How To Update Node.js · homebridge/homebridge Wiki · GitHub

Homebridge requires Node.js installed on your system to run. From time to time you will need to update the Node.js runtime to enable support for new features.

Homebridge (and verified plugins) support all current Active and Maintenance LTS releases of Node.js. At the time of writing, this means we will support:

Homebridge does not support odd-numbered releases of Node.js, such as 13.x, 15.x, 17.x. or 19.x

Updating Node.js is not a risk-free exercise, so it is recommended users only do so when required.

If you have followed one of the Homebridge Install Guides, you can refer back to the guide for your platform to see how to update Node.js.

For Linux and macOS users, we have created a tool to help you update Node.js in a safe way using hb-service (even if you aren't using hb-service to manage the process):

This tool will only update Node.js if it can safely do so. If you've installed Node.js in a non-standard way, it will not change your system.

You can roll back to a previous version by appending the version number to the command:

Windows 10 users can view update instructions here.

Users running in Docker should update Node.js by pulling down the latest version of the Homebridge Docker Image.

While not recommended, if you are using the "Ubuntu" or "Debian" variant of the image, you can also update inside the container using hb-service update-node and then restarting manually. Users running the "Alpine Linux" variant cannot use hb-service update-node.

It is important to update Node.js using the same method you originally used to install it, or using hb-service update-node.

Failing to adhere to these guidelines will likely result in you having multiple copies of Node.js installed which will cause many strange problems (if you have done this, see how to fix it on Linux and macOS).