diff --git a/.changeset/odd-owls-clean.md b/.changeset/odd-owls-clean.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..674830e0c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/odd-owls-clean.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'create-astro': patch
+---
+
+change rm to unlink for node 12 compatability
diff --git a/packages/create-astro/src/index.ts b/packages/create-astro/src/index.ts
index fc6c63a2d..aa2cf7c5a 100644
--- a/packages/create-astro/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/create-astro/src/index.ts
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ export async function main() {
       switch (file) {
         case 'CHANGELOG.md': {
           if (fs.existsSync(fileLoc)) {
-            await fs.promises.rm(fileLoc);
+            await fs.promises.unlink(fileLoc);
           }
           break;
         }