engines admits Node versions the pinned pnpm@11 cannot run on (node:sqlite), so an engines-compliant checkout dies before install

[ophiocus]

Summary

package.json declares "engines": { "node": ">=22" } and pins "packageManager": "pnpm@11.20.0" — but pnpm 11 hard-requires the node:sqlite builtin, which is flag-gated until late in the Node 22/23 lines. The engines range therefore admits a band of Node versions on which the pinned package manager cannot start at all, and the contributor sees a pnpm stack trace rather than anything naming the real constraint. Windows contributors, who tend to sit on nvm-windows-installed even-numbered releases, walk straight into it.

Adjacent to #167 (corepack missing on Node 25+ breaks the documented quickstart) but a different clause: #167 is about how pnpm gets installed; this is about engines promising Node versions the pinned pnpm cannot run on.

Observed ladder (Windows 11, nvm-windows, clean checkout of main)

Every rung verbatim, same repo, same day:

1. Node 20.18.0 — corepack pnpm via a stale shim: ERR_VM_DYNAMIC_IMPORT_CALLBACK_MISSING (corepack relic; Quickstart fails on Node 25+: corepack is no longer bundled, so corepack enable and pnpm dev cannot run #167 territory).
2. Node 20.18.0 — npm i -g pnpm@11 && pnpm install: ERR_UNKNOWN_BUILTIN_MODULE from pnpm's own bundle (no node:sqlite in 20.x). Engines says >=22, fair — but the error names nothing actionable.
3. Node 23.3.0 (satisfies >=22) — npx pnpm@11 install: ERR_UNKNOWN_BUILTIN_MODULE: No such built-in module: node:sqlite at ../store/index/lib/index.js. Engines-compliant Node, pinned pnpm, cold stop.
4. Node 22.23.2 (WSL, same machine): everything works — which is the point: the working floor is a late 22.x, not ">=22".

Why it matters

The method doc's own thesis is that agents (and people) hedge when "the environment can't run anything." A first-touch contributor on an engines-compliant Node gets a pnpm internals stack trace before reaching pnpm install's first byte of output. Nothing in README, CONTRIBUTING, or the error path names node:sqlite or the real minimum.

Suggested fix (small)

• Raise engines.node to the actual floor pnpm 11 needs (the first release line with unflagged node:sqlite — e.g. >=22.13), or document the floor in CONTRIBUTING next to the corepack note from Quickstart fails on Node 25+: corepack is no longer bundled, so corepack enable and pnpm dev cannot run #167.
• Optionally a preflight in package.json preinstall or the quickstart: node -e "require('node:sqlite')" with a one-line human message when it throws.

Happy to send the PR for whichever shape you prefer — it pairs naturally with the #167 quickstart correction.