Remove noop storage fallback when Storage is not available

Author: georapbox

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,58 +1,72 @@
 # CHANGELOG
 
-## v3.0.0 (2025-06-XX)
+## v3.0.0 (2025-06-18)
 
 ### BREAKING CHANGES
 
-- The `WebStorage` module is now exclusively available as an ES module (ESM), aligning with the modern JavaScript module standard. Additionally, it is no longer the default export — you must import it using a named import.  
-  **v2.x.x**
-  ```js
-  import WebStorage from '@georapbox/web-storage';
-  ```
-  
-  **v3.x.x**
-  ```js
-  import { WebStorage } from '@georapbox/web-storage';
-  ```
-- All API methods now return `[value, error]` tuple-like values instead of accepting error callbacks.
-  This allows developers to handle errors in a clean, synchronous style without using `try/catch` or providing callbacks. For example:
-  
-  **v2.x.x**
-  ```js
-  const value = storage.getItem('key', value, (err) => {
-    console.error(err);
-  });
-  ```
-  
-  **v3.x.x**
-  ```js
-  const [value, error] = storage.getItem('key', value);
-  
-  if (error) {
-    console.error(error);
-  }
-  ```
-- Removed support for error callback functions in all methods (`getItem`, `setItem`, `removeItem`, `clear`, `keys`, `length`, `iterate`). Errors must now be handled via the returned tuple.
-- Internal `_keyPrefix` and `_driver` fields are now private class fields (`#keyPrefix`, `#driver`). They are no longer accessible outside the class.
+#### Switch to ES modules and named exports
+
+The `WebStorage` module is now exclusively available as an ES module (ESM), aligning with the modern JavaScript module standard. Additionally, it is no longer the default export — you must import it using a named import.
+
+**v2.x.x**
+```js
+import WebStorage from '@georapbox/web-storage';
+```
+
+**v3.x.x**
+```js
+import { WebStorage } from '@georapbox/web-storage';
+```
+
+#### API methods return [value, error] tuples
 
-## NEW FEATURES
+All API methods now return `[value, error]` tuple-like values instead of accepting error callbacks. This allows developers to handle errors in a clean, synchronous style without using `try/catch` or providing callbacks. For example:
 
-- Export type declaration files (`.d.ts`) for TypeScript users, ensuring better type safety and autocompletion support in TypeScript projects.
+**v2.x.x**
+```js
+const value = storage.getItem('key', value, (err) => {
+  console.error(err);
+});
+```
+
+**v3.x.x**
+```js
+const [value, error] = storage.getItem('key', value);
+
+if (error) {
+  console.error(error);
+}
+```
+
+#### Removed noop storage fallback
+
+In previous versions, if `localStorage` or `sessionStorage` was unavailable (e.g., due to privacy settings or Safari private mode), a silent in-memory fallback was used that mimicked the Storage API. This allowed methods like `setItem()` to return success even though no actual data was stored.
+
+This behavior has been removed to improve transparency and correctness. As of v3.0.0:
+
+- No fallback is used.
+- Errors are captured and returned via the `[_, error]` tuple-like value.
+- Developers can use `WebStorage.isAvailable()` for feature detection, or gracefully handle errors based on method output.
+
+This ensures failures are explicit and prevents false assumptions about persistence.
+
+### NEW FEATURES
+
+#### Type declarations for TypeScript
+
+Export type declaration files (`.d.ts`) for TypeScript users, ensuring better type safety and autocompletion support in TypeScript projects.
 
 ### INTERNAL CHANGES
 
-- Rewrite to use native class private fields.
-- Internal noopStorage fallback now fully conforms to the Storage interface.
+- Update Node.js version requirement and dev dependencies to the latest versions.
 - Drop Jest in favor of @web/test-runner and Playwright for testing.
 - Drop rollup in favor of esbuild for bundling.
-- Update Node.js version requirement to 22.x.x.
-- Update dependencies to their latest versions.
 
 ## v2.1.0 (2021-01-26)
 
 - Generate minified versions for ESM and CommonJS exported bubdles.
 
-### Internal changes
+### INTERNAL CHANGES
 
 - Replace Mocha with Jest as testing framework.
 - Replace Travis CI with Github actions.
@@ -79,7 +93,7 @@
 - `WebStorage.isAvailable` static method, as of v2.x, accepts "localStorage" or "sessionStorage" strings as arguments.
 - On initialization the library **throws** if `driver` option is anything other than "localStorage" or "sessionStorage" and if `keyPrefix` option is not of type `String`.
 
-### OTHER CHANGES
+### INTERNAL CHANGES
 
 - Keep `devDependencies` up to date.
 

README.md

@@ -85,12 +85,7 @@ WebStorage.isAvailable('localStorage');
 
 ### setItem(key, value)
 
-Saves an item to storage with the specified key. You can store items of any of the following data types as long as data can be serialized to JSON.
-
-- String
-- Number
-- Array
-- Object
+Saves an item to storage with the specified key. Any value that can be serialized to JSON can be stored, including objects, arrays, strings, numbers, and booleans.
 
 **Throws:** `TypeError` - Throws if `key` is not a string.  
 **Returns:** `[boolean, Error | null]` - Returns an array with two elements: the first is `true` if the item was saved successfully, or `false` if it was not, and the second is `null` if no error occurred, or an `Error` object if an error occurred.

src/web-storage.js

@@ -40,39 +40,12 @@ function removePrefix(str, prefix) {
   return str;
 }
 
-/**
- * Creates a no-operation fallback implementation of the Web Storage API.
- *
- * This function returns an object that conforms to the `Storage` interface
- * but performs no actual storage operations. It is intended for use in
- * environments where `localStorage` or `sessionStorage` is unavailable or restricted.
- *
- * Behavior:
- * - `getItem` and `key` always return `null`
- * - `setItem`, `removeItem`, and `clear` do nothing and return `undefined`
- * - `length` is always `0`
- *
- * This allows safe use of the storage API without requiring availability checks or try/catch blocks.
- *
- * @returns {Storage} A noop-compatible storage object that safely mimics the `Storage` API
- */
-function createNoopStorage() {
-  return {
-    getItem: () => null,
-    setItem: () => undefined,
-    removeItem: () => undefined,
-    key: () => null,
-    clear: () => undefined,
-    length: 0
-  };
-}
-
 class WebStorage {
   /** @type {Storage} */
   #driver;
 
   /** @type {string} */
-  #keyPrefix;
+  #keyPrefix = '';
 
   /**
    * Creates a new instance of WebStorage.
@@ -93,7 +66,7 @@ class WebStorage {
       throw new TypeError('The "keyPrefix" option must be a string.');
     }
 
-    this.#driver = WebStorage.isAvailable(opts.driver) ? window[opts.driver] : createNoopStorage();
+    this.#driver = window[opts.driver];
     this.#keyPrefix = opts.keyPrefix.trim();
   }