Blink API owners
Summary
The Blink API owners oversee, enforce and evolve the Blink Intent process. Their most public role is to approve experimentation and shipping of new or changed web-exposed APIs to Chromium-based browsers.
You can find a list of the current API owners here.
What is the Blink Intent process?
The Blink Intent process - proceeding from Prototype to Ship - is how web-exposed features ship in Chromium.
What are the Blink API owners?
The Blink API owners are the stewards of the core values of Blink and those values in practice. They achieve this by enforcing proper use of the Intent process, which is designed to protect and enhance those values.
The Blink Intent process itself is also overseen and evolved by the Blink API owners.
What do the Blink API owners actually do?
It can be summarized as:
- LGTMs from at least three Blink API owners are necessary to ship or change a web platform feature in Chromium
- One LGTM is necessary to start an experiment or a deprecation period
- The primary task of Blink API owners is to decide whether to give those LGTMs
They also give reasons, if needed, why the LGTM was provided or not provided. The reasons are needed in cases where it may not otherwise be clear why the decision was made. LGTMs are provided via email to blink-dev@chromium.org. Public discussion about issues of interest to the API owners occurs on blink-api-owners-discuss@chromium.org. Weekly meetings process the backlog of intents needing decisions. Any significant changes to the Intent process also need the approval of the API owners.
In practice, the Blink API owners may also help developers through tricky parts of the Intent process.
How do the Blink API owners arrive at their decisions?
The Blink API owners review the Intent process was faithfully followed, and most importantly that nothing about experimenting with or shipping these features is in conflict with any of the core values of Blink.
The API owners will ask any questions about the evidence provided on the blink-dev thread for the Intent, so that everyone can see those questions.
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