The Node.js project shipped version 26.13.0 on 28 October 2026, and with it the 26.x line officially moves into Long Term Support. The release carries the codename Lithium and is the one the project now recommends for production work.
Node.js 26 first appeared in May 2026, so this promotion ends its roughly six-month stretch as a Current release. If you run Node.js behind APIs, build tooling or database-driven apps, this is the signal that version 26 is ready to be your long-term base.
What Changed in 26.13.0
Very little, and that is intentional. The release maintainers say the only edits are metadata updates, such as the values in the process.release object, so that the build reports itself as an LTS version.
No new features or fixes sit on top of 26.12.1. Code that already runs cleanly on the latest 26.12 build should behave the same on 26.13.0.
How Long Version 26 Will Be Supported
According to the release announcement, the 26.x line will keep receiving updates until the end of April 2029. That gives teams a support window of a bit over two and a half years from today.
The project's release page describes the general rule: an LTS line typically gets critical bug fixes for a total of 30 months, and production applications should stick to Active or Maintenance LTS versions rather than Current ones.
Where Other Node.js Versions Stand
The release table on the Node.js site shows how the lines compare right now:
- Version 26 is now LTS, first released on 5 May 2026.
- Version 24 (Krypton) and version 22 (Jod) are both still in LTS, and both received updates on 20 October 2026.
- Version 25, a short-lived Current release, has reached end of life.
- Version 20 (Iron) is end of life, with its last update in March 2026.
The same page explains a change in the schedule. Starting with Node.js 27 the project switches to one major release per year. Each of them will reach LTS, after spending half a year as Current and a further half year in an Alpha stage.
What It Means for Developers
If you are still on Node.js 20, you are on an unsupported version and should plan a move. Going straight to 26 now makes sense for new projects, because it will be supported far longer than 22 or 24.
For existing services on 22 or 24, there is no emergency. Both remain supported, so you can test version 26 in a staging environment, check your dependencies, and upgrade on your own schedule.
The release notes include one practical warning for people coming from an older LTS line such as 24 or 22. Since Node.js 25, the official Linux binaries are linked against libatomic. Depending on your distribution, you may need to install that library separately, which matters for minimal container images.
A quick check is to build your Docker image on a version 26 base and run your test suite. If the process fails at startup with a missing shared library, libatomic is the first thing to add.
How to Get Version 26.13.0
The Node.js download page offers installers and binaries for Windows, macOS, Linux and AIX, plus the source code. Version managers and OS package managers listed on the Downloads page are also an option.
After installing, run node --version and confirm that it reports v26.13.0. Then verify that process.release.lts shows the Lithium codename in your environment.
Conclusion
Node.js 26.13.0 is a status release rather than a feature release: the code matches 26.12.1, but the support promise changes. With updates planned through April 2029, version 26 is now the safe long-term choice for new Node.js projects.
Sources
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