Node.js 26.8.1 is an out-of-band patch release that fixes node --version incorrectly reporting an alpha version instead of the actual release version. The fix reverts an accidental alpha designation in the source and corrects a Nix tooling script. Binaries and installers are available for all supported platforms.
Questions this post answers
Why does node --version show an alpha version number in Node.js 26?
An accidental alpha designation was introduced into the Node.js 26 source and caused node --version to incorrectly report an alpha version instead of the actual release. This was fixed in the out-of-band Node.js 26.8.1 release, which reverts the accidental alpha designation and also fixes a Nix tooling script (tools/nix/list-requisites.sh). Track patch releases like this on daily.dev so a stray version string never derails your Node.js deployment.