diff --git a/code-pushup.preset.ts b/code-pushup.preset.ts
index ea8d58ae6..38d1ffcff 100644
--- a/code-pushup.preset.ts
+++ b/code-pushup.preset.ts
@@ -1,26 +1,6 @@
 /* eslint-disable @nx/enforce-module-boundaries */
 import { createProjectGraphAsync } from '@nx/devkit';
 import type { CoreConfig, PluginUrls } from './packages/models/src/index.js';
-import axePlugin, {
-  type AxePluginOptions,
-  axeGroupRefs,
-} from './packages/plugin-axe/src/index.js';
-import coveragePlugin, {
-  type CoveragePluginConfig,
-  getNxCoveragePaths,
-} from './packages/plugin-coverage/src/index.js';
-import eslintPlugin, {
-  eslintConfigFromAllNxProjects,
-} from './packages/plugin-eslint/src/index.js';
-import jsPackagesPlugin from './packages/plugin-js-packages/src/index.js';
-import jsDocsPlugin from './packages/plugin-jsdocs/src/index.js';
-import {
-  lighthouseGroupRefs,
-  lighthousePlugin,
-} from './packages/plugin-lighthouse/src/index.js';
-import typescriptPlugin, {
-  getCategories,
-} from './packages/plugin-typescript/src/index.js';
 
 export function configureUpload(projectName: string = 'workspace'): CoreConfig {
   return {
@@ -39,6 +19,10 @@ export function configureUpload(projectName: string = 'workspace'): CoreConfig {
 export async function configureEslintPlugin(
   projectName?: string,
 ): Promise<CoreConfig> {
+  const { default: eslintPlugin, eslintConfigFromAllNxProjects } = await import(
+    './packages/plugin-eslint/src/index.js'
+  );
+
   return {
     plugins: [
       projectName
@@ -81,8 +65,12 @@ export async function configureEslintPlugin(
 export async function configureCoveragePlugin(
   projectName?: string,
 ): Promise<CoreConfig> {
+  const { default: coveragePlugin, getNxCoveragePaths } = await import(
+    './packages/plugin-coverage/src/index.js'
+  );
+
   const targets = ['unit-test', 'int-test'];
-  const config: CoveragePluginConfig = projectName
+  const config = projectName
     ? // We do not need to run a coverageToolCommand. This is handled over the Nx task graph.
       {
         reports: Object.keys(
@@ -117,6 +105,10 @@ export async function configureCoveragePlugin(
 }
 
 export async function configureJsPackagesPlugin(): Promise<CoreConfig> {
+  const { default: jsPackagesPlugin } = await import(
+    './packages/plugin-js-packages/src/index.js'
+  );
+
   return {
     plugins: [await jsPackagesPlugin()],
     categories: [
@@ -150,7 +142,13 @@ export async function configureJsPackagesPlugin(): Promise<CoreConfig> {
   };
 }
 
-export function configureTypescriptPlugin(projectName?: string): CoreConfig {
+export async function configureTypescriptPlugin(
+  projectName?: string,
+): Promise<CoreConfig> {
+  const { default: typescriptPlugin, getCategories } = await import(
+    './packages/plugin-typescript/src/index.js'
+  );
+
   const tsconfig = projectName
     ? `packages/${projectName}/tsconfig.lib.json`
     : 'tsconfig.code-pushup.json';
@@ -160,7 +158,13 @@ export function configureTypescriptPlugin(projectName?: string): CoreConfig {
   };
 }
 
-export function configureJsDocsPlugin(projectName?: string): CoreConfig {
+export async function configureJsDocsPlugin(
+  projectName?: string,
+): Promise<CoreConfig> {
+  const { default: jsDocsPlugin } = await import(
+    './packages/plugin-jsdocs/src/index.js'
+  );
+
   const patterns: string[] = [
     `packages/${projectName ?? '*'}/src/**/*.ts`,
     `!**/node_modules`,
@@ -192,6 +196,10 @@ export function configureJsDocsPlugin(projectName?: string): CoreConfig {
 export async function configureLighthousePlugin(
   urls: PluginUrls,
 ): Promise<CoreConfig> {
+  const { lighthousePlugin, lighthouseGroupRefs } = await import(
+    './packages/plugin-lighthouse/src/index.js'
+  );
+
   const lhPlugin = await lighthousePlugin(urls);
   return {
     plugins: [lhPlugin],
@@ -220,10 +228,14 @@ export async function configureLighthousePlugin(
   };
 }
 
-export function configureAxePlugin(
+export async function configureAxePlugin(
   urls: PluginUrls,
   options?: AxePluginOptions,
-): CoreConfig {
+): Promise<CoreConfig> {
+  const { default: axePlugin, axeGroupRefs } = await import(
+    './packages/plugin-axe/src/index.js'
+  );
+
   const axe = axePlugin(urls, options);
   return {
     plugins: [axe],
diff --git a/e2e/ci-e2e/eslint.config.js b/e2e/ci-e2e/eslint.config.js
index 2656b27cb..05c619c08 100644
--- a/e2e/ci-e2e/eslint.config.js
+++ b/e2e/ci-e2e/eslint.config.js
@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
 import tseslint from 'typescript-eslint';
 import baseConfig from '../../eslint.config.js';
 
-export default tseslint.config(...baseConfig, {
-  files: ['**/*.ts'],
-  languageOptions: {
-    parserOptions: {
-      projectService: true,
-      tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+export default tseslint.config(
+  ...(await (typeof baseConfig === 'function' ? baseConfig() : baseConfig)),
+  {
+    files: ['**/*.ts'],
+    languageOptions: {
+      parserOptions: {
+        projectService: true,
+        tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+      },
     },
   },
-});
+);
diff --git a/e2e/cli-e2e/eslint.config.js b/e2e/cli-e2e/eslint.config.js
index 2656b27cb..05c619c08 100644
--- a/e2e/cli-e2e/eslint.config.js
+++ b/e2e/cli-e2e/eslint.config.js
@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
 import tseslint from 'typescript-eslint';
 import baseConfig from '../../eslint.config.js';
 
