Upgrade Datadog Browser SDK to v7

Systematic migration guide from v6 to v7. Follow steps 1-6 in order. Each step includes a search pattern to find affected code.

Step 1: Update SDK version

CDN setup — update script src URLs:

Replace us1 with your site: eu1, us3, us5, ap1, ap2. For US1-FED, the pattern is flat with no site prefix: datadog-rum-v7.js, datadog-logs-v7.js, datadog-rum-slim-v7.js.

Search: grep -r "datadoghq-browser-agent.com.*v6" --include="*.html" --include="*.js" --include="*.ts" --include="*.tsx" --include="*.jsx"

npm setup — update package.json dependencies:

"@datadog/browser-rum": "^7.0.0"
"@datadog/browser-logs": "^7.0.0"
"@datadog/browser-rum-slim": "^7.0.0"

Then run your package manager (npm install, yarn install, etc.) and rebuild.

Also upgrade framework integrations to v7: @datadog/browser-rum-react, @datadog/browser-rum-angular, @datadog/browser-rum-vue, @datadog/browser-rum-nextjs.

Search: grep -r "@datadog/browser-" --include="package.json" .

Step 2: Add crossorigin="anonymous" (CDN only)

v7 CDN bundles use ESM dynamic imports. Every <script> tag loading the SDK must have crossorigin="anonymous":

<script src="https://www.datadoghq-browser-agent.com/us1/v7/datadog-rum.js" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>

For dynamically created script elements:

const script = document.createElement('script')
script.crossOrigin = 'anonymous' // Must set BEFORE setting src
script.src = 'https://www.datadoghq-browser-agent.com/us1/v7/datadog-rum.js'

Search: grep -rn "datadoghq-browser-agent" --include="*.html" --include="*.js" --include="*.ts" --include="*.tsx" --include="*.jsx"

Check every match for the crossorigin attribute (HTML) or .crossOrigin property (JS).

Step 3: Remove deprecated options

Search init calls for these options and apply replacements:

Removed from Core (affects both RUM and Logs)

Removed from RUM

Removed from Logs

Search: grep -rn 'betaEncodeCookieOptions\|allowFallbackToLocalStorage\|trackBfcacheViews\|trackEarlyRequests\|betaTrackActionsInShadowDom\|usePciIntake' --include="*.js" --include="*.ts" --include="*.tsx" --include="*.jsx" --include="*.html" --include="*.vue" --include="*.svelte"

Step 4: Update changed APIs

4a. forwardErrorsToLogs + forwardConsoleLogs (Logs)

These are now independent. In v6, forwardErrorsToLogs: true had a side effect: it also forwarded console.error() calls to Logs. In v7, that side effect is removed.

• forwardErrorsToLogs — controls forwarding of unhandled errors (uncaught exceptions, unhandled rejections) and network errors to Logs. Keep this unchanged.
• forwardConsoleLogs — controls forwarding of console.error() calls to Logs. Add 'error' here to restore the v6 side effect.

Only add forwardConsoleLogs: ['error'] when forwardErrorsToLogs is true or omitted — in v6 the side effect only applied when the option was enabled (explicitly or via the default). If forwardErrorsToLogs: false, there was no side effect to restore; leave it unchanged.

// v6 — forwardErrorsToLogs: true (explicit or omitted, which defaults to true)
DD_LOGS.init({
  forwardErrorsToLogs: true,
  forwardConsoleLogs: ['warn'], // example: existing levels
})

// v7 — add 'error' to restore the side effect; preserve any existing levels
DD_LOGS.init({
  forwardErrorsToLogs: true, // unchanged
  forwardConsoleLogs: ['warn', 'error'], // add 'error'
})

// v6 — forwardErrorsToLogs: false → no side effect existed; nothing to add
DD_LOGS.init({
  forwardErrorsToLogs: false, // leave unchanged, do NOT add forwardConsoleLogs: ['error']
})

Do not replace forwardErrorsToLogs with forwardConsoleLogs — they control different things.

Search for explicit config: grep -rn "forwardErrorsToLogs" --include="*.js" --include="*.ts" --include="*.tsx" --include="*.jsx" --include="*.html" --include="*.vue" --include="*.svelte"

Also search for Logs init calls that may be relying on the default (forwardErrorsToLogs defaults to true in v6, so omitting it still had the side effect): grep -rn "DD_LOGS\.init\|datadogLogs\.init" --include="*.js" --include="*.ts" --include="*.tsx" --include="*.jsx" --include="*.html" --include="*.vue" --include="*.svelte"

For any Logs init call where forwardErrorsToLogs is true or omitted, and forwardConsoleLogs does not already include 'error' or 'all', add 'error' to preserve v6 behavior.

