Blog: Evolving the Node.js Release Schedule by UlisesGascon · Pull Request #8631 · nodejs/nodejs.org

UlisesGascon · 2026-02-15T16:10:28Z

Preview url: https://nodejs-org-git-fork-ulisesgascon-release-announcement-openjs.vercel.app/en/blog/announcements/evolving-the-nodejs-release-schedule

Objective

This is an initial draft of the blog post, intended to collect feedback and iterate until we have a clear plan for communicating the release schedule change.

Context

We have been discussing this topic for a while in nodejs/Release#1113, nodejs/Release#953 and at the Collaboration Summit Chesapeake 2025.

The goal of this post is to communicate the change clearly to users as part of the messaging around Node 26.x, since the new plan will take effect starting with Node 27.x. We decided to write this blog post during our last Release WG meeting.

- Add "About the Alpha Channel" section explaining: - Target audience (library authors, CI pipelines) - Expectations (no security patches, API may change) - Rationale (feedback loop + V8 updates) - ABI stability noted as TBD - Simplify schedule phases: Alpha → Current → LTS (29 months) - Remove Active LTS / Maintenance distinction - Add Ubuntu release cycle comparison for familiarity - Clean up v26/v27 timelines (remove Maintenance milestone)

- Add comprehensive 10-year schedule table (v27-v36) with Alpha, Release, LTS, and End of Life dates - Clarify that Alpha channel uses only nightly builds (no formal alpha releases, reducing releaser workload) - Link to nodejs.org/download/nightly for early testing - Reorder Timeline section: v26 → v27 → 10-year table

vercel · 2026-02-15T16:10:35Z

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github-actions · 2026-02-15T16:10:39Z

👋 Codeowner Review Request

The following codeowners have been identified for the changed files:

Team reviewers: @nodejs/releasers @nodejs/nodejs-website

Please review the changes when you have a chance. Thank you! 🙏

codecov · 2026-02-15T16:12:14Z

Codecov Report

✅ All modified and coverable lines are covered by tests.
✅ Project coverage is 75.11%. Comparing base (f11d90f) to head (79d6b87).
⚠️ Report is 13 commits behind head on main.
✅ All tests successful. No failed tests found.

Additional details and impacted files

@@            Coverage Diff             @@
##             main    #8631      +/-   ##
==========================================
+ Coverage   75.01%   75.11%   +0.10%     
==========================================
  Files         103      104       +1     
  Lines        9068     9098      +30     
  Branches      315      314       -1     
==========================================
+ Hits         6802     6834      +32     
+ Misses       2264     2262       -2     
  Partials        2        2

☔ View full report in Codecov by Sentry.
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UlisesGascon · 2026-02-15T16:18:31Z

apps/site/pages/en/blog/announcements/evolving-the-nodejs-release-schedule.md

@@ -0,0 +1,114 @@
+---
+date: '2026-04-01T00:00:00.000Z'


This is just a placeholder, no idea when makes sense to publish it.

apps/site/pages/en/blog/announcements/evolving-the-nodejs-release-schedule.md

gurgunday

lgtm

apps/site/pages/en/blog/announcements/evolving-the-nodejs-release-schedule.md

RafaelGSS

Despite those changes, I think we need to mention that it's up to the release team to define what the rules will be to ship semver-major commits in alpha versions.

apps/site/pages/en/blog/announcements/evolving-the-nodejs-release-schedule.md

Tried to implement some of the feedback Signed-off-by: Antoine du Hamel <duhamelantoine1995@gmail.com>

apps/site/pages/en/blog/announcements/evolving-the-nodejs-release-schedule.md

Co-authored-by: Mike McCready <66998419+MikeMcC399@users.noreply.github.com> Signed-off-by: Antoine du Hamel <duhamelantoine1995@gmail.com>

apps/site/pages/en/blog/announcements/evolving-the-nodejs-release-schedule.md

Renegade334 · 2026-02-19T21:43:00Z

apps/site/pages/en/blog/announcements/evolving-the-nodejs-release-schedule.md

+- **One major release per year** (April), with LTS promotion in October
+- **Every release becomes LTS**. No more odd/even distinction.
+- **Alpha channel replaces odd-numbered releases** for early testing (for librairies)
+- **Version numbers align with years**: 27.0.0 in 2027, 28.0.0 in 2028