-export default tseslint.config(...baseConfig, {
-  files: ['**/*.ts'],
-  languageOptions: {
-    parserOptions: {
-      projectService: true,
-      tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+export default tseslint.config(
+  ...(await (typeof baseConfig === 'function' ? baseConfig() : baseConfig)),
+  {
+    files: ['**/*.ts'],
+    languageOptions: {
+      parserOptions: {
+        projectService: true,
+        tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+      },
     },
   },
-});
+);
diff --git a/e2e/cli-e2e/tests/print-config.e2e.test.ts b/e2e/cli-e2e/tests/print-config.e2e.test.ts
index 630d3bb2a..5cb346701 100644
--- a/e2e/cli-e2e/tests/print-config.e2e.test.ts
+++ b/e2e/cli-e2e/tests/print-config.e2e.test.ts
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ describe('CLI print-config', () => {
           'print-config',
           '--output=config.json',
           `--config=${configFilePath(ext)}`,
-          '--tsconfig=tsconfig.base.json',
+          `--tsconfig=${path.join(process.cwd(), 'tsconfig.base.json')}`,
           '--persist.outputDir=output-dir',
           '--persist.format=md',
           `--persist.filename=${ext}-report`,
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ describe('CLI print-config', () => {
       expect(JSON.parse(output)).toEqual(
         expect.objectContaining({
           config: expect.stringContaining(`code-pushup.config.${ext}`),
-          tsconfig: 'tsconfig.base.json',
+          tsconfig: path.join(process.cwd(), 'tsconfig.base.json'),
           plugins: [
             expect.objectContaining({
               slug: 'dummy-plugin',
diff --git a/e2e/create-cli-e2e/eslint.config.js b/e2e/create-cli-e2e/eslint.config.js
index 2656b27cb..05c619c08 100644
--- a/e2e/create-cli-e2e/eslint.config.js
+++ b/e2e/create-cli-e2e/eslint.config.js
@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
 import tseslint from 'typescript-eslint';
 import baseConfig from '../../eslint.config.js';
 
-export default tseslint.config(...baseConfig, {
-  files: ['**/*.ts'],
-  languageOptions: {
-    parserOptions: {
-      projectService: true,
-      tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+export default tseslint.config(
+  ...(await (typeof baseConfig === 'function' ? baseConfig() : baseConfig)),
+  {
+    files: ['**/*.ts'],
+    languageOptions: {
+      parserOptions: {
+        projectService: true,
+        tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+      },
     },
   },
-});
+);
diff --git a/e2e/nx-plugin-e2e/eslint.config.js b/e2e/nx-plugin-e2e/eslint.config.js
index 2656b27cb..05c619c08 100644
--- a/e2e/nx-plugin-e2e/eslint.config.js
+++ b/e2e/nx-plugin-e2e/eslint.config.js
@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
 import tseslint from 'typescript-eslint';
 import baseConfig from '../../eslint.config.js';
 
-export default tseslint.config(...baseConfig, {
-  files: ['**/*.ts'],
-  languageOptions: {
-    parserOptions: {
-      projectService: true,
-      tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+export default tseslint.config(
+  ...(await (typeof baseConfig === 'function' ? baseConfig() : baseConfig)),
+  {
+    files: ['**/*.ts'],
+    languageOptions: {
+      parserOptions: {
+        projectService: true,
+        tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+      },
     },
   },
-});
+);
diff --git a/e2e/plugin-axe-e2e/eslint.config.js b/e2e/plugin-axe-e2e/eslint.config.js
index 2656b27cb..05c619c08 100644
--- a/e2e/plugin-axe-e2e/eslint.config.js
+++ b/e2e/plugin-axe-e2e/eslint.config.js
@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
 import tseslint from 'typescript-eslint';
 import baseConfig from '../../eslint.config.js';
 
-export default tseslint.config(...baseConfig, {
-  files: ['**/*.ts'],
-  languageOptions: {
-    parserOptions: {
-      projectService: true,
-      tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+export default tseslint.config(
+  ...(await (typeof baseConfig === 'function' ? baseConfig() : baseConfig)),
+  {
+    files: ['**/*.ts'],
+    languageOptions: {
+      parserOptions: {
+        projectService: true,
+        tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+      },
     },
   },
-});
+);
diff --git a/e2e/plugin-coverage-e2e/eslint.config.js b/e2e/plugin-coverage-e2e/eslint.config.js
index 2656b27cb..05c619c08 100644
--- a/e2e/plugin-coverage-e2e/eslint.config.js
+++ b/e2e/plugin-coverage-e2e/eslint.config.js
@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
 import tseslint from 'typescript-eslint';
 import baseConfig from '../../eslint.config.js';
 
-export default tseslint.config(...baseConfig, {
-  files: ['**/*.ts'],
-  languageOptions: {
-    parserOptions: {
-      projectService: true,
-      tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+export default tseslint.config(
+  ...(await (typeof baseConfig === 'function' ? baseConfig() : baseConfig)),
+  {
+    files: ['**/*.ts'],
+    languageOptions: {
+      parserOptions: {
+        projectService: true,
+        tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+      },
     },
   },
-});
+);
diff --git a/e2e/plugin-eslint-e2e/eslint.config.js b/e2e/plugin-eslint-e2e/eslint.config.js
index 2656b27cb..05c619c08 100644
--- a/e2e/plugin-eslint-e2e/eslint.config.js
+++ b/e2e/plugin-eslint-e2e/eslint.config.js
@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
 import tseslint from 'typescript-eslint';
 import baseConfig from '../../eslint.config.js';
 
