diff --git a/packages/vinext/src/index.ts b/packages/vinext/src/index.ts
index 347d7d6775..ce4a9e54fd 100644
--- a/packages/vinext/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/vinext/src/index.ts
@@ -1960,6 +1960,12 @@ hydrate();
               "react/jsx-dev-runtime",
             ],
           },
+          // Exclude vinext from dependency optimization so esbuild doesn't
+          // scan dist files containing virtual module imports (virtual:vinext-*)
+          // that only resolve at Vite plugin time, not during pre-bundling.
+          optimizeDeps: {
+            exclude: ["vinext"],
+          },
           // Enable JSX in .tsx/.jsx files
           // Vite 7 uses `esbuild` for transforms, Vite 8+ uses `oxc`
           ...(getViteMajorVersion() >= 8
@@ -2004,6 +2010,7 @@ hydrate();
                 },
               }),
               optimizeDeps: {
+                exclude: ["vinext"],
                 entries: appEntries,
               },
               build: {
@@ -2015,6 +2022,7 @@ hydrate();
             },
             ssr: {
               optimizeDeps: {
+                exclude: ["vinext"],
                 entries: appEntries,
               },
               build: {
@@ -2026,6 +2034,7 @@ hydrate();
             },
             client: {
               optimizeDeps: {
+                exclude: ["vinext"],
                 // react and react-dom are framework dependencies used for
                 // hydration. They aren't crawled from app/ source files so
                 // must be pre-included to prevent late discovery and page
diff --git a/tests/build-optimization.test.ts b/tests/build-optimization.test.ts
index 1c41cc378a..0968f2016d 100644
--- a/tests/build-optimization.test.ts
+++ b/tests/build-optimization.test.ts
@@ -65,6 +65,93 @@ describe("clientManualChunks", () => {
   });
 });
 
+// ─── optimizeDeps.exclude — prevents esbuild scanning virtual module imports ─
+
+describe("optimizeDeps.exclude for vinext", () => {
+  it("excludes vinext at top level for Pages Router builds", async () => {
+    const vinext = (await import("../packages/vinext/src/index.js")).default;
+    const plugins = vinext();
+
+    const mainPlugin = plugins.find(
+      (p: any) => p.name === "vinext:config" && typeof p.config === "function",
+    );
+    expect(mainPlugin).toBeDefined();
+
+    const os = await import("node:os");
+    const fsp = await import("node:fs/promises");
+    const path = await import("node:path");
+
+    const tmpDir = await fsp.mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "vinext-ts-test-optdeps-"));
+    const rootNodeModules = path.resolve(import.meta.dirname, "../node_modules");
+    await fsp.symlink(rootNodeModules, path.join(tmpDir, "node_modules"), "junction");
+
+    await fsp.mkdir(path.join(tmpDir, "pages"), { recursive: true });
+    await fsp.writeFile(
+      path.join(tmpDir, "pages", "index.tsx"),
+      `export default function Home() { return <h1>Home</h1>; }`,
+    );
+    await fsp.writeFile(
+      path.join(tmpDir, "next.config.mjs"),
+      `export default {};`,
+    );
+
+    try {
+      const mockConfig = { root: tmpDir, build: {}, plugins: [] };
+      const result = await (mainPlugin as any).config(mockConfig, { command: "build" });
+
+      expect(result.optimizeDeps?.exclude).toContain("vinext");
+    } finally {
+      await fsp.rm(tmpDir, { recursive: true, force: true }).catch(() => {});
+    }
+  }, 15000);
+
+  it("excludes vinext in all environments for App Router builds", async () => {
+    const vinext = (await import("../packages/vinext/src/index.js")).default;
+    const plugins = vinext();
+
+    const mainPlugin = plugins.find(
+      (p: any) => p.name === "vinext:config" && typeof p.config === "function",
+    );
+    expect(mainPlugin).toBeDefined();
+
+    const os = await import("node:os");
+    const fsp = await import("node:fs/promises");
+    const path = await import("node:path");
+
+    const tmpDir = await fsp.mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "vinext-ts-test-optdeps-app-"));
+    const rootNodeModules = path.resolve(import.meta.dirname, "../node_modules");
+    await fsp.symlink(rootNodeModules, path.join(tmpDir, "node_modules"), "junction");
+
+    await fsp.mkdir(path.join(tmpDir, "app"), { recursive: true });
+    await fsp.writeFile(
+      path.join(tmpDir, "app", "layout.tsx"),
+      `export default function RootLayout({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) { return <html><body>{children}</body></html>; }`,
+    );
+    await fsp.writeFile(
+      path.join(tmpDir, "app", "page.tsx"),
+      `export default function Home() { return <h1>Home</h1>; }`,
+    );
+    await fsp.writeFile(
+      path.join(tmpDir, "next.config.mjs"),
+      `export default {};`,
+    );
+
+    try {
+      const mockConfig = { root: tmpDir, build: {}, plugins: [] };
+      const result = await (mainPlugin as any).config(mockConfig, { command: "build" });
+
+      // Top-level
+      expect(result.optimizeDeps?.exclude).toContain("vinext");
+      // Per-environment
+      expect(result.environments.rsc.optimizeDeps?.exclude).toContain("vinext");
+      expect(result.environments.ssr.optimizeDeps?.exclude).toContain("vinext");
+      expect(result.environments.client.optimizeDeps?.exclude).toContain("vinext");
+    } finally {
+      await fsp.rm(tmpDir, { recursive: true, force: true }).catch(() => {});
+    }
+  }, 15000);
+});
+
 // ─── Treeshake config applied to Vite builds ──────────────────────────────────
 
 describe("treeshake config integration", () => {