diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 9ef66dab62..faae7439da 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -85,10 +85,12 @@ so do familiarize yourself with the following guidelines.
 
 ## Environment requirements
 
-* JDK >= 21 referred to by the `JAVA_HOME` environment variable.
+* A Java runtime available through `JAVA_HOME` or `PATH` is required to launch the Gradle Wrapper.
+  The build itself runs on the daemon JDK provisioned from `gradle/gradle-daemon-jvm.properties`.
 
-  * Note, any version above 21 should work in theory, but JDK 21 is the only version we test with,
-  so it is the recommended version.
+  * The daemon JDK version is controlled by `gradle-jdk` in `gradle/libs.versions.toml`.
+    After changing it (for example, from `21` to `25`), run `./gradlew updateDaemonJvm`
+    and commit the regenerated properties file.
 
 * We recommend using [IntelliJ IDEA](https://www.jetbrains.com/idea/download/) as the IDE. This
 has the best support for Kotlin, compiler plugins, Gradle, and [Kotlin Notebook](https://kotlinlang.org/docs/kotlin-notebook-overview.html) of course.
diff --git a/build.gradle.kts b/build.gradle.kts
index 53832c8e22..af50ae30d9 100644
--- a/build.gradle.kts
+++ b/build.gradle.kts
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+import org.gradle.buildconfiguration.tasks.UpdateDaemonJvm
+import org.gradle.jvm.toolchain.JavaLanguageVersion
 import org.jetbrains.kotlinx.publisher.apache2
 import org.jetbrains.kotlinx.publisher.developer
 import org.jetbrains.kotlinx.publisher.githubRepo
@@ -15,6 +17,13 @@ plugins {
     }
 }
 
+// `gradle-jdk` is the single source of truth for both build toolchains and the Gradle daemon.
+// To upgrade (for example, to JDK 25), change it in gradle/libs.versions.toml, run
+// `./gradlew updateDaemonJvm`, and commit the regenerated gradle-daemon-jvm.properties file.
+tasks.named<UpdateDaemonJvm>("updateDaemonJvm") {
+    languageVersion.set(libs.versions.gradle.jdk.map { JavaLanguageVersion.of(it) })
+}
+
 val projectName: String = providers.gradleProperty("projectName").get()
 
 configurations {
diff --git a/gradle/gradle-daemon-jvm.properties b/gradle/gradle-daemon-jvm.properties
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..93ee2e5483
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gradle/gradle-daemon-jvm.properties
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+#This file is generated by updateDaemonJvm
+toolchainUrl.FREE_BSD.AARCH64=https\://api.foojay.io/disco/v3.0/ids/402983f310a88ac68b3e883c7c91c760/redirect
+toolchainUrl.FREE_BSD.X86_64=https\://api.foojay.io/disco/v3.0/ids/e50b80b5a11d194a898bc3e6211b7c4b/redirect
+toolchainUrl.LINUX.AARCH64=https\://api.foojay.io/disco/v3.0/ids/402983f310a88ac68b3e883c7c91c760/redirect
+toolchainUrl.LINUX.X86_64=https\://api.foojay.io/disco/v3.0/ids/e50b80b5a11d194a898bc3e6211b7c4b/redirect
+toolchainUrl.MAC_OS.AARCH64=https\://api.foojay.io/disco/v3.0/ids/f257be9f04bfdf169051808541767806/redirect
+toolchainUrl.MAC_OS.X86_64=https\://api.foojay.io/disco/v3.0/ids/1dcbacacca32618bd21ec5465779ade1/redirect
+toolchainUrl.UNIX.AARCH64=https\://api.foojay.io/disco/v3.0/ids/402983f310a88ac68b3e883c7c91c760/redirect
+toolchainUrl.UNIX.X86_64=https\://api.foojay.io/disco/v3.0/ids/e50b80b5a11d194a898bc3e6211b7c4b/redirect
+toolchainUrl.WINDOWS.AARCH64=https\://api.foojay.io/disco/v3.0/ids/476d3c08f4989328dee56d22e202d98d/redirect
+toolchainUrl.WINDOWS.X86_64=https\://api.foojay.io/disco/v3.0/ids/5a88b04b5e582b332d2e6bc12b45f1b9/redirect
+toolchainVersion=21