Node.js 10.x: What's New, Release History & Support Lifecycle

What Is New in Node.js 10?

Async Generators and for-await-of

Async generators (async function*) let you yield values asynchronously over time, and for await...of lets you consume them. This combination is powerful for pagination, streaming APIs, and pipeline processing.

async function* paginate(url) {
  let cursor = null;
  do {
    const res = await fetch(`${url}?cursor=${cursor}`);
    const { items, next } = await res.json();
    for (const item of items) yield item;
    cursor = next;
  } while (cursor);
}

for await (const item of paginate('/api/items')) {
  process(item);
}

Promise.finally()

Promise.prototype.finally() runs a callback whether the promise fulfilled or rejected -- the async equivalent of a try/catch/finally block. Common use: cleanup after async operations regardless of outcome.

db.connect()
  .then(conn => conn.query('SELECT 1'))
  .catch(console.error)
  .finally(() => db.disconnect()); // always releases the connection

N-API Stable -- Native Addons That Survive Node Upgrades

N-API (now called Node-API) provides a stable ABI for native C/C++ addons. An addon compiled against N-API works across Node.js versions without recompilation, solving a long-standing pain point where every Node.js upgrade broke native packages.

If you maintain native addons (bcrypt, canvas, sharp, etc.) or use them heavily, N-API stability in Node.js 10 is significant -- upgrade cycles become far less disruptive.

Error Codes for Better Error Handling

Node.js 10 adds stable error codes to system errors (e.g., ERR_MODULE_NOT_FOUND, ENOENT). You can now check err.code rather than parsing the error message string, making error handling more robust and locale-independent.