It's a nice coincidence, but not sure this is worth stating here; it's not a stated objective or an explicit commitment of the new release plan.

apps/site/pages/en/blog/announcements/evolving-the-nodejs-release-schedule.md

Co-authored-by: Filip Skokan <panva.ip@gmail.com> Signed-off-by: Ulises Gascón <ulisesgascongonzalez@gmail.com>

Co-authored-by: René <contact.9a5d6388@renegade334.me.uk> Signed-off-by: Ulises Gascón <ulisesgascongonzalez@gmail.com>

Co-authored-by: Rafael Gonzaga <rafael.nunu@hotmail.com> Signed-off-by: Ulises Gascón <ulisesgascongonzalez@gmail.com>

Co-Authored-By: Rafael Gonzaga <rafael.nunu@hotmail.com> Co-Authored-By: Waldenesque <116973718+Waldenesque@users.noreply.github.com>

UlisesGascon · 2026-02-21T19:05:55Z

I think the PR is ready for review (even CI is green now 🥳 ), but I am not sure what is the publication date... so leaving as draft until we can clarify that detail 🤔

bjohansebas · 2026-02-21T20:29:42Z

apps/site/pages/en/blog/announcements/evolving-the-nodejs-release-schedule.md

+category: announcements
+title: Evolving the Node.js Release Schedule
+layout: blog-post
+author: The Node.js Release Team


Could you add this author here so it shows up properly with the logo?

https://github.com/nodejs/nodejs.org/blob/main/apps/site/authors.json

bjohansebas · 2026-02-21T20:31:25Z

apps/site/pages/en/blog/announcements/evolving-the-nodejs-release-schedule.md

+| Alpha   | 5 months  | Oct to Mar. Early testing, semver-major allowed |
+| Interim | 6 months  | Apr to Oct. Stabilization                       |
+| LTS     | 29 months | Long-term support with security fixes           |
+| EOL     | Infinity  | The project no longer provides any support      |


bjohansebas · 2026-02-21T20:32:26Z

apps/site/pages/en/blog/announcements/evolving-the-nodejs-release-schedule.md

+### About the Alpha Channel
+
+The Alpha channel replaces odd-numbered releases. Alpha releases are signed,
+tagged, and tested through CITGM. CITGM (Canary in the Goldmine) is a tool we


Suggested change

tagged, and tested through CITGM. CITGM (Canary in the Goldmine) is a tool we

tagged, and tested through [CITGM](https://github.com/nodejs/citgm). CITGM (Canary in the Goldmine) is a tool we

UlisesGascon added 6 commits February 12, 2026 19:14

feat(blog): create post evolving the Node.js Release Schedule

548adaf

docs: use proper terminology

3c1aa4e

docs: clarify Alpha channel vs nightly builds in release schedule post

295317e

docs: add image to support the new schedule

1d1c970

UlisesGascon mentioned this pull request Feb 15, 2026

Evolving the Node.js Release Schedule UlisesGascon/nodejs.org#1

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copy-edit

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Tried to implement some of the feedback Signed-off-by: Antoine du Hamel <duhamelantoine1995@gmail.com>

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Apply suggestions from code review

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Session Proposal: Node.js New Release Schedule openjs-foundation/summit#479

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docs: improve readability

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Co-authored-by: Filip Skokan <panva.ip@gmail.com> Signed-off-by: Ulises Gascón <ulisesgascongonzalez@gmail.com>

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docs: improve readability

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Co-authored-by: René <contact.9a5d6388@renegade334.me.uk> Signed-off-by: Ulises Gascón <ulisesgascongonzalez@gmail.com>

docs: improve readability

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	\| EOL \| Infinity \| The project no longer provides any support \|
	\| [EOL](https://nodejs.org/en/about/eol) \| Infinity \| The project no longer provides any support \|

	tagged, and tested through CITGM. CITGM (Canary in the Goldmine) is a tool we
	tagged, and tested through [CITGM](https://github.com/nodejs/citgm). CITGM (Canary in the Goldmine) is a tool we

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