diff --git a/.github/workflows/versions.yml b/.github/workflows/versions.yml
index 8078deac7..e0bf1ecc2 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/versions.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/versions.yml
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ jobs:
       matrix:
         os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest, macos-latest]
         node-version-file:
-          [.nvmrc, .tool-versions, .tool-versions-node, package.json]
+          [.nvmrc, .tool-versions, .tool-versions-node, package.json, .npmrc]
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
       - name: Setup node from node version file
diff --git a/__tests__/data/.npmrc b/__tests__/data/.npmrc
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..911d4fc28
--- /dev/null
+++ b/__tests__/data/.npmrc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+use-node-version=20.0.0
diff --git a/__tests__/main.test.ts b/__tests__/main.test.ts
index 501741a6b..175373941 100644
--- a/__tests__/main.test.ts
+++ b/__tests__/main.test.ts
@@ -103,10 +103,13 @@ describe('main tests', () => {
       ${''}                                        | ${''}
       ${'unknown format'}                          | ${'unknown format'}
       ${'  14.1.0  '}                              | ${'14.1.0'}
+      ${'use-node-version=lts/iron'}               | ${'lts/iron'}
       ${'{"volta": {"node": ">=14.0.0 <=17.0.0"}}'}| ${'>=14.0.0 <=17.0.0'}
       ${'{"volta": {"extends": "./package.json"}}'}| ${'18.0.0'}
       ${'{"engines": {"node": "17.0.0"}}'}         | ${'17.0.0'}
       ${'{}'}                                      | ${null}
+      ${'[section]use-node-version=16'}            | ${null}
+      ${'[section]\nuse-node-version=20'}          | ${null}
     `.it('parses "$contents"', ({contents, expected}) => {
       const existsSpy = jest.spyOn(fs, 'existsSync');
       existsSpy.mockImplementation(() => true);
diff --git a/dist/cache-save/index.js b/dist/cache-save/index.js
index 8918271ac..d1c1c7f7e 100644
--- a/dist/cache-save/index.js
+++ b/dist/cache-save/index.js
@@ -49050,6 +49050,293 @@ DelayedStream.prototype._checkIfMaxDataSizeExceeded = function() {
 };
 
 
+/***/ }),
+
+/***/ 45:
+/***/ ((module) => {
+
+const { hasOwnProperty } = Object.prototype
+
+const encode = (obj, opt = {}) => {
+  if (typeof opt === 'string') {
+    opt = { section: opt }
+  }
+  opt.align = opt.align === true
+  opt.newline = opt.newline === true
+  opt.sort = opt.sort === true
+  opt.whitespace = opt.whitespace === true || opt.align === true
+  // The `typeof` check is required because accessing the `process` directly fails on browsers.
+  /* istanbul ignore next */
+  opt.platform = opt.platform || (typeof process !== 'undefined' && process.platform)
+  opt.bracketedArray = opt.bracketedArray !== false
+
+  /* istanbul ignore next */
+  const eol = opt.platform === 'win32' ? '\r\n' : '\n'
+  const separator = opt.whitespace ? ' = ' : '='
+  const children = []
+
+  const keys = opt.sort ? Object.keys(obj).sort() : Object.keys(obj)
+
+  let padToChars = 0
+  // If aligning on the separator, then padToChars is determined as follows:
+  // 1. Get the keys
+  // 2. Exclude keys pointing to objects unless the value is null or an array
+  // 3. Add `[]` to array keys
+  // 4. Ensure non empty set of keys
+  // 5. Reduce the set to the longest `safe` key
+  // 6. Get the `safe` length
+  if (opt.align) {
+    padToChars = safe(
+      (
+        keys
+          .filter(k => obj[k] === null || Array.isArray(obj[k]) || typeof obj[k] !== 'object')
+          .map(k => Array.isArray(obj[k]) ? `${k}[]` : k)
+      )
+        .concat([''])
+        .reduce((a, b) => safe(a).length >= safe(b).length ? a : b)
+    ).length
+  }
+
+  let out = ''
+  const arraySuffix = opt.bracketedArray ? '[]' : ''
+
+  for (const k of keys) {
+    const val = obj[k]
+    if (val && Array.isArray(val)) {
+      for (const item of val) {
+        out += safe(`${k}${arraySuffix}`).padEnd(padToChars, ' ') + separator + safe(item) + eol
+      }
+    } else if (val && typeof val === 'object') {
+      children.push(k)
+    } else {
+      out += safe(k).padEnd(padToChars, ' ') + separator + safe(val) + eol
+    }
+  }
+
+  if (opt.section && out.length) {
+    out = '[' + safe(opt.section) + ']' + (opt.newline ? eol + eol : eol) + out
+  }
+
+  for (const k of children) {
+    const nk = splitSections(k, '.').join('\\.')
