They cut Node.js Memory in half 👀

V8's pointer compression feature, long available in Chrome since 2020, can now be enabled in Node.js via a Docker image swap called 'node-caged'. By reducing heap pointers from 64-bit to 32-bit offsets, it achieves ~50% memory reduction with only 2-4% average latency increase and a 7% improvement in P99 latency. The main historical blockers were a shared 4GB memory cage across all worker threads and concerns about CPU overhead. Cloudflare and Agalia collaborated to introduce per-isolate compression cages in V8 (62 lines across 8 files, taking a year to merge), resolving the worker thread limitation. Benchmarks on a realistic Next.js e-commerce SSR app confirmed the savings. Practical benefits include halving Kubernetes pod memory (potentially $80-100K/year savings on large fleets), doubling multi-tenant density, enabling edge deployments, and doubling WebSocket connection capacity. The only constraints are a 4GB per-isolate heap limit and incompatibility with legacy NAN native add-ons.