JSDoc change history

This file describes notable changes in each version of JSDoc, starting with version 3.0.0.

4.0.0 (November 2022)

JSDoc releases now use semantic versioning. If JSDoc makes backwards-incompatible changes in the future, the major version will be incremented.
JSDoc no longer uses the taffydb package. If your JSDoc template or plugin uses the taffydb package, see the instructions for replacing taffydb with @jsdoc/salty.
JSDoc now supports Node.js 12.0.0 and later.

3.6.11 (July 2022)

Updates dependency versions to make JSDoc compatible with Node.js 12.0.0 and later.

3.6.10 (January 2022)

Fixes an issue in JSDoc 3.6.9 that prevented JSDoc from being installed in some continuous integration (CI) environments.

3.6.9 (January 2022)

Fixes an issue in JSDoc 3.6.8 that prevented npm install jsdoc from working.

3.6.8 (January 2022)

Updates dependencies.

3.6.7 (May 2021)

Updates dependencies.

3.6.6 (September 2020)

Fixes an issue that could cause members of an interface to be tracked incorrectly if the interface was both defined as an ES2015 class and assigned to a variable. For example:

/** @interface */
foo.Bar = class {
  constructor() {
    /** This member was missing from the generated docs. */
    this.baz = null;
  }
};

3.6.5 (July 2020)

Prevents circular references in doclets when two function parameters use the same type expression, and the --debug flag is present.

3.6.4 (April 2020)

Updates dependencies.

3.6.3 (July 2019)

Updates dependencies.

3.6.2 (May 2019)

Fixes an issue that prevented ES 2015 classes from appearing in generated docs. (#1644)

3.6.1 (May 2019)

Prevents a crash when using type applications in Node.js 12. (#1643)

3.6.0 (May 2019)

Major changes

JSDoc is now compatible with Node.js 12, and it requires Node.js 8.15.0 or later.
JSDoc now recognizes all documented Closure Compiler tags. (#605)

Enhancements

You can now use the templates.useShortNamesInLinks configuration setting to show the short name of each symbol in link text (for example, baz), rather than the full longname (for example, foo.bar.baz). (#738)
When you enable the Markdown plugin, you can now specify a function that performs syntax highlighting in code blocks. (#1412)
The default template now places namespaces near the top of the TOC. (#1410)

Bug fixes

When you add a JSDoc comment to an ES2015 constructor, JSDoc now preserves all of the JSDoc tags, not only the description and parameters. (#1129)
The @exports tag now works correctly when it is combined with the @enum tag. (#970)
When you enable the Markdown plugin, and you use a code fence with the language set to plain, JSDoc no longer pretty-prints the code block in the generated documentation. (#1361)

3.5.5 (September 2017)

Fixes a compatibility issue with Node.js 8.5.0. (#1438)

3.5.4 (August 2017)

When a class uses the @hideconstructor tag, the default template no longer displays the names of parameters that the constructor accepts. (#1397)
When an arrow function expression returns a class, the class's methods and properties are now named correctly. (#1409)
JSDoc no longer crashes when an anonymous class is passed as a function parameter. (#1416)
JSDoc now allows import and export declarations anywhere where a statement is allowed. (#1411)
JSDoc now allows return statements outside of functions. (#1411)
JSDoc now allows super() calls outside of a method definition. (#1411)
JSDoc no longer exits before the STDOUT pipe has been flushed. (#1408)

3.5.3 (July 2017)

Non-JSDoc comments (comments that do not begin with /**) are now ignored. (#1398)
JSDoc no longer crashes when it parses a class property with no value assigned to it. (#1400)
When there are JSDoc comments at the end of a source file that has a 'use strict'; directive, the comments are no longer ignored. (#1396)
Namepaths that contain an @ sign (for example, module:@prefix/my-module~myCallback) are now parsed correctly. (#1302)
The default template now displays interfaces that belong to a namespace. (#1406)
When an ES2015 class inside a module uses an @alias tag, the class's constructor now gets the correct longname. (#1395)
When there are no input files to process, JSDoc no longer prints help text to the console. (#1404)

3.5.2 (July 2017)

The default template now hides parameters and properties for class constructors that are hidden with the @hideconstructor tag. (#1397)
JSDoc now uses an improved algorithm for locating plugins and template resources. (#1394)
When the @alias tag identifies an instance member (for example, @alias Foo#bar), the alias is now applied correctly. (#1385)
When the @alias tag is applied to a class that is within a module and is aliased to the module name, the class's instance members are now documented correctly. (#1134)
Fixed a crash when a @param tag uses the wrong delimiter to close the type expression (for example, @param {Object)). (#1221)
The Markdown plugin now converts Markdown-formatted text in the @summary tag. (#1149)

