Runtime Briefing — Node.js 18 Enters Active LTS
Node.js 18.12.0 moved the release line into Active LTS on 25 October 2022, locking in long-term support for the fetch API, test runner, and OpenSSL 3 changes that teams must validate before promotion.
Executive briefing: The Node.js project declared Node.js 18 (Hydrogen) an Active LTS release on with the 18.12.0 build, making the runtime suitable for production upgrades.
Feature highlights
- Web platform APIs. A global
fetch,FormData, and Web Streams implementations reduce reliance on polyfills. - Built-in test runner. Experimental
node:testtooling provides first-party testing support that may simplify dependency trees. - OpenSSL 3. Continued use of OpenSSL 3 maintains modern TLS defaults and requires compatibility checks for legacy endpoints.
- Platform updates. Prebuilt binaries target Apple silicon and introduce updates to the V8 engine (10.2) and npm 8.19.
Adoption steps
- Upgrade CI pipelines to exercise Node 18 LTS, confirming native module rebuilds and container base images.
- Review application networking code for OpenSSL 3 compatibility, especially mutual TLS integrations and custom cipher settings.
- Plan rollout communications so product teams retire Node 16 before its September 2023 maintenance cutoff.