Node.js 14.x by default

Summary

The latest release of Node.js to carry a 30-month lifecycle is the 14.x series. As with 12.x, 10.x and 8.x before it, Fedora 33 will carry 14.x as the default Node.js interpreter for the system. The 12.x interpreter will remain available as a non-default module stream.

Owner

Name: Zuzana Svetlikova
Email: zsvetlik@redhat.com
Name: Stephen Gallagher
Email: sgallagh@fedoraproject.org
Responsible SIG: Node.js SIG

Current status

Targeted release: Fedora 33
Last updated: 2020-04-29
FESCo issue: <will be assigned by the Wrangler>
Tracker bug: <will be assigned by the Wrangler>
Release notes tracker: <will be assigned by the Wrangler>

Detailed Description

Fedora 33 will ship with the latest LTS version of Node.js by default. This will either be the nodejs:14 module stream or else replicated to the non-modular repository, depending on the status of other release engineering work around supporting modular content in the non-modular buildroots. To end-users, the experience should be identical: dnf install nodejs will give them nodejs-14.x and the matching npm package.

Benefit to Fedora

Node.js is a popular server-side JavaScript engine. Keeping Fedora on the latest release allows us to continue tracking the state-of-the-art in that space. For those whose applications do not yet work with the 14.x release, Fedora 33 will also have the 12.x release available as a selectable module stream.

Scope

Proposal owners:

The packages are already built for Fedora 33 in a non-default module stream. On June 14th, 2020, the nodejs-14.x packages will become the default in Fedora 33 (either by making the 14.x module stream be the default stream or by rebuilding the packages as non-modular, depending on other factors).

Other developers: N/A (not a System Wide Change)

Any developer with a package that depends on Node.js at run-time or build-time should test with the 14.x module stream enabled as soon as possible. Issues should be reported to nodejs@lists.fedoraproject.org

Release engineering: #Releng issue number (a check of an impact with Release Engineering is needed)

Release engineering and FESCo will need to approve the change to the default module stream.

Policies and guidelines: N/A (not needed for this Change)

Trademark approval: N/A (not needed for this Change)

Upgrade/compatibility impact

As with previous releases, users running Fedora 31 or Fedora 32 with the non-modular nodejs-12.x packages will be automatically upgraded to the 14.x packages, which may cause issues. If users are running software known not to support Node.js 14.x yet, they can switch the system to use 12.x with dnf module commands.

How To Test

Confirm that dnf install nodejs results in Node.js 14.x being installed.
Confirm that upgrading from Fedora 31 or Fedora 32 with nodejs-12.x installed (non-modular) results in an upgrade to nodejs-14.x
Confirm that upgrading from Fedora 31 or Fedora 32 with the nodejs:12 module enabled does *not* result in an upgrade to 14.x and still has nodejs:12 enabled on Fedora 33.
Confirm that upgrading from Fedora 31 or Fedora 32 with the nodejs:14 module enabled upgrades successfully and still has nodejs:14 enabled on Fedora 33.

User Experience

Users will have the 14.x release of Node.js available by default. See the "Upgrade/compatibility impact" section for specific details.

Dependencies

All packages prefixed with nodejs- depend on this package. If they do not work with Node.js 14.x, they will need to be updated, made modular and dependent upon the nodejs:12 stream or else removed from Fedora 33.

Prior to the switchover date to Node.js 14.x as the default, packagers are strongly encouraged to test their existing Node modules with 14.x via the Modular version by running:

` dnf reset nodejs dnf module install nodejs:12/development `

Contingency Plan

Contingency mechanism:

Revert to Node.js 12.x as the default stream. This may require bumping epoch or making the nodejs:12 stream the default, depending on the status of the modules-in-non-modular-buildroot work at the time.

Contingency deadline: N/A
Blocks release? No
Blocks product? No

Documentation

Release Notes

Fedora 33 now ships with Node.js 14.x as the default Node.js JavaScript server-side engine. If your applications are not yet ready for this newer version, you can revert to the 12.x series by running the following commands

dnf remove nodejs
dnf module reset nodejs
dnf module install nodejs:12

Search

Changes/Nodejs14x

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