"node:sqlite" Not loading correctly

[drazisil]

Describe the bug

Attempting to interact with "node:sqlite" in any way triggers an error along the lines of

Error: Failed to load url sqlite (resolved id: sqlite). Does the file exist?

 - /node_modules/vite/dist/node/chunks/dep-CB_7IfJ-.js:51969:17

for my reproduction example, all I needed to do was add import { DatabaseSync } from 'node:sqlite'; to the basic.test.ts file. The StackBlitz list is node 18, because I don't know how to change it, but this bug happens with both Node.js 22 and 23.

I believe it is related to vitest appearing to drop the "node:" part of the import. Please let me know how I can further help.

Reproduction

https://stackblitz.com/edit/vitest-dev-vitest-yb6tuuwk?file=test%2Fbasic.test.ts,package.json&initialPath=__vitest__/

System Info

System:
    OS: Linux 6.8 Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS 24.04.1 LTS (Noble Numbat)
    CPU: (16) x64 AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 8-Core Processor
    Memory: 7.86 GB / 15.53 GB
    Container: Yes
    Shell: 5.9 - /usr/bin/zsh
  Binaries:
    Node: 23.5.0 - ~/.nvm/versions/node/v23.5.0/bin/node
    npm: 10.9.2 - ~/.nvm/versions/node/v23.5.0/bin/npm
    pnpm: 9.15.2 - ~/.local/share/pnpm/pnpm
    bun: 1.1.38 - ~/.bun/bin/bun
  npmPackages:
    @vitest/coverage-v8: ^2.1.8 => 2.1.8 
    vitest: ^2.1.8 => 2.1.8

Used Package Manager

pnpm

Validations

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• The provided reproduction is a minimal reproducible example of the bug.

[lenkan]

Does @drazisil or anyone else have a workaround for this when using the latest stable release of vitest?

I have tried setting NODE_OPTIONS=--experimental-sqlite in the environment.

Also tried setting it through the vitest config file:

import { defineConfig } from "vitest/config";

export default defineConfig({
  test: {
    env: {
      NODE_OPTIONS: "--experimental-sqlite",
    },
  },
});

Also tried using the same thing as you did in the fix

import { defineConfig } from "vitest/config";

export default defineConfig({
  test: {
    pool: "forks",
    env: {
      NODE_OPTIONS: "--experimental-sqlite",
    },
    poolOptions: {
      forks: {
        execArgv: ["--experimental-sqlite"],
      },
    },
  },
});

But still getting the same error.

I don't know anything about the internals of vitest.

[drazisil]

Hi @lenkan

The workaround is to refactor your code so that the database calls themself are mocked out. As long as your test files do not call node:sqlite directly, or call a function that does, you will not get an error.