When Is Node 26 LTS? 28 Oct 2026 Schedule

Per nodejs/Release schedule.json: Node 26 Active LTS starts 28 Oct 2026; Node 24 (Krypton) enters Maintenance 20 Oct 2026; Node 27 Alpha begins 28 Oct 2026 under the new one-major-per-year model. Checklist for freelancers still on 22/24. Nothing upgraded; no affiliate.

5 October 20265 min read

Summary

Node.js 26 Active LTS (28 Oct 2026) and the new yearly schedule

In October 2026 the latest Node.js LTS is changing hands: Node.js 24 (Krypton) is the current LTS (Active until 20 October, then Maintenance), and Node.js 26 becomes the new Active LTS on 28 October 2026. Those dates come from the official nodejs/Release schedule.json, which also opens the Node 27 Alpha on 28 October under the new one-major-per-year release model.

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01shoppercove.com/blog/nextjs-16-3-8-security-release-2026

The October 2026 handoff (from schedule.json)

Exact fields from schedule.json as fetched 5 October 2026:

v26 — start 2026-05-05, lts 2026-10-28, maintenance 2027-10-20, end 2029-04-30 (last line under the old odd/even model).
v24 (Krypton) — lts 2025-10-28, maintenance 2026-10-20, end 2028-04-30.
v22 (Jod) — already in maintenance since 2025-10-21, end 2027-04-30.
v27 — alpha 2026-10-28, start (Current) 2027-04-22, maintenance 2027-10-20, end 2030-04-30.

As of the Releases page snapshot read the same day, v26 was still listed as Current (last updated Sep 21, 2026) and v24 as LTS. So on 5 October 2026 the LTS flip had not happened yet—it is scheduled later this month.

What “Active LTS” vs “Maintenance” means in practice

From the Releases page wording:

Production apps should use Active LTS or Maintenance LTS releases.
LTS typically means critical bugs are fixed for a total of about 30 months from LTS entry (the evolving-schedule post keeps that duration similar under the new model).
After the late-October flips, expect 26.x to be the new Active LTS target for greenfield and upgrade work, while 24.x continues with Maintenance-only changes until April 2028.

If you only ever track “whatever node -v says on the VPS,” set a calendar reminder for 20 Oct (24 → Maintenance) and 28 Oct (26 → Active LTS; 27 Alpha opens).

The bigger change: yearly majors starting with 27

The Evolving the Node.js Release Schedule post (as of October 2026) says:

One major per year (April Current), with LTS promotion in October.
Every major becomes LTS—no more skipping “odd” lines.
A new Alpha phase (October–March) allows early testing with semver-major changes; Alpha is for library authors and CI, not production.
Version numbers will align with the calendar year of the first Current release (27.0.0 in 2027, 28.0.0 in 2028, and so on).
Node.js 26 is the last line under the current model; 27 is the first under the new one.

TL;DR from that post for LTS-only teams: little changes beyond version numbering. Support windows stay similar; the odd/even confusion goes away.

Freelancer / client-site checklist before 28 October

Inventory runtimes: node -v on each VPS, container base image, and CI image. Note anything still on 20.x (EOL 2026-04-30 per schedule.json) or older.
If you are on 22.x: you are already in Maintenance; plan a jump toward 24 or 26 before 2027-04-30 EOL—do not wait for a surprise OpenSSL or V8 backport gap.
If you are on 24.x: staying is fine into Maintenance, but treat 26 Active LTS as the default upgrade target for new client work after 28 Oct.
If you already test on 26 Current: watch for the LTS promotion build on 28 Oct; pin the LTS line in production images once it lands, rather than floating on Current forever.
Do not put 27 Alpha in production. The blog says Alpha is signed and tagged for early feedback; APIs may still change.
Framework pairing: if you also run Next.js, keep the ShopperCove Next.js 15 Maintenance LTS end (21 Oct 2026) note in the same sprint—Node and Next support windows are both mid-October pressure points.

ShopperCove did not run these upgrades. Match your hosting docs and the frameworks you actually deploy.

Bottom line

20 October 2026: Node 24 → Maintenance LTS. 28 October 2026: Node 26 → Active LTS, and Node 27 Alpha begins under the new yearly model. Primary dates live in schedule.json; the policy story lives on the evolving schedule blog post.

FAQ

When does Node 26 become LTS?

28 October 2026, per nodejs/Release schedule.json. Node 26 then stays in Active LTS until Maintenance on 20 October 2027 and reaches end of life on 30 April 2029.

What is the Node.js LTS release schedule for 2026?

Node 24 enters Maintenance on 20 October 2026, Node 26 enters Active LTS on 28 October 2026, and Node 27 Alpha starts the same day. Node 22 has been in Maintenance since 21 October 2025 and ends 30 April 2027.

Should I use Node 27 in production?

No. Node 27 Alpha is for library authors and CI testing. Production apps should use Active LTS or Maintenance LTS releases.

Sources

nodejs lts release schedule versioning production software updates

Lab evidence

What I found running this

Sources read 5 Oct 2026 via WebFetch: schedule.json, evolving-the-nodejs-release-schedule blog, nodejs.org/en/about/previous-releases. No runtime upgraded or benchmarked. Per nodejs/Release schedule.json: Node 26 Active LTS starts 28 Oct 2026; Node 24 (Krypton) enters Maintenance 20 Oct 2026; Node 27 Alpha begins 28 Oct 2026 under the new one-major-per-year model. Checklist for freelancers still on 22/24. Nothing upgraded; no affiliate.

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