diff --git a/.github/workflows/build.yml b/.github/workflows/build.yml
index f4f545a46..c29800b7c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build.yml
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ jobs:
         run: node ./bin/bundle.js bundle -p docs-search-client-halogen
 
       - name: Run tests
-        run: node ./bin/bundle.js test
+        run: node --no-warnings=ExperimentalWarning ./bin/bundle.js test
 
       - name: Check formatting (Linux only)
         if: matrix.os == 'ubuntu-latest'
diff --git a/bin/index.dev.js b/bin/index.dev.js
index e2193ac95..9da755bcf 100755
--- a/bin/index.dev.js
+++ b/bin/index.dev.js
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env node
+#!/usr/bin/env -S node --no-warnings=ExperimentalWarning
 
 import { main } from "../output/Main/index.js";
 
diff --git a/bin/src/Main.purs b/bin/src/Main.purs
index 3c4b1b8bb..2cfb172fa 100644
--- a/bin/src/Main.purs
+++ b/bin/src/Main.purs
@@ -14,7 +14,9 @@ import Data.Maybe as Maybe
 import Data.Set as Set
 import Effect.Aff as Aff
 import Effect.Aff.AVar as AVar
+import Effect.Console as Console
 import Effect.Now as Now
+import Node.Process as Process
 import Options.Applicative (CommandFields, Mod, Parser, ParserPrefs(..))
 import Options.Applicative as O
 import Options.Applicative.Types (Backtracking(..))
@@ -51,6 +53,8 @@ import Spago.Generated.BuildInfo as BuildInfo
 import Spago.Git as Git
 import Spago.Json as Json
 import Spago.Log (LogVerbosity(..))
+import Spago.NodeVersion (NodeVersionCheck(..))
+import Spago.NodeVersion as NodeVersion
 import Spago.Path as Path
 import Spago.Paths as Paths
 import Spago.Purs as Purs
@@ -531,6 +535,7 @@ parseArgs = do
 
 main :: Effect Unit
 main = do
+  ensureMinimumNodeVersion
   startingTime <- Now.now
   parseArgs >>=
     \c -> Aff.launchAff_ case c of
@@ -1049,3 +1054,14 @@ mkDocsEnv args dependencies = do
     }
 
 foreign import supportsColor :: Effect Boolean
+
+-- | Ensures Node.js version is >= 22.5.0 (required for node:sqlite)
+ensureMinimumNodeVersion :: Effect Unit
+ensureMinimumNodeVersion =
+  case NodeVersion.checkNodeVersion { major: 22, minor: 5 } Process.version of
+    NodeVersionOk -> pure unit
+    NodeVersionTooOld v -> do
+      Console.error $ "Error: spago requires Node.js v22.5.0 or later (found " <> v <> ")"
+      Process.exit' 1
+    NodeVersionUnparseable v ->
+      Console.warn $ "Warning: spago could not parse the Node.js version: " <> v
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index ebdd11f7c..b2a601986 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -17,6 +17,9 @@
   },
   "author": "Fabrizio Ferrai",
   "type": "module",
+  "engines": {
+    "node": ">=22.5.0"
+  },
   "bin": {
     "spago": "bin/bundle.js"
   },
@@ -35,7 +38,6 @@
   },
   "dependencies": {
     "@nodelib/fs.walk": "^3.0.1",
-    "better-sqlite3": "^12.5.0",
     "env-paths": "^3.0.0",
     "fs-extra": "^11.3.0",
     "fuse.js": "^7.1.0",
diff --git a/src/Spago/Db.js b/src/Spago/Db.js
index cd5662903..a21242237 100644
--- a/src/Spago/Db.js
+++ b/src/Spago/Db.js
@@ -1,13 +1,20 @@
-import Database from "better-sqlite3";
+import { DatabaseSync } from "node:sqlite";
+import fs from "node:fs";
+import path from "node:path";
 
