diff --git a/src/node/devcontainer-feature.json b/src/node/devcontainer-feature.json
index b8d699def..e963031c4 100644
--- a/src/node/devcontainer-feature.json
+++ b/src/node/devcontainer-feature.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
     "id": "node",
-    "version": "1.6.2",
+    "version": "1.6.3",
     "name": "Node.js (via nvm), yarn and pnpm",
     "documentationURL": "https://github.com/devcontainers/features/tree/main/src/node",
     "description": "Installs Node.js, nvm, yarn, pnpm, and needed dependencies.",
@@ -13,7 +13,8 @@
                 "none",
                 "18",
                 "16",
-                "14"
+                "14",
+                "project-file" // This will read the Node version from .node-version or .nvmrc in the project
             ],
             "default": "lts",
             "description": "Select or enter a Node.js version to install"
diff --git a/src/node/install.sh b/src/node/install.sh
index 46d448440..572311d5a 100755
--- a/src/node/install.sh
+++ b/src/node/install.sh
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@ export NVM_VERSION="${NVMVERSION:-"latest"}"
 export NVM_DIR="${NVMINSTALLPATH:-"/usr/local/share/nvm"}"
 INSTALL_TOOLS_FOR_NODE_GYP="${NODEGYPDEPENDENCIES:-true}"
 export INSTALL_YARN_USING_APT="${INSTALLYARNUSINGAPT:-true}"  # only concerns Debian-based systems
-
 # Comma-separated list of node versions to be installed (with nvm)
 # alongside NODE_VERSION, but not set as default.
 ADDITIONAL_VERSIONS="${ADDITIONALVERSIONS:-""}"
@@ -287,6 +286,29 @@ if ! type git > /dev/null 2>&1; then
     check_packages git
 fi
 
+# Determine the Node.js version using the .nvmrc or .node-version file if present.
+if [[ "${NODE_VERSION}" == "project-file" ]]; then
+    echo "Finding Node version from .nvmrc or .node-version file..."
+    NODE_VERSION_FOUND=""
+    for version_file in ".node-version" ".nvmrc"; do  
+        if [[ -f "$version_file" && -s "$version_file" ]]; then  
+            file_version=$(tr -d '[:space:]' < "$version_file")  
+            if [[ -n "$file_version" ]]; then  
+                echo "Using Node version from $version_file: $file_version"  
+                NODE_VERSION="$file_version"  
+                NODE_VERSION_FOUND="yes"
+                break  
+            else  
+                echo "$version_file exists but contains only whitespace. Continuing search..."  
+            fi  
+        fi
+    done 
+    if [[ -z "$NODE_VERSION_FOUND" ]]; then
+        NODE_VERSION="lts"
+        echo "No Node version found in .nvmrc or .node-version. Using default: lts"
+    fi
+fi
+
 # Adjust node version if required
 if [ "${NODE_VERSION}" = "none" ]; then
     export NODE_VERSION=
diff --git a/test/node/install_additional_node.sh b/test/node/install_additional_node.sh
index 57d615a0a..8cc2eca32 100644
--- a/test/node/install_additional_node.sh
+++ b/test/node/install_additional_node.sh
@@ -5,11 +5,20 @@ set -e
 # Optional: Import test library
 source dev-container-features-test-lib
 
-# 'lts' is now some version of node 20...
-check "version_on_path"  node -v | grep 20
+# Install jq if not already installed
+if ! type jq >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    apt-get update && apt-get install -y jq
+fi
+
+#Get the latest LTS version of Node.js
+LATEST_LTS_VERSION=$(curl -s https://nodejs.org/dist/index.json | jq -r '[.[] | select(.lts != false)][0].version')
+
+
+# 'lts' is fetched instead of hardcoded to a specific version
+check "version_on_path"  node -v | grep "$LATEST_LTS_VERSION"
 check "pnpm" bash -c "pnpm -v | grep 8.8.0"
 
-check "v20_installed" ls -1 /usr/local/share/nvm/versions/node | grep 20
+check "lts_installed" ls -1 /usr/local/share/nvm/versions/node | grep "$LATEST_LTS_VERSION"
 check "v14_installed" ls -1 /usr/local/share/nvm/versions/node | grep 14.19.3
 check "v17_installed" ls -1 /usr/local/share/nvm/versions/node | grep 17.9.1
 
diff --git a/test/node/install_additional_node_on_rhel_family.sh b/test/node/install_additional_node_on_rhel_family.sh
index 3300f7f1a..339ce0267 100644
--- a/test/node/install_additional_node_on_rhel_family.sh
+++ b/test/node/install_additional_node_on_rhel_family.sh
@@ -5,11 +5,19 @@ set -e
 # Optional: Import test library
 source dev-container-features-test-lib
 
-# 'lts' is now some version of node 20...
-check "version_on_path"  node -v | grep 20
+# Install jq if not already installed
+if ! type jq >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    yum install -y jq
+fi 
+
+#Get the latest LTS version of Node.js
+LATEST_LTS_VERSION=$(curl -s https://nodejs.org/dist/index.json | jq -r '[.[] | select(.lts != false)][0].version')
+
+# 'lts' is fetched instead of hardcoded to a specific version
+check "version_on_path"  node -v | grep "$LATEST_LTS_VERSION"
 check "pnpm" bash -c "pnpm -v | grep 6.16.0"
 