3.5.1 (July 2017)

Fixed an issue that prevented JSDoc from working on versions of Node.js prior to 5.10.0. (#1393)
If the JSDoc configuration file does not have a file extension, JSDoc now assumes that the file is in JSON format. (#1391)

3.5.0 (July 2017)

Major changes

JSDoc now uses the Babylon JavaScript parser, which means that JSDoc can parse any JavaScript or JSX file that is supported by the Babel compiler. For example, JSDoc can now parse JavaScript files that include all of the following language features:

+ [Decorators](https://github.com/tc39/proposal-decorators)
+ [Public and private class fields](https://github.com/tc39/proposal-class-fields)
+ [Asynchronous iterators](https://github.com/tc39/proposal-async-iteration)
+ [Dynamic `import()`](https://github.com/tc39/proposal-dynamic-import)
+ [Optional chaining](https://github.com/tc39/proposal-optional-chaining)

You can now use a JavaScript file to configure JSDoc. The JavaScript file must be a CommonJS module that exports a single configuration object. See the documentation for details and examples.
Fixed multiple issues with documenting ES2015 classes and modules. See "Bug fixes" for details.
JSDoc now requires Node.js 4.2.0 or later.

New tags

Note: Third-party templates may not support these new tags.

You can now use the new @async tag to indicate that a function is asynchronous (that is, that it was declared with the syntax async function foo() {}). In general, you do not need to use this tag, because JSDoc autodetects asynchronous functions. (#1188)
You can now use the new @generator tag to indicate that a function is a generator function. In general, you do not need to use this tag, because JSDoc autodetects generator functions. (#1158)
You can now use the new @hideconstructor tag to tell JSDoc to hide a class's constructor from the documentation. (#952)
You can now use the new @package tag to indicate that a symbol is package-private. (#962)
You can now use the new @yields tag to document the value that is yielded by a generator function. (#1388)

Enhancements

JSDoc can now parse files that contain asynchronous functions (that is, functions declared as async function foo() {}), and JSDoc autodetects when a function is asynchronous. (#1188)
JSDoc now autodetects generator functions. (#1158)
When JSDoc cannot parse a type expression, it now logs the line number on which the type expression was found. (#1057)
When JSDoc fires jsdocCommentFound and symbolFound events, the event now includes a columnno property indicating the column number on which the comment or symbol was found. (#1362)
You can now use the new sourceType configuration option to control how JavaScript files are parsed. The default value is module. Set the value to script to suppress implied strict mode; this setting will also prevent you from using ES2015 modules. (#1210)
You can now use the new recurseDepth configuration option to control how many levels deep JSDoc will recursively search for files. The default value is 10. (#1340)

Bug fixes

JSDoc now correctly documents the constructors and instance properties of ES2015 classes. (#1182)
JSDoc now correctly documents the constructor of an ES2015 class exported from an ES2015 module. (#1272)
JSDoc now uses the correct scope for exported symbols, and their children, in ES2015 modules. (#1293)
When JSDoc is run in a directory that has a plugins/ or templates/ directory, JSDoc can now discover plugins and templates in other directories. (#1081, #1308)
JSDoc no longer crashes when it reads a UTF-8 JSON file with a leading BOM. (#1256, #1297)
When a function is assigned to a variable, JSDoc now autodetects the function's default and repeatable parameters. (#1054)
JSDoc no longer crashes when the @author tag does not have a value. (#1289)
JSDoc now always calls process.exit() when exiting. (#1287)

Default template

The default template now identifies asynchronous and generator functions. (#1158, #1188)
The default template now displays appropriate documentation for namespaces that are also functions. (#955)
Images that are wider than the text area are now displayed correctly. (#1359)

3.4.3 (November 2016)

Updated JSDoc's LICENSE.md file.

3.4.2 (October 2016)

Classes exported from an ES2015 module are now documented correctly. (#1137)
Fixed an issue that prevented plugins and templates from being loaded correctly. (#1259)
Fixed a crash when using the experimental object spread operator in assignments. (#1258)

3.4.1 (September 2016)

Enhancements

When installing JSDoc from NPM, all dependencies are now pulled from NPM. (#961)
The configuration setting tags.allowUnknownTags may now contain an array of tag names that should be allowed. (#1159)

Bug fixes

When an ES2015 module's default export is a class, JSDoc now documents the class correctly. (#1113, #1120)
JSDoc no longer crashes when an ES2015 module exports an anonymous class. (#1113)
JSDoc no longer crashes when the experimental object spread operator is used. (#1141)
In ES2015 methods, JSDoc now autodetects whether a parameter is a default or repeatable parameter. (#1144)
The Markdown plugin now works correctly with inline tags that contain special characters, such as {@link chat."#channel"}. (#1035)
When JSDoc is run in a directory that has a plugins/ or templates/ directory, JSDoc can now discover plugins and templates in other directories. (#1081)