-export default tseslint.config(...baseConfig, {
-  files: ['**/*.ts'],
-  languageOptions: {
-    parserOptions: {
-      projectService: true,
-      tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+export default tseslint.config(
+  ...(await (typeof baseConfig === 'function' ? baseConfig() : baseConfig)),
+  {
+    files: ['**/*.ts'],
+    languageOptions: {
+      parserOptions: {
+        projectService: true,
+        tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+      },
     },
   },
-});
+);
diff --git a/e2e/plugin-js-packages-e2e/eslint.config.js b/e2e/plugin-js-packages-e2e/eslint.config.js
index 2656b27cb..05c619c08 100644
--- a/e2e/plugin-js-packages-e2e/eslint.config.js
+++ b/e2e/plugin-js-packages-e2e/eslint.config.js
@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
 import tseslint from 'typescript-eslint';
 import baseConfig from '../../eslint.config.js';
 
-export default tseslint.config(...baseConfig, {
-  files: ['**/*.ts'],
-  languageOptions: {
-    parserOptions: {
-      projectService: true,
-      tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+export default tseslint.config(
+  ...(await (typeof baseConfig === 'function' ? baseConfig() : baseConfig)),
+  {
+    files: ['**/*.ts'],
+    languageOptions: {
+      parserOptions: {
+        projectService: true,
+        tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+      },
     },
   },
-});
+);
diff --git a/e2e/plugin-jsdocs-e2e/eslint.config.js b/e2e/plugin-jsdocs-e2e/eslint.config.js
index 2656b27cb..05c619c08 100644
--- a/e2e/plugin-jsdocs-e2e/eslint.config.js
+++ b/e2e/plugin-jsdocs-e2e/eslint.config.js
@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
 import tseslint from 'typescript-eslint';
 import baseConfig from '../../eslint.config.js';
 
-export default tseslint.config(...baseConfig, {
-  files: ['**/*.ts'],
-  languageOptions: {
-    parserOptions: {
-      projectService: true,
-      tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+export default tseslint.config(
+  ...(await (typeof baseConfig === 'function' ? baseConfig() : baseConfig)),
+  {
+    files: ['**/*.ts'],
+    languageOptions: {
+      parserOptions: {
+        projectService: true,
+        tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+      },
     },
   },
-});
+);
diff --git a/e2e/plugin-lighthouse-e2e/eslint.config.js b/e2e/plugin-lighthouse-e2e/eslint.config.js
index 2656b27cb..05c619c08 100644
--- a/e2e/plugin-lighthouse-e2e/eslint.config.js
+++ b/e2e/plugin-lighthouse-e2e/eslint.config.js
@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
 import tseslint from 'typescript-eslint';
 import baseConfig from '../../eslint.config.js';
 
-export default tseslint.config(...baseConfig, {
-  files: ['**/*.ts'],
-  languageOptions: {
-    parserOptions: {
-      projectService: true,
-      tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+export default tseslint.config(
+  ...(await (typeof baseConfig === 'function' ? baseConfig() : baseConfig)),
+  {
+    files: ['**/*.ts'],
+    languageOptions: {
+      parserOptions: {
+        projectService: true,
+        tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+      },
     },
   },
-});
+);
diff --git a/e2e/plugin-typescript-e2e/eslint.config.js b/e2e/plugin-typescript-e2e/eslint.config.js
index 2656b27cb..05c619c08 100644
--- a/e2e/plugin-typescript-e2e/eslint.config.js
+++ b/e2e/plugin-typescript-e2e/eslint.config.js
@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
 import tseslint from 'typescript-eslint';
 import baseConfig from '../../eslint.config.js';
 
-export default tseslint.config(...baseConfig, {
-  files: ['**/*.ts'],
-  languageOptions: {
-    parserOptions: {
-      projectService: true,
-      tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+export default tseslint.config(
+  ...(await (typeof baseConfig === 'function' ? baseConfig() : baseConfig)),
+  {
+    files: ['**/*.ts'],
+    languageOptions: {
+      parserOptions: {
+        projectService: true,
+        tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+      },
     },
   },
-});
+);
diff --git a/eslint.config.js b/eslint.config.js
index 7397d95d0..ad54c05d0 100644
--- a/eslint.config.js
+++ b/eslint.config.js
@@ -5,176 +5,183 @@ import fs from 'node:fs';
 import tseslint from 'typescript-eslint';
 import node from '@code-pushup/eslint-config/node.js';
 import typescript from '@code-pushup/eslint-config/typescript.js';
-import vitest from '@code-pushup/eslint-config/vitest.js';
 
