Runtime

Since its inception, the Node community has evolved significantly. The way we work with JavaScript continues to change, especially as new JavaScript runtimes emerge (Deno, Bun, etc).

NVM for Windows has been a good way to work with Node.js on Windows, but I've always felt it could be better. A lot better. I've made many changes and built many features that never saw the light of day (like a macOS version back in 2015). A prototype hooks system was built, but I never had time to finish. These are just a few things I've experimented with. Meanwhile, the JavaScript ecosystem continued to evolve.

I eventually decided to start working on a new cross-platform version manager in 2019. I made some solid progress, but I believe the community wants more than a version manager. Many tools have come out to manage Node.js workflow, a concept which is often lumped in with "version management". I decided to rethink the whole thing, starting over from scratch, focusing on "environment management". This begins with managing JavaScript runtimes.

I intend to deprecate NVM for Windows someday, after I've released Runtime. There are two things slowing work on Runtime. First, client engagements. I am wrapping up the most time-consuming project this year and will have much more time around the 2022 holidays. The other thing slowing down Runtime development is this project (bug fixes). So, I'm freezing feature development on NVM for Windows.

All new features and/or enhancements will be marked as consider for rt, which means I'll be reviewing them and including those that make the cut in Runtime.