refactor: rewrite NodeHelper as an ES6 class#4147
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khassel merged 1 commit intoMay 8, 2026
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Replaces the legacy Class.extend() inheritance pattern with a native ES6 class. NodeHelper.create() remains the public API and is fully compatible with all third-party modules.
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The failed Node 26 test seems unrelated to the changes to me. It hangs at the MM installation step; at that point, the modified code is irrelevant. |
khassel
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May 8, 2026
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yes, tested it on my fork without this PR and same result, maybe introduced with node v26.1.0, will try to test this locally later ... |
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I found that the line |
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Great find! |
KristjanESPERANTO
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May 8, 2026
`module.js` still used `Class.extend()`, the same old inheritance helper removed from `node_helper.js` in MagicMirrorOrg#4147. This finishes the cleanup on the browser side. `Module.create()` now follows the same pattern as `NodeHelper.create()`: `Object.assign(this, definition)` in the subclass constructor, `init()` called explicitly. `cloneObject()` moves into `module.js` where it belongs, the `<script>` tag for `class.js` is gone from `index.html`, and newsfeed's `this._super()` becomes `Module.prototype.getDom.call(this)`. Result: one fewer file in the browser bundle, no more magic `_super` wiring, and `module.js` is easier to read without knowing how `Class.extend()` worked.
KristjanESPERANTO
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May 11, 2026
`module.js` still used `Class.extend()`, the same old inheritance helper removed from `node_helper.js` in MagicMirrorOrg#4147. This finishes the cleanup on the browser side. `Module.create()` now follows the same pattern as `NodeHelper.create()`: `Object.assign(this, definition)` in the subclass constructor, `init()` called explicitly. `cloneObject()` moves into `module.js` where it belongs, the `<script>` tag for `class.js` is gone from `index.html`, and newsfeed's `this._super()` becomes `Module.prototype.getDom.call(this)`. Result: one fewer file in the browser bundle, no more magic `_super` wiring, and `module.js` is easier to read without knowing how `Class.extend()` worked.
KristjanESPERANTO
added a commit
to KristjanESPERANTO/MagicMirror
that referenced
this pull request
May 11, 2026
`module.js` still used `Class.extend()`, the same old inheritance helper removed from `node_helper.js` in MagicMirrorOrg#4147. This finishes the cleanup on the browser side. `Module.create()` now follows the same pattern as `NodeHelper.create()`: `Object.assign(this, definition)` in the subclass constructor, `init()` called explicitly. `cloneObject()` moves into `module.js` where it belongs, the `<script>` tag for `class.js` is gone from `index.html`, and newsfeed's `this._super()` becomes `Module.prototype.getDom.call(this)`. Result: one fewer file in the browser bundle, no more magic `_super` wiring, and `module.js` is easier to read without knowing how `Class.extend()` worked.
KristjanESPERANTO
added a commit
to KristjanESPERANTO/MagicMirror
that referenced
this pull request
May 11, 2026
`module.js` still used `Class.extend()`, the same old inheritance helper removed from `node_helper.js` in MagicMirrorOrg#4147. This finishes the cleanup on the browser side. `Module.create()` now follows the same pattern as `NodeHelper.create()`: `Object.assign(this, definition)` in the subclass constructor, `init()` called explicitly. `cloneObject()` moves into `module.js` where it belongs, the `<script>` tag for `class.js` is gone from `index.html`, and newsfeed's `this._super()` becomes `Module.prototype.getDom.call(this)`. Result: one fewer file in the browser bundle, no more magic `_super` wiring, and `module.js` is easier to read without knowing how `Class.extend()` worked.
khassel
pushed a commit
that referenced
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May 12, 2026
This PR rewrites `module.js` to use a native ES6 `class` instead of `Class.extend()` - the same old inheritance helper that was removed from `node_helper.js` in #4147. The normal module API stays the same: modules still use `Module.register({...})`. Internally, `Module.create()` now creates a named subclass for each module, copies over a cloned definition, and only calls `init()` when it is actually a function. Outcome: one less file in the browser bundle, no more magic `_super()` wiring, better stack traces, and tests for the module creation path that did not exist before. `module.js` is also now a plain class with no external dependencies - an intentional step towards `export default Module` when browser scripts eventually move to native ES modules. Since these changes touch the core of how modules are created, I'd appreciate a close review and any feedback on edge cases I may have missed.
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This PR rewrites
node_helper.jsto use a native ES6classinstead ofClass.extend()- a manual inheritance helper from 2008, written back whenclasssyntax didn't exist yet. Node.js has supported native classes since v6, so there's no reason to keep the workaround around.The public API is unchanged - module authors still write the same
NodeHelper.create({...})they always have.Outcome: same behavior, normal modern JavaScript, better stack traces, and
node_helper.jsno longer pulls inclass.json the server side. Removingclass.jsaltogether is a follow-up (it's still used on browser side).