The release of Node.js 25.4.0 marks a significant advancement for developers, introducing stability to features that enhance performance and debugging. Among the key updates is the official stabilization of the module compile cache, which optimizes startup times for large applications by allowing pre-compilation of modules, thus minimizing parsing delays.
This version also brings production-ready commands such as --build-snapshot and --build-snapshot-config, which work in tandem with the compile cache to enable the generation of pre-compiled environments. Developers will benefit from smoother transitions between CommonJS and ES Modules, as the ability to require(esm) is now stable, simplifying mixed environment integrations.
Additional enhancements include flexibility in module paths, allowing subpath imports that begin with a hash symbol, and improvements to debugging tools, with the --heapsnapshot-near-heap-limit option now stable for better memory management. Furthermore, the new http.setGlobalProxyFromEnv() function streamlines proxy configuration for complex network environments.