diff --git a/runCli.ts b/runCli.ts
index d19d26f..2621a51 100644
--- a/runCli.ts
+++ b/runCli.ts
@@ -104,6 +104,15 @@ function createRuntimeContext(): RuntimeContext {
   const env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = { ...process.env };
   env.npm_config_registry = NPM_REGISTRY;
   env.COREPACK_NPM_REGISTRY = NPM_REGISTRY;
+  // bypass customer-side release-age gates (npm's `min-release-age`, pnpm's
+  // `minimumReleaseAge`) so our bootstrap can resolve the latest publish.
+  // pullfrog's npm version is server-stamped from a SHA-pinned action ref the
+  // customer already vets at the action layer — not a customer-vetted dep, so
+  // the gate is the wrong affordance here. env beats .npmrc in both tools.
+  // npm uses `npm_config_*`; pnpm v11+ requires `pnpm_config_*` (the v10→v11
+  // migration renamed the prefix). tracked: #713
+  env.npm_config_min_release_age = "0";
+  env.pnpm_config_minimum_release_age = "0";
   const currentPath = process.env.PATH ?? "";
   env.PATH = currentPath ? `${nodeBinDir}${delimiter}${currentPath}` : nodeBinDir;