Node project spinoff Io.js is moving to the Node.js Foundation, with a merge in progress

In a major step toward reconciliation with the open-source project for trendy server-side JavaScript framework Node.js, the technical committee in charge of the Io.js group, which split off from the Node project several months ago, today voted to join the Node.js Foundation.

Cloud provider and Node sponsor Joyent established the Node.js Foundation in February to bring open governance to the Node project, but the people behind Io.js — which include several prominent Node contributors — have not been part of the foundation. Now that will change.

Mikeal Rogers of the Io.js project tweeted out the news after today’s vote:

io.js TC just voted to join the Node Foundation.

— Mikeal Rogers (@mikeal) May 13, 2015

The move doesn’t immediately merge the two currently separate Node.js and Io.js projects, but that work is already happening.

“Releases of io.js will continue until the converged release is ready,” Rogers told VentureBeat in an email. “Once that is done all future releases will be called ‘node’ including long-term support releases of prior node.js and io.js major release lines.”

Io.js first launched as a Node fork in response to slow release cycles when Joyent primarily governed the Node project.

Last week Joyent announced that Node project lead TJ Fontaine would be stepping down — and also leaving Joyent — following the establishment of the Node.js Foundation.

You can see the full GitHub issue discussing the project’s proposal to join the Node.js Foundation here. And the convergence work is here.