Templates

The default template now uses appropriate styles for displaying tables. (#1064)
The default template's CSS file no longer uses the same style for both <h2> and <h3> elements. (#1108)
JSDoc now includes a silent template that generates no output. This template makes it easier to use JSDoc as a linter to check for syntax errors and unrecognized tags in documentation comments. (#1160)

3.4.0 (November 2015)

Major changes

JSDoc is now compatible with Node.js 4.0.0 and later.
JSDoc no longer runs on Mozilla Rhino. Use Node.js to run JSDoc.
JSDoc can now parse ECMAScript 2015 code, including code that uses native classes and modules. (#555)
JSDoc can now parse JSX files. (#1001)
JSDoc's app and env global variables are now deprecated. Avoid using the app global. Use the jsdoc/env module instead of the env global. (#812)

Enhancements

const declarations are now automatically treated as constants. (#555)
Templates may now run asynchronously. To create an asynchronous template, simply return a promise from your template's publish method. (#953)

Bug fixes

Symbols now get the correct longname when they are defined as properties of a prototype and include special characters, such as # and . (for example, Foo.prototype['this#is#bar']). (#888)
Instance members that are defined as computed properties of this (for example, this['bar']) now get the correct longname. (#890)
When an instance member (for example, this.bar) is documented within a member of a prototype (for example, Foo.prototype.setBar), the instance member's longname is now set correctly. (#1011)
The @borrows tag now works with symbol names that contain whitespace. (#818)

Plugins

For the Markdown plugin, you can now autogenerate a heading ID for each heading by setting the configuration property markdown.idInHeadings to true. (#1032)

Template improvements

In the default template, you can now show the full namepath of each object in the navigation column by setting the configuration property templates.default.useLongnameInNav to true. (#986)
In the Haruki template, falsy default values now appear in the output. (#1063)

3.3.3 (September 2015)

Symbols named prototype are now handled correctly. (#891)
Fixed an issue that could cause JSDoc to go into an infinite loop when a module is documented twice. (#975)
Fixed an issue that could cause parsing errors on valid regular expressions. (#1053)

3.3.2 (June 2015)

JSDoc no longer crashes when parsing a large number of files, or a single object that has a large number of properties. (#976)

3.3.1 (June 2015)

Fixed a crash in the Haruki template. (#1005)
When a type expression includes a record type with numeric keys (for example, {0: string}), the type expression is now parsed correctly. (#1016)

3.3.0 (May 2015)

Major changes

You can now run JSDoc on Node.js. (#93)
You can now use the @interface and @implements tags to document interfaces and their implementations. (#720, #828)
Closure Compiler's @inheritDoc and @override tags are now supported. (#53)
If the JSDoc comment for a symbol includes the @mixes tag, all of the mixins now appear in the symbol's documentation. (#378)
JSDoc can now log information to the console as it runs (for example, the name of each file that JSDoc parses). To log this information, run JSDoc with the --verbose flag. (#416)
You can now use any file as the package or README file for your documentation. Use the -P/--package/ and -R/--readme flags to specify the package and README file. (#708)
The default template's typography and color scheme have been significantly improved. (#550, #780, #843)

Enhancements

You can now use the --pedantic flag to treat all errors as fatal errors, and to treat warnings as errors. This flag replaces the --lenient flag, which had roughly the opposite meaning and is no longer available. (#416)
You can now use the -a/--access flag to control whether private, protected, and public symbols appear in the documentation. (#860, #861)
You can now use the --debug flag to log detailed debugging information to the console. This information can help you diagnose bugs in JSDoc itself. (#416)
JSDoc's configuration file can now contain JavaScript comments. (#660)
You can now include source files from a directory, but exclude one of its subdirectories, by adding the subdirectory to the source.exclude option in the configuration file. (#484)
The source.exclude option now works correctly when JSDoc is run with the -r/--recurse flag. (#616)
When JSDoc is run with the -r/--recurse flag, it now scans for tutorials recursively. (#712)
JSDoc's -X/--explain option now runs much more quickly. (#633)
If all of the text for an @example tag is indented, JSDoc now removes the extra indentation. (#540)
The default value for a parameter or property can now include brackets (for example, @param {Array.<string>} [foo=['bar']]). (#640)
You can now provide a default value for parameters and properties that are not optional (for example, @property {string} foo='bar'). (#791)
If the @type tag includes a description (for example, @type {string} some text), JSDoc now parses the type expression correctly and discards the description. (#615)
You can now add JSDoc comments to function parameters. (#473)
For Closure Compiler projects, you can now enable a Closure Compiler-specific tag dictionary that more closely matches Closure Compiler's semantics. To enable Closure Compiler semantics, set the configuration file's tags.dictionaries option to ['closure']. This option can contain the values jsdoc, closure, or both. If multiple dictionaries are enabled, and a tag is defined in more than one dictionary, JSDoc uses the definition from the first dictionary that contains the tag. (#729, #730, #731, #732)
If one symbol overrides another, JSDoc now adds an overrides property to the doclet that is overriding another. The overrides property contains the longname of the overridden symbol. (#792)
When a JSDoc tag contains a type expression, the doclet's type object now includes a hidden parsedType property. The parsedType property contains a syntax tree that represents the type expression. The syntax tree is generated by Catharsis, and its format may change in the future. (#576)
JSDoc now allows output filenames to contain non-ASCII characters. In addition, links to output files are now URL-encoded when necessary. (#677)
JSDoc now ensures that output filenames do not have a leading underscore. (#758)
JSDoc now tries to ensure that id attributes in output files are unique within that file. (#539)
JSDoc now has an up-to-date JSON Schema file for parse results. The schema file is available in lib/jsdoc/schema.js. (#327)
JSDoc now extracts more information from package files. (#710)
JSDoc now displays usage information if you run JSDoc without any input files, or with an unrecognized command-line option. (#609, #840)

