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When we add a new feature to Sass, we want to make sure the feature is well-designed, clearly specified, feasible to implement, and that it meets the use-cases it's designed for. Although most features should follow the full process, very small features can follow the fast-track process instead.

Process

The process for adding a new feature works as follows:

  1. The feature is informally discussed on the issue tracker. Most new features come directly from use-cases brought up by Sass users, or new CSS syntax that Sass needs to support. Once the Sass team has agreed that a feature is desirable, it's marked as Planned and can move to step 2.

  2. A formal proposal is written for the feature, following the format outlined below. This proposal is sent as a pull request, where the Sass team will discuss its specifics with the author. If/when everyone agrees on a first draft, the pull request will be accepted and the feature moves to step 3.

    Step 2 is also where issues are opened for each individual implementation to add the feature. These issues should link to the feature's main issue in the sass/sass issue tracker, and that issue should link back to the implementation issues.

  3. Public comments are solicited for the feature, usually via a tweet from @SassCSS. If the feature is big enough, a blog post soliciting feedback may also be written. Then we await comments and iterate on feedback for an amount of time that varies based on the size of the feature and the amount of feedback received.

    As the proposal is updated based on feedback, its draft number should be increased according to the versioning policy and changes should be logged in a changelog file named <proposal>.changes.md. Once enough time has elapsed and the Sass team is satisfied that all feedback is addressed, the feature moves to step 4.

  4. The proposal is marked as accepted and moved into the accepted/ directory. This doesn't mean that the proposal is immutable, but it does mean that no major changes to its semantics are expected. At this point, it's time to write specs for the new feature, in tandem with implementing it in Dart Sass (since it's the reference implementation). Writing the specs alongside an implementation helps ensure that the specs are accurate and sensible, and that the implementation is correct.

    The new specs should have an options.yml file that marks them as TODO for LibSass, with a reference to its issue for the new feature. For example:

    ---
:todo:
- sass/libsass#2701

    Once the specs and the implementation are complete, they're sent as pull requests to sass-spec and Dart Sass, respectively. They need to have special lines in their pull request messages in order to build properly:

    • The sass-spec pull request message should include [skip dart-sass]. This will cause it not to run Dart Sass tests, which would otherwise fail because the implementation of the new feature hasn't landed yet.

    • The Dart Sass pull request's message should link to the sass-spec pull request (for example, See sass/sass-spec#1293). This will cause it to run against the specs in that pull request and so test your new feature.

    Once these pull requests land, the feature moves to step 5.

Proposal

A good feature proposal should make it possible for an average Sass user to understand and discuss the feature and the context around it, and possible for Sass maintainers to implement consistent and well-defined behavior. The following outline is designed to make satisfy these needs.

A proposal must include at minimum a Summary and a Syntax or a Semantics section. Everything else is optional. Proposals may include additional sections, or divide a section into sub-sections, as necessary to make it clear and readable. All proposals should also include tables of contents that link to all their sections.

Everything in sections that aren't explicitly marked as non-normative should be construed as part of the specification of the feature. Non-normative notes can be included inline in normative sections using blockquotes.

See the accepted/ directory for examples of proposals that have been accepted.

  • Background

    This non-normative section describes the broader context for the feature. This is particularly relevant for changes to existing syntax, and especially for backwards-incompatible changes. It should explain Sass's current behavior, the original reasoning behind that behavior, and why it's insufficient.

    See Plain CSS min() and max() for a good example of a Background section.

  • Summary

    This non-normative section provides a concise, user-friendly summary of the behavior being proposed. It doesn't need to be fully explicit about every corner of the feature, it just needs to give users an idea of how it works and what use-cases it addresses. Code examples are encouraged.

    See Escapes in Identifiers for a good example of a Summary section.

    • Design Decisions

      This sub-section goes into detail about decisions that were made during the design of the feature. It should describe alternatives that were considered, and explain why the final decision was made the way it was.

