Node.js: Open-source JavaScript runtime environment
JavaScript runtime built on V8 for server-side development.
Learn more about node
Node.js is an open-source runtime environment that executes JavaScript code on servers and local machines rather than in web browsers. It uses the V8 JavaScript engine and provides APIs for file system access, networking, and process management through its standard library. The runtime supports both synchronous and asynchronous operations, with event-driven, non-blocking I/O as a core architectural pattern. Node.js is commonly used for building web servers, command-line tools, real-time applications, and microservices across Linux, macOS, and Windows platforms.
Event-Driven Concurrency
Single-threaded event loop handles thousands of concurrent connections without thread-per-request overhead. Non-blocking I/O operations enable high throughput for network-bound applications while maintaining low memory footprint.
Unified JavaScript Stack
Same language and libraries run on both client and server through npm's ecosystem. Share code, types, and validation logic across frontend and backend without context switching or duplicate implementations.
Dual Release Cadence
Current releases deliver new features every six months while LTS versions provide 30-month support cycles. Choose stability for production workloads or adopt latest capabilities without compromising maintenance guarantees.
const http = require('http');
const server = http.createServer((req, res) => {
res.writeHead(200, { 'Content-Type': 'text/plain' });
res.end('Hello World!');
});
server.listen(3000, () => {
console.log('Server running on port 3000');
});Type stripping is now stable; localStorage getter throws if storage path is missing (breaking change).
- –Update code accessing localStorage to handle new thrown errors when storage path is not configured.
- –Use stable type stripping in modules and leverage new napi_create_object_with_properties for native addons.
Fixes Buffer.allocUnsafe to return uninitialized memory as documented, reversing incorrect zero-fill behavior introduced earlier.
- –Verify code relying on Buffer.allocUnsafe zero-filling; it now returns uninitialized memory per original spec.
- –Update root certificates to NSS 3.116 and upgrade npm to 11.6.2 for latest security and tooling fixes.
Minor feature release adding HTTP server optimization, SQLite defensive flag, and watch config namespace; no breaking changes noted.
- –Enable `optimizeEmptyRequests` on HTTP servers to reduce overhead for empty request handling.
- –Set SQLite defensive flag via new API to harden database operations against corruption.
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