Share

We're excited to share the latest N|Solid Runtime release for May 2025. N|Solid Runtime is the OSS runtime that powers N|Solid. Its a 100% compatible augmented version of Node.js developed by the expert engineers at NodeSource, and it connects with N|Solid to get the most relevant insights of your Node.js application.

This release covers supported Node.js LTS versions: 22x, 20x, and 18x, and introduces updates that significantly enhance performance, reliability, and trace data completeness; alongside final support for Node.js 18 in N|Solid Runtime.

But beyond the changelog, what makes this release especially meaningful is a push to address some long-standing stability issues observed in real-world production environments.

Node.js Engineers and DevOps from all over the globe use our Runtime, over the last 12 months, it’s been downloaded more than 500K times, learn more here! 🚀or checkout our Github here.

The Context: A Fix Rooted in Real Production Needs

In a recent internal conversation with Santiago Gimeno, Senior Software Engineer, and principal Libuv contributor, we discussed the motivation behind this release. It centered around a major improvement: enabling asynchronous OTLP exporting.

Previously, exporting metrics, traces, and logs using the OpenTelemetry Protocol (OTLP) could occasionally cause the runtime to freeze under certain network conditions—sometimes for seconds or even a full minute. This was tied to synchronous operations that blocked the event loop when exporting telemetry data.

This new release fixes that by making the export process asynchronous. It's a small but powerful change that eliminates those freezes, ensuring smoother runtime behavior under adverse connectivity conditions. As Santiago put it:

"This was the most important thing. It fixed an issue, which in certain conditions would freeze the runtime for a very significant amount of time. That’s the reason we needed to get this version out to all our customers." - Santiago Gimeno

Highlights by Version

Node.js 22.15.0-nsolid-v5.7.1 'Jod' (LTS)

Along with the async telemetry export fix, this version brings enhancements directly from upstream Node.js:

• Zlib: Added support for Zstandard (zstd) compression.
• Module System: Improved performance via synchronous hooks in import(CJS).
• DNS: TLSA record support added. \

Behind the scenes, we also improved trace span exports. Previously, not all span attributes were exported when using OTLP—now, every attribute associated with a span is included, giving deeper observability into your app’s behavior.

Node.js 20.19.1-nsolid-v5.7.1 'Iron' (LTS)

While this version doesn’t include the async OTLP export commit, it aligns closely in functionality with 22.x.

• Security Fixes:
  • CVE-2024-27983 (HTTP/2 server crash)
  • CVE-2024-27982 (Request smuggling)
  • CVE-2024-27980 (Command injection on Windows)
• Dependency Updates:
  • llhttp to v9.2.1
  • undici to v5.28.4

This version also includes the fix to export all trace span attributes.

Node.js 18.20.8-nsolid-v5.7.1 'Hydrogen' (LTS)

Node.js 18 has officially reached End of Life, and this is our final release of N|Solid 18. We’ve updated the runtime to the last available upstream version, 18.20.8.

It includes:

• The same three CVE fixes from Node.js 20.x
• The complete trace attribute export
• Dependency updates (llhttp, undici) for final security alignment \

"We’ve taken the opportunity to bring this final version up to date before ending support in N|Solid. It’s our last goodbye to v18." - Santiago Gimeno

Why This Release Matters

If you’ve experienced telemetry-related slowdowns or freezes, upgrading to N|Solid v5.7.1 (based on Node.js 22.15.0) is highly recommended. The async export feature alone can dramatically improve runtime stability, especially in high-throughput environments or those sensitive to network disruptions.

This release also marks an important transition: Node.js 18 is now deprecated in N|Solid. If you're still running on v18, now is the time to plan your upgrade to a supported LTS like 20 or 22.

Final Thoughts

The addition of async exporting in N|Solid is a game-changer for telemetry-heavy apps and underlines our commitment to stability and performance.

We’re already testing the new gRPC behavior extensively in staging, and early results show a major improvement in overall responsiveness.

If you’re running observability tooling with N|Solid, this release is not optional—it’s a must.

Let us know if you need help upgrading, or if you’d like support planning your move from v18.

👉 For full changelogs and technical docs, visit nodesource.com/nsolid