TL;DR
- Major release: Chromatic v16.0.0.
- Node.js 18 support officially dropped.
- Node.js 24 is now the minimum required version.
Key Changes
Chromatic v16.0.0, released on 2026-03-23, introduces a significant breaking change for test automation workflows. The primary update involves dropping support for Node.js 18. Users must now upgrade their environments to Node.js 24 to continue using Chromatic. This change also affects GitHub Actions, which have been updated to utilize Node.js 24. This ensures compatibility and takes advantage of newer Node.js features and security updates. For full details, refer to the official pull request #1251 on the Chromatic CLI repository.
Impact for QA Teams
QA teams using Chromatic for visual regression testing must update their local development environments and CI/CD pipelines to Node.js 24. Failure to do so will result in compatibility issues. This update ensures that test automation setups remain current with modern JavaScript runtime standards.