-export default tseslint.config(
-  ...typescript,
-  ...node,
-  ...vitest,
-  {
-    settings: {
-      'import/resolver': { typescript: { project: 'tsconfig.base.json' } },
+export default async () => {
+  const { default: vitest } = await import(
+    '@code-pushup/eslint-config/vitest.js'
+  );
+
+  const vitestConfig = typeof vitest === 'function' ? await vitest() : vitest;
+
+  return tseslint.config(
+    ...typescript,
+    ...node,
+    ...vitestConfig,
+    {
+      settings: {
+        'import/resolver': { typescript: { project: 'tsconfig.base.json' } },
+      },
     },
-  },
-  { plugins: { '@nx': nxEslintPlugin } },
-  {
-    files: ['**/*.ts', '**/*.tsx', '**/*.js', '**/*.jsx'],
-    rules: {
-      '@nx/enforce-module-boundaries': [
-        'error',
-        {
-          enforceBuildableLibDependency: true,
-          allow: [
-            String.raw`^.*/eslint(\.base)?\.config\.[cm]?js$`,
-            String.raw`^.*/code-pushup\.(config|preset)(\.m?[jt]s)?$`,
-            '^[./]+/tools/.*$',
-            String.raw`^[./]+/(testing/)?test-setup-config/src/index\.js$`,
-          ],
-          depConstraints: [
-            {
-              sourceTag: 'scope:shared',
-              onlyDependOnLibsWithTags: ['scope:shared'],
-            },
-            {
-              sourceTag: 'scope:core',
-              onlyDependOnLibsWithTags: ['scope:core', 'scope:shared'],
-            },
-            {
-              sourceTag: 'scope:plugin',
-              onlyDependOnLibsWithTags: ['scope:shared'],
-            },
-            {
-              sourceTag: 'scope:tooling',
-              onlyDependOnLibsWithTags: ['scope:tooling', 'scope:shared'],
-            },
-            {
-              sourceTag: 'type:e2e',
-              onlyDependOnLibsWithTags: [
-                'type:app',
-                'type:feature',
-                'type:util',
-                'type:testing',
-              ],
-            },
-            {
-              sourceTag: 'type:app',
-              onlyDependOnLibsWithTags: [
-                'type:feature',
-                'type:util',
-                'type:testing',
-              ],
-            },
-            {
-              sourceTag: 'type:feature',
-              onlyDependOnLibsWithTags: [
-                'type:feature',
-                'type:util',
-                'type:testing',
-              ],
-            },
-            {
-              sourceTag: 'type:util',
-              onlyDependOnLibsWithTags: ['type:util', 'type:testing'],
-            },
-            {
-              sourceTag: 'type:testing',
-              onlyDependOnLibsWithTags: ['type:util', 'type:testing'],
-            },
-          ],
-        },
-      ],
+    { plugins: { '@nx': nxEslintPlugin } },
+    {
+      files: ['**/*.ts', '**/*.tsx', '**/*.js', '**/*.jsx'],
+      rules: {
+        '@nx/enforce-module-boundaries': [
+          'error',
+          {
+            enforceBuildableLibDependency: true,
+            allow: [
+              String.raw`^.*/eslint(\.base)?\.config\.[cm]?js$`,
+              String.raw`^.*/code-pushup\.(config|preset)(\.m?[jt]s)?$`,
+              '^[./]+/tools/.*$',
+              String.raw`^[./]+/(testing/)?test-setup-config/src/index\.js$`,
+            ],
+            depConstraints: [
+              {
+                sourceTag: 'scope:shared',
+                onlyDependOnLibsWithTags: ['scope:shared'],
+              },
+              {
+                sourceTag: 'scope:core',
+                onlyDependOnLibsWithTags: ['scope:core', 'scope:shared'],
+              },
+              {
+                sourceTag: 'scope:plugin',
+                onlyDependOnLibsWithTags: ['scope:shared'],
+              },
+              {
+                sourceTag: 'scope:tooling',
+                onlyDependOnLibsWithTags: ['scope:tooling', 'scope:shared'],
+              },
+              {
+                sourceTag: 'type:e2e',
+                onlyDependOnLibsWithTags: [
+                  'type:app',
+                  'type:feature',
+                  'type:util',
+                  'type:testing',
+                ],
+              },
+              {
+                sourceTag: 'type:app',
+                onlyDependOnLibsWithTags: [
+                  'type:feature',
+                  'type:util',
+                  'type:testing',
+                ],
+              },
+              {
+                sourceTag: 'type:feature',
+                onlyDependOnLibsWithTags: [
+                  'type:feature',
+                  'type:util',
+                  'type:testing',
+                ],
+              },
+              {
+                sourceTag: 'type:util',
+                onlyDependOnLibsWithTags: ['type:util', 'type:testing'],
+              },
+              {
+                sourceTag: 'type:testing',
+                onlyDependOnLibsWithTags: ['type:util', 'type:testing'],
+              },
+            ],
+          },
+        ],
+      },
     },
-  },
-  {
-    files: ['**/*.test.ts', '**/*.spec.ts'],
-    plugins: { 'jest-extended': jestExtendedPlugin },
