Summary

Installation fails on environments that still have Node.js 18.x, with downstream npm errors from dependencies that require Node.js 20+.

Problem

The current install experience fails late during dependency installation instead of validating runtime prerequisites up front. Users encounter package-manager errors that obscure the actual requirement.

Expected behavior

The installer should check Node.js and npm versions before attempting installation and provide a single clear error if the environment is unsupported.

Acceptance criteria

• install.sh checks the installed Node.js version before running npm install steps.
• Unsupported versions fail fast with a clear message that states the minimum supported Node.js and npm versions.
• The quickstart and prerequisites docs list the required versions in one place.
• CI includes at least one guard that prevents accidental regression to unsupported version messaging.