Roku periodically deprecates nodes, functions, fields, and attributes when releasing new or updated APIs.
Deprecated APIs should no longer be used because they may be removed from future Roku OS releases, and they may also cause your app to fail certification testing. Proactively updating your app application code with the latest APIs ensures that your app is unaffected by the deprecation process.
The Roku OS release notes document which APIs are being deprecated with each release.
Do not use deprecated APIs. Roku's Static Analysis tool, which is used for certification testing of apps, detects and reports any deprecated APIs in the app code as errors. All reported errors in the app code (including those resulting from the use of deprecated APIs) must be resolved to pass Static Analysis testing and publish the app.
As of February 10, 2025, the roAppManager.ShowChannelStoreSpringboard() function is deprecated. Static Analysis will block the publishing of new or updated apps that use this function.
As of Roku OS 12.5, all apps run in a separate process, regardless if the run_as_process attribute has been specified in the manifest.
Since Roku OS 11.5 (September 2022), the Roku OS no longer supports the roUrlTransfer.enableFreshConnection() function. Apps should always reuse connections because it is more efficient (new connections impact app performance by increasing latency and consuming more CPU).
Since Roku OS 10.5 (September 2021), the Windows Media Audio (wma) and WMApro (wmapro) audio formats are no longer supported. Both formats were officially sunset as part of the Roku OS 12.5 release in September 2023. See the Audio node for the current list of audio formats supported by the Roku platform.
Since Roku OS 10.0 (April 2021), the SteadyMaxMemPoints metric has been removed from the signal beacon performance measurements. It is no longer reported in the debugging logs when an app is exited. Use the chanperf SceneGraph debug console command to measure an app's memory consumption.
As of Roku OS 10.0 (April 2021), apps must replace all file:// URLs with pkg:/ URLs.
Developers should use the general audience measurement APIs instead of calling the enableNielsenDAR() and setNielsenProgramId() methods.
Since Roku OS 9.4 (September 2020), the manifestData[periods] and manifestData[mpd] fields were deprecated. Those fields were replaced by manifestData[xml],which provided access to the same information and more. However, since then, access to the Video.manifestData field itself has been restricted and is no longer externally documented because it is not compatible across all device platforms (particularly, lower-end devices).
Since Roku OS 9.3 (April 2020), the Eval() function has been sunset and is no longer in the Roku OS. Do not use this function; it will cause compilation or runtime errors. This completes a deprecation process that began with the Roku OS 9.0 release (October 2018).
Developers using the eval() function to initialize data should use the parseJSON() function instead.
As described in Manifest file:
- In Roku OS 9.0 with rsg_version=1.2, use of the runtime function Eval() will result in a compile-time error.
- In Roku OS 9.0 other usage of Eval() is not thread-safe and may result in runtime errors.
The following DRMs are no longer supported:
- Verimatrix DRM (deprecated in Roku OS 9.3).
- Adobe DRM (deprecated in Roku OS 9.3).
Make sure that content in your app is protected using a Roku-supported DRM such as Widevine, PlayReady, or AES-128.
Use the roDeviceInfo.GetOsVersion() function instead, which was introduced in Roku 9.2 OS (September 2019), to get the major, minor, revision, and build numbers of the Roku OS running on a device.
The roDeviceInfo.GetConnectionInfo() method no longer returns a device's MAC address (it returns a string of zeros). Developers can use the roDeviceInfo.GetChannelClientId method to uniquely identify devices.
The roDeviceInfo.isHDMIConnected() method is deprecated. Use the roHdmiStatus.IsConnected() method instead.
The GetAudioDecodeInfo() method is deprecated. Use the CanDecodeAudio() method instead.
Several properties of ifDeviceInfo were deprecated with the release of Roku OS 8.1 (May 2018) and were ultimately removed from the firmware in Roku OS 9.1 (April 2019).
Those deprecated methods of ifDeviceInfo were replaced with similar methods in Roku OS 8.1 (May 2018).
| Deprecated method | Replacement method |
|---|---|
| GetDrmInfo() | GetDrmInfoEx() |
| GetAdvertisingId() | GetRIDA() |
| IsAdIdTrackingDisabled() | IsRIDADisabled() |
| GetClientTrackingId() | GetChannelClientId() |
| GetDeviceUniqueId() | GetChannelClientId() |
| GetVideoDecodeInfo() as Object | CanDecodeVideo() |
Deprecated prior to September 2018: UrlEncode(url as String)
The following status values returned by the roVideoPlayerEvent.IsStatusMessage() method are deprecated:
- "end of stream"
- "end of playlist"
Several attributes have been deprecated:
- AudioLanguageSelected (deprecated in Roku OS 9.2). Users can select their preferred audio language on-device in the Settings > Audio > Audio Preferred Language screen.
- AudioPIDPref. (users can select their preferred audio language on-device in the Settings > Audio > Audio Preferred Language screen).
- PlayDuration (deprecated in Roku OS 8.1)
- encodingKey (use licenseServerURL)
- encodingType (use licenseServerURL)
- "wmv" as a value for the streamformat field.
Consult the linked documentation page for details.
Using the roScreen node in SD mode has been deprecated. Developers should develop games in HD mode.
Several attributes have been deprecated; consult the linked documentation page for details.
roAppInfo.getSubtitle() function has been deprecated since around Roku OS 5.0.
As of this date, all newly published or re-published apps were required to use SceneGraph or Direct Publisher. Accordingly, all legacy visual screen components and associated event components were deprecated.
These components were sunset as part of the Roku OS 11.5 release (September 12, 2022). The documentation for these components and events has been removed.
Below is the list of relevant sunset components and events:
| Legacy component | Associated event |
|---|---|
| roCaptionRenderer | roCaptionRendererEvent |
| roCodeRegistrationScreen | roCodeRegistrationScreenEvent |
| roFontMetrics | |
| roGridScreen | roGridScreenEvent |
| roKeyboardScreen | roKeyboardScreenEvent |
| roImageCanvas | roImageCanvasEvent |
| roListScreen | roListScreenEvent |
| roMessageDialog | roMessageDialogEvent |
| roOneLineDialog | roOneLineDialogEvent |
| roParagraphScreen | roParagraphScreenEvent |
| roPinEntryDialog | roPinEntryDialogEvent |
| roPosterScreen | roPosterScreenEvent |
| roSearchHistory | |
| roSearchScreen | roSearchScreenEvent |
| roSlideShow | roSlideShowEvent |
| roSpringboardScreen | roSpringboardScreenEvent |
| roTextScreen | roTextScreenEvent |
| roVideoScreen | roVideoScreenEvent |
Since July 1, 2017, the interfaces listed below have been deprecated and apps using them have been rejected during certification for publication or re-publication.
These interfaces were sunset as part of the Roku OS 11.5 release (September 12, 2022). The documentation for these interfaces has been removed.
ifCaptionRenderer
ifCodeRegistrationScreen
ifFontMetrics
ifGridScreen
ifImageCanvas
ifKeyboardScreen
ifListScreen
ifMessageDialog
ifOneLineDialog
ifParagraphScreen
ifPinEntryDialog
ifPosterScreen
ifSearchHistory
ifSearchScreen
ifSlideShow
ifSpringboardScreen
ifTextScreen
ifVideoScreen