-export const connectImpl = (path, logger) => {
-  logger("Connecting to database at " + path);
-  let db = new Database(path, {
-    fileMustExist: false,
-    // verbose: logger,
+export const connectImpl = (databasePath, logger) => {
+  logger("Connecting to database at " + databasePath);
+
+  // Ensure directory exists
+  const dir = path.dirname(databasePath);
+  fs.mkdirSync(dir, { recursive: true });
+
+  const db = new DatabaseSync(databasePath, {
+    enableForeignKeyConstraints: true,
+    timeout: 5000, // Wait up to 5s if database is locked (matches better-sqlite3 default)
   });
-  db.pragma("journal_mode = WAL");
-  db.pragma("foreign_keys = ON");
+
+  db.exec("PRAGMA journal_mode = WAL");
 
   db.prepare(`CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS package_sets
     ( version TEXT PRIMARY KEY NOT NULL
@@ -31,7 +38,7 @@ export const connectImpl = (path, logger) => {
     , last_fetched TEXT NOT NULL
     )`).run();
   // it would be lovely if we'd have a foreign key on package_metadata, but that would
-  // require reading metadatas before manifests, which we can't always guarantee
+  // require reading metadata before manifests, which we can't always guarantee
   db.prepare(`CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS package_manifests
     ( name TEXT NOT NULL
     , version TEXT NOT NULL
@@ -39,13 +46,13 @@ export const connectImpl = (path, logger) => {
     , PRIMARY KEY (name, version)
     )`).run();
   return db;
-};
+}
 
 export const insertPackageSetImpl = (db, packageSet) => {
   db.prepare(
     "INSERT OR IGNORE INTO package_sets (version, compiler, date) VALUES (@version, @compiler, @date)"
   ).run(packageSet);
-};
+}
 
 export const insertPackageSetEntryImpl = (db, packageSetEntry) => {
   db.prepare(
@@ -53,10 +60,21 @@ export const insertPackageSetEntryImpl = (db, packageSetEntry) => {
   ).run(packageSetEntry);
 }
 
+export const withTransactionImpl = (db, action) => {
+  db.exec("BEGIN IMMEDIATE");
+  try {
+    action();
+    db.exec("COMMIT");
+  } catch (e) {
+    db.exec("ROLLBACK");
+    throw e;
+  }
+}
+
 export const selectLatestPackageSetByCompilerImpl = (db, compiler) => {
   const row = db
-    .prepare("SELECT * FROM package_sets WHERE compiler = ? ORDER BY date DESC LIMIT 1")
-    .get(compiler);
+    .prepare("SELECT * FROM package_sets WHERE compiler = @compiler ORDER BY date DESC LIMIT 1")
+    .get({ compiler });
   return row;
 }
 
@@ -69,22 +87,22 @@ export const selectPackageSetsImpl = (db) => {
 
 export const selectPackageSetEntriesBySetImpl = (db, packageSetVersion) => {
   const row = db
-    .prepare("SELECT * FROM package_set_entries WHERE packageSetVersion = ?")
-    .all(packageSetVersion);
+    .prepare("SELECT * FROM package_set_entries WHERE packageSetVersion = @packageSetVersion")
+    .all({ packageSetVersion });
   return row;
 }
 
 export const selectPackageSetEntriesByPackageImpl = (db, packageName, packageVersion) => {
   const row = db
-    .prepare("SELECT * FROM package_set_entries WHERE packageName = ? AND packageVersion = ?")
-    .all(packageName, packageVersion);
+    .prepare("SELECT * FROM package_set_entries WHERE packageName = @packageName AND packageVersion = @packageVersion")
+    .all({ packageName, packageVersion });
   return row;
 }
 
 export const getLastPullImpl = (db, key) => {
   const row = db
-    .prepare("SELECT * FROM last_git_pull WHERE key = ? LIMIT 1")
-    .get(key);
+    .prepare("SELECT * FROM last_git_pull WHERE key = @key LIMIT 1")
+    .get({ key });
   return row?.date;
 }
 
@@ -94,8 +112,8 @@ export const updateLastPullImpl = (db, key, date) => {
 
 export const getManifestImpl = (db, name, version) => {
   const row = db
-    .prepare("SELECT * FROM package_manifests WHERE name = ? AND version = ? LIMIT 1")
-    .get(name, version);
+    .prepare("SELECT * FROM package_manifests WHERE name = @name AND version = @version LIMIT 1")
+    .get({ name, version });
   return row?.manifest;
 }
 
@@ -104,7 +122,7 @@ export const insertManifestImpl = (db, name, version, manifest) => {
 }
 
 export const removeManifestImpl = (db, name, version) => {
-  db.prepare("DELETE FROM package_manifests WHERE name = ? AND version = ?").run(name, version);
+  db.prepare("DELETE FROM package_manifests WHERE name = @name AND version = @version").run({ name, version });
 }
 
 export const insertMetadataImpl = (db, name, metadata, last_fetched) => {
@@ -113,6 +131,6 @@ export const insertMetadataImpl = (db, name, metadata, last_fetched) => {
 
