Release Plan
Last Updated 2026-06-09
This plan is a guide for how the project plans to schedule upcoming releases, taking into account the release schedule of the underlying Node.js runtime.
As an Open Source project, we rely on our contributors to make things happen. This can both positively and negatively impact any well-intended schedule. Please take the information below as what we aspire to achieve.
The project aims to make a new major release once a year to align with the Node.js schedule. As they reach their end-of-life, a new major release will be made that updates the default Node.js version and drop support for older versions.
The active Node-RED stream will get regular minor releases (for example 5.0 -> 5.1) containing new features as well as maintenance releases (for example 5.0.1 -> 5.0.2) as and when they are needed.
When a new major version is released, the previous version enters maintenance mode for a period of time. During this time it will only receive bug fixes and security updates.
This proposal means:
- We have a regular cycle of releases - getting new features into the hands of users.
- We have a schedule to help us prioritise and plan backlog items.
- We can provide longer-term stable releases with a well-known end of life.
- We have a plan that enables us to make potentially breaking changes once a year.
| Release | Initial | Maintenance Start | End-of-life |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.x. | 2026-06-09 | Â | Â |
| 4.x | 2024-04-30 | 2026-06-09 | 2026-12-31 |
| 3.x | 2022-07-14 | 2024-04-30 | 2025-06-30 |
| 2.x | 2021-07-22 | 2022-07-14 | 2023-06-30 |
| 1.x | 2019-09-30 | 2021-04-30 | 2022-06-30 |
Dates are subject to change
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