diff --git a/packages/metro-config/package.json b/packages/metro-config/package.json
index d28aa4d3f6..0a7ce48c50 100644
--- a/packages/metro-config/package.json
+++ b/packages/metro-config/package.json
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
   },
   "license": "MIT",
   "dependencies": {
+    "@topoconfig/extends": "^0.12.0",
     "connect": "^3.6.5",
     "cosmiconfig": "^5.0.5",
     "jest-validate": "^29.6.3",
diff --git a/packages/metro-config/src/__tests__/__snapshots__/loadConfig-test.js.snap b/packages/metro-config/src/__tests__/__snapshots__/loadConfig-test.js.snap
index a89a9cea08..05507c078b 100644
--- a/packages/metro-config/src/__tests__/__snapshots__/loadConfig-test.js.snap
+++ b/packages/metro-config/src/__tests__/__snapshots__/loadConfig-test.js.snap
@@ -543,6 +543,187 @@ Object {
 }
 `;
 
+exports[`loadConfig can populate \`extends\` references 1`] = `
+Object {
+  "cacheStores": Array [],
+  "cacheVersion": "foo",
+  "maxWorkers": 2,
+  "projectRoot": "/",
+  "reporter": null,
+  "resetCache": false,
+  "resolver": Object {
+    "assetExts": Array [
+      "bmp",
+      "gif",
+      "jpg",
+      "jpeg",
+      "png",
+      "psd",
+      "svg",
+      "webp",
+      "m4v",
+      "mov",
+      "mp4",
+      "mpeg",
+      "mpg",
+      "webm",
+      "aac",
+      "aiff",
+      "caf",
+      "m4a",
+      "mp3",
+      "wav",
+      "html",
+      "pdf",
+      "yaml",
+      "yml",
+      "otf",
+      "ttf",
+      "zip",
+    ],
+    "assetResolutions": Array [
+      "1",
+      "1.5",
+      "2",
+      "3",
+      "4",
+    ],
+    "blockList": /\\(\\\\/__tests__\\\\/\\.\\*\\)\\$/,
+    "dependencyExtractor": undefined,
+    "disableHierarchicalLookup": false,
+    "emptyModulePath": "metro-runtime/src/modules/empty-module",
+    "enableGlobalPackages": false,
+    "extraNodeModules": Object {},
+    "hasteImplModulePath": undefined,
+    "nodeModulesPaths": Array [],
+    "platforms": Array [
+      "ios",
+      "android",
+      "windows",
+      "web",
+    ],
+    "requireCycleIgnorePatterns": Array [
+      /\\(\\^\\|\\\\/\\|\\\\\\\\\\)node_modules\\(\\$\\|\\\\/\\|\\\\\\\\\\)/,
+    ],
+    "resolveRequest": null,
+    "resolverMainFields": Array [
+      "browser",
+      "main",
+    ],
+    "sourceExts": Array [
+      "js",
+      "jsx",
+      "json",
+      "ts",
+      "tsx",
+    ],
+    "unstable_conditionNames": Array [
+      "require",
+      "import",
+    ],
+    "unstable_conditionsByPlatform": Object {
+      "web": Array [
+        "browser",
+      ],
+    },
+    "unstable_enablePackageExports": false,
+    "unstable_enableSymlinks": true,
+    "useWatchman": true,
+  },
+  "serializer": Object {
+    "createModuleIdFactory": [Function],
+    "customSerializer": null,
+    "experimentalSerializerHook": [Function],
+    "getModulesRunBeforeMainModule": [Function],
+    "getPolyfills": [Function],
+    "getRunModuleStatement": [Function],
+    "isThirdPartyModule": [Function],
+    "polyfillModuleNames": Array [],
+    "processModuleFilter": [Function],
+  },
+  "server": Object {
+    "enhanceMiddleware": [Function],
+    "forwardClientLogs": true,
+    "port": 8081,
+    "rewriteRequestUrl": [Function],
+    "unstable_serverRoot": null,
+    "useGlobalHotkey": true,
+    "verifyConnections": false,
+  },
+  "stickyWorkers": true,
+  "symbolicator": Object {
+    "customizeFrame": [Function],
+    "customizeStack": [Function],
+  },
+  "transformer": Object {
+    "allowOptionalDependencies": false,
+    "assetPlugins": Array [],
+    "assetRegistryPath": "missing-asset-registry-path",
