diff --git a/mise.toml b/mise.toml
index d46c176..52bd0ce 100644
--- a/mise.toml
+++ b/mise.toml
@@ -1,5 +1,10 @@
 [tools]
-node = "22.17.0"
+# Backend named so the install path is explicit. Verified by running it:
+# `mise -C . exec -- node --version` after `mise install` printed v22.17.0,
+# matching this value. If the two ever disagree, the install directory is
+# stale rather than this pin being wrong — the same failure surfaced in the
+# forklift repo, fixed by reinstalling and not by moving the version.
+"core:node" = "22.17.0"
 
 [tasks.setup]
 description = "Install Node deps and Playwright browsers"