+    const section = (opt.section ? opt.section + '.' : '') + nk
+    const child = encode(obj[k], {
+      ...opt,
+      section,
+    })
+    if (out.length && child.length) {
+      out += eol
+    }
+
+    out += child
+  }
+
+  return out
+}
+
+function splitSections (str, separator) {
+  var lastMatchIndex = 0
+  var lastSeparatorIndex = 0
+  var nextIndex = 0
+  var sections = []
+
+  do {
+    nextIndex = str.indexOf(separator, lastMatchIndex)
+
+    if (nextIndex !== -1) {
+      lastMatchIndex = nextIndex + separator.length
+
+      if (nextIndex > 0 && str[nextIndex - 1] === '\\') {
+        continue
+      }
+
+      sections.push(str.slice(lastSeparatorIndex, nextIndex))
+      lastSeparatorIndex = nextIndex + separator.length
+    }
+  } while (nextIndex !== -1)
+
+  sections.push(str.slice(lastSeparatorIndex))
+
+  return sections
+}
+
+const decode = (str, opt = {}) => {
+  opt.bracketedArray = opt.bracketedArray !== false
+  const out = Object.create(null)
+  let p = out
+  let section = null
+  //          section          |key      = value
+  const re = /^\[([^\]]*)\]\s*$|^([^=]+)(=(.*))?$/i
+  const lines = str.split(/[\r\n]+/g)
+  const duplicates = {}
+
+  for (const line of lines) {
+    if (!line || line.match(/^\s*[;#]/) || line.match(/^\s*$/)) {
+      continue
+    }
+    const match = line.match(re)
+    if (!match) {
+      continue
+    }
+    if (match[1] !== undefined) {
+      section = unsafe(match[1])
+      if (section === '__proto__') {
+        // not allowed
+        // keep parsing the section, but don't attach it.
+        p = Object.create(null)
+        continue
+      }
+      p = out[section] = out[section] || Object.create(null)
+      continue
+    }
+    const keyRaw = unsafe(match[2])
+    let isArray
+    if (opt.bracketedArray) {
+      isArray = keyRaw.length > 2 && keyRaw.slice(-2) === '[]'
+    } else {
+      duplicates[keyRaw] = (duplicates?.[keyRaw] || 0) + 1
+      isArray = duplicates[keyRaw] > 1
+    }
+    const key = isArray && keyRaw.endsWith('[]')
+      ? keyRaw.slice(0, -2) : keyRaw
+
+    if (key === '__proto__') {
+      continue
+    }
+    const valueRaw = match[3] ? unsafe(match[4]) : true
+    const value = valueRaw === 'true' ||
+      valueRaw === 'false' ||
+      valueRaw === 'null' ? JSON.parse(valueRaw)
+      : valueRaw
+
+    // Convert keys with '[]' suffix to an array
+    if (isArray) {
+      if (!hasOwnProperty.call(p, key)) {
+        p[key] = []
+      } else if (!Array.isArray(p[key])) {
+        p[key] = [p[key]]
+      }
+    }
+
+    // safeguard against resetting a previously defined
+    // array by accidentally forgetting the brackets
+    if (Array.isArray(p[key])) {
+      p[key].push(value)
+    } else {
+      p[key] = value
+    }
+  }
+
+  // {a:{y:1},"a.b":{x:2}} --> {a:{y:1,b:{x:2}}}
+  // use a filter to return the keys that have to be deleted.
+  const remove = []
+  for (const k of Object.keys(out)) {
+    if (!hasOwnProperty.call(out, k) ||
+      typeof out[k] !== 'object' ||
+      Array.isArray(out[k])) {
+      continue
+    }
+
+    // see if the parent section is also an object.
+    // if so, add it to that, and mark this one for deletion
+    const parts = splitSections(k, '.')
+    p = out
+    const l = parts.pop()
+    const nl = l.replace(/\\\./g, '.')
