diff --git a/shard.yml b/shard.yml
index 779a25699..d1c9be305 100644
--- a/shard.yml
+++ b/shard.yml
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ targets:
     main: src/invidious.cr
 
 description: |
-   Invidious is an alternative front-end to YouTube 
+   Invidious is an alternative front-end to YouTube
 
 dependencies:
   pg:
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ development_dependencies:
     github: crystal-ameba/ameba
     version: ~> 1.6.1
 
-crystal: ">= 1.10.0, < 2.0.0"
+crystal: ">= 1.20.0, < 2.0.0"
 
 license: AGPL-3.0-only
 
diff --git a/src/invidious.cr b/src/invidious.cr
index 7ae1406cb..4744ab2ac 100644
--- a/src/invidious.cr
+++ b/src/invidious.cr
@@ -54,11 +54,18 @@ require "./invidious/jobs/*"
 # encouraging the user compiling Invidious, to update it's Crystal compiler
 # version.
 {% begin %}
-  {% minimum_version = "1.14.1" %}
-  {% if compare_versions(Crystal::VERSION, minimum_version) < 0 %}
-    {{ raise "Crystal version #{minimum_version} or newer is required to build Invidious. \
-      You currently have Crystal version #{Crystal::VERSION} installed. \
-      We recommend that you install it following the way that the Crystal compiler itself recommend for your OS, see: https://crystal-lang.org/install/" }}
+  # `-Dskip_version_check` compile-time flag, for development purposes
+  # or weird installations that lack the `shard.yml` file when compiling
+  # Invidious.
+  {% if !flag?(:skip_version_check) %}
+    {% shard_yml = read_file("shard.yml") %}
+    {% crystal_constraint = shard_yml.split('\n').find { |line| line.starts_with?("crystal:") } %}
+    {% minimum_version = crystal_constraint.split('"')[1].split(",").first.split(">=").last.strip %}
+    {% if compare_versions(Crystal::VERSION, minimum_version) < 0 %}
+      {{ raise "Crystal version #{minimum_version} or newer is required to build Invidious. \
+        You currently have Crystal version #{Crystal::VERSION} installed. \
+        We recommend that you install it following the way that the Crystal compiler itself recommend for your OS, see: https://crystal-lang.org/install/" }}
+    {% end %}
   {% end %}
 {% end %}