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Node.js 26 enables the Temporal date/time API by default

Node 26 ships the Temporal API on by default and upgrades to V8 14.6, with LTS arriving in October 2026.

What happened

Node.js 26.0.0 was released on 5 May 2026 as the Current line, with the Temporal date/time API enabled by default, V8 upgraded to 14.6, Undici 8, and the removal of several long-deprecated APIs. It enters long-term support in October 2026.

Why it matters

Temporal replaces the error-prone Date object with a well-designed immutable API — the kind of platform primitive that quietly removes a whole class of timezone and date-arithmetic bugs. The LTS-in-October timing matters for when it's safe to standardize on it in production.

Staff engineer take

Adopt Temporal deliberately: it's new default surface area and third-party libraries will lag the runtime. The pragmatic path is to introduce it at the edges of new code, keep interop with Date explicit, and wait for LTS before making it the house standard.

Interview connection

What categories of bugs does a well-designed immutable date/time API like Temporal eliminate, and how would you roll it out across a large codebase still on Date?

Probes API-design judgment and migration strategy.