Documentation is not clear on whether lts/* refers to the Active LTS or Current LTS version

[tamoreton]

My reading of Node.js — Node.js Releases:

There are three phases that a Node.js release can be in: 'Current', 'Active Long Term Support (LTS)', and 'Maintenance'. Odd-numbered release lines are not promoted to LTS - they will not go through the 'Active LTS' or 'Maintenance' phases.

• Current - Should incorporate most of the non-major (non-breaking) changes that land on nodejs/node main branch.
• Active LTS - New features, bug fixes, and updates that have been audited by the Release team and have been determined to be appropriate and stable for the release line.
• Maintenance - Critical bug fixes and security updates. New features may be added at the discretion of the Release team - typically only in cases where the new feature supports migration to later release lines.

is that unless you're a library author, you should probably be using the Active LTS version of Node rather than the Current LTS.

The nvm docs say that lts/* refers to the "latest" LTS, but it's ambiguous (to me) whether that means the latest Active LTS version or the latest Current LTS version.

[ljharb]

“Current” isn’t LTS at all.