Node.js is a cross-platform, open-source JavaScript runtime environment designed for building scalable and fast server-side and networking applications. It allows JavaScript to be used for both front-end and back-end development. Ryan Dahl created Node.js in 2009, and it's built on Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine, known for its high performance. Node.js uses an event-driven, non-blocking I/O model that makes it efficient for real-time applications and handling concurrent requests.
Node.js is used in over 85 countries and supports 45 different native languages. Approximately 30 million websites utilize Node.js, representing about 2.2% of all websites. A significant 42.73% of professional developers prefer Node.js, demonstrating its popularity within the programming community. It is favored for its efficiency and scalability, making it suitable for startups to large enterprises. Node.js offers tools for profiling applications to identify performance bottlenecks related to CPU usage, memory leaks, and runtime metrics. The latest version, Node.js 25, was released on October 15, 2025, and includes V8 engine upgrades for faster JavaScript execution and supports the newest ECMAScript features. As of February 2026, Node.js 24 is the Active LTS (Long-Term Support) version.
