diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index e624ac0..2c4a741 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ for the philosophy behind this system, read the [doctrine](https://v-it.org/doct
 
 ## prerequisites
 
-- [Node.js](https://nodejs.org) 20+ (check: `node --version`)
+- [Node.js](https://nodejs.org) 20.10+ (check: `node --version`)
 - [git](https://git-scm.com)
 - a [Bluesky](https://bsky.app) account
 - a coding agent ([Claude Code](https://claude.ai/code), [Codex CLI](https://github.com/openai/codex), or [Gemini CLI](https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli))
diff --git a/docs/start/index.html b/docs/start/index.html
index d8802b1..4f6dde7 100644
--- a/docs/start/index.html
+++ b/docs/start/index.html
@@ -290,7 +290,7 @@
 
 <h2>what you need</h2>
 <ul>
-<li><strong><a href="https://nodejs.org">Node.js</a> 20+</strong> and <strong>git</strong></li>
+<li><strong><a href="https://nodejs.org">Node.js</a> 20.10+</strong> and <strong>git</strong></li>
 <li><strong>a <a href="https://bsky.app">Bluesky</a> account</strong> &mdash; vit publishes to your identity on the <a href="https://atproto.com">AT Protocol</a></li>
 <li><strong>a coding agent</strong> &mdash; <a href="https://claude.ai/code">Claude Code</a>, <a href="https://github.com/openai/codex">Codex CLI</a>, or <a href="https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli">Gemini CLI</a></li>
 </ul>
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 66e9ad4..17284ef 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
     "postinstall": "node src/postinstall.js"
   },
   "engines": {
-    "node": ">=20.0.0"
+    "node": ">=20.10.0"
   },
   "dependencies": {
     "@atproto/api": "^0.18.20",