diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/ci.yml b/.gitea/workflows/ci.yml
index 7fdc11b..e839adf 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -194,21 +194,14 @@ jobs:
         if: env.HAS_NODE == 'true'
         uses: actions/setup-node@v4
         with:
-          node-version: "lts/*"
+          # Keep CI on Node 20 to match runtime/Docker and better-sqlite3 compatibility.
+          node-version: "20.x"
 
       - name: Install Node dependencies
         if: env.HAS_NODE == 'true'
         run: |
-          # Prefer deterministic install when lockfile is healthy.
-          # Fallback to npm install if lockfile is out-of-sync.
-          if [ -f package-lock.json ]; then
-            if ! npm ci; then
-              echo "npm ci failed; falling back to npm install"
-              npm install
-            fi
-          else
-            npm install
-          fi
+          # Lockfile is currently not authoritative; use install to refresh dependency tree.
+          npm install
 
       # -----------------------------------------------------------------------
       # Step 9: Node.js — Lint (only if "lint" script exists in package.json)
diff --git a/.nvmrc b/.nvmrc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..209e3ef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.nvmrc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+20
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 53b9d37..05ac601 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -2,6 +2,9 @@
   "name": "cozy-den",
   "type": "module",
   "version": "0.0.1",
+  "engines": {
+    "node": ">=20 <24"
+  },
   "scripts": {
     "dev": "astro dev",
     "start": "astro dev",