Go & Node upgrade calendar · 2026

An example schedule for keeping a small-business Go or Node.js application on supported runtimes, without upgrading every time a new release appears.

The rules:

• Major and minor versions change only in two maintenance windows a year: March and September.
• Patch and security releases are applied as soon as their announcement warrants it, outside this plan.
• Go: move to the newest major in the window after it ships, once its .1 point release is out.
• Node.js: only LTS in production. Each March, move to the line that became LTS the previous October.

Production target by month

Bold rows are the months where versions change. The year ends on Go 1.27 and Node 24 LTS, which carry into 2027.

Month by month

January · quiet

• Production: Go 1.25 · Node 22 LTS
• Mid-month: add the Go 1.26 release candidate to the CI matrix
• Weeks 3–4: add Node 24 LTS to the CI matrix

February · watch

• Early: Go 1.26 released, Go 1.24 reaches end of life
• Weeks 2–4: fix anything CI flags on Go 1.26 or Node 24

March · maintenance window

• Week 2: Go 1.25 → 1.26.x
• Week 2: Node 22 → 24 LTS
• Week 3: update dependencies, deploy to staging, smoke tests
• Week 4: release v2026.1, bundled with low-priority bug fixes

April · features

• Late: Node 26.0.0 released as Current; not for production
• Weeks 2–4: feature development

May · features

• Mid-month: feature release A

June · features

• Early: Node 25 reaches end of life (an odd-numbered line, never a production target)
• Feature development

July · features

• Early: feature release B
• Mid-month: add the Go 1.27 release candidate to the CI matrix

August · watch

• Early: Go 1.27 released, Go 1.25 reaches end of life
• Holidays: read release notes only

September · maintenance window

• Week 2: Go 1.26 → 1.27.x
• Week 2: Node stays on 24, latest minor
• Week 3: update dependencies, deploy to staging, smoke tests
• Week 4: release v2026.2, bundled with low-priority bug fixes

October · features

• Late: Node 26 becomes LTS; Node 24 enters its maintenance phase
• Feature development

November · features

• Mid-month: feature release C
• Late: add Node 26 LTS to the CI matrix, ready for March 2027

December · quiet

• No version changes
• Late: plan 2027 (Go 1.28, Node 26 LTS)

Always running

• Go: golang-announce mailing list and govulncheck in CI
• Node.js: nodejs.org security announcements, npm audit, committed lockfile and npm ci in builds
• Renovate or Dependabot opening update PRs, batch-merged during maintenance windows

Go 1.26 and 1.27 dates follow Go’s usual February/August cadence. Node.js dates come from the Node.js project’s published release schedule. Check go.dev/doc/devel/release and the nodejs/Release schedule before committing dates to clients.