History API & Navigation
Every SPA router (React Router, Next.js, Vue Router) is built on pushState/popstate. The Navigation API is the modern replacement with better intercept semantics. Understanding the history stack prevents navigation bugs.
What It Defines
Defines the browser history stack manipulation API: pushState(), replaceState(), popstate event, and the newer Navigation API (navigate event, NavigateEvent.intercept()). Controls the URL bar, back/forward navigation, and client-side routing.
Canonical (Normative)
Convenient (Practical)
Maintains the living standards for the web platform: HTML, DOM, Fetch, URL, Streams, and more. These are continuously updated living documents, not versioned snapshots.
Related Specs
The spec behind every HTML page, form, and browser API. The canonical reference for how browsers actually parse and process HTML.
Browsers parse URLs per this standard, not raw RFC 3986. Critical for client-side routing, form encoding, and cross-origin behavior.