Which Node.JS

Are you ever uncertain about which version of Node.JS you should be using locally or in your pipelines? Which-node.js.org exists to inform you as clearly as possible which versions of Node.JS you should be using and when you can use different versions depending on what you’re trying to achieve.

As seen in the image below, generally, Node.JS versions are the “Current” version for around six months. Long-term support (LTS) versions then go through a period of being “Active” followed by a longer “Maintainance” period; other versions (non-LTS versions) only go through a significantly shorter “Maintainance period”.

While the https://nodejs.org website does give some advice on who should be using which types of versions I find it to be somewhat unclear. This is why Which-Node.JS breaks down usages into two clear groups: “Library Maintainers” and “Website/Service Creators”. The reasoning behind this divide is taken directly from the Node.JS Previous Releases webpage where they suggest that “Library authors should use ‘Current’ versions to ensure their products can support them” and “‘Active’ status is ready for general use”. The Which-Node.JS website sources its data directly from the https://github.com/nodejs/Release repository on page-load, so it’s always up to date.

Tech Stack

Which-Node.JS is written in TypeScript and leverages Next.JS & React to create a single-page application (SPA) experience. The build stage is configured to produce static assets only, which is what allows it to be hosted on GitHub Pages.

The dependencies of the website are kept up to date using Renovate Bot; however, it’s the combination of Renovate Bot’s auto-merge strategy, a full suite of end-to-end tests, and a continuous deployment pipeline that allows the deployed version of the website to remain up to date at all times.

Thank you to the https://js.org project for supplying the domain for free.