Debian future release strategy proposal Rev2

• Follows on from https://github.com/nodejs/docker-node/issues/2398
• Relates to https://github.com/nodejs/docker-node/issues/2397

Current situation

According to the settings in versions.json Node.js 22 & 24 are set to use Debian 12 (bookworm/oldstable) as default, Node.js 26 sets Debian 13 (trixie/stable) as default.

Images are built for each of the Debian major versions: 11 (bullseye/oldoldstable), 12 (bookworm/oldstable) & 13 (trixie/stable) (see Debian Releases).

Debian releases transition through milestones:

• Release
• End of Life (EOL) after 3 years
• End of LTS after another 2 years, 5 years in total

When Debian transitions from EOL to LTS, the LTS support team typically define and publish LTS support architectures that are a subset of the architectures supported during the original release phase.

Docker Engine typically removes a Debian release from their required version list when that version transitions to End of LTS.

Current release line suggestions

For existing release lines Node.js 22, 24 & 26, retain Debian version support as long as covered by upstream Debian & Docker support.

Transitions

From Debian releases in the year 2026:

Current bookworm / bookworm-slim architectures

From versions.json

Future release line suggestions

For the future Node.js 27, Alpha Oct 2026, followed by Node.js 27.0.0 in April 2027, consider restricting to support Debian stable and oldstable (2 versions) only. This would require changes in update scripts.

Beginne mit versions.json und den verknüpften Referenzen zu Debian-Releases, zur Debian-LTS-Architektur und zur Unterstützung von Docker Engine. Vergleiche die vorgeschlagenen Richtlinien für Node.js 22, 24, 26 und das zukünftige 27 mit den aufgeführten Übergangsdaten und Architekturen; abgeschlossen bedeutet, dass die Release-Strategie und alle erforderlichen Änderungen am update-Skript abgestimmt und dokumentiert sind.