 export const getMetadataForPackagesImpl = (db, names) => {
   // There can be a lot of package names here, potentially hitting the max number of sqlite parameters, so we use json to bypass this
-  const query = db.prepare("SELECT * FROM package_metadata WHERE name IN (SELECT value FROM json_each(?));");
-  return query.all(JSON.stringify(names));
-};
\ No newline at end of file
+  const query = db.prepare("SELECT * FROM package_metadata WHERE name IN (SELECT value FROM json_each(@names));");
+  return query.all({ names: JSON.stringify(names) });
+}
diff --git a/src/Spago/Db.purs b/src/Spago/Db.purs
index 979ad6aaa..c98bd652d 100644
--- a/src/Spago/Db.purs
+++ b/src/Spago/Db.purs
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ module Spago.Db
   , selectLatestPackageSetByCompiler
   , selectPackageSets
   , updateLastPull
+  , withTransaction
   ) where
 
 import Spago.Prelude
@@ -60,6 +61,9 @@ insertPackageSet db = Uncurried.runEffectFn2 insertPackageSetImpl db <<< package
 insertPackageSetEntry :: Db -> PackageSetEntry -> Effect Unit
 insertPackageSetEntry db = Uncurried.runEffectFn2 insertPackageSetEntryImpl db <<< packageSetEntryToJs
 
+withTransaction :: Db -> Effect Unit -> Effect Unit
+withTransaction db action = Uncurried.runEffectFn2 withTransactionImpl db action
+
 selectPackageSets :: Db -> Effect (Array PackageSet)
 selectPackageSets db = do
   packageSets <- Uncurried.runEffectFn1 selectPackageSetsImpl db
@@ -238,6 +242,8 @@ foreign import insertPackageSetImpl :: EffectFn2 Db PackageSetJs Unit
 
 foreign import insertPackageSetEntryImpl :: EffectFn2 Db PackageSetEntryJs Unit
 
+foreign import withTransactionImpl :: EffectFn2 Db (Effect Unit) Unit
+
 foreign import selectLatestPackageSetByCompilerImpl :: EffectFn2 Db String (Nullable PackageSetJs)
 
 foreign import selectPackageSetsImpl :: EffectFn1 Db (Array PackageSetJs)
diff --git a/src/Spago/NodeVersion.purs b/src/Spago/NodeVersion.purs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..bfdbfb5bf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Spago/NodeVersion.purs
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+module Spago.NodeVersion
+  ( NodeVersionCheck(..)
+  , checkNodeVersion
+  ) where
+
+import Prelude
+
+import Data.Array as Array
+import Data.Int as Int
+import Data.Maybe (Maybe(..), fromMaybe)
+import Data.String as String
+import Data.Traversable (traverse)
+
+data NodeVersionCheck
+  = NodeVersionOk
+  | NodeVersionTooOld String
+  | NodeVersionUnparseable String
+
+derive instance Eq NodeVersionCheck
+instance Show NodeVersionCheck where
+  show NodeVersionOk = "NodeVersionOk"
+  show (NodeVersionTooOld v) = "(NodeVersionTooOld " <> show v <> ")"
+  show (NodeVersionUnparseable v) = "(NodeVersionUnparseable " <> show v <> ")"
+
+-- | Check if a version string meets the minimum Node.js version requirement
+checkNodeVersion :: { major :: Int, minor :: Int } -> String -> NodeVersionCheck
+checkNodeVersion minimum version =
+  case traverse Int.fromString (Array.take 2 parts) of
+    Just [ major, minor ]
+      | major > minimum.major -> NodeVersionOk
+      | major == minimum.major && minor >= minimum.minor -> NodeVersionOk
+      | otherwise -> NodeVersionTooOld version
+    _ -> NodeVersionUnparseable version
+  where
+  -- version is like "v22.5.0" or "22.5.0"
+  versionStr = String.stripPrefix (String.Pattern "v") version # fromMaybe version
+  parts = String.split (String.Pattern ".") versionStr
diff --git a/src/Spago/Registry.purs b/src/Spago/Registry.purs
index b70b31f5b..03443dbba 100644
--- a/src/Spago/Registry.purs
+++ b/src/Spago/Registry.purs
@@ -214,9 +214,10 @@ getRegistryFns registryBox registryLock = do
         -- First insert the package set
         logDebug $ "Inserting package set in DB: " <> Version.print setVersion
         liftEffect $ Db.insertPackageSet db { compiler: set.compiler, date: set.published, version: set.version }
-        -- Then we insert every entry separately
-        for_ (Map.toUnfoldable set.packages :: Array _) \(Tuple name version) -> do
-          liftEffect $ Db.insertPackageSetEntry db { packageName: name, packageVersion: version, packageSetVersion: set.version }
+        -- Then we insert every entry in a transaction (avoids "database is locked" on Windows)
+        liftEffect $ Db.withTransaction db do
+          for_ (Map.toUnfoldable set.packages :: Array _) \(Tuple name version) -> do
+            Db.insertPackageSetEntry db { packageName: name, packageVersion: version, packageSetVersion: set.version }
 