Bug fixes

When the allowUnknownTags option is set to false, JSDoc no longer logs warnings about the presence of @also and @scope tags. (#574)
Fixed several errors when parsing type expressions. (#619, #644, #652, #705, #767)
Properties added to the module.exports object can now be documented. (#500)
When a symbol's name starts with the same characters as its parent namespace (such as Vector in V.Vector), JSDoc now assigns the correct longname to the symbol. (#608)
If a child class inherits from multiple parent classes, and the parent classes have instance members with the same name, the child class no longer displays the documentation from both parent classes. (#613)
If a source file contains an object literal, and one of the property names is a whitespace character or a character that must be escaped in a regular expression, JSDoc now parses the file successfully. (#549, #775)
Virtual comments now work correctly for overloaded functions. (#727)
When a virtual comment appears within a module, JSDoc now assigns the correct values to the virtual comment doclet's memberof, longname, and scope properties. (#631)
JSDoc now sets the scope property to global for all global doclets. (#684)
Module doclets no longer have a scope property. (#782)
In Markdown tutorials, JSDoc no longer unescapes HTML entities. (#743)
If a longname includes a variation (for example, Foo#bar(variation)), the link text is now preserved when generating HTML links. (#857)
When a single JSDoc comment includes @class, @classdesc, and @constructor tags, JSDoc no longer ignores the value of the @classdesc tag. (#806)
For tags where the name and type are both optional (@constant, @external, @member, @module, @namespace, and @param), JSDoc now parses the tag correctly when it includes a type but not a name. (#351, #535)
The @default tag now works correctly when used with an array literal. (#604)
The @enum tag now works correctly when the enumeration is part of a chain of assignments (for example, var FOO = exports.FOO = {/* enumerated values */}). (#702)
The @exports and @module tags now work correctly when their value includes a module: namespace (for example, @exports module:foo). (#786)
The @memberof tag now works correctly when it refers to a module that is defined in a separate file. (#880)
The @variation tag now works correctly when its value is enclosed in parentheses (for example, @variation (foo)). (#850)

Plugins

Tag definitions can now have a mustNotHaveDescription property. When this property is set to true, JSDoc will warn the user if the tag text includes a description (such as The description in @param {string} foo - The description). (#615)
Tag definitions can now call the method dictionary.normalize, which is a synonym for dictionary.normalise. (#884)
The Markdown plugin no longer prevents inline {@link} tags from working. (#518)
The Markdown plugin now converts @author and @throws tag values to HTML by default. (#736, #878)
JSDoc now includes a summarize plugin that automatically generates summaries based on the description. (#485)
JSDoc now includes an underscore plugin that finds symbols whose names begin with an underscore and automatically tags them as @private. (#471)
Plugins can now replace the doclet property of newDoclet events. (#584)

