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Investigate: GitHub Actions Node.js 24 Migration

IMPLEMENTATION RULES: Before implementing this plan, read and follow:

Status: Complete (2026-04-16)​

Goal: Migrate GitHub Actions workflows from Node.js 20 actions to Node.js 24-compatible versions before the forced migration on June 2nd, 2026.

Priority: Medium

Last Updated: 2026-04-16

Closing note (2026-04-16)​

Shipped inline — skipped the formal plan phase since the investigation's four questions all had trivial answers once checked.

Action bumps applied to .github/workflows/deploy-docs.yml:

ActionBeforeAfter
actions/checkout@v4@v6
actions/setup-node@v4@v6
actions/upload-pages-artifact@v3@v5
actions/deploy-pages@v4@v5

Answers to the four questions (for the record):

  • Q1: Are there v5 versions? — Yes, the latest majors are v5/v6. actions/deploy-pages v5 explicitly "Update Node.js version to 24.x" in its changelog; the other three follow the same Node 24 migration pattern.
  • Q2: Can we opt into Node 24 early via FORCE_JAVASCRIPT_ACTIONS_TO_NODE24? — Not needed. Upgrading to the new action versions gets us Node 24 directly, no env-var workaround required.
  • Q3: Runtime conflict with node-version: '20'? — No. The action's own runtime (Node 24) is independent of the Node version we install for the build step. We keep node-version: '20' in setup-node; the action runs its own internals on Node 24 while installing Node 20 for subsequent steps.
  • Q4: Breaking changes in the new versions? — None relevant to our usage. Our four action calls are standard (no orchestration IDs, no devEngines field, no hidden-file uploads). setup-node@v6 added a devEngines.runtime preference for node-version-file: users — we use the explicit node-version: '20' input so it doesn't apply.

Deadline reminder: June 2, 2026 was the forced-migration date; September 16, 2026 was Node 20 removal. This PR lands well before both.

Context​

Every CI run produces this warning:

Node.js 20 actions are deprecated. The following actions are running on Node.js 20
and may not work as expected: actions/checkout@v4, actions/setup-node@v4,
actions/upload-artifact@v4, actions/deploy-pages@v4.

Actions will be forced to run with Node.js 24 by default starting June 2nd, 2026.
Node.js 20 will be removed from the runner on September 16th, 2026.

Deadlines​

  • June 2, 2026 — Node.js 24 becomes default. Actions forced to run on Node.js 24 unless opted out.
  • September 16, 2026 — Node.js 20 removed entirely. No opt-out possible.

Affected Workflow​

.github/workflows/deploy-docs.yml — uses these actions:

ActionCurrent VersionJob
actions/checkout@v4generate, build
actions/setup-node@v4generate, build
actions/upload-pages-artifact@v3build
actions/deploy-pages@v4deploy

Questions to Answer​

  1. Are there @v5 versions of these actions that support Node.js 24?
  2. Can we opt into Node.js 24 early with FORCE_JAVASCRIPT_ACTIONS_TO_NODE24=true to test before the forced migration?
  3. Does the setup-node action's Node.js 20 runtime (which runs the action itself) conflict with the Node.js 20 we install for our build step? (Likely no, but verify.)
  4. Are there any breaking changes in the new action versions?

Next Steps​

  • Check for updated action versions supporting Node.js 24
  • Test with FORCE_JAVASCRIPT_ACTIONS_TO_NODE24=true environment variable
  • Update action versions in deploy-docs.yml