Node.js moves to one major release a year

Node.js is going to one major release a year, and the odd/even split is finally dead. From Node 27 onward, every release becomes LTS.

What changes

Node 26, which landed in April, is the last release under the old model. From Node 27 onward there is one major per year, and every release becomes LTS. No more odd versions that exist mainly to be skipped. The support window stays at thirty months.

Why

The reasoning is refreshingly unglamorous. Rafael Gonzaga opened the proposal back in July 2025, pointing out that most organisations skipped odd releases entirely, while a volunteer release team still carried the maintenance load for them. James Snell described the old schedule as a model built for corporate adoption cycles that mattered a decade ago and had not been revisited since.

What it means for your team

For most teams the practical effect is small, and that is the nice part. Fewer upgrade decisions a year, and no more explaining to a project manager why we are skipping a version on purpose.

I have been running Node in production for about a decade. Almost every version I have shipped on was even numbered. Making that official is just the project admitting what everyone already did.

Takeaways

• Node 26 is the last release under the odd/even model.
• From Node 27, one major per year, and every release is LTS.
• The support window stays at thirty months.
• Most teams already skipped odd versions, so the practical change is small.