NW.js v0.59.1 Released with Node.js v17.3.0 and Chromium Update

2021/12/21

I'm pleased to announce NW.js 0.59.1. It fixes a bug that NW will not start in some Windows systems. The root cause is that node.dll depends on MSVC redistributable, which is missing in some systems.

This version ships Chromium update and Node.js v17.3.0. Starting from recent releases, the major version will be upgraded with Chromium upstream every 4 weeks as Chromium stable moved to a faster release cycle from 6 weeks. This ensures the NW.js programmers the access to the latest features and security updates from upstream.

Chromium 96 contains usual under-the-hood performance and stability tweaks, but there are also some cool new features to explore. It supports Back-forward cache, :autofill Pseudo Class and more. Please check Chromium blog for details. For a complete list of all features (including experimental features) in this release, see the Chrome 96 milestone hotlist.

I've made the 0.59 branch ready soon after Chromium beta bumps to 96. Thanks to the testers for their valuable feedback and bug reports. I've been working on 2 branches simultaneously: a released branch on current Chromium stable and a beta branch on Chromium beta.

Best regards,
Roger Wang

ChangeLog

• Update Chromium to 96.0.4664.110
• node: update to v17.3.0
• Fix: NW sample app won't start on Win10 (#7803)
• Fix: NWJS does not re-open a window after a Simulate browser restart or Reload app (#7798)
• Fix: Reloading a new instance child window causes crash (#7813)

Full ChangeLog: https://github.com/nwjs/nw.js/blob/nw59/CHANGELOG.md

Download

• https://dl.nwjs.io/v0.59.1/nwjs-v0.59.1-win-x64.zip
• https://dl.nwjs.io/v0.59.1/nwjs-v0.59.1-osx-x64.zip
• https://dl.nwjs.io/v0.59.1/nwjs-v0.59.1-linux-x64.tar.gz

SDK build:

• https://dl.nwjs.io/v0.59.1/nwjs-sdk-v0.59.1-win-x64.zip
• https://dl.nwjs.io/v0.59.1/nwjs-sdk-v0.59.1-osx-x64.zip
• https://dl.nwjs.io/v0.59.1/nwjs-sdk-v0.59.1-linux-x64.tar.gz

Binary for other platforms: https://dl.nwjs.io/v0.59.1/

There are 2 builds for each platform - normal build, and SDK build. Normal build doesn't have devtools, only SDK build does. lt can be opened by pressing F12 (Cmd-Alt-I on OSX). SDK packages also have more development tools to be exposed in the following releases, as well as the NaCl support.

Our build infrastructure enables live binary build from git tip so you can access to the latest binary from https://dl.nwjs.io/live-build/

Known issues

http://docs.nwjs.io/en/latest/For%20Users/Migration/From%200.12%20to%200.13/#known-issues

Discussion

See our mailing list to discuss on this release: https://groups.google.com/g/nwjs-general/c/aYXyp1vv1pM/m/OKmyCCaMCgAJ