diff --git a/lib/rules/cicd_rules.ex b/lib/rules/cicd_rules.ex
index 058f0ac9..ff299a51 100644
--- a/lib/rules/cicd_rules.ex
+++ b/lib/rules/cicd_rules.ex
@@ -282,7 +282,7 @@ defmodule Hypatia.Rules.CicdRules do
       id: :nodejs_detected,
       glob: "package-lock.json",
       reason:
-        "Node.js banned -- use Deno (org policy 2026-05-25; in-flight migration tracked under standards#253)",
+        "npm lockfile banned -- use Bun (`bun install`, bun.lock; JS runtime order Bun > pnpm > npm, Deno banned 2026-09-22, standards docs/JS-RUNTIME-POLICY.adoc)",
       path_allow_prefixes: [
         # (1a) VSCode extension host-required (/vscode/ as path segment)
         "/vscode/",
diff --git a/lib/rules/root_hygiene.ex b/lib/rules/root_hygiene.ex
index d744aac2..df08439f 100644
--- a/lib/rules/root_hygiene.ex
+++ b/lib/rules/root_hygiene.ex
@@ -144,21 +144,32 @@ defmodule Hypatia.Rules.RootHygiene do
       action: :rename
     },
     %{pattern: "Makefile", reason: "Use Justfile", severity: :medium, action: :replace},
+    # JS runtime order is Bun > pnpm > npm; Deno is banned (2026-09-22).
+    # Source: standards docs/JS-RUNTIME-POLICY.adoc "Hard Rules". Bun
+    # lockfiles (bun.lock / bun.lockb) are permitted and expected, so they
+    # are deliberately absent here: this list used to mark bun.lockb (and
+    # pnpm-lock.yaml) high/delete and say "use Deno", the inverse of policy.
     %{
       pattern: "package-lock.json",
-      reason: "npm banned -- use Deno",
+      reason: "npm lockfile must not be tracked -- use Bun (`bun install`, bun.lock)",
       severity: :high,
       action: :delete
     },
-    %{pattern: "yarn.lock", reason: "Yarn banned -- use Deno", severity: :high, action: :delete},
-    %{pattern: "bun.lockb", reason: "Bun banned -- use Deno", severity: :high, action: :delete},
+    %{pattern: "yarn.lock", reason: "Yarn banned -- use Bun", severity: :high, action: :delete},
     %{
       pattern: "pnpm-lock.yaml",
-      reason: "pnpm banned -- use Deno",
-      severity: :high,
+      reason:
+        "pnpm is tier 2 -- permitted only where an upstream toolchain needs a " <>
+          "node_modules layout; prefer Bun",
+      severity: :low,
+      action: :flag
+    },
+    %{
+      pattern: ".npmrc",
+      reason: "npm config must not be tracked -- use Bun",
+      severity: :medium,
       action: :delete
     },
-    %{pattern: ".npmrc", reason: "npm banned -- use Deno", severity: :medium, action: :delete},
     %{
       pattern: "tsconfig.json",
       reason: "TypeScript banned -- use AffineScript",
diff --git a/test/root_hygiene_test.exs b/test/root_hygiene_test.exs
index 8e2a9318..b3a96a92 100644
--- a/test/root_hygiene_test.exs
+++ b/test/root_hygiene_test.exs
@@ -26,8 +26,19 @@ defmodule Hypatia.Rules.RootHygieneTest do
     end
 
     test "flags banned package managers" do
-      findings = RootHygiene.scan_banned(["package-lock.json", "yarn.lock", "bun.lockb"])
+      findings = RootHygiene.scan_banned(["package-lock.json", "yarn.lock", ".npmrc"])
       assert length(findings) == 3
+      refute Enum.any?(findings, &(&1.reason =~ "Deno"))
+    end
+
+    # Bun is the tier-1 JS runtime (standards docs/JS-RUNTIME-POLICY.adoc):
+    # its lockfiles must never be flagged, let alone deleted.
+    test "Bun lockfiles are not flagged" do
+      assert RootHygiene.scan_banned(["bun.lock", "bun.lockb"]) == []
+    end
+
+    test "a pnpm lockfile is a low-severity flag, never a delete" do
+      assert [%{severity: :low, action: :flag}] = RootHygiene.scan_banned(["pnpm-lock.yaml"])
     end
 
     test "ignores allowed files" do
diff --git a/test/rules/cicd_rules_rescript_npm_js_test.exs b/test/rules/cicd_rules_rescript_npm_js_test.exs
index 67deec2b..4cd07ba6 100644
--- a/test/rules/cicd_rules_rescript_npm_js_test.exs
+++ b/test/rules/cicd_rules_rescript_npm_js_test.exs
@@ -143,9 +143,10 @@ defmodule Hypatia.Rules.CicdRules.RescriptNpmJsTest do
 
       assert nj, "expected :nodejs_detected finding for non-exempt package-lock.json"
       assert length(nj.files) == 2
-      assert nj.reason =~ "Node.js banned"
-      assert nj.reason =~ "Deno"
-      assert nj.reason =~ "standards#253"
+      # Deno is banned (2026-09-22); the remedy is Bun (JS-RUNTIME-POLICY).
+      assert nj.reason =~ "use Bun"
+      refute nj.reason =~ "use Deno"
+      assert nj.reason =~ "JS-RUNTIME-POLICY"
     end
 
     test "exempts VSCode extension host-required lockfiles" do