   -- | List all the package sets versions available in the Registry repo
   getAvailablePackageSets :: ∀ a. Spago (LogEnv a) (Array Version)
diff --git a/test/Prelude.purs b/test/Prelude.purs
index 38823edac..35803329a 100644
--- a/test/Prelude.purs
+++ b/test/Prelude.purs
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ withTempDir = Aff.bracket createTempDir cleanupTempDir
       spago' stdin args =
         Cmd.exec
           (Path.global "node")
-          ([ Path.toRaw $ oldCwd </> "bin" </> "index.dev.js" ] <> args)
+          ([ "--no-warnings=ExperimentalWarning", Path.toRaw $ oldCwd </> "bin" </> "index.dev.js" ] <> args)
           $ Cmd.defaultExecOptions { pipeStdout = false, pipeStderr = false, pipeStdin = stdin }
 
       spago = spago' StdinNewPipe
diff --git a/test/Spago/Unit.purs b/test/Spago/Unit.purs
index 065c5dd23..56d7a6e1d 100644
--- a/test/Spago/Unit.purs
+++ b/test/Spago/Unit.purs
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import Prelude
 import Test.Spago.Unit.CheckInjectivity as CheckInjectivity
 import Test.Spago.Unit.FindFlags as FindFlags
 import Test.Spago.Unit.Git as Git
+import Test.Spago.Unit.NodeVersion as NodeVersion
 import Test.Spago.Unit.Path as Path
 import Test.Spago.Unit.Printer as Printer
 import Test.Spec (Spec)
@@ -17,3 +18,4 @@ spec = Spec.describe "unit" do
   Printer.spec
   Git.spec
   Path.spec
+  NodeVersion.spec
diff --git a/test/Spago/Unit/NodeVersion.purs b/test/Spago/Unit/NodeVersion.purs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..59d638be6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/Spago/Unit/NodeVersion.purs
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+module Test.Spago.Unit.NodeVersion where
+
+import Prelude
+
+import Spago.NodeVersion (NodeVersionCheck(..), checkNodeVersion)
+import Test.Spec (Spec)
+import Test.Spec as Spec
+import Test.Spec.Assertions as Assertions
+
+minimum :: { major :: Int, minor :: Int }
+minimum = { major: 22, minor: 5 }
+
+spec :: Spec Unit
+spec = do
+  Spec.describe "checkNodeVersion" do
+    Spec.describe "accepts valid versions" do
+      Spec.it "v22.5.0" do
+        checkNodeVersion minimum "v22.5.0" `Assertions.shouldEqual` NodeVersionOk
+      Spec.it "22.5.0" do
+        checkNodeVersion minimum "22.5.0" `Assertions.shouldEqual` NodeVersionOk
+      Spec.it "v22.6.0" do
+        checkNodeVersion minimum "v22.6.0" `Assertions.shouldEqual` NodeVersionOk
+      Spec.it "v23.0.0" do
+        checkNodeVersion minimum "v23.0.0" `Assertions.shouldEqual` NodeVersionOk
+      Spec.it "v25.2.1" do
+        checkNodeVersion minimum "v25.2.1" `Assertions.shouldEqual` NodeVersionOk
+
+    Spec.describe "rejects old versions" do
+      Spec.it "v22.4.0" do
+        checkNodeVersion minimum "v22.4.0" `Assertions.shouldEqual` NodeVersionTooOld "v22.4.0"
+      Spec.it "v21.0.0" do
+        checkNodeVersion minimum "v21.0.0" `Assertions.shouldEqual` NodeVersionTooOld "v21.0.0"
+      Spec.it "v18.17.0" do
+        checkNodeVersion minimum "v18.17.0" `Assertions.shouldEqual` NodeVersionTooOld "v18.17.0"
+
+    Spec.describe "handles unparseable versions" do
+      Spec.it "garbage" do
+        checkNodeVersion minimum "garbage" `Assertions.shouldEqual` NodeVersionUnparseable "garbage"
+      Spec.it "empty string" do
+        checkNodeVersion minimum "" `Assertions.shouldEqual` NodeVersionUnparseable ""