      See Plain CSS min() and max() for a good example of a Design Decisions section.

  • Syntax

    This section describes the syntax of the feature being added, if it adds new syntax to the language. The syntax should be written in Backus-Naur form, with regular expression-style operators and the convention that nonterminals are written in capitalized camel-case form. For example:

    MinMaxExpression ::= CssMinMax | FunctionExpression
CssMinMax        ::= ('min(' | 'max(') CalcValue (',' CalcValue)* ')'
CalcValue        ::= CalcValue (('+' | '-' | '*' | '/') CalcValue)+
                   | '(' CalcValue ')'
                   | ('calc(' | 'env(' | 'var(') InterpolatedDeclarationValue ')'
                   | CssMinMax
                   | Interpolation
                   | Number

    Syntax definitions can also refer to productions from CSS specs. The proposal should link to the specs in question.

    See Range-Context Media Features for an good example of a Syntax section.

  • Semantics

    This section describes the runtime behavior of the new feature. It may be omitted if the feature only has to do with how the stylesheet is parsed. The semantics section covers everything about how a stylesheet is evaluated, including how imports are resolved and the behavior of built-in functions.

    See CSS Imports for a good example of a Semantics section.

  • Deprecation Process

    All backwards-incompatible features should go through a deprecation process if at all possible (see Dart Sass's compatibility policy). This section describes the details of that process, including what code will produce deprecation warnings and how those warnings will indicate what the user should do to make their stylesheet forwards-compatible.

    See CSS Imports for a good example of a Deprecation Process section.

Fast Track

Some features are too small and too unlikely to be controversial to warrant the full-fledged proposal process. Features like that can be fast-tracked, a process that requires less time and less reviewer energy than the normal flow.

A feature is eligible for fast-tracking if it:

  • Is simple enough that it's unlikely to need to change substantially as a result of review.

  • Modifies an existing specification in the spec/ directory. It's fair game for a new spec to be written or ported from the accepted/ directory in order for a proposal to be fast-tracked, but that must be done before the proposal can move to step 2.

  • Requires very little modification of the specification and of the implementation. Ideally a fast-tracked feature requires very little modification of the sass-spec repo as well, but this may not always be feasible for features with many small edge cases or that happen to appear in many specs.

  • Requires no deprecations and introduces no backwards incompatibilities.

The proposal author makes the initial decision about whether or not to fast-track a feature. However if anyone (whether they're a member of the Sass team or just a community member) requests that that feature be moved to the full process, it must be moved so that it can have a full discussion.

The fast-track process works as follows:

  1. The feature is informally discussed on the issue tracker. Once the Sass team has agreed that a feature is desirable, it's marked as Planned and can move to step 2.

  2. Issues are opened for each individual implementation to add the feature. These issues should link to the feature's main issue in the sass/sass issue tracker, and that issue should link back to the implementation issues.

    Three pull requests are sent out concurrently.

    1. A formal proposal is written for the feature as a pull request to this repository, where the Sass team will discuss its specifics with the author. Unlike the full proposal process, this pull request directly modifies the appropriate spec in specs/.

    2. A pull request is sent to sass-spec that adds or updates specs for the new feature. The new specs should have an options.yml file that marks them as TODO for LibSass, with a reference to its issue for the new feature. For example:

      ---
:todo:
- sass/libsass#2701

      This pull request message should include [skip dart-sass]. This will cause it not to run Dart Sass tests, which would otherwise fail because the implementation of the new feature hasn't landed yet.

    3. A pull request is sent to Dart Sass that implements the new feature. This pull request's message should link to the sass-spec pull request (for example, See sass/sass-spec#1293). This will cause it to run against the specs in that pull request and so test your new feature.

    These pull requests should remain open for at least two full workdays to ensure any interested parties have a chance to comment on them. After that point, and after all three pull requests have been approved by reviewers, they should be landed simultaneously.