Web-Facing Change PSA: Stop re-queueing LaunchParams on reload

[Chromestatus]

Contact emails

dmu...@google.com

Specification

https://wicg.github.io/manifest-incubations/index.html#execute-a-file-handler-launch

Summary

Prevent the launchQueue from re-sending the last LaunchParams (including file handles) when a user reloads the page. Currently, a page refresh triggers the launch consumer again with the data from the original launch. This change ensures that a reload is treated as a standard navigation rather than a "re-launch," and the launchQueue will not be populated with duplicate files unless a new file launch event occurs. The re-queueing was never spec'd, and was an unfortunate never-removed stop-gap that was implemented before file handles could be saved to IndexedDB.

Blink component

UI>Browser>WebAppInstalls>FileHandling

Web Feature ID

app-file-handlers

Risks

Interoperability and Compatibility

Interoperability risk: Low. This aligns with the consensus that reloads should not be treated as new file launches. Compatibility risk: Low. Theoretically some PWAs may exist that rely on this behavior to "recover" file handles after a crash or a manual refresh, and these applications will now need to use persistent storage (like IndexedDB) to track active file handles across sessions. However, given the low usage, it seems unlikely this is the case: https://chromestatus.com/metrics/feature/timeline/popularity/3875

Gecko: No signal

WebKit: No signal

Web developers: Strongly positive (https://github.com/WICG/web-app-launch/issues/92)

Other signals:

Ergonomics

This significantly improves ergonomics by removing the need for "deduplication" or "reload-detection" boilerplate in the launch consumer.

Activation

None, this makes the feature behave in a more predictable manner.

Security

This change is privacy-neutral or slightly positive, as it ensures that file handles are not unnecessarily re-exposed to the application script purely via a page refresh.

WebView application risks

Does this intent deprecate or change behavior of existing APIs, such that it has potentially high risk for Android WebView-based applications?

No information provided

Debuggability

Developers can test this by opening a file in their PWA, then hitting the browser's reload button. The launchQueue consumer should not fire a second time.

Will this feature be supported on all six Blink platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux, ChromeOS, Android, and Android WebView)?

No
LaunchQueue / Web App Launch, and File Handling is not yet supported on Android.

Is this feature fully tested by web-platform-tests?

No
Unfortunately there are no web platform tests for file handling.

Tracking bug

https://crbug.com/40204185

Measurement

Adoption can be measured via the file handling launch feature counter: https://chromestatus.com/metrics/feature/timeline/popularity/3875

Estimated milestones

Shipping on desktop	146
DevTrial on desktop	146

Link to entry on the Chrome Platform Status

https://chromestatus.com/feature/5986946868445184

This intent message was generated by Chrome Platform Status.