Template improvements

You can now override the default template's main layout file, layout.tmpl, by setting the templates.default.layoutFile option in JSDoc's configuration file. The property can contain a relative or absolute path to the replacement for layout.tmpl. Relative paths are resolved against the path to the configuration file; the current working directory; and the JSDoc directory, in that order. (#480)
When the templates.default.outputSourceFiles option is set to false, the documentation no longer shows the path to each source file. (#571)
You can now use the property templates.default.staticFiles.include to list files that will be copied to the output directory. For backwards compatibility, the property templates.default.staticFiles.paths is also supported but is deprecated. (#785)
The property templates.default.staticFiles.include now works correctly when an absolute path is specified. (#939)
The templates.default.staticFiles options now work correctly on Windows. (#785)
In output files, you can now prevent the date from appearing in the footer by setting the property templates.default.includeDate to false. (#910)
Output files no longer show the default value for members of an enumeration. (#689)
In certain types of AMD modules, the module-overview section is no longer duplicated. (#853)
If a constructor is assigned to module.exports, the value of the @classdesc tag now appears in the documentation. (#740)
If a constructor is assigned to module.exports, and the constructor inherits from another class, the parent class is now listed in the documentation. (#594)
Text within an @example tag, including HTML tags, is now properly escaped. (#511)
If a member has a @fires tag, the tag information now appears in the documentation. (#568)
If a symbol has members that use the @mixin tag, the mixins are now listed in the documentation. (#379, #602)
When multiple @param tags are used to document properties of array values (for example, @param {Object[]} foo and @param {string} foo[].bar), the properties are now grouped into the appropriate row of the parameters table. (#870)
If a member has a @requires tag, the tag information now appears in the documentation. (#563)
Type expressions are now presented more clearly. (#618)
Pretty-printed source files now include line numbers. (#532)
When you run JSDoc with a single input file, the full path to the file no longer appears in the documentation. (#553)
When an overloaded function is assigned to module.exports, the documentation now displays all of the signatures for the overloaded function. (#727)
Resolved several issues that caused the default template to generate invalid HTML. (#843)

3.2.2 (November 2013)

Bug fixes

Addressed a regression in JSDoc 3.2.1 that could prevent a function declaration from shadowing a declaration with the same name in an outer scope. (#513)
If a child class overrides a method in a parent class without documenting the overridden method, the method's documentation is now copied from the parent class. (#503)
You can now use inline HTML tags in Markdown-formatted text. In addition, JSDoc now uses only the marked Markdown parser; the markdown-js parser has been removed. (#510)
Type expressions can now include a much broader range of repeatable types. In addition, you can now use Closure Compiler's nullable and non-nullable modifiers with repeatable types. For example, the type expression ...!string (a repeatable, non-nullable string) is now parsed correctly. (#502)
If a function accepts a parameter named prototype, the parameter is no longer renamed during parsing. (#505)
If the list of input files includes relative paths, the paths are now resolved relative to the user's working directory. (a3d33842)

3.2.1 (October 2013)

Enhancements

JSDoc's parser now fires a processingComplete event after JSDoc has completed all post-processing of the parse results. This event has a doclets property containing an array of doclets. (#421)
When JSDoc's parser fires a parseComplete event, the event now includes a doclets property containing an array of doclets. (#431)
You can now use relative paths in the JSDoc configuration file's source.exclude option. Relative paths will be resolved relative to the current working directory. (#405)
If a symbol uses the @default tag, and its default value is an object literal, this value is now stored as a string, and the doclet will have a defaultvaluetype property containing the string object. This change enables templates to show the default value with appropriate syntax highlighting. (#419)
Inline {@link} tags can now contain newlines. (#441)

Bug fixes

Inherited symbols now indicate that they were inherited from the ancestor that defined the symbol, rather than the direct parent. (#422)
If the first line of a JavaScript file contains a hashbang (for example, #!/usr/bin/env node), the hashbang is now ignored when the file is parsed. (#499)
Resolved a crash when a JavaScript file contains a JavaScript 1.8 keyword, such as let. (#477)
The type expression function[] is now parsed correctly. (#493)
If a module is tagged incorrectly, the module's output file now has a valid filename. (#440, #458)
For tags that accept names, such as @module and @param, if a hyphen is used to separate the name and description, the hyphen must appear on the same line as the name. This change prevents a Markdown bullet on the followng line from being interpreted as a separator. (#459)
When lenient mode is enabled, a @param tag with an invalid type expression no longer causes a crash. (#448)
The @requires tag can now contain an inline tag in its tag text. (#486)
The @returns tag can now contain inline tags even if a type is not specified. (#444)
When lenient mode is enabled, a @returns tag with no value no longer causes a crash. (#451)
The @type tag now works correctly with type expressions that span multiple lines. (#427)
If a string contains inline {@link} tags preceded by bracketed link text (for example, [test]{@link Test#test}), HTML links are now generated correctly even if the string contains other bracketed text. (#470)
On POSIX systems, if you run JSDoc using a symlink to the startup script, JSDoc now works correctly. (#492)

Default template

Pretty-printed source files are now generated by default. To disable this feature, add the property templates.default.outputSourceFiles: false to your conf.json file. (#454)
Links to a specific line in a source file now work correctly. (#475)
Pretty-printed source files are now generated using the encoding specified in the -e/--encoding option. (#496)
If a @default tag is added to a symbol whose default value is an object, the value is now displayed in the output file. (#419)
Output files now identify symbols as "abstract" rather than "virtual." (#432)

