diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index ac66648..d3bd705 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -13,7 +13,8 @@ Thank you for helping improve the Hive Commons documentation site
 ## Before you open a PR
 
 From a fresh checkout, install the exact dependency set and run the local
-validation commands that cover the PR gates:
+validation commands that cover the PR gates. You need Node.js 22.19 or newer
+(the `engines` field in `package.json`; `.nvmrc` pins 22, which CI also uses):
 
 ```bash
 npm ci
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index f3c1d74..8679699 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -37,6 +37,8 @@ are used as a fallback.
 
 ## Development
 
+Requires Node.js 22.19 or newer (`.nvmrc` pins 22, matching CI).
+
 ```bash
 npm install
 npm run dev        # http://localhost:3000
diff --git a/changelog.d/changed-document-node-version.md b/changelog.d/changed-document-node-version.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e4801d1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/changed-document-node-version.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+- Document the required Node.js version (22.19 or newer) in README and CONTRIBUTING (hivecommons/docs#230).