This is a sort of continuation to thread Add support for newer node versions - #2 by khalby786, but I thought it would be a better idea to post a new thread instead of reviving an ancient thread.
I’m sure by now this sentiment that I’m about to share is “preaching to the choir”, but I think this is ridiculous that Glitch still hasn’t added some kind of system in place that lets you upgrade to the latest node version. I know someone designed a “hack” that lets you do this by downloading up-to-date system libraries into the project and then downloading the node binary, but with all due respect, we shouldn’t have to do this.
I was considering using Glitch in a professional setting since I think it’s a great concept, especially the fact you get a public HTTPS server working right off the bat, but I simply don’t want to have to deal with the outdated binaries, where the solution to that being switching to a competitor is likely simpler in the long run than doing the “hack” I mentioned before.
The latest version I can officially install looks to be Node 16 now, which has reached end of life 3-4 years ago, which means it also doesn’t receive any security updates, which alongside the tons of outdated Glitch system libraries, is a huge security concern (with the recent exploits we’ve had floating around for Linux I wouldn’t be surprised if there was an easy privilege escalation bug floating around where you can gain root access through a Glitch container due to some critical system library having a vulnerable version, don’t hesitate to let me know if you guys need a pen-test!).
@glitch_support I don’t mean to sound demanding or rude, but are you guys still moving forward with Glitch, or is it a project waiting to be scrapped by Fastly or turned into something else completely? Are there really clients by the likes of “Twitter (or X)” and “Google” that you are very proud to share on your pricing page that still use Glitch? I remember bringing up a similar sentiment years ago but, aside from reassurance from a former community manager of Glitch, it looks like absolutely little to nothing has changed aside from maybe 1 or 2 new supported node versions. I’m starting to think Fastly hasn’t bought Glitch because they want to improve or continue it, but rather some other business decision that isn’t obvious to the public just yet, maybe to buy out some absolutely brilliant software engineer or executive on the team?
It’s quite a shame to see Glitch go out this way considering I started using it when I was still a 13-14 year old trying to get his Discord bot to work, all the way to becoming a professional.