diff --git a/next.config.ts b/next.config.ts
index a4e23e3..05e1db0 100644
--- a/next.config.ts
+++ b/next.config.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import path from "node:path";
 import createNextIntlPlugin from "next-intl/plugin";
 import type { NextConfig } from "next";
 
@@ -57,6 +58,20 @@ const SECURITY_HEADERS = [
 ] as const;
 
 const nextConfig: NextConfig = {
+  // Pin file-tracing to this directory so Next.js doesn't ascend to the
+  // parent GHWebhosting folder (which has its own lockfile) and either
+  // bundle the wrong stuff or skip ours. Was visible as a workspace-root
+  // warning during builds. Also see `outputFileTracingIncludes` below —
+  // a wrong root makes the includes match incorrectly.
+  outputFileTracingRoot: path.join(__dirname),
+  // Force the production artifact to include the i18n message dictionaries.
+  // `src/i18n/request.ts` loads them via a static import map but the
+  // tracer can still miss JSON-only files that no code statically
+  // imports relative to this entry point. Belt-and-suspenders.
+  outputFileTracingIncludes: {
+    "/**/*": ["./messages/**/*.json"],
+  },
+
   /**
    * Cache-Control policy.
    *
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 5f1c8c1..70a16ec 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@
         "vitest": "^4.1.7"
       },
       "engines": {
-        "node": ">=20.0.0"
+        "node": ">=20.10.0"
       }
     },
     "node_modules/@alloc/quick-lru": {
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 51a0069..88b662c 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
     "template"
   ],
   "engines": {
-    "node": ">=20.0.0"
+    "node": ">=20.10.0"
   },
   "scripts": {
     "dev": "next dev",
diff --git a/src/i18n/request.ts b/src/i18n/request.ts
index 1757c7e..278e5e5 100644
--- a/src/i18n/request.ts
+++ b/src/i18n/request.ts
@@ -1,12 +1,35 @@
 import { hasLocale } from 'next-intl';
 import { getRequestConfig } from 'next-intl/server';
-import { routing } from './routing';
+import { routing, type Locale } from './routing';
+
+// Static import map. Template-literal dynamic imports (e.g.
+// `import(\`../../messages/\${locale}.json\`)`) can confuse Next.js's
+// file tracer in some build environments — the JSONs may be missing
+// from the production artifact even though they resolve in `next dev`
+// and `next start` locally. Naming each path explicitly forces every
+// supported locale's message file into the bundle.
+const LOADERS: Record<Locale, () => Promise<{ default: Record<string, unknown> }>> = {
+  en: () => import('../../messages/en.json'),
+  es: () => import('../../messages/es.json'),
+  lt: () => import('../../messages/lt.json'),
+};
 
 export default getRequestConfig(async ({ requestLocale }) => {
   const requested = await requestLocale;
-  const locale = hasLocale(routing.locales, requested) ? requested : routing.defaultLocale;
+  const locale: Locale = hasLocale(routing.locales, requested)
+    ? requested
+    : routing.defaultLocale;
 
-  const messages = (await import(`../../messages/${locale}.json`)).default;
+  // Fall back to English if the requested locale's bundle is missing
+  // at runtime. A missing locale should display English content rather
+  // than 503 the whole render path.
+  let messages: Record<string, unknown>;
+  try {
+    messages = (await LOADERS[locale]()).default;
+  } catch (err) {
+    console.error(`[i18n] failed to load messages for locale "${locale}", falling back to en:`, err);
+    messages = (await LOADERS[routing.defaultLocale]()).default;
+  }
 
   return {
     locale,
diff --git a/src/middleware.ts b/src/middleware.ts
index 5c90122..e680037 100644
--- a/src/middleware.ts
+++ b/src/middleware.ts
@@ -33,11 +33,22 @@ export async function middleware(request: NextRequest) {
   //    routes don't live under [locale] and would be wrongly prefixed).
   //    If next-intl redirects (missing locale), return immediately;
   //    the redirected URL re-enters middleware with the prefix in place.
+  //
+  //    The intlMiddleware call is wrapped because an unhandled throw
+  //    here would cascade to a 503 in front of every page — we'd
+  //    rather degrade to "no locale routing applied for this request"
+  //    than take the whole site down. Errors are logged so they show
+  //    up in Hostinger's process logs without being swallowed silently.
   let intlResponse: NextResponse | null = null
   if (!isApiRoute) {
-    intlResponse = intlMiddleware(request)
-    if (intlResponse.headers.get('location')) {
-      return intlResponse
+    try {
+      intlResponse = intlMiddleware(request)
+      if (intlResponse.headers.get('location')) {
+        return intlResponse
+      }
+    } catch (err) {
+      console.error('[middleware] intl middleware threw, falling through to auth-only:', err)
+      intlResponse = null
     }
   }