diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index f75728c..a1515c6 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -76,11 +76,6 @@ Since v3.1.0, the sub-command `tag` identifies the version inside the commit mes
 
 The above command reads from the latest three commits (by default, change with the `-n` flag.)
 
-## Important note for Node.js 18
+## Node.js
 
-When running the CLI commands on Node.js 18, you may need to add the `--no-experimental-fetch` flag to the `NODE_OPTIONS` environment variable. This flag is required to disable the experimental fetch feature introduced in Node.js 18.
-
-To execute the CLI commands with the `--no-experimental-fetch` flag, use the following syntax:
-
-```shell
-% NODE_OPTIONS=--no-experimental-fetch npx @eqworks/release <command>
\ No newline at end of file
+Current Node.js releases can run the CLI directly. Commit classification loads a local WebAssembly model from disk, so `NODE_OPTIONS=--no-experimental-fetch` is not required. That flag is invalid on Node.js 22 and later.
diff --git a/lib/utils.js b/lib/utils.js
index 97870b6..021fd61 100644
--- a/lib/utils.js
+++ b/lib/utils.js
@@ -3,6 +3,14 @@ const { execSync } = require('child_process')
 
 const { Octokit } = require('@octokit/core')
 const chalk = require('chalk')
+
+/* global WebAssembly */
+// fasttext.js streams its wasm with fetch() when WebAssembly.instantiateStreaming
+// exists. Node 22+ fetch rejects a filesystem path and aborts the process.
+// Dropping streaming makes Emscripten read the wasm file from disk.
+if (typeof WebAssembly !== 'undefined' && typeof WebAssembly.instantiateStreaming === 'function') {
+  delete WebAssembly.instantiateStreaming
+}
 const FastText = require('fasttext.js')
 
 const { GITHUB_TOKEN } = process.env
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index b284ece..028667e 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@eqworks/release",
-  "version": "3.5.3",
+  "version": "3.5.4",
   "main": "index.js",
   "license": "MIT",
   "source": "index.js",