diff --git a/.npmrc b/.npmrc
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b6f27f13
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.npmrc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+engine-strict=true
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 896be4be..c4edb3f9 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@
     "node": ">= 16",
     "npm": ">= 8"
   },
-  "engineStrict": true,
   "license": "MIT",
   "dependencies": {
     "@concord-consortium/lara-interactive-api": "^1.7.1",