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No Chocolatey package for Node.js 27 Alpha #9324
Description
https://nodejs.org/en/download/alpha lists
v27.0.0-alpha.0.0.0 / Windows / Chocolatey / npm as available.
There is however no Chocolatey Node.js 27 Alpha package available (see also https://community.chocolatey.org/packages/nodejs#versionhistory)
and attempting to follow the download instructions fails.
choco install nodejs --version="27.0.0-alpha.0.0.0"
Failures
- nodejs - nodejs not installed. The package was not found with the source(s) listed.
Activity
avivkeller commentedon Nov 9, 2026
Isn’t this an issue for Chocolatey, and not the website? We don’t discriminate between alpha and non alpha versions, we just show all the information, IMO you should try and reach out to them before we make a change
MikeMcC399 commentedon Nov 9, 2026
I don't expect that Chocolatey will package Node.js 27 Alpha. The last posting under https://community.chocolatey.org/packages/nodejs#discussion is 2 years old, so it seems to be automated to just carry on what it's been doing in the past. I'm not planning to contact them, as I don't need an Alpha release personally. I just tried it out in parallel with helping a new user with an installation issue involving Chocolatey and the regular Node.js 26.13.0 LTS release.
If Chocolatey did package Node.js
27.0.0-alpha.0.0.0and later releases under the Chocolateynodejspackage name, then I would expect it would need the--pre/--preleaseChocolatey CLI option to install it.I suggest to wait and see if there are issues with other download methods with Alpha releases before thinking about making any changes. One possibility though would be to add an Alpha option to the configuration to flag whether a particular download option supports Alpha releases or not.
ljharb commentedon Nov 10, 2026
It's certainly an issue for the website if it lists an install command that doesn't work. Since it seems clear that it won't likely change in the near future, I think it should be fixed here.
bmuenzenmeyer commentedon Nov 10, 2026
I wonder if chocolatey violates the rubric we established through #7616 and prior discussions
https://nodejs.org/en/about/previous-releases#recommended-and-community-installation-methods
MikeMcC399 commentedon Nov 10, 2026
What is the history of the inclusion of Chocolatey on the download page? Was it added by the Node.js organization without consultation with the Chocolatey community maintainers of the
nodejspackage? Or was there a contractual discussion between Node.js and Chocolatey before they were added?Node.js Alpha brings a new dimension into everybody's use of Node.js, and assuming that everybody is going to participate at the same level is probably too simplified. It shouldn't be assumed that commands which worked for regular releases will also work unchanged with Alpha releases. This needs individual testing.
The T&Cs should also be extended to cover Alpha releases explicitly, and it would need to be decided whether support is optional or mandatory.
The introduction of Node.js Alpha releases is a breaking change for downstream Node.js re-packagers and Node.js version managers. They need to adapt and they need to be given time time for this, and given the opportunity to decline, and to wait for the regular next Current release from them to support.
ljharb commentedon Nov 10, 2026
(to be clear, it's only the introduction of alphas into the index.tab/index.json in https://nodejs.org/dist/ that's breaking; if they'd been introduced like nightlies and/or RCs, it wouldn't have broken anybody)
MikeMcC399 commentedon Nov 11, 2026
See nodejs/build#4522 (comment) one day before the planned first release, where it was still being questioned where to put the Alphas. If they had been put elsewhere it would have broken all the instructions on https://nodejs.org/en/download/alpha. So whichever way you look at it, changes need to be made.
ljharb commentedon Nov 11, 2026
seems like breaking changeable prose would have been far better than breaking every single tool ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
bmuenzenmeyer commentedon Nov 11, 2026
AFAIK, we don't have anything amounting to contracts for these 😅 . I've linked to most of the authoritative language and their PRs that discuss.
Agree that alpha introduces change throughout the ecosystem. I guess we need to decide how much due-diligence we give, how much time we allow degraded website features to persist, before we introduce changes
MikeMcC399 commentedon Nov 11, 2026
It doesn't seem like this is a big practical issue at the moment, otherwise there would be a lot of other people complaining. I've just had my focus on npm@12 / Node.js 27 for a while, and I'm trying to ensure visibility of any issues I come across.