Default Node.js version should be the "Active LTS" version rather than "current" version

[lacolaco]

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.

By default, the buildpack for Node.js installs the latest version from the "current" branch. That branch is not ready for use in general cases and the "Active LTS" branch is.

https://nodejs.org/en/about/previous-releases

Major Node.js versions enter Current release status for six months, which gives library authors time to add support for them. After six months, odd-numbered releases (9, 11, etc.) become unsupported, and even-numbered releases (10, 12, etc.) move to Active LTS status and are ready for general use. LTS release status is "long-term support", which typically guarantees that critical bugs will be fixed for a total of 30 months. Production applications should only use Active LTS or Maintenance LTS releases.

In my situation, there is a problem with Firebase App Hosting for Angular. Angular CLI has not supported Node.js v22 yet and in fact Node.js v22.2 breaks ng build. I have to explicitly lower the version of Angular for a successful build.

• Node.js v22.2 causes ng build hangs up angular/angular-cli#27674

I think buildpacks for Node.js should choose the "Active LTS" version to install by default. Users can set a version in several ways like "engines.node". The default installation version should be more generally effective.

Describe the solution you'd like

Use the "Active LTS" branch by default to install Node.js.

Describe alternatives you've considered

Additional context

[matthewrobertson]

I agree, this would be a better default.