Deno vs. Node: A Runtime Choice for 2021

Ryan Dahl released Deno 1.0 in May. If you don’t know the backstory—Dahl created Node.js, spent years watching it evolve in directions he regretted, then built Deno as a corrective. The “10 Things I Regret About Node.js” talk from JSConf EU 2018 is worth watching if you haven’t seen it. He lays out every design decision he wanted to undo, and honestly? It’s compelling stuff.

Five months post-launch, I’ve been kicking Deno’s tires as part of our 2021 technical planning at TaskRabbit. We’re a Node shop through and through—TypeScript, Express, GraphQL, the whole deal. So this isn’t some academic exercise for me. If Deno’s ready, it could actually simplify parts of our stack. If it’s not, I need to know exactly why—and more importantly, when it might be.