[nwparker]

	Files	Added	Deleted	Net
Test	24	$\color{#1a7f37}{\Huge{\mathbf{+}}}$​197	$\color{#cf222e}{\Huge{\mathbf{−}}}$​133	$\color{#1a7f37}{\Huge{\mathbf{+}}}$​64
Prod	37	$\color{#1a7f37}{\Huge{\mathbf{+}}}$​100	$\color{#cf222e}{\Huge{\mathbf{−}}}$​115	$\color{#cf222e}{\Huge{\mathbf{−}}}$​15

ELI5

Preserve the Node 24 transition as a draft while the temporary rollback protects existing SSH and WSL users from a surprise runtime requirement.

What Changed

Reapplies #26171 after the temporary rollback: servers and selected host runtimes require Node 24, companion builds target Node 24, and CI, tests and installation guidance follow that baseline. The compatibility launcher continues to run on older host Node and start Orca's bundled runtime. The bundled Node 24 runtime remains the default.

Why

A consistent Node 24 baseline remains the intended direction. The change was temporarily rolled back to avoid near-term user disruption while the host compatibility and rollout expectations are reviewed. Keeping the complete change in a draft makes it easy to resume without losing the prior work or prematurely raising the requirement again.

Linked Issue

N/A — maintainer-requested follow-up to the temporary rollback in #26823, restoring #26171.

Visual Proof

N/A — runtime compatibility and build policy; no UI layout or interaction changes.

Testing

• I manually tested these changes locally
• Automated tests added/updated, or explained why not below

Restores the runtime, host-discovery and CI-policy tests from #26171. The restoration tree exactly matches main before the rollback. Fresh checks must pass before this draft is marked ready.

Before marking ready:

• Verify bundled-runtime bootstrap and fallback for existing Node 18, 20 and 22 host configurations.
• Verify native Windows, macOS, Linux, WSL and SSH behavior, including security-software refusals and unavailable bundled artifacts.
• Confirm how existing host-runtime selections are handled and communicate any required user action.
• Rebase on current main and pass applicable tests, typechecks, build, packaging and wire-compatibility checks.
• Confirm the temporary rollback can be lifted without surprising existing users.

Review

Draft intentionally held for compatibility and rollout review. This PR is not approved for immediate merge.

Agent skill upstream boundary

• Not applicable, or this change copies or mechanically translates no upstream skill-installer source, tests, fixtures, registry entries, path tables, comments, or documentation.

Notes

Based on main after merged rollback #26823. The complete restoration is reviewable here and remains a draft until rollout validation is complete. No remote wire or persistence format changes.

Checklist

• This PR is small and focused
• I explained what changed and why (ELI5, the user-facing before/after, the mechanism, and why over the alternatives)
• Before/after screenshots or videos attached for UI changes, or N/A with reason
• Self-reviewed for correctness, security, and performance
• Cross-platform, SSH/remote, and path/shortcut impact considered (or N/A)
• pnpm lint, pnpm typecheck, pnpm test, and pnpm build pass (or CI will cover; local preferred)