-    rules: {
-      'vitest/consistent-test-filename': [
-        'warn',
-        {
-          pattern: String.raw`.*\.(bench|type|unit|int|e2e)\.test\.[tj]sx?$`,
-        },
-      ],
-      'jest-extended/prefer-to-be-array': 'warn',
-      'jest-extended/prefer-to-be-false': 'warn',
-      'jest-extended/prefer-to-be-object': 'warn',
-      'jest-extended/prefer-to-be-true': 'warn',
-      'jest-extended/prefer-to-have-been-called-once': 'warn',
+    {
+      files: ['**/*.test.ts', '**/*.spec.ts'],
+      plugins: { 'jest-extended': jestExtendedPlugin },
+      rules: {
+        'vitest/consistent-test-filename': [
+          'warn',
+          {
+            pattern: String.raw`.*\.(bench|type|unit|int|e2e)\.test\.[tj]sx?$`,
+          },
+        ],
+        'jest-extended/prefer-to-be-array': 'warn',
+        'jest-extended/prefer-to-be-false': 'warn',
+        'jest-extended/prefer-to-be-object': 'warn',
+        'jest-extended/prefer-to-be-true': 'warn',
+        'jest-extended/prefer-to-have-been-called-once': 'warn',
+      },
     },
-  },
-  {
-    files: ['**/*.type.test.ts'],
-    rules: {
-      'vitest/expect-expect': 'off',
+    {
+      files: ['**/*.type.test.ts'],
+      rules: {
+        'vitest/expect-expect': 'off',
+      },
     },
-  },
-  {
-    files: ['**/*.json'],
-    languageOptions: { parser: jsoncParser },
-  },
-  {
-    files: ['**/*.ts', '**/*.js'],
-    rules: {
-      'n/file-extension-in-import': ['error', 'always'],
-      'unicorn/number-literal-case': 'off',
+    {
+      files: ['**/*.json'],
+      languageOptions: { parser: jsoncParser },
     },
-  },
-  {
-    files: ['**/perf/**/*.ts'],
-    rules: {
-      '@typescript-eslint/no-magic-numbers': 'off',
-      'sonarjs/no-duplicate-string': 'off',
+    {
+      files: ['**/*.ts', '**/*.js'],
+      rules: {
+        'n/file-extension-in-import': ['error', 'always'],
+        'unicorn/number-literal-case': 'off',
+      },
     },
-  },
-  {
-    // tests need only be compatible with local Node version
-    // publishable packages should pick up version range from "engines" in their package.json
-    files: ['e2e/**/*.ts', 'testing/**/*.ts', '**/*.test.ts'],
-    settings: {
-      node: {
-        version: fs.readFileSync('.node-version', 'utf8'),
+    {
+      files: ['**/perf/**/*.ts'],
+      rules: {
+        '@typescript-eslint/no-magic-numbers': 'off',
+        'sonarjs/no-duplicate-string': 'off',
       },
     },
-  },
-  {
-    ignores: [
-      '**/*.mock.*',
-      '**/code-pushup.config.ts',
-      '**/mocks/fixtures/**',
-      '**/__snapshots__/**',
-      '**/dist',
-      '**/*.md',
-    ],
-  },
-  {
-    files: ['packages/**/*.ts'],
-    rules: {
-      'no-restricted-imports': [
-        'error',
-        {
-          paths: [
-            {
-              name: '@nx/devkit',
-              importNames: ['logger'],
-              message: 'Please use logger from @code-pushup/utils instead.',
-            },
-          ],
+    {
+      // tests need only be compatible with local Node version
+      // publishable packages should pick up version range from "engines" in their package.json
+      files: ['e2e/**/*.ts', 'testing/**/*.ts', '**/*.test.ts'],
+      settings: {
+        node: {
+          version: fs.readFileSync('.node-version', 'utf8'),
         },
+      },
+    },
+    {
+      ignores: [
+        '**/*.mock.*',
+        '**/code-pushup.config.ts',
+        '**/mocks/fixtures/**',
+        '**/__snapshots__/**',
+        '**/dist',
+        '**/*.md',
       ],
     },
-  },
-  {
-    // in bin files, imports with side effects are allowed
-    files: ['**/bin/**/*.ts', '**/bin/**/*.js'],
-    rules: {
-      'import/no-unassigned-import': 'off',
+    {
+      files: ['packages/**/*.ts'],
+      rules: {
+        'no-restricted-imports': [
+          'error',
+          {
+            paths: [
+              {
+                name: '@nx/devkit',
+                importNames: ['logger'],
+                message: 'Please use logger from @code-pushup/utils instead.',
+              },
+            ],
+          },
+        ],
+      },
+    },
+    {
+      // in bin files, imports with side effects are allowed
+      files: ['**/bin/**/*.ts', '**/bin/**/*.js'],
+      rules: {
+        'import/no-unassigned-import': 'off',
+      },
     },
-  },
-  {
-    // in *nx-plugin.ts files path imports cant be default export style (@TODO understand relation to swc)
-    files: ['**/*nx-plugin.ts'],
-    rules: {
-      'unicorn/import-style': 'off',
+    {
+      // in *nx-plugin.ts files path imports cant be default export style (@TODO understand relation to swc)
+      files: ['**/*nx-plugin.ts'],
+      rules: {
+        'unicorn/import-style': 'off',
+      },
     },
-  },
-);
+  );
+};
diff --git a/examples/plugins/eslint.config.js b/examples/plugins/eslint.config.js
index 2656b27cb..05c619c08 100644
--- a/examples/plugins/eslint.config.js
+++ b/examples/plugins/eslint.config.js
@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
 import tseslint from 'typescript-eslint';
 import baseConfig from '../../eslint.config.js';
 
