diff --git a/.changeset/napi-explicit-settings.md b/.changeset/napi-explicit-settings.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4ac047cc05
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/napi-explicit-settings.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@pnpm/napi": minor
+---
+
+`readConfig` now returns `explicitSettings` — the camelCase names of settings the config cascade set explicitly — so hosts that layer the resolved config over their own defaults can forward only the values the user actually configured.
diff --git a/pnpm/crates/napi/src/read_config.rs b/pnpm/crates/napi/src/read_config.rs
index caf6da6353..db40e43086 100644
--- a/pnpm/crates/napi/src/read_config.rs
+++ b/pnpm/crates/napi/src/read_config.rs
@@ -81,6 +81,12 @@ pub struct ResolvedConfig {
     /// default) — not a per-project setting. `None` when no home
     /// directory is resolvable.
     pub pnpm_home_dir: Option<String>,
+    /// The camelCase names of settings the cascade set explicitly
+    /// (`pnpm-workspace.yaml`, the global config, `pnpm_config_*` env
+    /// vars). Every other projected value is an engine default; an
+    /// embedder that layers this config over its own must forward only
+    /// the explicit ones.
+    pub explicit_settings: Vec<String>,
 }
 
 #[napi(js_name = "readConfig")]
@@ -161,6 +167,7 @@ fn project_config(config: &pacquet_config::Config) -> ResolvedConfig {
         shamefully_hoist: config.shamefully_hoist,
         pnpm_home_dir: pacquet_config::default_pnpm_home_dir::<pacquet_config::Host>()
             .map(|dir| dir.display().to_string()),
+        explicit_settings: config.explicit_settings.keys().cloned().collect(),
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/pnpm/crates/napi/src/read_config/tests.rs b/pnpm/crates/napi/src/read_config/tests.rs
index 36b52ed70f..ef527a9529 100644
--- a/pnpm/crates/napi/src/read_config/tests.rs
+++ b/pnpm/crates/napi/src/read_config/tests.rs
@@ -170,3 +170,21 @@ fn read_config_resolves_the_project_npmrc_cascade() {
     assert!(!resolved.store_dir.is_empty());
     assert!(!resolved.cache_dir.is_empty());
 }
+
+/// A `pnpm-workspace.yaml` setting must surface both as its resolved
+/// value and as an entry in `explicit_settings`, while an unset sibling
+/// (whose projected value is an engine default) stays off that list.
+#[test]
+fn read_config_reports_explicitly_set_workspace_settings() {
+    let dir = tempfile::tempdir().expect("tempdir");
+    std::fs::write(dir.path().join("pnpm-workspace.yaml"), "fetchRetries: 7\n")
+        .expect("write pnpm-workspace.yaml");
+
+    let resolved =
+        super::read_config(super::ReadConfigOptions { dir: dir.path().display().to_string() })
+            .expect("read config");
+
+    assert_eq!(resolved.fetch_retries, 7);
+    assert!(resolved.explicit_settings.contains(&"fetchRetries".to_string()));
+    assert!(!resolved.explicit_settings.contains(&"fetchTimeout".to_string()));
+}
diff --git a/pnpm/npm/napi/index.d.ts b/pnpm/npm/napi/index.d.ts
index 5ab51f0cd5..ac62ea6972 100644
--- a/pnpm/npm/napi/index.d.ts
+++ b/pnpm/npm/napi/index.d.ts
@@ -415,6 +415,13 @@ export interface ResolvedConfig {
    * not a per-project setting. Absent when no home directory is resolvable.
    */
   pnpmHomeDir?: string
+  /**
+   * The camelCase names of settings the cascade set explicitly
+   * (`pnpm-workspace.yaml`, the global config, `pnpm_config_*` env vars).
+   * Every other projected value is an engine default; an embedder that
+   * layers this config over its own must forward only the explicit ones.
+   */
+  explicitSettings: string[]
 }
 
 /**