AWS has announced the release of Node.js 12 as the default function runtime for new sites, starting today. This update brings performance improvements and new language features, with Node.js 12 almost catching up to Go in tests. Existing sites can be upgraded to Node.js 12 via the Netlify site settings under Build & deploy > Environment > Environment variables, by setting the AWS_LAMBDA_JS_RUNTIME environment variable to nodejs12.x. The upgrade will trigger a new deployment and allow users to take advantage of the newer runtime.