+    for (const part of parts) {
+      if (part === '__proto__') {
+        continue
+      }
+      if (!hasOwnProperty.call(p, part) || typeof p[part] !== 'object') {
+        p[part] = Object.create(null)
+      }
+      p = p[part]
+    }
+    if (p === out && nl === l) {
+      continue
+    }
+
+    p[nl] = out[k]
+    remove.push(k)
+  }
+  for (const del of remove) {
+    delete out[del]
+  }
+
+  return out
+}
+
+const isQuoted = val => {
+  return (val.startsWith('"') && val.endsWith('"')) ||
+    (val.startsWith("'") && val.endsWith("'"))
+}
+
+const safe = val => {
+  if (
+    typeof val !== 'string' ||
+    val.match(/[=\r\n]/) ||
+    val.match(/^\[/) ||
+    (val.length > 1 && isQuoted(val)) ||
+    val !== val.trim()
+  ) {
+    return JSON.stringify(val)
+  }
+  return val.split(';').join('\\;').split('#').join('\\#')
+}
+
+const unsafe = val => {
+  val = (val || '').trim()
+  if (isQuoted(val)) {
+    // remove the single quotes before calling JSON.parse
+    if (val.charAt(0) === "'") {
+      val = val.slice(1, -1)
+    }
+    try {
+      val = JSON.parse(val)
+    } catch {
+      // ignore errors
+    }
+  } else {
+    // walk the val to find the first not-escaped ; character
+    let esc = false
+    let unesc = ''
+    for (let i = 0, l = val.length; i < l; i++) {
+      const c = val.charAt(i)
+      if (esc) {
+        if ('\\;#'.indexOf(c) !== -1) {
+          unesc += c
+        } else {
+          unesc += '\\' + c
+        }
+
+        esc = false
+      } else if (';#'.indexOf(c) !== -1) {
+        break
+      } else if (c === '\\') {
+        esc = true
+      } else {
+        unesc += c
+      }
+    }
+    if (esc) {
+      unesc += '\\'
+    }
+
+    return unesc.trim()
+  }
+  return val
+}
+
+module.exports = {
+  parse: decode,
+  decode,
+  stringify: encode,
+  encode,
+  safe,
+  unsafe,
+}
+
+
 /***/ }),
 
 /***/ 7426:
@@ -84069,6 +84356,7 @@ const core = __importStar(__nccwpck_require__(2186));
 const exec = __importStar(__nccwpck_require__(1514));
 const io = __importStar(__nccwpck_require__(7436));
 const fs_1 = __importDefault(__nccwpck_require__(7147));
+const INI = __importStar(__nccwpck_require__(45));
 const path_1 = __importDefault(__nccwpck_require__(1017));
 function getNodeVersionFromFile(versionFilePath) {
     var _a, _b, _c, _d, _e;
@@ -84111,6 +84399,19 @@ function getNodeVersionFromFile(versionFilePath) {
     catch (_f) {
         core.info('Node version file is not JSON file');
     }
+    // Try parsing the file as an NPM `.npmrc` file.
+    if (contents.match(/use-node-version *=/)) {
+        const manifest = INI.parse(contents);
+        const key = 'use-node-version';
+        if (key in manifest && typeof manifest[key] === 'string') {
+            const version = manifest[key];
+            core.info(`Using node version ${version} from global INI ${key}`);
+            return version;
+        }
+        // We didn't find the key `use-node-version` in the global scope of the
+        // `.npmrc` file, so we return.
+        return null;
+    }
     const found = contents.match(/^(?:node(js)?\s+)?v?(?<version>[^\s]+)$/m);
     return (_e = (_d = found === null || found === void 0 ? void 0 : found.groups) === null || _d === void 0 ? void 0 : _d.version) !== null && _e !== void 0 ? _e : contents.trim();
 }
diff --git a/dist/setup/index.js b/dist/setup/index.js
index e1b7296f5..66633a4ac 100644
--- a/dist/setup/index.js
+++ b/dist/setup/index.js
@@ -54472,6 +54472,293 @@ class Deprecation extends Error {
 exports.Deprecation = Deprecation;
 
 
+/***/ }),
+
+/***/ 45:
+/***/ ((module) => {
+
+const { hasOwnProperty } = Object.prototype
+
+const encode = (obj, opt = {}) => {
+  if (typeof opt === 'string') {
+    opt = { section: opt }
+  }
+  opt.align = opt.align === true
+  opt.newline = opt.newline === true
+  opt.sort = opt.sort === true
+  opt.whitespace = opt.whitespace === true || opt.align === true
+  // The `typeof` check is required because accessing the `process` directly fails on browsers.
