diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index f8041c5..d52cee5 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -226,6 +226,13 @@ argument required in the third position:
 
 Since by default Envalid's output is wrapped in a Proxy, structuredClone [will not work](https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1269327#c1) on it. See [#177](https://github.com/af/envalid/issues/177).
 
+### Can I use Envalid outside Node (e.g. QuickJS)?
+
+Yes. [WinterTC](https://min-common-api.proposal.wintertc.org/)-compatible runtimes
+already provide `URL` and `console` (including `console.error`). Minimal hosts that
+do not may need a small shim — see [docs/runtime-globals.md](docs/runtime-globals.md)
+and [#253](https://github.com/af/envalid/issues/253).
+
 ## Related projects
 
 - [dotenv](https://www.npmjs.com/package/dotenv) is a very handy tool for loading env vars from
diff --git a/docs/runtime-globals.md b/docs/runtime-globals.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2ed0697
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/runtime-globals.md
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+# Runtime globals (WinterTC and minimal hosts)
+
+Envalid expects a few web-platform globals:
+
+- `URL` — when you use the built-in `url()` validator
+- `console` / `console.error` — when you use the default reporter
+
+[WinterTC’s Minimum Common Web API](https://min-common-api.proposal.wintertc.org/)
+requires both `URL` and `globalThis.console`. The `console` object is defined by the
+[WHATWG Console Standard](https://console.spec.whatwg.org/), which includes
+`console.error`. Runtimes that aim to be web-interoperable (Node, Bun, Deno,
+browsers, Cloudflare Workers, …) already provide these, so no shim is needed.
+
+Smaller engines that do **not** target that baseline — for example Alpine
+[QuickJS](https://bellard.org/quickjs/) (`qjs`) used to validate env at container
+entrypoint without shipping Node — may be missing pieces. See
+[#253](https://github.com/af/envalid/issues/253).
+
+## When Envalid needs them
+
+| Global | When needed |
+| --- | --- |
+| `console.error` | Default reporter (at failure). Not needed if you pass your own `reporter` / `null`. |
+| `URL` | Only if you use the built-in `url()` validator (`new URL(x)`). |
+
+Importing `envalid` itself does not require these globals (the default logger binds
+`console.error` lazily). They must exist before you call `cleanEnv` with `url()`,
+and before the default reporter runs.
+
+## Workable shim (QuickJS)
+
+A copy-paste starting point for Alpine QuickJS lives at
+[`example/quickjs-host-shim.mjs`](../example/quickjs-host-shim.mjs). Apply it
+before `cleanEnv` / `url()` if your host is missing pieces (it need not run before
+`import 'envalid'`). Adapt the `console` and `URL` stubs to your engine (other
+hosts can no-op or map to `print` / native logging instead of QuickJS `std`).
+
+The shim fills `console.*` for the default reporter; you can omit that part if you
+always pass a custom `reporter`.
+
+```js
+import { cleanEnv, str, url } from 'envalid'
+import './quickjs-host-shim.mjs' // before cleanEnv / url(); order vs envalid import does not matter
+import * as std from 'std'
+
+const env = cleanEnv(
+  /* your env object */,
+  { API_URL: url(), NAME: str() },
+  {
+    // Custom reporter: default throws outside Node; std.exit fails closed at entrypoint
+    reporter: ({ errors }) => {
+      std.err.puts('Invalid environment:\n' + Object.keys(errors).join(', ') + '\n')
+      std.exit(1)
+    },
+  },
+)
+```
+
+## Notes
+
+- Envalid does **not** ship a QuickJS stdlib integration or a full URL implementation.
+- With a custom reporter, you typically only need a `URL` polyfill when using `url()`.
+- Default reporter still calls `console.error` and, in Node, `process.exit(1)`.
diff --git a/example/quickjs-host-shim.mjs b/example/quickjs-host-shim.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..070bb71
--- /dev/null
+++ b/example/quickjs-host-shim.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+/**
+ * Minimal host patches for Alpine QuickJS (`qjs`) when using envalid.
+ * Apply before cleanEnv / url() (not required before import envalid).
+ * See docs/runtime-globals.md and https://github.com/af/envalid/issues/253
+ */
+import * as std from 'std'
+
+const root = globalThis
+
+const log = (...args) => {
+  std.err.puts(args.map(String).join(' ') + '\n')
+}
+
+const consoleRef = typeof root.console === 'object' && root.console !== null ? root.console : {}
+root.console = consoleRef
+
+for (const method of ['error', 'warn', 'info', 'log']) {
+  if (typeof consoleRef[method] !== 'function') {
+    consoleRef[method] = log
+  }
+}
+
+if (typeof root.URL !== 'function') {
+  root.URL = class URL {
+    constructor(input) {
+      const value = String(input)
+      if (!/^[a-zA-Z][a-zA-Z\d+.-]*:\/\/\S+$/.test(value)) {
+        throw new TypeError('Invalid URL')
+      }
+      this.href = value
+    }
+    toString() {
+      return this.href
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/errors.ts b/src/errors.ts
index 8ff2fed..37494de 100644
--- a/src/errors.ts
+++ b/src/errors.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,10 @@ export class EnvError extends TypeError {
   constructor(message?: string) {
     super(message)
     Object.setPrototypeOf(this, new.target.prototype)
-    Error.captureStackTrace(this, EnvError)
+    // Optional; not on all engines (e.g. QuickJS) — see MDN Error.captureStackTrace
+    if (typeof Error.captureStackTrace === 'function') {
+      Error.captureStackTrace(this, EnvError)
+    }
     this.name = this.constructor.name
   }
 }
@@ -14,7 +17,9 @@ export class EnvMissingError extends ReferenceError {
   constructor(message?: string) {
     super(message)
     Object.setPrototypeOf(this, new.target.prototype)
-    Error.captureStackTrace(this, EnvMissingError)
+    if (typeof Error.captureStackTrace === 'function') {
+      Error.captureStackTrace(this, EnvMissingError)
+    }
     this.name = this.constructor.name
   }
 }
diff --git a/src/reporter.ts b/src/reporter.ts
index 0b3b53e..494197b 100644
--- a/src/reporter.ts
+++ b/src/reporter.ts
@@ -11,7 +11,10 @@ type ExtraOptions<T> = {
   logger: (output: string) => void
 }
 
-const defaultLogger = console.error.bind(console)
+// Lazy: importing envalid must not require console.error
+const defaultLogger: Logger = (data, ...args) => {
+  console.error(data, ...args)
+}
 
 // Apply ANSI colors to the reporter output only if we detect that we're running in Node
 const isNode = !!(typeof process === 'object' && process?.versions?.node)