Node.js 6.0 Unveiled: 4× Faster Modules, ES6 Support, and Enhanced Security

Node.js 6.0 has been released, delivering significant performance improvements, better testing, richer documentation, enhanced security, and extensive ES6 support.

Six months after Node.js 5.0, version 6.0 arrives with the goal of replacing the 4.x line and is slated to become the next LTS version in October, while 5.0 remains a transitional release.

James Snell, Node.js technology lead at IBM, notes that although 6.0 offers notable gains in performance, usability, and security, developers should continue using the stable 4.x LTS until the October transition.

Node.js 4.x LTS will be maintained through 2017.

Key features of Node.js 6.0 include:

Module loading up to four times faster than Node.js 4.x, resulting in much quicker application startup.

Improved test coverage.

Much more extensive documentation.

Enhanced Buffer and filesystem APIs.

The release incorporates the V8 5.0 engine, supporting over 93% of ES6 features such as destructuring, rest parameters, classes, and the super keyword; only a few ES6 aspects remain unsupported.

Security enhancements include a new Buffer constructor that reduces the risk of bugs leaking into applications, while the underlying V8 engine improves the implementation of Math.random() for greater safety.

Node.js’s ecosystem continues to thrive, with more than 3.5 million users growing at a 100% annual rate, over 210 000 NPM registered users (including 73 000 who have published at least one package), and monthly NPM traffic exceeding 3 million requests.

These figures illustrate the rapid growth and vitality of the JavaScript, Node.js, and NPM ecosystem.