diff --git a/.npmrc b/.npmrc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7253a5c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.npmrc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+min-release-age=7
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 9952b76..77ae4f2 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -187,6 +187,17 @@ The npm dist-tag is derived from the package version:
 
 Manual dispatch and direct `v*.*.*` tag pushes are available for recovery, but merged `release/v*` PRs should be the default path.
 
+## Dependency Updates
+
+The repository `.npmrc` sets `min-release-age=7`. When `npm install` or `npm update` picks a new version, npm skips every version published less than 7 days ago. A compromised or broken release then has a week to be found and pulled before it can reach `package-lock.json`. The setting needs npm 11.10 or later, and older npm ignores it without an error. So `devEngines` in `package.json` makes npm 10.9 and later stop with `EBADDEVENGINES` in this checkout when npm is older than 11.10. The Node version pinned in `mise.toml` ships npm 11.20. Packages that depend on this one are not affected, because npm checks `devEngines` only for the project you run it in.
+
+- `npm ci` installs exactly what the lockfile pins. It does not check release age, and neither does `npm install` for packages that the lockfile already pins.
+- `npm update` moves every lockfile entry younger than 7 days back to an older version, without a warning. This can undo a recent Dependabot security fix. Check the lockfile diff for downgrades and run `npm audit` before you commit.
+- An explicit request for a version that is too new fails with `ETARGET` ("No matching version found for ... with a date before ..."). So does `npm update` when `package.json` asks for a version that is too new.
+- To take a newer release on purpose, for example an urgent fix, pass `--min-release-age=0` to that one command and give the reason in the PR.
+- `npm audit fix` follows the same rule. If the fixed version is less than 7 days old, npm keeps the vulnerable version, warns, and exits with a non-zero code. Rerun it with `--min-release-age=0` to take the fix.
+- Dependabot security updates bypass this setting, so they are not delayed. The repository has no `.github/dependabot.yml`, so Dependabot opens no version-update PRs.
+
 ## Development Notes
 
 The native layer currently uses these verified `libghostty-vt` C APIs:
@@ -233,6 +244,7 @@ The package has four layers:
 - The addon can load in the main thread and in each `worker_threads` Worker, because `TerminalWrap::Init` keeps the class constructor in per-env instance data [native/terminal.cc:TerminalWrap::Init].
 - The default Ghostty commit in [scripts/build-libghostty-vt.sh:GHOSTTY_COMMIT] is the commit that "Upstream References" names. Change both together.
 - Build order: `npm ci`, `npm run build:libghostty`, `npm run build:native`, `npm run build`, `npm test`, `npm run smoke` [mise.toml:tasks.ci]. `npm run build:native` fails early when the libghostty-vt header or static library is missing [scripts/resolve-libghostty-vt.mjs:fail].
+- `npm install` and `npm update` pick only dependency versions published at least 7 days ago [.npmrc:min-release-age]. `npm ci` installs the lockfile as pinned. npm 10.9 to 11.9 refuses to run here [package.json:devEngines]. npm 10.8 and older ignore both `min-release-age` and `devEngines`.
 - The npm package ships `dist`, `native`, `scripts`, `binding.gyp`, `prebuilds`, `CHANGELOG.md`, `README.md`, and `LICENSE` [package.json:files].
 - A release tag is `v<version>` from `package.json`. When `RELEASE_BRANCH_NAME` is set and not empty, it must be `release/v<version>` [scripts/create-release-tag.mjs:releaseBranchName]. The tag must point at the checked-out `HEAD` [scripts/create-release-tag.mjs:releaseTargetSha].
 - The npm dist-tag is the lower-cased first prerelease identifier, or `latest` for a plain version. A non-empty `NPM_PUBLISH_TAG` overrides it [scripts/resolve-npm-publish-tag.mjs:prerelease].
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index b4c477a..078cfe1 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -6,6 +6,13 @@
   "engines": {
     "node": ">=20.19"
   },
+  "devEngines": {
+    "packageManager": {
+      "name": "npm",
+      "version": ">=11.10.0",
+      "onFail": "error"
+    }
+  },
   "keywords": [
     "ghostty",
     "libghostty",