-export default tseslint.config(...baseConfig, {
-  files: ['**/*.ts'],
-  languageOptions: {
-    parserOptions: {
-      projectService: true,
-      tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+export default tseslint.config(
+  ...(await (typeof baseConfig === 'function' ? baseConfig() : baseConfig)),
+  {
+    files: ['**/*.ts'],
+    languageOptions: {
+      parserOptions: {
+        projectService: true,
+        tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+      },
     },
   },
-});
+);
diff --git a/nx.json b/nx.json
index 7e7265dfe..3decd0361 100644
--- a/nx.json
+++ b/nx.json
@@ -38,7 +38,6 @@
     ],
     "code-pushup-inputs": [
       "{workspaceRoot}/code-pushup.preset.ts",
-      { "env": "NODE_OPTIONS" },
       { "env": "TSX_TSCONFIG_PATH" }
     ],
     "sharedGlobals": [{ "runtime": "node -v" }, { "runtime": "npm -v" }]
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index b9c0986ff..c5203f1c3 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@
         "@nx/react": "22.3.3",
         "@nx/vite": "22.3.3",
         "@nx/workspace": "22.3.3",
+        "@push-based/jiti-tsc": "^0.1.1",
         "@push-based/nx-verdaccio": "0.0.7",
         "@swc-node/register": "1.9.2",
         "@swc/cli": "0.6.0",
@@ -64,6 +65,7 @@
         "@types/benchmark": "^2.1.5",
         "@types/debug": "^4.1.12",
         "@types/eslint": "^8.44.2",
+        "@types/jsdom": "^27.0.0",
         "@types/node": "^22.13.4",
         "@types/react": "18.3.1",
         "@types/react-dom": "18.3.0",
@@ -92,7 +94,7 @@
         "husky": "^8.0.0",
         "inquirer": "^9.3.7",
         "jest-extended": "^6.0.0",
-        "jiti": "2.4.2",
+        "jiti": "^2.6.1",
         "jsdom": "~24.0.0",
         "jsonc-eslint-parser": "^2.4.0",
         "knip": "^5.33.3",
@@ -4617,6 +4619,16 @@
         "node": ">=8"
       }
     },
+    "node_modules/@module-federation/cli/node_modules/jiti": {
+      "version": "2.4.2",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/jiti/-/jiti-2.4.2.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-rg9zJN+G4n2nfJl5MW3BMygZX56zKPNVEYYqq7adpmMh4Jn2QNEwhvQlFy6jPVdcod7txZtKHWnyZiA3a0zP7A==",
+      "dev": true,
+      "license": "MIT",
+      "bin": {
+        "jiti": "lib/jiti-cli.mjs"
+      }
+    },
     "node_modules/@module-federation/cli/node_modules/supports-color": {
       "version": "7.2.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/supports-color/-/supports-color-7.2.0.tgz",
@@ -6316,6 +6328,24 @@
         "url": "https://github.com/sponsors/sindresorhus"
       }
     },
+    "node_modules/@push-based/jiti-tsc": {
+      "version": "0.1.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@push-based/jiti-tsc/-/jiti-tsc-0.1.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-2pi6jyxwr0DMFbsmgosfTUh1AEDWScyw97/KnTAfrKf9q33abtoqRHqF69+MJYex9O2Vlq8gye0XTkEy6dCPFA==",
+      "dev": true,
+      "license": "MIT",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "jiti": "^2.4.2",
+        "tslib": "^2.6.2",
+        "typescript": "5.7.3"
+      },
+      "bin": {
+        "jiti-tsc": "src/cli.js"
+      },
+      "engines": {
+        "node": ">=20.0.0"
+      }
+    },
     "node_modules/@push-based/nx-verdaccio": {
       "version": "0.0.7",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@push-based/nx-verdaccio/-/nx-verdaccio-0.0.7.tgz",
@@ -9278,6 +9308,18 @@
         "@types/istanbul-lib-report": "*"
       }
     },
+    "node_modules/@types/jsdom": {
+      "version": "27.0.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@types/jsdom/-/jsdom-27.0.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-NZyFl/PViwKzdEkQg96gtnB8wm+1ljhdDay9ahn4hgb+SfVtPCbm3TlmDUFXTA+MGN3CijicnMhG18SI5H3rFw==",
+      "dev": true,
+      "license": "MIT",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "@types/node": "*",
+        "@types/tough-cookie": "*",
+        "parse5": "^7.0.0"
+      }
+    },
     "node_modules/@types/json-schema": {
       "version": "7.0.15",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@types/json-schema/-/json-schema-7.0.15.tgz",
@@ -9380,6 +9422,13 @@
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT"
     },
+    "node_modules/@types/tough-cookie": {
+      "version": "4.0.5",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@types/tough-cookie/-/tough-cookie-4.0.5.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-/Ad8+nIOV7Rl++6f1BdKxFSMgmoqEoYbHRpPcx3JEfv8VRsQe9Z4mCXeJBzxs7mbHY/XOZZuXlRNfhpVPbs6ZA==",
+      "dev": true,
+      "license": "MIT"
+    },
     "node_modules/@types/yargs": {
       "version": "17.0.35",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@types/yargs/-/yargs-17.0.35.tgz",
@@ -22220,9 +22269,9 @@
       }
     },
     "node_modules/jiti": {
-      "version": "2.4.2",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/jiti/-/jiti-2.4.2.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-rg9zJN+G4n2nfJl5MW3BMygZX56zKPNVEYYqq7adpmMh4Jn2QNEwhvQlFy6jPVdcod7txZtKHWnyZiA3a0zP7A==",
+      "version": "2.6.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/jiti/-/jiti-2.6.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-ekilCSN1jwRvIbgeg/57YFh8qQDNbwDb9xT/qu2DAHbFFZUicIl4ygVaAvzveMhMVr3LnpSKTNnwt8PoOfmKhQ==",
       "devOptional": true,
       "license": "MIT",
       "bin": {
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index a7b55cf4f..30d51a5ea 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@
     "@nx/react": "22.3.3",
     "@nx/vite": "22.3.3",
     "@nx/workspace": "22.3.3",
+    "@push-based/jiti-tsc": "^0.1.1",
     "@push-based/nx-verdaccio": "0.0.7",
     "@swc-node/register": "1.9.2",
     "@swc/cli": "0.6.0",
@@ -74,6 +75,7 @@
     "@types/benchmark": "^2.1.5",
     "@types/debug": "^4.1.12",
     "@types/eslint": "^8.44.2",
+    "@types/jsdom": "^27.0.0",
     "@types/node": "^22.13.4",
     "@types/react": "18.3.1",
     "@types/react-dom": "18.3.0",
@@ -102,7 +104,7 @@
     "husky": "^8.0.0",
     "inquirer": "^9.3.7",
     "jest-extended": "^6.0.0",
-    "jiti": "2.4.2",
+    "jiti": "^2.6.1",
     "jsdom": "~24.0.0",
     "jsonc-eslint-parser": "^2.4.0",
     "knip": "^5.33.3",
diff --git a/packages/ci/eslint.config.js b/packages/ci/eslint.config.js
index 13888c2a8..8af358cd9 100644
--- a/packages/ci/eslint.config.js
+++ b/packages/ci/eslint.config.js
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import tseslint from 'typescript-eslint';
 import baseConfig from '../../eslint.config.js';
 
