Investigating a Severe Performance Regression in Node.js v22 and v24

# Investigating a Severe Performance Regression in Node.js v22 and v24 Hello everyone, We (@forwardemail) have been running some benchmarks with `better-sqlite3-multiple-ciphers` and came across what appears to be a significant performance regression in newer Node.js versions. I wanted to share my findings in case they are helpful to the community, especially for those who rely on native modules with SQLite. We use encrypted SQLite databases for storing folks email, see our write-up at <https://forwardemail.net/en/blog/docs/best-quantum-safe-encrypted-email-service>. ## Summary of Findings My benchmarks indicate that Node.js v24 is approximately **57% slower** than v20 for SQLite SELECT operations, while Node.js v22 shows a smaller regression of about 7-9%. These findings suggest the performance issue may not be specific to `better-sqlite3` but could be related to a broader change in the V8 engine that affects native modules. ## Benchmark Results I've created a benchmark suite to reproduce these results, which you can find here: https://github.com/forwardemail/sqlite-benchmarks Here is a summary of the results I observed with `better-sqlite3-multiple-ciphers`: | Node.js Version | SELECT ops/sec | vs v20 LTS | |---|---|---| | v20.19.5 (LTS) | 18,383 | baseline | | v22.21.1 | ~17,000 | -7% | | v24.11.1 | ~7,900 | **-57%** | As the table shows, the performance on v24 is less than half of that on v20 for this specific database workload. ## Potential Root Cause After some investigation, I believe this regression may be linked to the **V8 13.6 engine upgrade** in Node.js v24. The V8 versions for each Node.js release are as follows: * **Node.js v20**: V8 11.3 (Stable Performance) * **Node.js v22**: V8 12.4 (Minor Regression) * **Node.js v24**: V8 13.6 (Major Regression) The most significant change in V8 13.6 appears to be the move to a **V8-owned CppHeap** ([nodejs/node#52718](https://github.com/nodejs/node/issues/527…