need to create a new TypeScript file in the path that follows:
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@@ -164,11 +160,11 @@ We will need to create a new TypeScript file in the path that follows:
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An example of the contents of this file can be found [here](https://github.com/electron/electron/blob/main/lib/browser/api/native-image.ts).
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-### Expose Your module to TypeScript
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+### Expose your module to TypeScript
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Add your module to the module list found at `"lib/browser/api/module-list.ts"` like so:
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-```typescript
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+```typescript title='lib/browser/api/module-list.ts'
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export const browserModuleList: ElectronInternal.ModuleEntry[] = [
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{ name: 'apiName', loader: () => require('./api-name') },
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];
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