3.2.0 (May 2013)

Major changes

JSDoc can now parse any valid Google Closure Compiler type expression. Note: As a result of this change, JSDoc quits if a file contains an invalid type expression. To prevent JSDoc from quitting, run JSDoc with the --lenient (-l) command-line option. (Multiple issues)
You can now use the new @listens tag to indicate that a symbol listens for an event. (#273)

Enhancements

The parser now fires a parseBegin event before it starts parsing files, as well as a parseComplete event after all files have been parsed. Plugins can define event handlers for these events, and parseBegin handlers can modify the list of files to parse. (#299)
Event handlers for jsdocCommentFound events can now modify the JSDoc comment. (#228)
You can now exclude tags from Markdown processing using the new option markdown.excludeTags in the configuration file. (#337)
You can now use the marked Markdown parser by setting the configuration property markdown.parser to marked. In addition, if markdown.parser is set to gfm, JSDoc will now use the "marked" parser instead. (#385)
The @typedef tag no longer requires a name when used with a Closure Compiler-style type definition. For example, the following type definition will automatically get the name Foo.Bar:
```
```javascript
    /** @typedef {string} */
    Foo.Bar;
```

(#391)
```
You can now use an inline {@type} tag in a parameter's description. If this tag is present, JSDoc will assume that the parameter uses the type specified in the inline {@type} tag. For example, the following @param tag would cause myParam's type to be documented as Foo:
```
```
@param {(boolean|string)} myParam - My special parameter. {@type Foo}
```

(#152)
```
The console.log function now behaves the same way as on Node.js. In addition, the functions console.info, console.error, console.warn, and console.trace have been implemented. (#298)
You can now use npm to install JSDoc globally by running npm install -g. Note: JSDoc will still run under Mozilla Rhino, not Node.js. (#374)
The jsVersion configuration property has been removed. (#390)

Bug fixes

JSDoc now quits if the configuration file cannot be loaded. (#407)
JSDoc's --explain (-X) option now runs much more quickly, and it outputs valid JSON to the console. (#298)
JSDoc's --lenient (-l) option now prints warnings on STDERR rather than STDOUT. (#298)
The parser now assigns the correct scope to object properties whose names include single quotes. (#386)
The parser now recognizes CommonJS modules that export a single function rather than an object. (#384)
The inline {@link} tag now works correctly when @link is followed by a tab. (#359)
On POSIX systems, quoted command-line arguments are no longer split on spaces. (#397)

Plugins

The new overloadHelper plugin makes it easier to link to overloaded methods. (#179)
The markdown plugin now converts Markdown links in the @see tag. (#297)

Default template enhancements

You can now use the configuration property templates.default.staticFiles to copy additional static files to the output directory. (#393)
All output files now use human-readable filenames. (#339)
The documentation for events now lists the symbols that listen to that event. (#273)
Links to source files now allow you to jump to the line where a symbol is defined. (#316)
The output files now link to individual types within a Closure Compiler type expression. (Multiple issues)
CommonJS modules that export a single function, rather than an object, are now documented more clearly. (#384)
Functions that can throw multiple types of errors are now documented more clearly. (#389)
If a @property tag does not identify the property's name, the template no longer throws an error. (#373)
The type of each @typedef is now displayed. (#391)
If a @see tag contains a URL (for example, @see http://example.com or @see <http://example.com>), the tag text is now converted to a link. (#371)
Repeatable parameters are now identified. (#381)
The "Classes" header is no longer repeated in the navigation bar. (#361)
When the only documented symbols in global scope are type definitions, you can now click the "Global" header to view their documentation. (#261)

3.1.1 (February 2013)

Resolved a crash when no input files contain JSDoc comments. (#329)
Resolved a crash when JSDoc cannot identify the common prefix of several paths. (#330)
Resolved a crash when the full path to JSDoc contained at least one space. (#347)
Files named README.md or package.json will now be processed when they are specified on the command line. (#350)
You can now use @emits as a synonym for @fires. (#324)
The module jsdoc/util/templateHelper now allows you to specify the CSS class for links that are generated by the following methods: (#331) + getAncestorLinks + getSignatureReturns + getSignatureTypes + linkto

3.1.0 (January 2013)

Major changes

You can now use the new @callback tag to provide information about a callback function's signature. To document a callback function, create a standalone JSDoc comment, as shown in the following example:

```javascript
/**
 * @class
 */
function MyClass() {}

/**
 * Send a request.
 *
 * @param {MyClass~responseCb} cb - Called after a response is received.
 */
MyClass.prototype.sendRequest = function(cb) {
    // code
};

/**
 * Callback for sending a request.
 *
 * @callback MyClass~responseCb
 * @param {?string} error - Information about the error.
 * @param {?string} response - Body of the response.
 */
```