4b. startDurationVital / stopDurationVital (RUM)

The DurationVitalReference object is replaced by a vitalKey string. startDurationVital now returns void — the v7 API is fire-and-forget; the vital name string is all you need.

// v5/v6 — ref-based (CDN: DD_RUM, npm: datadogRum)
var ref = DD_RUM.startDurationVital('checkout_flow')
// ... async work ...
DD_RUM.stopDurationVital(ref)

// v7
DD_RUM.startDurationVital('checkout_flow', { vitalKey: 'checkout_flow' })
DD_RUM.stopDurationVital('checkout_flow', { vitalKey: 'checkout_flow' })

This silently breaks in CDN/plain JS projects. TypeScript catches it with a type error; plain JS does not. ref becomes undefined and stopDurationVital(undefined) is a no-op — the vital starts but never stops, so the event is never emitted.

Step 1 — find all startDurationVital/stopDurationVital usages (both CDN and npm patterns, all file types):

grep -rn 'startDurationVital\|stopDurationVital\|DurationVitalReference' \
  --include="*.js" --include="*.ts" --include="*.tsx" --include="*.jsx" \
  --include="*.html" --include="*.svelte" --include="*.vue"

Step 2 — find every variable that captures the return value (this is the failure point):

grep -rEn '(var|const|let)\s+\w+\s*=\s*.+startDurationVital|[\w.]+\s*=\s*(window\.)?DD_RUM\.startDurationVital|[\w.]+\s*=\s*datadogRum\.startDurationVital' \
  --include="*.js" --include="*.ts" --include="*.tsx" --include="*.jsx" --include="*.html" \
  --include="*.svelte" --include="*.vue"

For every match: remove the variable assignment and update all uses of that variable in the corresponding stopDurationVital call to pass the vital name string directly.

Step 3 — if the SDK is wrapped in a utility (e.g. startTiming / stopTiming):

1. Update the wrapper — pass vitalKey to startDurationVital, return nothing.
2. Find callers that capture the wrapper return value:

grep -rEn '(var|const|let)\s+\w+\s*=\s*.+[Ss]tart[Tt]iming|(var|const|let)\s+\w+\s*=\s*.+[Ss]tart.+[Vv]ital' \
  --include="*.js" --include="*.ts" --include="*.tsx" --include="*.jsx" \
  --include="*.html" --include="*.svelte" --include="*.vue"

3. Remove the capture and update the stop call to pass the vital name string directly:

// Caller — before
var ref = startTiming('checkout_flow')
stopTiming(ref) // undefined in v7 → vital never stops

// Caller — after
startTiming('checkout_flow')
stopTiming('checkout_flow')

4c. Plugin API: strategy removed (RUM)

The strategy field has been removed from the plugin API. If you use @datadog/browser-rum-react or other plugin integrations, upgrade them to v7.

Search: grep -rn "strategy" --include="*.js" --include="*.ts" --include="*.tsx" --include="*.jsx" (look for plugin definitions)

Step 5: Review behavioral changes (no code required, but may need attention)

These are default changes — no code breaks, but behavior differs from v6:

Step 6: Update infrastructure

• CSP:
  • Add crossorigin to script-src.
  • Update chunk names like datadog*-datadog-rum.js (e.g. datadogRecorder, datadogProfiler).
  • If you removed usePciIntake, update CSP for standard intake domain.
• Cookies: Add _dd_s_v2 to cookie allowlists. The SDK auto-migrates from _dd_s on first load. Rollback to v6 starts new sessions.
• CORS: Search for tracing config: grep -rn "allowedTracingUrls\|propagateTraceBaggage" --include="*.js" --include="*.ts" --include="*.tsx" --include="*.jsx" --include="*.html" --include="*.vue" --include="*.svelte". For any project with allowedTracingUrls and no explicit propagateTraceBaggage: false, add "baggage" to your existing Access-Control-Allow-Headers on traced origins — or set propagateTraceBaggage: false to opt out.
• Browser support: Minimum Chrome 80+, Firefox 78+, Safari 14+ (ES2020). ~0.048% less coverage.

Verification checklist

After upgrading, confirm:

• SDK loads without console errors
• crossorigin="anonymous" on all CDN script tags
• No references to removed options in init config
• Session Replay recordings working (if used)
• Distributed tracing working (no CORS errors from baggage header)
• No _dd_s cookie remaining after first page load (should be _dd_s_v2)
• Action names acceptable under new privacy defaults
• No variables capturing the return value of startDurationVital (or wrappers around it) — all stop calls use the vital name string directly

Common Mistakes