+  /* istanbul ignore next */
+  opt.platform = opt.platform || (typeof process !== 'undefined' && process.platform)
+  opt.bracketedArray = opt.bracketedArray !== false
+
+  /* istanbul ignore next */
+  const eol = opt.platform === 'win32' ? '\r\n' : '\n'
+  const separator = opt.whitespace ? ' = ' : '='
+  const children = []
+
+  const keys = opt.sort ? Object.keys(obj).sort() : Object.keys(obj)
+
+  let padToChars = 0
+  // If aligning on the separator, then padToChars is determined as follows:
+  // 1. Get the keys
+  // 2. Exclude keys pointing to objects unless the value is null or an array
+  // 3. Add `[]` to array keys
+  // 4. Ensure non empty set of keys
+  // 5. Reduce the set to the longest `safe` key
+  // 6. Get the `safe` length
+  if (opt.align) {
+    padToChars = safe(
+      (
+        keys
+          .filter(k => obj[k] === null || Array.isArray(obj[k]) || typeof obj[k] !== 'object')
+          .map(k => Array.isArray(obj[k]) ? `${k}[]` : k)
+      )
+        .concat([''])
+        .reduce((a, b) => safe(a).length >= safe(b).length ? a : b)
+    ).length
+  }
+
+  let out = ''
+  const arraySuffix = opt.bracketedArray ? '[]' : ''
+
+  for (const k of keys) {
+    const val = obj[k]
+    if (val && Array.isArray(val)) {
+      for (const item of val) {
+        out += safe(`${k}${arraySuffix}`).padEnd(padToChars, ' ') + separator + safe(item) + eol
+      }
+    } else if (val && typeof val === 'object') {
+      children.push(k)
+    } else {
+      out += safe(k).padEnd(padToChars, ' ') + separator + safe(val) + eol
+    }
+  }
+
+  if (opt.section && out.length) {
+    out = '[' + safe(opt.section) + ']' + (opt.newline ? eol + eol : eol) + out
+  }
+
+  for (const k of children) {
+    const nk = splitSections(k, '.').join('\\.')
+    const section = (opt.section ? opt.section + '.' : '') + nk
+    const child = encode(obj[k], {
+      ...opt,
+      section,
+    })
+    if (out.length && child.length) {
+      out += eol
+    }
+
+    out += child
+  }
+
+  return out
+}
+
+function splitSections (str, separator) {
+  var lastMatchIndex = 0
+  var lastSeparatorIndex = 0
+  var nextIndex = 0
+  var sections = []
+
+  do {
+    nextIndex = str.indexOf(separator, lastMatchIndex)
+
+    if (nextIndex !== -1) {
+      lastMatchIndex = nextIndex + separator.length
+
+      if (nextIndex > 0 && str[nextIndex - 1] === '\\') {
+        continue
+      }
+
+      sections.push(str.slice(lastSeparatorIndex, nextIndex))
+      lastSeparatorIndex = nextIndex + separator.length
+    }
+  } while (nextIndex !== -1)
+
+  sections.push(str.slice(lastSeparatorIndex))
+
+  return sections
+}
+
+const decode = (str, opt = {}) => {
+  opt.bracketedArray = opt.bracketedArray !== false
+  const out = Object.create(null)
+  let p = out
+  let section = null
+  //          section          |key      = value
+  const re = /^\[([^\]]*)\]\s*$|^([^=]+)(=(.*))?$/i
+  const lines = str.split(/[\r\n]+/g)
+  const duplicates = {}
+
+  for (const line of lines) {
+    if (!line || line.match(/^\s*[;#]/) || line.match(/^\s*$/)) {
+      continue
+    }
+    const match = line.match(re)
+    if (!match) {
+      continue
+    }
+    if (match[1] !== undefined) {
+      section = unsafe(match[1])
+      if (section === '__proto__') {
+        // not allowed
+        // keep parsing the section, but don't attach it.