The inline link tag, {@link}, has been improved:
- You can now use a space as the delimiter between the link target and link text.
- In your conf.json file, you can now enable the option templates.cleverLinks to display code links in a monospace font and URL links in plain text. You can also enable the option templates.monospaceLinks to display all links in a monospace font. Note: JSDoc templates must be updated to respect these options.
- You can now use the new inline tags {@linkplain}, which forces a plain-text link, and {@linkcode}, which forces a monospace link. These tags always override the settings in your conf.json file. (#250)
JSDoc now provides a -l/--lenient option that tells JSDoc to continue running if it encounters a non-fatal error. (Multiple issues)
A template's publish.js file should now assign its publish function to exports.publish, rather than defining a global publish function. The global publish function is deprecated and may not be supported in future versions. JSDoc's built-in templates reflect this change. (#166)
The template helper (templateHelper.js) exports a variety of new functions for finding information within a parse tree. These functions were previously contained within the default template. (#186)
Updated the fs and path modules to make their behavior more consistent with Node.js. In addition, created extended versions of these modules with additional functionality. (Multiple commits)
Updated or replaced numerous third-party modules. (Multiple commits)
Reorganized the JSDoc codebase in preparation for future enhancements. (Multiple commits)
JSDoc now embeds a version of Mozilla Rhino that recognizes Node.js packages, including package.json files. (Multiple commits)
Node.js' npm utility can now install JSDoc from its GitHub repository. Note: JSDoc is not currently compatible with Node.js. However, this change allows JSDoc to be installed as a dependency of a Node.js project. In this version, global installation with npm is not supported. (Multiple commits)

Enhancements

If a README.md file is passed to JSDoc, its contents will be included on the index.html page of the generated documentation. (#128)
The @augments tag can now refer to an undocumented member, such as window.XMLHTTPRequest. (#160)
The @extends tag can now refer to an undocumented member, such as window.XMLHttpRequest. In addition, you can now use @host as a synonym for @extends. (#145)
The @lends tag is now supported in multiline JSDoc comments. (#163)
On Windows, jsdoc.cmd now provides the same options as the jsdoc shell script. (#127)
JSDoc now provides setTimeout(), clearTimeout(), setInterval(), and clearInterval() functions. (Multiple commits)
JSDoc no longer provides a global exit() function. Use process.exit() instead. (1228a8f7)
JSDoc now includes additional shims for Node.js' built-in modules. Note: Many of these shims implement only the functions that JSDoc uses, and they may not be consistent with Node.js' behavior in edge cases. (Multiple commits)
JSDoc now provides a -v/--version option to display information about the current version. (#303)
When running tests, you can now use the --nocolor option to disable colored output. On Windows, colored output is always disabled. (e17601fe, 8bc33541)

Bug fixes

When using the @event tag to define an event within a class or namespace, the event's longname is now set correctly regardless of tag order. (#280)
The @property tag no longer results in malformed parse trees. (20f87094)
The jsdoc and jsdoc.cmd scripts now work correctly with paths that include spaces. (#127, #130)
The jsdoc script now works correctly on Cygwin and MinGW, and with the dash shell. (#182, #184, #187)
The -d/--destination option is no longer treated as a path relative to the JSDoc directory. Instead, it can contain an absolute path, or a path relative to the current working directory. (f5e3f0f3)
JSDoc now provides default options for the values in conf.json. (#129)
If the conf.json file does not exist, JSDoc no longer tries to create it, which prevents errors if the current user does not have write access to the JSDoc directory. (d2d05fcb)
Doclets for getters and setters are now parsed appropriately. (#150)
Only the first asterisk is removed from each line of a JSDoc comment. (#172)
If a child member overrides an ancestor member, the ancestor member is no longer documented. (#158)
If a member of a namespace has the same name as a namespace, the member is now documented correctly. (#214)
The parse tree now uses a single set of properties to track both JSDoc-style type information and Closure Compiler-style type information. (#118)
If a type has a leading !, indicating that it is non-nullable, the leading ! is now removed from the type name. (#226)
When Markdown formatting is enabled, underscores in inline {@link} tags are no longer treated as Markdown formatting characters. (#259)
Markdown links now work correctly when a JavaScript reserved word, such as constructor, is used as the link text. (#249)
Markdown files for tutorials are now parsed based on the settings in conf.json, rather than using the "evilstreak" Markdown parser in all cases. (#220)
If a folder contains both tutorial source files and .js files, JSDoc no longer attempts to parse the .js files as JSON files. (#222)
The "evilstreak" Markdown parser now works correctly with files that use Windows-style line endings. (#223)
JSDoc no longer fails unit tests when the conf.json file is not present. (#206)
On Windows, JSDoc now passes all unit tests. (Multiple commits)

