V3 Pages Build image

[shahsimpson]

Summary

We're introducing Pages Build Image V3 that will use LTS Nodejs.

Screenshots (optional)

Documentation checklist

• The documentation style guide has been adhered to.
• If a larger change - such as adding a new page- an issue has been opened in relation to any incorrect or out of date information that this PR fixes.
• Files which have changed name or location have been allocated redirects.

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PR Change Summary

Introduced the V3 Pages Build Image that utilizes LTS Node.js, along with migration instructions and limitations for the new build system.

• Updated the build system from V2 to V3 using LTS Node.js.
• Revised migration instructions for transitioning to V3.
• Outlined limitations specific to the V3 build system.

Modified Files

• src/content/docs/pages/configuration/build-image.mdx

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[github-actions]

This pull request requires reviews from CODEOWNERS as it changes files that match the following patterns:

Pattern	Owners
/src/content/docs/pages/	@cloudflare/workers-docs, @GregBrimble, @WalshyDev, @aninibread, @irvinebroque, @cloudflare/pcx-technical-writing, @ToriLindsay
*	@cloudflare/pcx-technical-writing

[github-actions]

Preview URL: https://90dc2bb8.preview.developers.cloudflare.com
Preview Branch URL: https://pages-v3-build-system.preview.developers.cloudflare.com

Files with changes (up to 15)

Original Link	Updated Link
https://developers.cloudflare.com/pages/configuration/build-image/	https://pages-v3-build-system.preview.developers.cloudflare.com/pages/configuration/build-image/

[Cherry]

Awesome to see this, thanks folks!

Will Golang also be getting a version bump? The version in the v2 image (1.21.0) is also EOL as of August 2024.
The version of some tools is also extremely outdated, including Hugo (0.118.2) that's from 2023.

[irvinebroque]

@Cherry - wanted to get this change out there quickly since Node.js is the most critical dependency in the build image, relied on on the happy path of deploying a Worker & most frameworks, while others are less used.

We'll sort through a policy for how we handle other tools here. Not sure it makes sense to treat all tools the same here, and there are some tools (ex: Hugo, like you point out) that in 2025 arguably don't make a ton of sense to be installed by default given usage — and don't have a clear EOL/LTS policy like Node.js does. Would love feedback — but don't think ideal to be constantly creating new versions of the build image for lesser dependencies.

https://developers.cloudflare.com/pages/configuration/build-image/

Github has the following policy:

https://github.com/actions/runner-images?tab=readme-ov-file#support-policy

Tools and versions will typically be removed 6 months after they are deprecated or have reached end-of-life.

[Cherry]

Thanks @irvinebroque. I'm in complete agreement that there's different priorities here for languages vs tools, however I think it's quite concerning that Cloudflare, a security company, is shipping EOL versions of things like golang in their new "v3" build image released today.

The original v2 image blog post stated this: https://blog.cloudflare.com/moderizing-cloudflare-pages-builds-toolbox/

We know that this update has been a long-standing request from our users (we thank you for your patience!) but part of this rollout is ensuring that we are now in a better position to make regular updates to Cloudflare Pages' build system. You can expect these default languages and tools to now keep pace with the rapid rate of change seen in the world of web development.

If Pages build image instead decides to move to a policy like GitHub Actions, which is entirely valid and makes sense, it needs to massively improve communication to folks with emails, in-dash alerts, etc. - GitHub Actions are very very loud when changes to things like ubuntu-latest are about to happen, or default Node.js version switches, giving people months of warning via email, in runner logs, etc. I would very much welcome such a change with the Pages build image, again provided that comms are top quality and carefully considered.

My concern here is that today Cloudflare is releasing a new "v3" build image, with absolutely no changes that I can see other than Node.js bumped by a new env var that's been introduced called CF_PAGES_LTS. Every other tool is at the same version, including ones that are long outdated or EOL (with known security issues). Node.js is the most popular without a doubt, but tools like Hugo are still widely used, and default versions for languages especially should not be EOL for the newest v3 image released today. Will we be seeing a v4 in the coming weeks bumping these versions too, or will they be outdated forever?

I've been raising the impending Node.js LTS timeline (as well as other tools) since October 2024 - it's extremely disappointing and concerning that this was something that had to be seemingly wrapped up quickly instead of done correctly at some point over the last few quarters like the original v2 build image blog promised.