NW.js Chromium data-path

NW.js (formerly node-webkit) offers a platform through which desktop applications can be authored using Node.js and web technologies, like Chromium.

Problem:

But how can it be ensured that user data doesn’t persist between fresh installations of a NW.js application? For example, consider the following:

  1. user installs SOME_NW_APP.
  2. SOME_NW_APP leverages cookies and local storage.
  3. NW.js writes the cookies/local storage data to ~/Library/Application\ Support/SOME_NW_APP on Mac OS and C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Chromium\User Data\Default on Windows 8.
  4. user deletes the app by trashing the /Applications/SOME_NW_APP.app file in Mac OS or running the associated uninstaller in Windows 8, assuming the installation provided an uninstaller.
  5. user re-installs SOME_NW_APP
  6. SOME_NW_APP retains cookies and local storage data from its first installation.

Solution:

The NW.js manifest provides a mechanism through which configuration arguments can be passed to Chromium, including --user-data, which defines the path at which cookies and local storage data are stored. By explicitly setting this path, we can ensure that it’s properly removed on uninstall.

Example manifest:

{
  "name": "SOME_NW_APP",
  "description": "Some description",
  "version": "0.0.3",
  "main": "src/index.html",
  "chromium-args": "--data-path='data/'"
}

Mac OS

In Mac OS, an application built via the preceding manifest will store cookie/local storage data in SOME_NW_APP.app/data, thus ensuring that the data directory is deleted when SOME_NW_APP.app is trashed.

Note, though, this assumes the user running SOME_NW_APP.app has the necessary write permissions. Permissions can be a problem when /Applications is owned by root, SOME_NW_APP.app lives in /Applications, and the user running SOME_NW_APP.app does not have write permissions, as is often the case on Mac OS. Such a scenario prevents cookies and local storage items from being properly saved. See my comment here for more information.

Windows

In Windows, a tool such as nsis can be used to build an installer as well as an uninstaller; the uninstaller can ensure that all data files are deleted.

Example nsi uninstaller section:

Section "Uninstall"
  RMDir '"$INSTDIR\Local Storage"'
  RMDir "$INSTDIR\locales"

  Delete "$INSTDIR\data\Cache\*"
  Delete "$INSTDIR\data\Cache\index-dir\*"
  RMDir "$INSTDIR\data\Cache\index-dir"
  RMDir "$INSTDIR\data\Cache"

  Delete "$INSTDIR\data\*"
  RMDir "$INSTDIR\data\Local Storage"

  RMDir "$INSTDIR\data"
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