+    "asyncRequireModulePath": "metro-runtime/src/modules/asyncRequire",
+    "babelTransformerPath": "metro-babel-transformer",
+    "dynamicDepsInPackages": "throwAtRuntime",
+    "enableBabelRCLookup": true,
+    "enableBabelRuntime": true,
+    "getTransformOptions": [Function],
+    "globalPrefix": "",
+    "hermesParser": false,
+    "minifierConfig": Object {
+      "compress": Object {
+        "reduce_funcs": false,
+      },
+      "mangle": Object {
+        "toplevel": false,
+      },
+      "output": Object {
+        "ascii_only": true,
+        "quote_style": 3,
+        "wrap_iife": true,
+      },
+      "sourceMap": Object {
+        "includeSources": false,
+      },
+      "toplevel": false,
+    },
+    "minifierPath": "metro-minify-terser",
+    "optimizationSizeLimit": 153600,
+    "publicPath": "/assets",
+    "transformVariants": Object {
+      "default": Object {},
+    },
+    "unstable_allowRequireContext": false,
+    "unstable_compactOutput": false,
+    "unstable_dependencyMapReservedName": null,
+    "unstable_disableModuleWrapping": false,
+    "unstable_disableNormalizePseudoGlobals": false,
+    "unstable_workerThreads": false,
+    "workerPath": "metro/src/DeltaBundler/Worker",
+  },
+  "transformerPath": "",
+  "unstable_perfLoggerFactory": [Function],
+  "watchFolders": Array [
+    "/",
+  ],
+  "watcher": Object {
+    "additionalExts": Array [
+      "cjs",
+      "mjs",
+    ],
+    "healthCheck": Object {
+      "enabled": false,
+      "filePrefix": ".metro-health-check",
+      "interval": 30000,
+      "timeout": 5000,
+    },
+    "unstable_workerThreads": false,
+    "watchman": Object {
+      "deferStates": Array [
+        "hg.update",
+      ],
+    },
+  },
+}
+`;
+
 exports[`loadConfig injects \`metro-cache\` into the \`cacheStores\` callback 1`] = `
 Object {
   "cacheStores": Array [],
diff --git a/packages/metro-config/src/__tests__/loadConfig-test.js b/packages/metro-config/src/__tests__/loadConfig-test.js
index 247913f8a7..b977a6de2c 100644
--- a/packages/metro-config/src/__tests__/loadConfig-test.js
+++ b/packages/metro-config/src/__tests__/loadConfig-test.js
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@ jest.mock('cosmiconfig');
 const getDefaultConfig = require('../defaults');
 const {loadConfig} = require('../loadConfig');
 const cosmiconfig = require('cosmiconfig');
+const fs = require('fs');
+const os = require('os');
 const path = require('path');
 const prettyFormat = require('pretty-format');
 const stripAnsi = require('strip-ansi');
@@ -152,6 +154,38 @@ describe('loadConfig', () => {
     expect(cosmiconfig.hasLoadBeenCalled()).toBeTruthy();
   });
 
+  it('can populate `extends` references', async () => {
+    const temp = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'temp-'));
+    await fs.promises.writeFile(
+      path.resolve(temp, 'config.json'),
+      '{"extends": "./base.json"}',
+      'utf8',
+    );
+    await fs.promises.writeFile(
+      path.resolve(temp, 'base.json'),
+      '{"cacheVersion": "foo"}',
+      'utf8',
+    );
+
+    const config: any = {
+      reporter: null,
+      maxWorkers: 2,
+      cacheStores: [],
+      transformerPath: '',
+      resolver: {
+        emptyModulePath: 'metro-runtime/src/modules/empty-module',
+      },
+      extends: path.resolve(temp, 'config.json'),
+    };
+
+    cosmiconfig.setResolvedConfig(config);
+
+    const result = await loadConfig({});
+
+    expect(result).toMatchSnapshot();
+    expect(result.cacheVersion).toBe('foo');
+  });
+
   it('can load the config with no config present', async () => {
     cosmiconfig.setReturnNull(true);
 
