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Deprecation policy

This document defines how claude-code-chat-browser evolves its HTTP JSON API and CLI without breaking integrators and the bundled SPA unexpectedly.

Principles

  1. Documented fields are a contract. See API reference — each field is marked stable, experimental, or deprecated.
  2. Additive first. Prefer adding a new field over renaming an existing one.
  3. Deprecate before removing. A deprecated field remains in responses for at least one release after the deprecation is announced in CHANGELOG and the API reference. Fields still read by the bundled SPA need at least two releases — see Removal criteria below.
  4. SPA and scripts. Update static/js/*.js and any internal callers before removing a field.

How we announce deprecation

Channel What to update
CHANGELOG ### Deprecated under the release that announces the change
API reference Set field stability to deprecated with a short note and replacement
Response (optional) Future: Deprecation header or JSON _deprecated map — not required today

Removal criteria

A deprecated field may be removed when:

  • At least one release has shipped with the field still present but documented as deprecated, and
  • The bundled SPA no longer reads the field, and
  • Tests and CHANGELOG document the removal.

For fields actively read by the bundled SPA (which does not track an external API version), removal happens no earlier than two tagged releases after the release that documented the deprecation in CHANGELOG, and no earlier than 14 calendar days after that deprecation announcement.

Example (illustrative): if a field is deprecated in version X, it may be removed no earlier than version X+2. With v0.1.0 as the first shipped tag, a field deprecated in 0.2.0 would be removable from 0.4.0 at earliest (versions advance 0.2.0 → 0.3.0 → 0.4.0).

Bundled SPA fast path (pre-v0.1.0)

Before v0.1.0 shipped, the CHANGELOG [Unreleased] section was the source of truth for API changes not yet tagged — see Versioning below. The bundled SPA is deployed from the same repo and commit as the API; it does not consume a separately versioned HTTP contract.

For fields only read by the bundled SPA (no external integrators on a tagged API yet), an atomic PR that (1) stops reading the field in static/js/*.js and (2) removes it from the JSON response was acceptable before v0.1.0, provided deprecation was announced in CHANGELOG and api-reference (PR #60) and removal was recorded under [Unreleased]. External integrators who pin a tagged release must follow the two-release + 14-day rule above.

Example (completed)

Field Endpoint Status Replacement Notes
export_count GET /api/export/state removed last_export_session_count Deprecated in PR #60 ([Unreleased]); removed in [0.1.0]

Versioning

Release versions follow MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH in app.__version__ and CHANGELOG. v0.1.0 is the first shipped git tag; main carries a .dev0 suffix while developing the next release (currently 0.2.0.dev0). The CHANGELOG [Unreleased] section is the source of truth for changes not yet tagged.

Bump Pre-1.0 meaning
Patch Bug fixes and documentation; no intentional API removals
Minor Additive API/features; deprecations may be announced
Major Reserved for the 1.0.0 line and later: signals a stable HTTP JSON contract for external integrators and may include breaking removals that completed their deprecation period

While the project is pre-1.0, treat minor bumps as the usual vehicle for deprecations and patch bumps for safe fixes.