diff --git a/packages/@sanity/cli/package.json b/packages/@sanity/cli/package.json
index 20413ee6571..8112ae33e91 100644
--- a/packages/@sanity/cli/package.json
+++ b/packages/@sanity/cli/package.json
@@ -72,7 +72,6 @@
     "pkg-dir": "^5.0.0",
     "prettier": "^3.3.0",
     "semver": "^7.3.5",
-    "silver-fleece": "1.1.0",
     "validate-npm-package-name": "^3.0.0"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
diff --git a/packages/@sanity/cli/src/actions/init-project/initProject.ts b/packages/@sanity/cli/src/actions/init-project/initProject.ts
index 4a5324c882f..37dad51c57f 100644
--- a/packages/@sanity/cli/src/actions/init-project/initProject.ts
+++ b/packages/@sanity/cli/src/actions/init-project/initProject.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import {existsSync, readFileSync} from 'node:fs'
+import {existsSync} from 'node:fs'
 import fs from 'node:fs/promises'
 import path from 'node:path'
 
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@ import {deburr, noop} from 'lodash'
 import pFilter from 'p-filter'
 import resolveFrom from 'resolve-from'
 import semver from 'semver'
-import {evaluate, patch} from 'silver-fleece'
 
 import {CLIInitStepCompleted} from '../../__telemetry__/init.telemetry'
 import {type InitFlags} from '../../commands/init/initCommand'
@@ -434,21 +433,6 @@ export default async function initSanity(
 
     await writeSourceFiles(sanityFolder(useTypeScript, templateToUse), undefined, hasSrcFolder)
 
-    // set tsconfig.json target to ES2017
-    const tsConfigPath = path.join(workDir, 'tsconfig.json')
-
-    if (useTypeScript && existsSync(tsConfigPath)) {
-      const tsConfigFile = readFileSync(tsConfigPath, 'utf8')
-      const config = evaluate(tsConfigFile)
-
-      if (config.compilerOptions.target?.toLowerCase() !== 'es2017') {
-        config.compilerOptions.target = 'ES2017'
-
-        const newConfig = patch(tsConfigFile, config)
-        await fs.writeFile(tsConfigPath, Buffer.from(newConfig))
-      }
-    }
-
     const appendEnv = unattended ? true : await promptForAppendEnv(prompt, envFilename)
 
     if (appendEnv) {
diff --git a/pnpm-lock.yaml b/pnpm-lock.yaml
index 49e9ac33788..2dbd857beff 100644
--- a/pnpm-lock.yaml
+++ b/pnpm-lock.yaml
@@ -848,9 +848,6 @@ importers:
       semver:
         specifier: ^7.3.5
         version: 7.6.3
-      silver-fleece:
-        specifier: 1.1.0
-        version: 1.1.0
       validate-npm-package-name:
         specifier: ^3.0.0
         version: 3.0.0
@@ -10979,9 +10976,6 @@ packages:
     resolution: {integrity: sha512-8G+/XDU8wNsJOQS5ysDVO0Etg9/2uA5gR9l4ZwijjlwxBcrU6RPfwi2+jJmbP+Ap1Hlp/nVAaEO4Fj22/SL2gQ==}
     engines: {node: ^16.14.0 || >=18.0.0}
 
-  silver-fleece@1.1.0:
-    resolution: {integrity: sha512-V3vShUiLRVPMu9aSWpU5kLDoU/HO7muJKE236EO663po3YxivAkMLbRg+amV/FhbIfF5bWXX5TVX+VYmRaOBFA==}
-
   simple-swizzle@0.2.2:
     resolution: {integrity: sha512-JA//kQgZtbuY83m+xT+tXJkmJncGMTFT+C+g2h2R9uxkYIrE2yy9sgmcLhCnw57/WSD+Eh3J97FPEDFnbXnDUg==}
 
@@ -23084,8 +23078,6 @@ snapshots:
     transitivePeerDependencies:
       - supports-color
 
-  silver-fleece@1.1.0: {}
-
   simple-swizzle@0.2.2:
     dependencies:
       is-arrayish: 0.3.2