+        p = Object.create(null)
+        continue
+      }
+      p = out[section] = out[section] || Object.create(null)
+      continue
+    }
+    const keyRaw = unsafe(match[2])
+    let isArray
+    if (opt.bracketedArray) {
+      isArray = keyRaw.length > 2 && keyRaw.slice(-2) === '[]'
+    } else {
+      duplicates[keyRaw] = (duplicates?.[keyRaw] || 0) + 1
+      isArray = duplicates[keyRaw] > 1
+    }
+    const key = isArray && keyRaw.endsWith('[]')
+      ? keyRaw.slice(0, -2) : keyRaw
+
+    if (key === '__proto__') {
+      continue
+    }
+    const valueRaw = match[3] ? unsafe(match[4]) : true
+    const value = valueRaw === 'true' ||
+      valueRaw === 'false' ||
+      valueRaw === 'null' ? JSON.parse(valueRaw)
+      : valueRaw
+
+    // Convert keys with '[]' suffix to an array
+    if (isArray) {
+      if (!hasOwnProperty.call(p, key)) {
+        p[key] = []
+      } else if (!Array.isArray(p[key])) {
+        p[key] = [p[key]]
+      }
+    }
+
+    // safeguard against resetting a previously defined
+    // array by accidentally forgetting the brackets
+    if (Array.isArray(p[key])) {
+      p[key].push(value)
+    } else {
+      p[key] = value
+    }
+  }
+
+  // {a:{y:1},"a.b":{x:2}} --> {a:{y:1,b:{x:2}}}
+  // use a filter to return the keys that have to be deleted.
+  const remove = []
+  for (const k of Object.keys(out)) {
+    if (!hasOwnProperty.call(out, k) ||
+      typeof out[k] !== 'object' ||
+      Array.isArray(out[k])) {
+      continue
+    }
+
+    // see if the parent section is also an object.
+    // if so, add it to that, and mark this one for deletion
+    const parts = splitSections(k, '.')
+    p = out
+    const l = parts.pop()
+    const nl = l.replace(/\\\./g, '.')
+    for (const part of parts) {
+      if (part === '__proto__') {
+        continue
+      }
+      if (!hasOwnProperty.call(p, part) || typeof p[part] !== 'object') {
+        p[part] = Object.create(null)
+      }
+      p = p[part]
+    }
+    if (p === out && nl === l) {
+      continue
+    }
+
+    p[nl] = out[k]
+    remove.push(k)
+  }
+  for (const del of remove) {
+    delete out[del]
+  }
+
+  return out
+}
+
+const isQuoted = val => {
+  return (val.startsWith('"') && val.endsWith('"')) ||
+    (val.startsWith("'") && val.endsWith("'"))
+}
+
+const safe = val => {
+  if (
+    typeof val !== 'string' ||
+    val.match(/[=\r\n]/) ||
+    val.match(/^\[/) ||
+    (val.length > 1 && isQuoted(val)) ||
+    val !== val.trim()
+  ) {
+    return JSON.stringify(val)
+  }
+  return val.split(';').join('\\;').split('#').join('\\#')
+}
+
+const unsafe = val => {
+  val = (val || '').trim()
+  if (isQuoted(val)) {
+    // remove the single quotes before calling JSON.parse
+    if (val.charAt(0) === "'") {
+      val = val.slice(1, -1)
+    }
+    try {
+      val = JSON.parse(val)
+    } catch {
+      // ignore errors
+    }
+  } else {
+    // walk the val to find the first not-escaped ; character
+    let esc = false
+    let unesc = ''
+    for (let i = 0, l = val.length; i < l; i++) {
+      const c = val.charAt(i)
+      if (esc) {
+        if ('\\;#'.indexOf(c) !== -1) {
+          unesc += c
+        } else {
+          unesc += '\\' + c
+        }
+
+        esc = false
+      } else if (';#'.indexOf(c) !== -1) {
+        break
+      } else if (c === '\\') {
+        esc = true
+      } else {
+        unesc += c
+      }
+    }
+    if (esc) {
+      unesc += '\\'
+    }
+
+    return unesc.trim()
+  }
+  return val
+}
+
+module.exports = {
+  parse: decode,
+  decode,
+  stringify: encode,
+  encode,
+  safe,
+  unsafe,
+}
+
+
 /***/ }),
 
 /***/ 3287:
@@ -94551,6 +94838,7 @@ const core = __importStar(__nccwpck_require__(2186));
 const exec = __importStar(__nccwpck_require__(1514));
 const io = __importStar(__nccwpck_require__(7436));
 const fs_1 = __importDefault(__nccwpck_require__(7147));
+const INI = __importStar(__nccwpck_require__(45));
 const path_1 = __importDefault(__nccwpck_require__(1017));
 function getNodeVersionFromFile(versionFilePath) {
     var _a, _b, _c, _d, _e;
@@ -94593,6 +94881,19 @@ function getNodeVersionFromFile(versionFilePath) {
     catch (_f) {
         core.info('Node version file is not JSON file');
     }
+    // Try parsing the file as an NPM `.npmrc` file.
+    if (contents.match(/use-node-version *=/)) {
+        const manifest = INI.parse(contents);
+        const key = 'use-node-version';
+        if (key in manifest && typeof manifest[key] === 'string') {
+            const version = manifest[key];
+            core.info(`Using node version ${version} from global INI ${key}`);
+            return version;
+        }
+        // We didn't find the key `use-node-version` in the global scope of the
+        // `.npmrc` file, so we return.
+        return null;
+    }
     const found = contents.match(/^(?:node(js)?\s+)?v?(?<version>[^\s]+)$/m);
     return (_e = (_d = found === null || found === void 0 ? void 0 : found.groups) === null || _d === void 0 ? void 0 : _d.version) !== null && _e !== void 0 ? _e : contents.trim();
 }
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 56eb064ac..d133fbb04 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
         "@actions/http-client": "^2.2.1",
         "@actions/io": "^1.0.2",
         "@actions/tool-cache": "^2.0.1",
+        "ini": "^5.0.0",
         "semver": "^7.6.0",
         "uuid": "^9.0.1"
       },
@@ -3513,6 +3514,14 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-k/vGaX4/Yla3WzyMCvTQOXYeIHvqOKtnqBduzTHpzpQZzAskKMhZ2K+EnBiSM9zGSoIFeMpXKxa4dYeZIQqewQ==",
       "dev": true
     },
+    "node_modules/ini": {
+      "version": "5.0.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/ini/-/ini-5.0.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-+N0ngpO3e7cRUWOJAS7qw0IZIVc6XPrW4MlFBdD066F2L4k1L6ker3hLqSq7iXxU5tgS4WGkIUElWn5vogAEnw==",
+      "engines": {
+        "node": "^18.17.0 || >=20.5.0"
+      }
+    },
     "node_modules/is-arrayish": {
       "version": "0.2.1",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/is-arrayish/-/is-arrayish-0.2.1.tgz",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index cbfb2ef91..e6b04b361 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@
     "@actions/http-client": "^2.2.1",
     "@actions/io": "^1.0.2",
     "@actions/tool-cache": "^2.0.1",
+    "ini": "^5.0.0",
     "semver": "^7.6.0",
     "uuid": "^9.0.1"
   },
diff --git a/src/ini.d.ts b/src/ini.d.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..896e846d5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/ini.d.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+declare module 'ini' {
+  function parse(ini: string): Record<string, string | object>;
+}
diff --git a/src/util.ts b/src/util.ts
index bbe25ddf0..b6c61330d 100644
--- a/src/util.ts
+++ b/src/util.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import * as exec from '@actions/exec';
 import * as io from '@actions/io';
 
 import fs from 'fs';
+import * as INI from 'ini';
 import path from 'path';
 
 export function getNodeVersionFromFile(versionFilePath: string): string | null {
@@ -56,6 +57,25 @@ export function getNodeVersionFromFile(versionFilePath: string): string | null {
     core.info('Node version file is not JSON file');
   }
 
+  // Try parsing the file as an NPM `.npmrc` file.
+  //
+  // If the file contents contain the use-node-version key, we conclude it's an
+  // `.npmrc` file.
+  if (contents.match(/use-node-version *=/)) {
+    const manifest = INI.parse(contents);
+    const key = 'use-node-version';
+
+    if (key in manifest && typeof manifest[key] === 'string') {
+      const version = manifest[key];
+      core.info(`Using node version ${version} from global INI ${key}`);
+      return version;
+    }
+
+    // We didn't find the key `use-node-version` in the global scope of the
+    // `.npmrc` file, so we return.
+    return null;
+  }
+
   const found = contents.match(/^(?:node(js)?\s+)?v?(?<version>[^\s]+)$/m);
   return found?.groups?.version ?? contents.trim();
 }