Roadmap: Prepare rclnodejs for ROS 2 Lyrical Luth

[minggangw]

ROS 2 Lyrical Luth is expected in May 2026 as the next ROS 2 LTS release. For rclnodejs, the main work before release is support enablement rather than major API redesign.

Lyrical timeline (source):

• Alpha + RMW freeze: April 13
• Branch from Rolling: April 21
• Beta: April 27
• GA: May 22

Default RMW: rmw_fastrtps_cpp (Fast DDS) — unchanged from Jazzy/Kilted.

Concurrent April 2026 platform releases:

• Node.js 26 — becomes Active LTS in October 2026
• Ubuntu 26.04 LTS — likely Tier 1 host platform for Lyrical

Key Focus

• Add lyrical to distro detection and internal version mapping.
• Add Lyrical to docs, CI, prebuild workflows, install logic, and native-loader resolution.
• Keep Rolling green and use it as the main pre-release signal for Lyrical readiness.
• Handle the rosidl buffer backend ABI change (Add rosidl_buffer and rosidl_buffer_backend for native Buffer type support ros2/rosidl#941) that affects both Rolling and Lyrical.
• Add Node.js 26 and Ubuntu 26.04 to the supported matrix in time for 2.0.0 GA.
• Define a clearer support policy for Humble, Jazzy, Kilted, Lyrical, and Rolling.

Roadmap Checklist

Completed

• Add lyrical to distro detection and runtime mapping — Treat unrecognized ROS_DISTRO as a future distro #1485 (FUTURE sentinel covers unknown distros)
• Raise the minimum Node.js version to 20.20.2 — Raise Node.js Minimum to 20.20.2 #1478
• Add CI coverage for the 2.x minimum Node.js floor — Raise Node.js Minimum to 20.20.2 #1478
• Gate C++20 by ROS distro for post-Kilted/Lyrical builds — Gate C++ Standard By ROS Distro #1477
• Fix Rolling SIGSEGV caused by rosidl sequence ABI change — Fix SIGSEGV on ROS 2 Rolling caused by rosidl sequence ABI change #1480
• Remove legacy compatibility code, modernize for Node.js 20+ — Remove compatibility and custom utility code #1479
• Treat unrecognized ROS_DISTRO as a future distro — Treat unrecognized ROS_DISTRO as a future distro #1485
• Reorganize README badges — Reorganize badges on README #1483

Before Lyrical beta (end of April)

• Add explicit LYRICAL entry to DistroId enum and DistroNameIdMap in lib/distro.js — Add explicit LYRICAL distro identifier (2605) #1488
• Add Lyrical CI lane (Linux x64) — allow-failure initially — Add ROS 2 Lyrical Luth #1496
• Add Lyrical to prebuild generation and artifact naming — [Prebuild] Add Lyrical Luth lane to Linux prebuild workflows #1498
• Update install and native-loader logic for Lyrical binaries — [Prebuild] Add Lyrical Luth lane to Linux prebuild workflows #1498
• Fix conditional include for rmw/get_service_endpoint_info.h in src/rcl_utilities.h (Rolling/Lyrical removed the transitive include)
• Refresh Electron prebuild target from electron@23.0.0 (EOL) to electron@34.0.0 (Node 20.x line) and bump electron_demo/* apps from ^40.1.0 to ^41.0.0 — Refresh Electron prebuild target and demo apps #1492

After beta, before Lyrical GA (May)

• Add Lyrical to README.md and scripts/npmjs-readme.md
• Update docs/BUILDING.md for the Lyrical toolchain
• Add Linux ARM64 Lyrical CI if upstream packages are available — Add ROS 2 Lyrical Luth #1496
• Add Node.js 26 to CI matrix and prebuild targets; evaluate as the new default for the 2.x line — Pump to Node 26.x #1497
• Add Ubuntu 26.04 CI lane once ROS 2 Lyrical packages are available for it; document as a supported host platform — Migrate rolling build to 26.04 #1493
• Verify npm pack/publish includes Lyrical-tagged prebuilt binaries
• Update TypeScript declarations if Lyrical introduces new message types or API changes
• Define support levels — clarify what each tier means for CI coverage
• Draft a 1.x → 2.x migration guide for the 2.0.0-alpha.0 release
• Validate newer graph and service endpoint APIs on Lyrical
• Tag 2.0.0-beta.0 once Lyrical CI is green

Lower priority / post-GA

• Review rmw_zenoh_cpp support (Tier 1 in Lyrical but not default)
• Verify rcl_logging_implementation runtime backend selection behavior
• Add Windows Lyrical coverage once upstream artifacts are stable

Support Policy

• Full support: Lyrical, Jazzy, Rolling
• Transitional support: Kilted
• Compatibility support: Humble

Reference

• https://docs.ros.org/en/rolling/Releases/Release-Lyrical-Luth.html
• Upcoming Node.js Major Release (v26) nodejs/node#61832
• https://documentation.ubuntu.com/release-notes/26.04/