diff --git a/packages/metro-config/src/loadConfig.js b/packages/metro-config/src/loadConfig.js
index d2c65b0438..79667e0f2e 100644
--- a/packages/metro-config/src/loadConfig.js
+++ b/packages/metro-config/src/loadConfig.js
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ import type {ConfigT, InputConfigT, YargArguments} from './configTypes.flow';
 
 const getDefaultConfig = require('./defaults');
 const validConfig = require('./defaults/validConfig');
+const xtends = require('@topoconfig/extends');
 const cosmiconfig = require('cosmiconfig');
 const fs = require('fs');
 const {validate} = require('jest-validate');
@@ -102,86 +103,83 @@ async function resolveConfig(
   return result;
 }
 
+const resolveExtra = (base: any = {}, key: string, resolver: Function) => {
+  const value = base[key];
+  return value != null ? {[key]: resolver(value)} : {};
+};
+
 function mergeConfig<T: $ReadOnly<InputConfigT>>(
   defaultConfig: T,
   ...configs: Array<InputConfigT>
 ): T {
   // If the file is a plain object we merge the file with the default config,
   // for the function we don't do this since that's the responsibility of the user
-  return configs.reduce(
-    (totalConfig, nextConfig) => ({
-      ...totalConfig,
-      ...nextConfig,
-
-      cacheStores:
-        nextConfig.cacheStores != null
-          ? typeof nextConfig.cacheStores === 'function'
-            ? nextConfig.cacheStores(MetroCache)
-            : nextConfig.cacheStores
-          : totalConfig.cacheStores,
-
-      resolver: {
-        ...totalConfig.resolver,
-        // $FlowFixMe[exponential-spread]
-        ...(nextConfig.resolver || {}),
-        dependencyExtractor:
-          nextConfig.resolver && nextConfig.resolver.dependencyExtractor != null
-            ? resolve(nextConfig.resolver.dependencyExtractor)
-            : // $FlowFixMe[incompatible-use]
-              totalConfig.resolver.dependencyExtractor,
-        hasteImplModulePath:
-          nextConfig.resolver && nextConfig.resolver.hasteImplModulePath != null
-            ? resolve(nextConfig.resolver.hasteImplModulePath)
-            : // $FlowFixMe[incompatible-use]
-              totalConfig.resolver.hasteImplModulePath,
-      },
-      serializer: {
-        ...totalConfig.serializer,
-        // $FlowFixMe[exponential-spread]
-        ...(nextConfig.serializer || {}),
-      },
-      transformer: {
-        ...totalConfig.transformer,
-        // $FlowFixMe[exponential-spread]
-        ...(nextConfig.transformer || {}),
-        babelTransformerPath:
-          nextConfig.transformer &&
-          nextConfig.transformer.babelTransformerPath != null
-            ? resolve(nextConfig.transformer.babelTransformerPath)
-            : // $FlowFixMe[incompatible-use]
-              totalConfig.transformer.babelTransformerPath,
-      },
-      server: {
-        ...totalConfig.server,
-        // $FlowFixMe[exponential-spread]
-        ...(nextConfig.server || {}),
-      },
-      symbolicator: {
-        ...totalConfig.symbolicator,
-        // $FlowFixMe[exponential-spread]
-        ...(nextConfig.symbolicator || {}),
-      },
-      watcher: {
-        ...totalConfig.watcher,
-        // $FlowFixMe[exponential-spread]
-        ...nextConfig.watcher,
-        watchman: {
-          // $FlowFixMe[exponential-spread]
-          ...totalConfig.watcher?.watchman,
-          ...nextConfig.watcher?.watchman,
+  const extras = [
+    defaultConfig,
+    ...configs.map(c => {
+      return {
+        ...c,
+        transformer: {
+          ...(c.transformer || {}),
+          ...(resolveExtra(c.transformer, 'babelTransformerPath', resolve): {
+            babelTransformerPath?: string,
+          }),
         },
-        healthCheck: {
-          // $FlowFixMe[exponential-spread]
-          ...totalConfig.watcher?.healthCheck,
-          // $FlowFixMe: Spreading shapes creates an explosion of union types
-          ...nextConfig.watcher?.healthCheck,
+        resolver: {
+          ...(c.resolver || {}),
+          ...(resolveExtra(c.resolver, 'dependencyExtractor', resolve): {
+            dependencyExtractor?: string,
+          }),
+          ...(resolveExtra(c.resolver, 'hasteImplModulePath', resolve): {
+            hasteImplModulePath?: string,
+          }),
         },
-      },
+        ...resolveExtra(c, 'cacheStores', stores => {
+          return typeof stores === 'function' ? stores(MetroCache) : stores;
+        }),
+      };
     }),
-    defaultConfig,
+  ];
+
+  return xtends.populateSync(
+    {},
+    {
+      // $FlowFixMe[prop-missing]
+      cwd: mergeConfig.cwd,
+      extends: extras,
+      rules: {
+        '*': 'override',
+        resolver: 'merge',
+        serializer: 'merge',
+        server: 'merge',
+        symbolicator: 'merge',
+        transformer: 'merge',
+        watcher: 'merge',
+        'watcher.watchman': 'merge',
+        'watcher.healthCheck': 'merge',
+      },
+    },
   );
 }
 
