diff --git a/src/frame/lib/check-node-version.js b/src/frame/lib/check-node-version.js
deleted file mode 100644
index 3d8e69eaeb..0000000000
--- a/src/frame/lib/check-node-version.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,17 +0,0 @@
-import fs from 'fs/promises'
-import semver from 'semver'
-import path from 'path'
-
-const packageFile = JSON.parse(await fs.readFile(path.join(process.cwd(), './package.json')))
-const { engines } = packageFile
-
-/* istanbul ignore next */
-if (!semver.satisfies(process.version, engines.node)) {
-  console.error(
-    `\n\nYou're using Node.js ${process.version.replace(/^v/, '')} but this project requires ${
-      engines.node
-    }`,
-  )
-  console.error('Visit nodejs.org to download an installer that meets these requirements.\n\n')
-  process.exit(1)
-}
diff --git a/src/frame/lib/check-node-version.ts b/src/frame/lib/check-node-version.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b8057a3c97
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/frame/lib/check-node-version.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+import fs from 'fs'
+import semver from 'semver'
+
+export function checkNodeVersion() {
+  const packageFile = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync('package.json', 'utf-8'))
+  const { engines } = packageFile
+
+  if (!semver.satisfies(process.version, engines.node)) {
+    console.error(
+      `\n\nYou're using Node.js ${process.version.replace(/^v/, '')} but this project requires ${
+        engines.node
+      }`,
+    )
+    console.error('Visit nodejs.org to download an installer that meets these requirements.\n\n')
+    process.exit(1)
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/frame/server.ts b/src/frame/server.ts
index 30354d42c8..90bc70602e 100644
--- a/src/frame/server.ts
+++ b/src/frame/server.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { main } from './start-server.js'
+import { main } from './start-server'
 
 try {
   await main()
diff --git a/src/frame/start-server.ts b/src/frame/start-server.ts
index 9dfc71b368..d6370cb489 100644
--- a/src/frame/start-server.ts
+++ b/src/frame/start-server.ts
@@ -3,13 +3,15 @@ import http from 'http'
 import tcpPortUsed from 'tcp-port-used'
 import dotenv from 'dotenv'
 
-import './lib/check-node-version.js'
+import { checkNodeVersion } from './lib/check-node-version'
 import '../observability/lib/handle-exceptions.js'
 import createApp from './lib/app.js'
 import warmServer from './lib/warm-server.js'
 
 dotenv.config()
 
+checkNodeVersion()
+
 const { PORT, NODE_ENV } = process.env
 const port = Number(PORT) || 4000