Plugins

The new partial plugin adds support for a @partial tag, which links to an external file that contains JSDoc comments. (#156)
The new commentsOnly plugin removes everything in a file except JSDoc-style comments. You can use this plugin to document source files that are not valid JavaScript, including source files for other languages. (#304)
The new eventDumper plugin logs information about parser events to the console. (#242)
The new verbose plugin logs the name of each input file to the console. (#157)

Template enhancements

Default template

The template output now includes pretty-printed versions of source files. This feature is enabled by default. To disable this feature, add the property templates.default.outputSourceFiles: false to your conf.json file. (#208)
You can now use the template if it is placed outside of the JSDoc directory. (#198)
The template no longer throws an error when a parameter does not have a name. (#175)
The navigation bar now includes an "Events" section if any events are documented. (#280)
Pages no longer include a "Classes" header when no classes are documented. (eb0186b9)
Member details now include "Inherited From" section when a member is inherited from another member. (#154)
If an @author tag contains text in the format "Jane Doe jdoe@example.com", the value is now converted to an HTML mailto: link. (#326)
Headings for functions now include the function's signature. (#253)
Type information is now displayed for events. (#192)
Functions now link to their return type when appropriate. (#192)
Type definitions that contain functions are now displayed correctly. (#292)
Tutorial output is now generated correctly. (#188)
Output files now use Google Code Prettify with the Tomorrow theme as a syntax highlighter. (#193)
The index.html output file is no longer overwritten if a namespace called index has been documented. (#244)
The current JSDoc version number is now displayed in the footer. (#321)

Haruki template

Members are now contained in arrays rather than objects, allowing overloaded members to be documented. (#153)
A clearer error message is now provided when the output destination is not specified correctly. (#174)

3.0.1 (June 2012)

Enhancements

The conf.json file may now contain source.include and source.exclude properties. (#56)
- source.include specifies files or directories that JSDoc should always check for documentation.
- source.exclude specifies files or directories that JSDoc should never check for documentation. These settings take precedence over the source.includePattern and source.excludePattern properties, which contain regular expressions that JSDoc uses to search for source files.
The -t/--template option may now specify the absolute path to a template. (#122)

Bug fixes

JSDoc no longer throws exceptions when a symbol has a special name, such as hasOwnProperty. (1ef37251)
The @alias tag now works correctly when documenting inner classes as globals. (810dd7f7)

Template improvements

The default template now sorts classes by name correctly when the classes come from several modules. (4ce17195)
The Haruki template now correctly supports @example, @members, and @returns tags. (6580e176, 59655252, 31c8554d)

3.0.0 (May 2012)

Initial release.

Files

CHANGES.md

Latest commit

History

CHANGES.md

File metadata and controls

JSDoc change history

4.0.0 (November 2022)

3.6.11 (July 2022)

3.6.10 (January 2022)

3.6.9 (January 2022)

3.6.8 (January 2022)

3.6.7 (May 2021)

3.6.6 (September 2020)

3.6.5 (July 2020)

3.6.4 (April 2020)

3.6.3 (July 2019)

3.6.2 (May 2019)

3.6.1 (May 2019)

3.6.0 (May 2019)

Major changes

Enhancements

Bug fixes

3.5.5 (September 2017)

3.5.4 (August 2017)

3.5.3 (July 2017)

3.5.2 (July 2017)

3.5.1 (July 2017)

3.5.0 (July 2017)

Major changes

New tags

Enhancements

Bug fixes

Default template

3.4.3 (November 2016)

3.4.2 (October 2016)

3.4.1 (September 2016)

Enhancements

Bug fixes

Templates

3.4.0 (November 2015)

Major changes

Enhancements

Bug fixes

Plugins

Template improvements

3.3.3 (September 2015)

3.3.2 (June 2015)

3.3.1 (June 2015)

3.3.0 (May 2015)

Major changes

Enhancements

Bug fixes

Plugins

Template improvements

3.2.2 (November 2013)

Bug fixes

3.2.1 (October 2013)

Enhancements

Bug fixes

Default template

3.2.0 (May 2013)

Major changes

Enhancements

Bug fixes

Plugins

Default template enhancements

3.1.1 (February 2013)

3.1.0 (January 2013)

Major changes

Enhancements

Bug fixes

Plugins

Template enhancements

Default template

Haruki template

3.0.1 (June 2012)

Enhancements

Bug fixes

Template improvements