Runtime support policy is clearly communicated

[BigLep]

Done Criteria

A new user can quickly determine what JS runtimes Synapse supports.

Why Important

Helps user determine if Synapse is appropriate for their usecase. We want to particularly avoid a user coming to a conclusion that Synapse doesn't support something that it actually does (i.e., a user thinking Synapse doesn't work in browsers when it actually does).

User/Customer

New propspective users who are determining if their application/setup can take advantage of Syanpse

Notes

1. We had confusion even within the FOC WG about whether browsers are supported: https://filecoinproject.slack.com/archives/C08TVNKJV7C/p1774453575105269
2. I would like to see us make statements like:

• "We support the latest major versions of Node, Chrome, Safari, and Firefox"
• "Our CI runs tests against these runtimes in LINK_TO_CI"
• "If working with browsers, consider using synapse-react"

3. At a minimum, this information belongs in docs.filecoin.cloud since the Synapse README drives traffic there.
4. I think it also makes sense to add a "Runtime Support" section to the Synapse README, which in turn can just link to docs.filecoin.cloud section.

[BigLep]

@hugomrdias @rvagg and/or @nijoe1 : it would be good to get your agreement on what and where to document.

[juliangruber]

It's documented on a package manager level here:

synapse-sdk/package.json

Line 37 in 966a389

"node": ">=22"

[juliangruber]

NPM will complain when trying to install on a different version

[BigLep]

It's documented on a package manager level here:

But that isn't communicating anything about browser support. If we had confusion within the FOC WG about what Synapse supports, undoubtedly some folks outside the working group must have been confused too.

[BigLep]

2026-04-09 discussion:

• Update https://docs.filecoin.cloud/getting-started/
• Update repo README

[rvagg]

The issue arises from here: https://docs.filecoin.cloud/getting-started/#prerequisites
We should consider how to update the readme too

Framing should be something like "how to insert this into your build/bundling/whatever pipeline"

[nijoe1]

Thanks @BigLep and @rvagg I am creating a PR to resolve that confusion and some additional findings/improvements

[nijoe1]

The confusion came from listing "Node.js 20+" as a prerequisite, implying Node-only. Many packages have such requirements, but synapse packages themselves have no engines field and work in both Node.js and browsers. The >=22 in the root package.json is only for the monorepo dev tooling. Node is a fundamental requirement to compile JavaScript, not something we need to state in the docs.

Addressed in 89ba61a (PR #677): getting started now states the SDK works in Node.js and the browser, shows both private key and wallet setup, and removes the Node version prerequisite.

[BigLep]

I'll let @hugomrdias make any other comments, but I also want to make sure it's very obvious when someone comes to https://github.com/FilOzone/synapse-sdk that Synapse works with all runtimes and bundler.