 export default tseslint.config(
-  ...baseConfig,
+  ...(await (typeof baseConfig === 'function' ? baseConfig() : baseConfig)),
   {
     files: ['**/*.ts'],
     languageOptions: {
diff --git a/packages/cli/eslint.config.js b/packages/cli/eslint.config.js
index 40165321a..ca61d55f3 100644
--- a/packages/cli/eslint.config.js
+++ b/packages/cli/eslint.config.js
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import tseslint from 'typescript-eslint';
 import baseConfig from '../../eslint.config.js';
 
 export default tseslint.config(
-  ...baseConfig,
+  ...(await (typeof baseConfig === 'function' ? baseConfig() : baseConfig)),
   {
     files: ['**/*.ts'],
     languageOptions: {
diff --git a/packages/cli/mocks/fixtures/configs/code-pushup.config.js b/packages/cli/mocks/fixtures/configs/code-pushup.config.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9f1661d4d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/cli/mocks/fixtures/configs/code-pushup.config.js
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+export default {
+  upload: {
+    organization: 'code-pushup',
+    project: 'cli-js',
+    apiKey: 'e2e-api-key',
+    server: 'https://e2e.com/api',
+  },
+  categories: [
+    {
+      slug: 'category-1',
+      title: 'Category 1',
+      refs: [
+        {
+          type: 'audit',
+          plugin: 'node',
+          slug: 'node-version',
+          weight: 1,
+        },
+      ],
+    },
+  ],
+  plugins: [
+    {
+      audits: [
+        {
+          slug: 'node-version',
+          title: 'Node version',
+          description: 'prints node version to file',
+          docsUrl: 'https://nodejs.org/',
+        },
+      ],
+      runner: {
+        command: 'node',
+        args: ['-v'],
+        outputFile: 'output.json',
+      },
+      groups: [],
+      slug: 'node',
+      title: 'Node.js',
+      icon: 'javascript',
+    },
+  ],
+};
diff --git a/packages/cli/mocks/fixtures/configs/code-pushup.config.mjs b/packages/cli/mocks/fixtures/configs/code-pushup.config.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d7f531533
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/cli/mocks/fixtures/configs/code-pushup.config.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+export default {
+  upload: {
+    organization: 'code-pushup',
+    project: 'cli-mjs',
+    apiKey: 'e2e-api-key',
+    server: 'https://e2e.com/api',
+  },
+  categories: [
+    {
+      slug: 'category-1',
+      title: 'Category 1',
+      refs: [
+        {
+          type: 'audit',
+          plugin: 'node',
+          slug: 'node-version',
+          weight: 1,
+        },
+      ],
+    },
+  ],
+  plugins: [
+    {
+      audits: [
+        {
+          slug: 'node-version',
+          title: 'Node version',
+          description: 'prints node version to file',
+          docsUrl: 'https://nodejs.org/',
+        },
+      ],
+      runner: {
+        command: 'node',
+        args: ['-v'],
+        outputFile: 'output.json',
+      },
+      groups: [],
+      slug: 'node',
+      title: 'Node.js',
+      icon: 'javascript',
+    },
+  ],
+};
diff --git a/packages/cli/mocks/fixtures/configs/code-pushup.config.ts b/packages/cli/mocks/fixtures/configs/code-pushup.config.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..aad20f9b6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/cli/mocks/fixtures/configs/code-pushup.config.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+import { type CoreConfig } from '@code-pushup/models';
+
+export default {
+  upload: {
+    organization: 'code-pushup',
+    project: 'cli-ts',
+    apiKey: 'e2e-api-key',
+    server: 'https://e2e.com/api',
+  },
+  categories: [
+    {
+      slug: 'category-1',
+      title: 'Category 1',
+      refs: [
+        {
+          type: 'audit',
+          plugin: 'node',
+          slug: 'node-version',
+          weight: 1,
+        },
+      ],
+    },
+  ],
+  plugins: [
+    {
+      audits: [
+        {
+          slug: 'node-version',
+          title: 'Node version',
+          description: 'prints node version to file',
+          docsUrl: 'https://nodejs.org/',
+        },
+      ],
+      runner: {
+        command: 'node',
+        args: ['-v'],
+        outputFile: 'output.json',
+      },
+      groups: [],
+      slug: 'node',
+      title: 'Node.js',
+      icon: 'javascript',
+    },
+  ],
+} satisfies CoreConfig;
diff --git a/packages/cli/mocks/fixtures/configs/code-pushup.needs-tsconfig-fail.config.ts b/packages/cli/mocks/fixtures/configs/code-pushup.needs-tsconfig-fail.config.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6ef0e8967
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/cli/mocks/fixtures/configs/code-pushup.needs-tsconfig-fail.config.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+// the point is to test runtime import which relies on alias defined in tsconfig.json "paths"
+// non-type import from '@example/custom-plugin' wouldn't work without --tsconfig
+// eslint-disable-next-line import/no-unresolved
+import customPlugin from '@definitely-non-existent-package/custom-plugin';
+
+const config = {
+  plugins: [customPlugin],
+};
+
+export default config;
diff --git a/packages/cli/mocks/fixtures/configs/code-pushup.needs-tsconfig.config.ts b/packages/cli/mocks/fixtures/configs/code-pushup.needs-tsconfig.config.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6ef0e8967
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/cli/mocks/fixtures/configs/code-pushup.needs-tsconfig.config.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+// the point is to test runtime import which relies on alias defined in tsconfig.json "paths"
+// non-type import from '@example/custom-plugin' wouldn't work without --tsconfig
+// eslint-disable-next-line import/no-unresolved
+import customPlugin from '@definitely-non-existent-package/custom-plugin';
+
+const config = {
+  plugins: [customPlugin],
+};
+
+export default config;
diff --git a/packages/cli/mocks/fixtures/configs/custom-plugin.ts b/packages/cli/mocks/fixtures/configs/custom-plugin.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6afe6bc80
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/cli/mocks/fixtures/configs/custom-plugin.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+const customPluginConfig = {
+  slug: 'good-feels',
+  title: 'Good feels',
+  icon: 'javascript',
+  audits: [
+    {
+      slug: 'always-perfect',
+      title: 'Always perfect',
+    },
+  ],
+  runner: () => [
+    {
+      slug: 'always-perfect',
+      score: 1,
+      value: 100,
+      displayValue: '✅ Perfect! 👌',
+    },
+  ],
+};
+
+export function customPlugin() {
+  return customPluginConfig;
+}
+export default customPluginConfig;
diff --git a/packages/cli/mocks/fixtures/configs/tsconfig.alias.json b/packages/cli/mocks/fixtures/configs/tsconfig.alias.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f7f68cd18
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/cli/mocks/fixtures/configs/tsconfig.alias.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+  "compilerOptions": {
+    "paths": {
+      "@definitely-non-existent-package/custom-plugin": ["./custom-plugin.ts"]
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/packages/cli/mocks/fixtures/configs/tsconfig.json b/packages/cli/mocks/fixtures/configs/tsconfig.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d43aec5e4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/cli/mocks/fixtures/configs/tsconfig.json
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+{
+  "compilerOptions": {
+    "paths": {}
+  }
+}
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/lib/implementation/core-config.middleware.int.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/lib/implementation/core-config.middleware.int.test.ts
index 9b37cceb4..12cb6387e 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/lib/implementation/core-config.middleware.int.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/lib/implementation/core-config.middleware.int.test.ts
@@ -3,17 +3,12 @@ import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
 import { describe, expect } from 'vitest';
 import { coreConfigMiddleware } from './core-config.middleware.js';
 
