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Maintenance Policy

This document describes the maintenance and support policy for the WebdriverIO Desktop & Mobile Testing monorepo.

No LTS / Backporting

This repository does not maintain LTS or backport branches. Each service receives updates only while on the main branch.

What This Means

  • ✅ Latest versions on main receive all updates - New features, bug fixes, and improvements
  • ❌ No backporting fixes to older major versions - Once a new major version is released, the previous major version receives no further updates
  • 📌 Pin specific versions for stability - Use exact versions in package.json if you need to avoid breaking changes
  • 🔒 Security fixes evaluated case-by-case - Critical security issues may be considered for older versions at maintainer discretion

Why This Approach

Multi-service monorepo complexity:

  • Different services at different maturity levels (Electron v10, Tauri v1)
  • Services evolve at different paces with different release cycles
  • Backporting across multiple services would be complex and error-prone

Resource optimization:

  • Focuses maintainer effort on moving forward rather than maintaining multiple versions
  • Reduces testing and release overhead
  • Allows faster iteration and innovation

Aligns with project goals:

  • Agile development approach
  • Rapid integration of new features
  • Community-driven with limited maintainer bandwidth

Comparison with Parent Project

The parent WebdriverIO project does support LTS and backporting:

  • Maintains 2 major versions simultaneously
  • Uses backport-requested labels for cherry-picking fixes
  • Has dedicated maintenance branches (e.g., v8.x)

This difference is intentional and reflects:

  • WebdriverIO core has larger team and user base
  • desktop-mobile services are newer with smaller adoption
  • Different resource availability

Version Support Matrix

Package Status Supported
@wdio/electron-service Pre-release ✅ Active
@wdio/tauri-service Pre-release ✅ Active
@wdio/native-utils Stable ✅ Active
@wdio/native-types Stable ✅ Active
@wdio/electron-cdp-bridge Pre-release ✅ Active
@wdio/tauri-plugin Pre-release ✅ Active

Check npm or each package's package.json for current version numbers.

Legend:

  • ✅ Active - Receives all updates
  • ⚠️ Security Only - Only critical security fixes (none currently)
  • ❌ Unsupported - No longer maintained

Best Practices for Users

Pin Versions for Stability

If you need stability and want to avoid breaking changes, use exact versions (no ^ or ~) in your package.json to prevent automatic updates.

Stay Updated

For the latest features and fixes, use the ^ range prefix to allow compatible updates.

Monitor Releases

Release Cadence

  • Patch releases - As needed for bug fixes
  • Minor releases - When new features are added
  • Major releases - Annually or when breaking changes accumulate

Pre-release packages (-next.X) may have more frequent updates during active development.

Security Policy

While we don't backport general fixes, security vulnerabilities are treated differently:

  1. Critical security issues in current versions are fixed immediately
  2. Security issues in previous major versions are evaluated case-by-case
  3. If feasible and impact is severe, security patches may be backported

To report security vulnerabilities, contact the maintainers privately (not via public issues).

Migration Support

When major versions are released, we provide:

  • Migration guides - Documentation of breaking changes
  • Deprecation warnings - Advanced notice in previous versions when possible
  • Community support - Help via Discord and Discussions

Questions?