-check "v20_installed" ls -1 /usr/local/share/nvm/versions/node | grep 20
+check "lts_installed" ls -1 /usr/local/share/nvm/versions/node | grep "$LATEST_LTS_VERSION"
 check "v14_installed" ls -1 /usr/local/share/nvm/versions/node | grep 14.19.3
 check "v17_installed" ls -1 /usr/local/share/nvm/versions/node | grep 17.9.1
 
diff --git a/test/node/scenarios.json b/test/node/scenarios.json
index df03128d6..e11a0cf22 100644
--- a/test/node/scenarios.json
+++ b/test/node/scenarios.json
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@
         "features": {
             "node": {
                 "version": "16",
-                "pnpmVersion":"8.8.0"
+                "pnpmVersion": "8.8.0"
             }
         }
     },
@@ -199,5 +199,35 @@
                 "installYarnUsingApt": false
             }
         }
+    },
+    "test_node_project_nvmrc": {
+        "build": {
+            "dockerfile": "DockerFile"
+        },
+        "features": {
+            "node": {
+                "version": "project-file"
+            }
+        }
+    },
+    "test_node_project_nodev": {
+        "build": {
+            "dockerfile": "DockerFile"
+        },
+        "features": {
+            "node": {
+                "version": "project-file"
+            }
+        }
+    },
+    "test_node_project_nvm_nodev": {
+        "build": {
+            "dockerfile": "DockerFile"
+        },
+        "features": {
+            "node": {
+                "version": "project-file"
+            }
+        }
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/node/test_node_project_nodev.sh b/test/node/test_node_project_nodev.sh
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..cff7bdcd8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/node/test_node_project_nodev.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+set -e
+
+# Optional: Import test library
+source dev-container-features-test-lib
+
+cd test_node_project_nodev
+
+# Check that .nvmrc exists
+if [ ! -f .node-version ]; then
+  echo ".node-version file not found!"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+# Read the version from .nvmrc and compare with current node version
+N_VERSION=$(cat .node-version | tr -d 'v')
+NODE_VERSION=$(node -v  | tr -d 'v')
+
+if [ "$N_VERSION" != "$NODE_VERSION" ]; then
+  echo "Node version mismatch: .node-version specifies $N_VERSION, but current node is $NODE_VERSION"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+echo ".node-version is used and matches the current Node.js version."
+# Report result
+reportResults
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/node/test_node_project_nodev/.node-version b/test/node/test_node_project_nodev/.node-version
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0d215b0fb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/node/test_node_project_nodev/.node-version
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+20.19.2
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/node/test_node_project_nodev/DockerFile b/test/node/test_node_project_nodev/DockerFile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..59d170198
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/node/test_node_project_nodev/DockerFile
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+FROM debian:11
+
+COPY .node-version /tmp/dev-container-features/node_0/.node-version
diff --git a/test/node/test_node_project_nvm_nodev.sh b/test/node/test_node_project_nvm_nodev.sh
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..386d90db0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/node/test_node_project_nvm_nodev.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+set -e
+
+# Optional: Import test library
+source dev-container-features-test-lib
+
+cd test_node_project_nvm_nodev
+
+# Check that .node-version exists
+if [ ! -f .node-version ]; then
+  echo ".node-version file not found!"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+# Read the version from .node-version and compare with current node version
+N_VERSION=$(cat .node-version | tr -d 'v')
+NODE_VERSION=$(node -v  | tr -d 'v')
+
+if [ "$N_VERSION" != "$NODE_VERSION" ]; then
+  echo "Node version mismatch: .nvmrc specifies $N_VERSION, but current node is $NODE_VERSION"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+echo ".node-version is used and matches the current Node.js version."
+# Report result
+reportResults
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/node/test_node_project_nvm_nodev/.node-version b/test/node/test_node_project_nvm_nodev/.node-version
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0d215b0fb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/node/test_node_project_nvm_nodev/.node-version
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+20.19.2
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/node/test_node_project_nvm_nodev/.nvmrc b/test/node/test_node_project_nvm_nodev/.nvmrc
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ee57e7f61
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/node/test_node_project_nvm_nodev/.nvmrc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+22.9.0
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/node/test_node_project_nvm_nodev/DockerFile b/test/node/test_node_project_nvm_nodev/DockerFile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..31e32808f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/node/test_node_project_nvm_nodev/DockerFile
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+FROM debian:11
+
+COPY .nvmrc .node-version /tmp/dev-container-features/node_0/
+
diff --git a/test/node/test_node_project_nvmrc.sh b/test/node/test_node_project_nvmrc.sh
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c4ad8a90b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/node/test_node_project_nvmrc.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+set -e
+
+# Optional: Import test library
+source dev-container-features-test-lib
+
+cd test_node_project_nvmrc
+
+# Check that .nvmrc exists
+if [ ! -f .nvmrc ]; then
+  echo ".nvmrc file not found!"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+# Read the version from .nvmrc and compare with current node version
+NVMRC_VERSION=$(cat .nvmrc | tr -d 'v')
+NODE_VERSION=$(node -v  | tr -d 'v')
+
+if [ "$NVMRC_VERSION" != "$NODE_VERSION" ]; then
+  echo "Node version mismatch: .nvmrc specifies $NVMRC_VERSION, but current node is $NODE_VERSION"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+echo ".nvmrc is used and matches the current Node.js version."
+# Report result
+reportResults
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/node/test_node_project_nvmrc/.nvmrc b/test/node/test_node_project_nvmrc/.nvmrc
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ee57e7f61
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/node/test_node_project_nvmrc/.nvmrc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+22.9.0
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/node/test_node_project_nvmrc/DockerFile b/test/node/test_node_project_nvmrc/DockerFile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9a9a9ab87
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/node/test_node_project_nvmrc/DockerFile
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+FROM debian:11
+
+COPY .nvmrc /tmp/dev-container-features/node_0/.nvmrc
\ No newline at end of file