Node.js Upgrades
It is important to understand what version of Node.js your Apostrophe project is running on, as there are recent updates shared by the platform that may impact your site. Older versions of Node.js are reaching its end-of-life date on April 30, 2023. If you’re a developer working on Apostrophe or are an organization working with an external agency or development team, they might already be aware of this and may have reached out about upgrading to Node 18.
What is Node.js?
Node.js is a cross-platform, open-source server environment for building fast and scalable applications. Apostrophe is built atop the Node.js platform.
Why is an upgrade important when a version reaches its end-of-life date?
When software reaches its end-of-life date, it is no longer supported by its maintainers, which eventually exposes websites that rely on it to security vulnerabilities.
How much work will this be?
The good news is that Apostrophe itself, including the 2.x version on which many existing projects are built, is already compatible with Node 18. However, the “frontend build” logic of most projects is somewhat custom and will require updates by a developer.
Can we go to Node 16 for now?
This is not recommended because Node 16 reaches its end-of-life date this year as well. Node 18 will be maintained through April 2025.
What should you do?
If you your project is on an older version of Node.js, it will require an update. If you have a support plan with Apostrophe, we have you covered.
If not, reach out to your development team and ask them to make sure the project is compatible with Node 18, including the front-end build steps. Note that upgrading to Node 16 is not advised, because 18 is the most current Long Term Support release.
If you don’t currently have a development partner, let us know if you’d like to discuss our Support Packages or if you’d like to be connected with an Apostrophe Partner.