+// `mergeConfig` is public, so we should try to keep its API stable
+// This trick is necessary to pass the proper cwd to the internal `populateSync` call
+const mergeConfigWithCwd = <T: $ReadOnly<InputConfigT>>(
+  cwd: string,
+  base: T,
+  extra: ConfigT | InputConfigT,
+): T => {
+  // $FlowFixMe[prop-missing]
+  mergeConfig.cwd = cwd;
+
+  // $FlowFixMe[incompatible-variance]
+  // $FlowFixMe[incompatible-call]
+  const config = mergeConfig(base, extra);
+  // $FlowFixMe[prop-missing]
+  mergeConfig.cwd = undefined;
+  return config;
+};
+
 async function loadMetroConfigFromDisk(
   path?: string,
   cwd?: string,
@@ -196,23 +194,21 @@ async function loadMetroConfigFromDisk(
   const rootPath = dirname(filepath);
 
   const defaults = await getDefaultConfig(rootPath);
-  // $FlowFixMe[incompatible-variance]
-  // $FlowFixMe[incompatible-call]
-  const defaultConfig: ConfigT = mergeConfig(defaults, defaultConfigOverrides);
+  const defaultConfig: ConfigT = mergeConfigWithCwd(
+    rootPath,
+    defaults,
+    defaultConfigOverrides,
+  );
 
   if (typeof configModule === 'function') {
     // Get a default configuration based on what we know, which we in turn can pass
     // to the function.
 
     const resultedConfig = await configModule(defaultConfig);
-    // $FlowFixMe[incompatible-call]
-    // $FlowFixMe[incompatible-variance]
-    return mergeConfig(defaultConfig, resultedConfig);
+    return mergeConfigWithCwd(rootPath, defaultConfig, resultedConfig);
   }
 
-  // $FlowFixMe[incompatible-variance]
-  // $FlowFixMe[incompatible-call]
-  return mergeConfig(defaultConfig, configModule);
+  return mergeConfigWithCwd(rootPath, defaultConfig, configModule);
 }
 
 function overrideConfigWithArguments(
diff --git a/yarn.lock b/yarn.lock
index a055989e86..0ae30b57e6 100644
--- a/yarn.lock
+++ b/yarn.lock
@@ -1726,6 +1726,11 @@
   dependencies:
     "@sinonjs/commons" "^3.0.0"
 
+"@topoconfig/extends@^0.12.0":
+  version "0.12.0"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@topoconfig/extends/-/extends-0.12.0.tgz#82ed9196df8477f95b7822a77f53efcc8b765d00"
+  integrity sha512-+6NJxJsvUtJADzrp9h5O19Cqvw1xob4ZhQstNeQIr+hvkPn8zkI65vT3CvtaqsJQ3VDnVvzy+UOkqZ0zO6/viw==
+
 "@tsconfig/node18@1.0.1":
   version "1.0.1"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@tsconfig/node18/-/node18-1.0.1.tgz#ea5b375a9ead6b09ccbd70c3894ea069829ea1bb"