diff --git a/.nvmrc b/.nvmrc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..3f430af82b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.nvmrc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+v18
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index bee5561659..a62de22c60 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -36,6 +36,12 @@ You can then install the other dependencies using the Makefile using the bootstr
 make bootstrap
 ```
 
+To develop on your own computer, make sure you have a compatible version of node installed in your environment. The simplest way to make sure you're using a compatible
+version of node is to install [nvm](https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm#installing-and-updating) and run the following command each time you open a terminal in the packs-sdk repo:
+
+```sh
+source setup-env.sh
+```
 
 ### Preview documentation
 
diff --git a/setup-env.sh b/setup-env.sh
index f38814fc79..7734cd7137 100644
--- a/setup-env.sh
+++ b/setup-env.sh
@@ -9,3 +9,9 @@ if [[ "$(uname -s)" == "Darwin" ]] && [[ "$(arch)" == "arm64" ]]; then
 fi
 
 export PATH=${BASEDIR}/build/node/bin:${BASEDIR}/node_modules/.bin:${BASEDIR}/.pnpm_install/bin:${PATH}
+
+if command -v nvm &> /dev/null
+then
+  # Gets version from .nvmrc
+  nvm use
+fi