diff --git a/.changeset/better-moles-brake.md b/.changeset/better-moles-brake.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8895ebdab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/better-moles-brake.md
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+'@sveltejs/vite-plugin-svelte-inspector': major
+'@sveltejs/vite-plugin-svelte': major
+---
+
+drop support for node18 and update exports map to use default export. cjs is supported via require esm in node 20.19+
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 129895417..3ad6da49e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -77,8 +77,6 @@ jobs:
         node: [22]
         os: [ubuntu-latest, macos-latest, windows-latest]
         include:
-          - node: 18
-            os: ubuntu-latest
           - node: 20
             os: ubuntu-latest
           - node: 24
diff --git a/docs/faq.md b/docs/faq.md
index fb944c2dc..2f9b334a3 100644
--- a/docs/faq.md
+++ b/docs/faq.md
@@ -181,31 +181,16 @@ You should not use prebundleSvelteLibraries during build or for ssr, disable one
 
 You really shouldn't. Svelte and Vite are esm first and the ecosystem is moving away from commonjs and so should you. Consider migrating to esm.
 
-In case you have to, use dynamic import to load vite-plugin-svelte's esm code from cjs like this:
+In case you have to, you can rely on node's "require esm" feature available in v20.19+
 
-```diff
+```js
 // vite.config.cjs
 const { defineConfig } = require('vite');
-- const { svelte } = require('@sveltejs/vite-plugin-svelte');
-module.exports = defineConfig(async ({ command, mode }) => {
-+ const { svelte } = await import('@sveltejs/vite-plugin-svelte');
-  return {plugins:[svelte()]}
-}
-```
+const { svelte, vitePreprocess } = require('@sveltejs/vite-plugin-svelte');
 
-And for `vitePreprocess` you have to set up a lazy promise as top-level-await doesn't work for esm imports in cjs:
-
-```diff
-- const {vitePreprocess} = require('@sveltejs/vite-plugin-svelte')
-+ const vitePreprocess = import('@sveltejs/vite-plugin-svelte').then(m => m.vitePreprocess())
-
-module.exports = {
--    preprocess: vitePreprocess()
-+    preprocess: {
-+        script:async (options) => (await vitePreprocess).script(options),
-+        style:async (options) => (await vitePreprocess).style(options),
-+    }
-}
+module.exports = defineConfig({
+  plugins: [svelte({ preprocess: vitePreprocess() })]
+});
 ```
 
 <!-- the following header generates an anchor that is used in logging, do not modify!-->
diff --git a/eslint.config.js b/eslint.config.js
index e32e07c14..63b4ac074 100644
--- a/eslint.config.js
+++ b/eslint.config.js
@@ -138,6 +138,13 @@ export default [
 			'@typescript-eslint/no-unused-vars': 'off'
 		}
 	},
+	{
+		name: 'local/markdown-codefences/allow-require',
+		files: ['**/docs/faq.md/*.js'],
+		rules: {
+			'@typescript-eslint/no-require-imports': 'off'
+		}
+	},
 	{
 		name: 'local/spec-files',
 		files: ['**/__tests__/**/*.spec.ts'],
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 5d4dd7833..98d6f0925 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@
   "packageManager": "pnpm@10.11.0",
   "engines": {
     "pnpm": "^10.2.0",
-    "node": "^20.18 || ^22 || >=24"
+    "node": "^20.19 || ^22.12 || >=24"
   },
   "pnpm": {
     "overrides": {
diff --git a/packages/vite-plugin-svelte-inspector/package.json b/packages/vite-plugin-svelte-inspector/package.json
index 952b16670..9e6203696 100644
--- a/packages/vite-plugin-svelte-inspector/package.json
+++ b/packages/vite-plugin-svelte-inspector/package.json
@@ -11,10 +11,8 @@
   "types": "types/index.d.ts",
   "exports": {
     ".": {
-      "import": {
-        "types": "./types/index.d.ts",
-        "default": "./src/index.js"
-      }
+      "types": "./types/index.d.ts",
+      "default": "./src/index.js"
     }
   },
   "scripts": {
@@ -23,7 +21,7 @@
     "generate:types": "dts-buddy -m \"@sveltejs/vite-plugin-svelte-inspector:src/public.d.ts\""
   },
   "engines": {
-    "node": "^18.0.0 || ^20.0.0 || >=22"
+    "node": "^20.19 || ^22.12 || >=24"
   },
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
@@ -44,7 +42,7 @@
     "debug": "^4.4.1"
   },
   "peerDependencies": {
-    "@sveltejs/vite-plugin-svelte": "^5.0.0",
+    "@sveltejs/vite-plugin-svelte": "workspace:^",
     "svelte": "^5.0.0",
     "vite": "^6.0.0"
   },
diff --git a/packages/vite-plugin-svelte/package.json b/packages/vite-plugin-svelte/package.json
index 0a9ac31e6..53676d561 100644
--- a/packages/vite-plugin-svelte/package.json
+++ b/packages/vite-plugin-svelte/package.json
@@ -11,10 +11,8 @@
   "types": "types/index.d.ts",
   "exports": {
     ".": {
-      "import": {
-        "types": "./types/index.d.ts",
-        "default": "./src/index.js"
-      }
+      "types": "./types/index.d.ts",
+      "default": "./src/index.js"
     }
   },
   "scripts": {
@@ -23,7 +21,7 @@
     "generate:types": "dts-buddy -m \"@sveltejs/vite-plugin-svelte:src/public.d.ts\""
   },
   "engines": {
-    "node": "^18.0.0 || ^20.0.0 || >=22"
+    "node": "^20.19 || ^22.12 || >=24"
   },
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
@@ -41,7 +39,7 @@
   },
   "homepage": "https://github.com/sveltejs/vite-plugin-svelte#readme",
   "dependencies": {
-    "@sveltejs/vite-plugin-svelte-inspector": "^4.0.1",
+    "@sveltejs/vite-plugin-svelte-inspector": "workspace:^",
     "debug": "^4.4.1",
     "deepmerge": "^4.3.1",
     "kleur": "^4.1.5",