Node.js 24 delivers significant improvements in performance, security, and developer experience. Based on V8 12.6, this release introduces optimizations that promise up to 18% faster server-side JavaScript.
Key highlights
The Node.js team has focused on several fronts. ESM (ECMAScript Modules) integration reaches full maturity, gradually phasing out CommonJS support. The new --experimental-require-esm flag allows loading ESM modules from CommonJS environments.
The enhanced V8 JIT compiler reduces cold start times for serverless and edge functions. Diagnostic APIs like node:test and node:report now include real-time memory heap metrics.
Security and observability
Node.js 24 ships with native OpenSSL 4.0 support, improved TLS 1.3 encryption, and a granular permission API that restricts file system, network, and child process access without external modules.
The native fetch() API receives significant performance optimizations, and WebSocket stabilizes as a native runtime API, reducing dependency on third-party libraries like ws.
Node.js 24 proves the runtime continues evolving to meet modern backend development needs. At Vynta, we help you design scalable, high-performance Node.js architectures tailored to your business.