diff --git a/lib/rss.test.ts b/lib/rss.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8b89c725b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/rss.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, vi } from 'vitest';
+import { fetchLatestArticles } from './rss';
+
+// Mock rss-parser so it doesn't make real network requests during tests
+vi.mock('rss-parser', () => {
+  return {
+    default: class MockParser {
+      parseURL = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({
+        items: [
+          {
+            title: 'Test Post',
+            link: 'https://dev.to/test',
+            pubDate: '2026-06-15T00:00:00Z',
+          },
+        ],
+      });
+    },
+  };
+});
+
+describe('rss / fetchLatestArticles', () => {
+  it('[Bug fix] formats pubDate deterministically regardless of Node process locale', async () => {
+    // Because rss-parser is mocked above, this will reliably return the mock item
+    const articles = await fetchLatestArticles('devto', 'testuser');
+
+    expect(articles).toHaveLength(1);
+    // This verifies the 'en-US' Date locale change correctly generates "Jun 15, 2026"
+    expect(articles[0].pubDate).toBe('Jun 15, 2026');
+  });
+});
diff --git a/lib/rss.ts b/lib/rss.ts
index c4b972fe3..02de621ec 100644
--- a/lib/rss.ts
+++ b/lib/rss.ts
@@ -40,8 +40,12 @@ export async function fetchLatestArticles(
     const articles = feed.items.slice(0, 3).map((item) => ({
       title: item.title || 'Untitled',
       link: item.link || '',
+      // Explicit 'en-US' locale, matching the pattern already used in
+      // lib/github.ts's joinedDate formatting — this string is baked
+      // server-side into the generated SVG, so it must be deterministic
+      // regardless of the server's ambient runtime locale/ICU build.
       pubDate: item.pubDate
-        ? new Date(item.pubDate).toLocaleDateString(undefined, {
+        ? new Date(item.pubDate).toLocaleDateString('en-US', {
             year: 'numeric',
             month: 'short',
             day: 'numeric',
diff --git a/lib/svg/repoSpotlight.test.ts b/lib/svg/repoSpotlight.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d362b26fa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/svg/repoSpotlight.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
+import { generateRepoSpotlightSVG } from './repoSpotlight';
+import { GitHubRepo } from '@/lib/github';
+import { BadgeParams } from '@/types';
+
+describe('generateRepoSpotlightSVG', () => {
+  it('[Bug fix] formats pushed_at with a fixed, explicit locale', () => {
+    // Construct a minimal mocked repository to satisfy the function requirements
+    const mockRepo = {
+      name: 'test-repo',
+      description: 'A test repository',
+      language: 'TypeScript',
+      stargazers_count: 100,
+      forks_count: 50,
+      pushed_at: '2026-06-15T00:00:00Z',
+      participation: [0, 5, 10, 5, 0],
+    } as GitHubRepo;
+
+    // Provide default mockup formatting arguments
+    const mockParams = {
+      bg: 'ffffff',
+      text: '000000',
+      accent: 'ff0000',
+      radius: 4,
+    } as BadgeParams;
+
+    const svg = generateRepoSpotlightSVG(mockRepo, mockParams);
+
+    // Check that our forced date outputs perfectly in the generated SVG
+    expect(svg).toContain('Updated Jun 15, 2026');
+  });
+});
diff --git a/lib/svg/repoSpotlight.ts b/lib/svg/repoSpotlight.ts
index 10f9e94d2..23ca6923a 100644
--- a/lib/svg/repoSpotlight.ts
+++ b/lib/svg/repoSpotlight.ts
@@ -58,7 +58,8 @@ export function generateRepoSpotlightSVG(repo: GitHubRepo, params: BadgeParams):
 
   // Parse dates if available
   const dateStr = repo.pushed_at
-    ? new Date(repo.pushed_at).toLocaleDateString(undefined, {
+    ? // Explicit 'en-US' locale — see lib/rss.ts for the same fix and rationale.
+      new Date(repo.pushed_at).toLocaleDateString('en-US', {
         year: 'numeric',
         month: 'short',
         day: 'numeric',
diff --git a/utils/dateHelpers.test.ts b/utils/dateHelpers.test.ts
index 7a8797337..ab7a185a3 100644
--- a/utils/dateHelpers.test.ts
+++ b/utils/dateHelpers.test.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import { getAuthorLocalHour, getViewerLocalHour, processCommitTimestamps } from
 
 describe('dateHelpers', () => {
   describe('getAuthorLocalHour', () => {
+    // ... keeping existing tests identical ...
     it('extracts hour from a standard ISO timestamp with positive offset', () => {
       expect(getAuthorLocalHour('2024-03-10T15:30:00+02:00')).toBe(15);
     });
@@ -70,9 +71,6 @@ describe('dateHelpers', () => {
       expect(result).toEqual({ morning: 0, afternoon: 0, evening: 0, night: 0 });
     });
 
-    // NOTE: Added 'Z' to timestamp strings below to explicitly parse them as UTC,
-    // which aligns with processCommitTimestamps using getUTCHours() internally.
-
     it('counts valid morning commits correctly', () => {
       const result = processCommitTimestamps(['2024-03-10T09:00:00Z', '2024-03-10T11:30:00Z']);
       expect(result.morning).toBe(2);
@@ -109,8 +107,6 @@ describe('dateHelpers', () => {
       expect(result.evening).toBe(0);
     });
 
-    // Regression test: verifies timezone-agnostic behavior.
-    // This test would fail with getHours() in IST but passes with getUTCHours().
     it('produces consistent results regardless of system timezone', () => {
       const timestamps = [
         '2024-03-10T09:00:00Z', // 09:00 UTC = morning