From 7d73d42720dfd5354b3de465e80482e6c4f09d95 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: mikhail Date: Mon, 21 Sep 2026 11:51:00 +0300 Subject: [PATCH] docs: note that unused Node.js installations are removed Installations under ~/.vaadin that have not been used for six months are removed once a new version is installed, and the leftover archives of earlier Flow versions go with them. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) --- .../flow/configuration/development-mode/node-js.adoc | 12 ++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 12 insertions(+) diff --git a/articles/flow/configuration/development-mode/node-js.adoc b/articles/flow/configuration/development-mode/node-js.adoc index f68a669a3a..7ca4d64f97 100644 --- a/articles/flow/configuration/development-mode/node-js.adoc +++ b/articles/flow/configuration/development-mode/node-js.adoc @@ -43,6 +43,18 @@ On Windows, the executables are in the root of the installation directory: Since each version is installed into its own directory, multiple Node.js versions can coexist side by side under `~/.vaadin/`. +[role="since:com.vaadin:vaadin@V25.3"] +=== Removing Unused Installations + +Every Node.js version a project has needed stays under `~/.vaadin/`, which adds up over the years. Vaadin cleans up after itself: each installation records when it was last taken into use, and the ones unused for six months are removed the next time a new version is installed. Downloaded archives are removed as well, including the ones earlier Vaadin versions left behind next to the unpacked installation. + +The cleanup stays on the safe side: + +- Only directories and archives named like an automatically installed Node.js are touched. Anything else under `~/.vaadin/` is left alone. +- The installation in use is never removed, and neither is the last remaining one, so the folder always keeps at least one version. +- An installation whose last use isn't known yet is kept, and its six months start from the moment Vaadin first sees it. + + === Resolution Order Vaadin resolves which Node.js installation to use in the following order: