diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index ed0b5ae..5c6aafa 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -22,3 +22,12 @@ jobs:
       - run: cargo clippy --all-targets -- -D warnings
       - run: cargo test
       - run: cargo llvm-cov --all-features --workspace --fail-under-lines 80
+
+  msrv:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@9c091bb21b7c1c1d1991bb908d89e4e9dddfe3e0 # v7.0.0
+      - uses: dtolnay/rust-toolchain@e97e2d8cc328f1b50210efc529dca0028893a2d9 # v1
+        with:
+          toolchain: "1.88.0"
+      - run: cargo check --locked --all-targets
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 520f184..0bdd306 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -2,10 +2,14 @@
 name = "nova"
 version = "0.3.1"
 edition = "2024"
+rust-version = "1.88"
 license = "MIT"
+readme = "README.md"
 description = "A fast, customizable zsh prompt renderer."
 homepage = "https://github.com/lemtoc-labs/nova"
 repository = "https://github.com/lemtoc-labs/nova"
+keywords = ["zsh", "prompt", "shell", "terminal", "async"]
+categories = ["command-line-utilities"]
 
 [dependencies]
 serde = { version = "1", features = ["derive"] }
@@ -27,6 +31,10 @@ tempfile = "3"
 name = "render"
 harness = false
 
+# Do not set panic = "abort"; worker job isolation in src/worker/jobs.rs relies on catch_unwind.
+[profile.release]
+panic = "unwind"
+
 # The profile that 'dist' will build with
 [profile.dist]
 inherits = "release"
diff --git a/tests/manifest.rs b/tests/manifest.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6bc9268
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/manifest.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+use toml::Value;
+
+fn manifest() -> Value {
+    toml::from_str(include_str!("../Cargo.toml")).expect("Cargo.toml should be valid TOML")
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn package_metadata_is_declared() {
+    let manifest = manifest();
+    let package = manifest
+        .get("package")
+        .and_then(Value::as_table)
+        .expect("Cargo.toml should contain a package table");
+
+    assert_eq!(
+        package.get("rust-version").and_then(Value::as_str),
+        Some("1.88")
+    );
+    assert_eq!(
+        package.get("readme").and_then(Value::as_str),
+        Some("README.md")
+    );
+
+    let keywords = package
+        .get("keywords")
+        .and_then(Value::as_array)
+        .expect("package keywords should be an array")
+        .iter()
+        .map(|keyword| keyword.as_str().expect("keywords should be strings"))
+        .collect::<Vec<_>>();
+    assert_eq!(keywords, ["zsh", "prompt", "shell", "terminal", "async"]);
+
+    let categories = package
+        .get("categories")
+        .and_then(Value::as_array)
+        .expect("package categories should be an array")
+        .iter()
+        .map(|category| category.as_str().expect("categories should be strings"))
+        .collect::<Vec<_>>();
+    assert_eq!(categories, ["command-line-utilities"]);
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn release_profiles_keep_unwinding_enabled() {
+    let manifest = manifest();
+    let profiles = manifest
+        .get("profile")
+        .and_then(Value::as_table)
+        .expect("Cargo.toml should contain profile tables");
+    let release = profiles
+        .get("release")
+        .and_then(Value::as_table)
+        .expect("Cargo.toml should contain a release profile");
+
+    assert_eq!(
+        release.get("panic").and_then(Value::as_str),
+        Some("unwind"),
+        "worker job isolation relies on catch_unwind"
+    );
+
+    let dist = profiles
+        .get("dist")
+        .and_then(Value::as_table)
+        .expect("Cargo.toml should contain a dist profile");
+    assert_eq!(
+        dist.get("inherits").and_then(Value::as_str),
+        Some("release")
+    );
+    assert_ne!(
+        dist.get("panic").and_then(Value::as_str),
+        Some("abort"),
+        "the dist profile must not disable panic unwinding"
+    );
+}