diff --git a/projects/start-sdk/CHANGELOG.md b/projects/start-sdk/CHANGELOG.md
index 6c997ae538..6be03e3223 100644
--- a/projects/start-sdk/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/projects/start-sdk/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -4,6 +4,16 @@
 
 ### Fixed
 
+- **`hardwareRequirements.ram` is documented in bytes, which is what StartOS
+  actually compares it against.** Its TSDoc claimed megabytes and its
+  `@example` showed `ram: 8192`, so packages following it declared an 8 KiB
+  floor that every machine satisfies and that therefore gated nothing. The
+  example now writes the value as `8 * 1024 ** 3`, and the packaging guide's
+  manifest page gained a Minimum RAM section covering the unit and the fact
+  that raising a floor on a published package cuts smaller hosts off from
+  updates. The same example's device filter is corrected too — it still showed
+  the `devices` / `pattern` / `patternDescription` shape replaced by `device`
+  and `DeviceFilter` in 2.0.0
 - **Package template cleanup.** Dropped the `alerts` manifest block, removed in
   2.0.0, that the template still scaffolded, and the `hello-world` guard job
   from `release.yml` / `tagAndRelease.yml`. Its workflows are now identical to
diff --git a/projects/start-sdk/docs/src/manifest.md b/projects/start-sdk/docs/src/manifest.md
index 9f5644c650..2ed6dcacc9 100644
--- a/projects/start-sdk/docs/src/manifest.md
+++ b/projects/start-sdk/docs/src/manifest.md
@@ -216,6 +216,21 @@ The registry stores a version's variants together and disambiguates them **by ha
 >
 > In particular an `nvidia` variant must carry an NVIDIA `device` filter, not `[]` — `nvidiaContainer: true` wires up the GPU runtime but does **not** set a hardware requirement, so without the filter the NVIDIA variant is indistinguishable from the CPU fallback and one of the two fails to publish.
 
+#### Minimum RAM
+
+`hardwareRequirements.ram` is the memory floor below which StartOS will not offer the package. **It is compared against the host's total RAM in bytes.** StartOS records `MemTotal` in bytes and the check is a raw comparison against the number you declare — nothing in the SDK or the OS converts units on your behalf.
+
+```typescript
+hardwareRequirements: {
+  ram: 8 * 1024 ** 3, // 8 GiB
+},
+```
+
+> [!WARNING]
+> A value that reads as megabytes — `ram: 8192` — declares **8 KiB**, which every machine satisfies, so the requirement silently gates nothing. Write the byte count as an explicit power-of-two expression, so the unit is visible where the value is.
+
+Leave it unset when the service has no hard floor. Bear in mind that a box failing the check is not offered the package at all, so **raising the floor on an already-published package cuts existing installs below it off from further updates** — call that out in the release notes when you do it.
+
 ### Virtual Networking (VPN / kernel tun interfaces)
 
 For services that bring up their own kernel tunnel interface — VPNs, WireGuard, or any `tun`-class workload — set `virtualNetworking: true` at the manifest top level:
diff --git a/shared-libs/ts-modules/start-core/lib/types/ManifestTypes.ts b/shared-libs/ts-modules/start-core/lib/types/ManifestTypes.ts
index 6dc239f8a2..8f875a0f6f 100644
--- a/shared-libs/ts-modules/start-core/lib/types/ManifestTypes.ts
+++ b/shared-libs/ts-modules/start-core/lib/types/ManifestTypes.ts
@@ -103,20 +103,22 @@ export type SDKManifest = {
    */
   readonly dependencies: Record<string, ManifestDependency>
   /**
-   * @description (optional) A set of hardware requirements for this service. If the user's machine
-   *   does not meet these requirements, they will not be able to install this service.
-   * @property {object[]} devices - List of required devices (display or processor).
-   *    `pattern` refers to a regular expression that at least one device of the specified class must match
-   *    `patternDescription` is what will be displayed to the user about what kind of device is required
-   * @property {number} ram - Minimum RAM requirement (in megabytes MB)
+   * @description (optional) A set of hardware requirements for this service. A machine that does
+   *   not meet them is not offered this service at all — so tightening a requirement on an
+   *   already-published package cuts hosts below it off from further updates.
+   * @property {object[]} device - Device filters; at least one device of the given `class` must
+   *    match each filter. `product` and `vendor` are regular expressions (`null` matches any), and
+   *    `description` is what the user is shown about the hardware required.
+   * @property {number} ram - Minimum RAM, **in bytes**, compared against the host's total RAM.
+   *    No unit conversion is applied, so write it as a power-of-two expression: a bare `8192`
+   *    declares 8 KiB, which every machine satisfies, and gates nothing.
    * @example
    * ```
     hardwareRequirements: {
-      devices: [
-        { class: 'display', pattern: 'CometLake', patternDescription: 'A CometLake (10th generation) Intel Integrated GPU' },
-        { class: 'processor', pattern: 'i[3579]-10[0-9]{3}U CPU', patternDescription: 'A 10th Generation Intel i-Series processor' },
+      device: [
+        { class: 'display', product: null, vendor: null, driver: 'nvidia', description: 'An NVIDIA GPU' },
       ],
-      ram: 8192,
+      ram: 8 * 1024 ** 3, // 8 GiB
     },
    * ```
    */