What are the differences between Long Term Support (LTS) and Stable versions of Node.js?

Question

Originally asked: What is the difference between Node.js 4.x branch with LTS (Long Term Support) and the 5.x branch (listed as Stable)?

But this is equally

Answer 1

Release Types

• Current: Under active development. Code for the Current release is in the branch for its major version number (for example, v10.x). Node.js releases a new major version every 6 months, allowing for breaking changes. This happens in April and October every year. Releases appearing each October have a support life of 8 months. Releases appearing each April convert to LTS (see below) each October.

• LTS: Releases that receive Long-term Support, with a focus on stability and security. Every even-numbered major version will become an LTS release. LTS releases receive 18 months of Active LTS support and a further 12 months of Maintenance. LTS release lines have alphabetically-ordered codenames, beginning with v4 Argon. There are no breaking changes or feature additions, except in some special circumstances.

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