As an odd-numbered release, Node 19 will never become an 'active LTS' version, but sits as the 'current' release that gets all the tastiest new features until early 2023. It then reaches 'end of life' on June 1, 2023. "If you’re interested in getting access to features early, Node.js 19 is ready,” says Rafael Gonzaga of the core team.

New features this time around include:

• Watch mode. An experimental --watch Nodemon-esque mode for 'watching' files and restarting the process when imported files change. (Node 18.11.0 (LTS) also gains this feature.)

• HTTP KeepAlive is now enabled by default. It's always been an option but now it's set to true by default. The default duration is 5 seconds.

• V8 10.7. Node bumps up to the latest version of the V8 engine. It's not a big jump but does introduce Intl.NumberFormat.

• The WebCrypto API is now stable (with the exception of Ed25519, Ed448, X25519, and X448).

• Some other dependency upgrades, such as to npm 8.19.2 and llhttp 8.1.0.

As things stand, we're in the odd position of Node 18.x and 19.x both being the 'Current' release, but Node 18 begins its role as an LTS release on October 25. More info in the release policies here and the OpenJS Foundation has extra detail in its release post too.

IN BRIEF:

• Node 18.11.0 (Current) was released last week. It shares Node 19's new --watch feature and Node 18 will become an active LTS release next week.

• The OpenJS Foundation has notified us that there's a big discount on two Node.js courses and certifications until October 25.