fix: toggle devtools menu item for `BaseWindow` by KanishkRanjan · Pull Request #49356 · electron/electron

KanishkRanjan · 2026-01-11T13:19:10Z

Description of Change

This PR fixes a "JavaScript error in main process" that occurs when a developer attempts to trigger the toggleDevTools when running BaseWindow. Unlike BrowserWindow, BaseWindow have multiple WebContents which cause it to fail. This changes the logic to target the currently focused WebContents regardless of the window.

Root Cause

The pervious implementation of the toggledevtools menu role used getOwnerBrowserWindow() which returns {} when window is hosted within aBaseWindow and later when function call toggleDevTools was made it causes JS error .

Checklist

PR description included
npm test passes
tests are changed or added
relevant API documentation, tutorials, and examples are updated and follow the documentation style guide
PR release notes describe the change in a way relevant to app developers, and are capitalized, punctuated, and past tense.

Release Notes

Notes: Fixed an issue where the "Toggle Developer Tools" menu item failed to function correctly with BaseWindow.

nikwen

Thanks for working on this!

KanishkRanjan · 2026-03-16T09:00:14Z

The current commit doesn't address the review so please don't view it.

nikwen · 2026-03-17T23:28:19Z

Is it easy to add a test that sending the keyboard shortcut to the application toggles the devtools?

I remember @codebytere mentioning AppleScript as a potential way to do it in a similar context.

KanishkRanjan · 2026-03-30T12:20:48Z

@nikwen what can I do next ?

KanishkRanjan · 2026-05-01T21:35:36Z

discloser: test was written by claude. I asked for suggestion on writing test and found it good enough.

nikwen

Thanks for working on this! We're almost there. 🙂

nikwen

Thanks for the changes!

nikwen

Thank you! Looks great.

… mode

KanishkRanjan · 2026-06-05T18:37:43Z

Hey @ckerr , Can you please approve this PR 🙂 ?

release-clerk · 2026-06-05T23:24:13Z

Release Notes Persisted

Fixed an issue where the "Toggle Developer Tools" menu item failed to function correctly with BaseWindow.

trop · 2026-06-05T23:25:07Z

I have automatically backported this PR to "43-x-y", please check out #51901

trop · 2026-06-05T23:25:16Z

I have automatically backported this PR to "41-x-y", please check out #51902

trop · 2026-06-05T23:25:20Z

I have automatically backported this PR to "42-x-y", please check out #51903

KanishkRanjan · 2026-06-06T05:41:03Z

Thank you for your time and reviews. 🙂

electron-cation Bot added the new-pr 🌱 PR opened recently label Jan 11, 2026

codebytere requested a review from nikwen January 12, 2026 10:31

nikwen requested changes Jan 12, 2026

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Comment thread lib/browser/api/menu-item-roles.ts Outdated

Comment thread shell/browser/api/electron_api_web_contents.cc Outdated

KanishkRanjan changed the title ~~feat: Developers tools for BaseWindow~~ feat: Developers tools for BaseWindow Jan 13, 2026

electron-cation Bot removed the new-pr 🌱 PR opened recently label Jan 18, 2026

KanishkRanjan marked this pull request as draft February 4, 2026 18:33

nikwen added the wip ⚒ label Mar 12, 2026

KanishkRanjan force-pushed the feat/web-contents-dev-tools branch from 764c670 to cb36f07 Compare March 15, 2026 19:21

KanishkRanjan marked this pull request as ready for review March 16, 2026 09:00

electron-cation Bot added the new-pr 🌱 PR opened recently label Mar 16, 2026

nikwen changed the title ~~feat: Developers tools for BaseWindow~~ feat: fix toggle devtools menu item for BaseWindow Mar 17, 2026

nikwen changed the title ~~feat: fix toggle devtools menu item for BaseWindow~~ fix: toggle devtools menu item for BaseWindow Mar 17, 2026

nikwen added the semver/patch backwards-compatible bug fixes label Mar 17, 2026

electron-cation Bot removed the new-pr 🌱 PR opened recently label Mar 17, 2026

nikwen reviewed Apr 13, 2026

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Comment thread shell/browser/api/electron_api_web_contents.cc Outdated

KanishkRanjan force-pushed the feat/web-contents-dev-tools branch from 76cf541 to 91c7665 Compare May 1, 2026 21:32

KanishkRanjan requested a review from nikwen May 1, 2026 21:36

nikwen removed the wip ⚒ label May 20, 2026

nikwen requested changes May 20, 2026

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Comment thread spec/api-menu-item-spec.ts Outdated

Comment thread spec/api-menu-item-spec.ts

Comment thread lib/browser/api/menu-item-roles.ts Outdated

nikwen reviewed May 22, 2026

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Comment thread spec/api-menu-item-spec.ts Outdated

Comment thread spec/api-menu-item-spec.ts

KanishkRanjan requested a review from nikwen May 28, 2026 09:27

nikwen approved these changes Jun 1, 2026

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nikwen added target/41-x-y PR should also be added to the "41-x-y" branch. target/42-x-y PR should also be added to the "42-x-y" branch. target/43-x-y PR should also be added to the "43-x-y" branch. labels Jun 1, 2026

feat: Developers tools for BaseWindow

8f52d3f

test: enhance toggleDevTools role tests with cleanup and updated open…

149b257

… mode

KanishkRanjan force-pushed the feat/web-contents-dev-tools branch from e3740e7 to 149b257 Compare June 2, 2026 11:07

KanishkRanjan marked this pull request as draft June 2, 2026 11:09

nikwen marked this pull request as ready for review June 3, 2026 09:43

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github-actions Bot closed this Jun 3, 2026

nikwen reopened this Jun 3, 2026

dsanders11 approved these changes Jun 5, 2026

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dsanders11 merged commit e8eeeb0 into electron:main Jun 5, 2026
205 of 223 checks passed

trop Bot mentioned this pull request Jun 5, 2026

fix: toggle devtools menu item for BaseWindow #51901

Merged

trop Bot added the in-flight/43-x-y label Jun 5, 2026

trop Bot mentioned this pull request Jun 5, 2026

fix: toggle devtools menu item for BaseWindow #51902

Merged

trop Bot removed the target/43-x-y PR should also be added to the "43-x-y" branch. label Jun 5, 2026

trop Bot mentioned this pull request Jun 5, 2026

fix: toggle devtools menu item for BaseWindow #51903

Merged

trop Bot added in-flight/41-x-y in-flight/42-x-y and removed target/41-x-y PR should also be added to the "41-x-y" branch. target/42-x-y PR should also be added to the "42-x-y" branch. labels Jun 5, 2026

trop Bot added merged/43-x-y PR was merged to the "43-x-y" branch. merged/42-x-y PR was merged to the "42-x-y" branch. merged/41-x-y PR was merged to the "41-x-y" branch. and removed in-flight/43-x-y in-flight/42-x-y in-flight/41-x-y labels Jun 6, 2026

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KanishkRanjan commented Jan 11, 2026 • edited by nikwen Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

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Description of Change

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KanishkRanjan commented Mar 16, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

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KanishkRanjan commented Jan 11, 2026 •

edited by nikwen

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KanishkRanjan commented Mar 16, 2026 •

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