[Electron releases](https://github.com/electron/electron/releases) frequently. We release when there are significant bug fixes, new APIs or are updating versions of Chromium or Node.js.
### Updating Dependencies
Electron's version of Chromium is usually updated within one or two weeks after a new stable Chromium version is released, depending on the effort involved in the upgrade.
When a new version of Node.js is released, Electron usually waits about a month before upgrading in order to bring in a more stable version.
In Electron, Node.js and Chromium share a single V8 instance—usually the version that Chromium is using. Most of the time this _just works_ but sometimes it means patching Node.js.
### Versioning
Due to the hard dependency on Node.js and Chromium, Electron is in a tricky versioning position and [does not follow `semver`](http://semver.org). You should therefore always reference a specific version of Electron. [Read more about Electron's versioning](http://electron.atom.io/docs/tutorial/electron-versioning/) or see the [versions currently in use](https://electron.atom.io/#electron-versions).
### LTS
Long term support of older versions of Electron does not currently exist. If your current version of Electron works for you, you can stay on it for as long as you'd like. If you want to make use of new features as they come in you should upgrade to a newer version.
A major update came with version `v1.0.0`. If you're not yet using this version, you should [read more about the `v1.0.0` changes](http://electron.atom.io/blog/2016/05/11/electron-1-0).
In order to keep Electron small (file size) and sustainable (the spread of dependencies and APIs) the project limits the scope of the core project.
For instance, Electron uses just the rendering library from Chromium rather than all of Chromium. This makes it easier to upgrade Chromium but also means some browser features found in Google Chrome do not exist in Electron.
New features added to Electron should primarily be native APIs. If a feature can be its own Node.js module, it probably should be. See the [Electron tools built by the community](http://electron.atom.io/community).