-const configDirPath = path.join(
+const localMocks = path.join(
   fileURLToPath(path.dirname(import.meta.url)),
   '..',
   '..',
   '..',
-  '..',
-  '..',
-  'testing',
-  'test-fixtures',
-  'src',
-  'lib',
+  'mocks',
   'fixtures',
   'configs',
 );
@@ -29,7 +24,7 @@ describe('coreConfigMiddleware', () => {
     'should load a valid .%s config',
     async extension => {
       const config = await coreConfigMiddleware({
-        config: path.join(configDirPath, `code-pushup.config.${extension}`),
+        config: path.join(localMocks, `code-pushup.config.${extension}`),
         ...CLI_DEFAULTS,
       });
       expect(config.config).toContain(`code-pushup.config.${extension}`);
@@ -46,11 +41,8 @@ describe('coreConfigMiddleware', () => {
   it('should load config which relies on provided --tsconfig', async () => {
     await expect(
       coreConfigMiddleware({
-        config: path.join(
-          configDirPath,
-          'code-pushup.needs-tsconfig.config.ts',
-        ),
-        tsconfig: path.join(configDirPath, 'tsconfig.json'),
+        config: path.join(localMocks, 'code-pushup.needs-tsconfig.config.ts'),
+        tsconfig: path.join(localMocks, 'tsconfig.alias.json'),
         ...CLI_DEFAULTS,
       }),
     ).resolves.toBeTruthy();
@@ -60,11 +52,13 @@ describe('coreConfigMiddleware', () => {
     await expect(
       coreConfigMiddleware({
         config: path.join(
-          configDirPath,
-          'code-pushup.needs-tsconfig.config.ts',
+          localMocks,
+          'code-pushup.needs-tsconfig-fail.config.ts',
         ),
         ...CLI_DEFAULTS,
       }),
-    ).rejects.toThrow("Cannot find package '@example/custom-plugin'");
+    ).rejects.toThrow(
+      "Cannot find module '@definitely-non-existent-package/custom-plugin'",
+    );
   });
 });
diff --git a/packages/core/eslint.config.js b/packages/core/eslint.config.js
index 40165321a..ca61d55f3 100644
--- a/packages/core/eslint.config.js
+++ b/packages/core/eslint.config.js
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import tseslint from 'typescript-eslint';
 import baseConfig from '../../eslint.config.js';
 
 export default tseslint.config(
-  ...baseConfig,
+  ...(await (typeof baseConfig === 'function' ? baseConfig() : baseConfig)),
   {
     files: ['**/*.ts'],
     languageOptions: {
diff --git a/packages/core/src/lib/implementation/read-rc-file.int.test.ts b/packages/core/src/lib/implementation/read-rc-file.int.test.ts
index 006ea0a7a..1631d2948 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/lib/implementation/read-rc-file.int.test.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/lib/implementation/read-rc-file.int.test.ts
@@ -55,7 +55,9 @@ describe('readRcByPath', () => {
   });
 
   it('should throw if the path is empty', async () => {
-    await expect(readRcByPath('')).rejects.toThrow("File '' does not exist");
+    await expect(readRcByPath('')).rejects.toThrow(
+      "Importing module failed. File '' does not exist",
+    );
   });
 
   it('should throw if the file does not exist', async () => {
diff --git a/packages/core/src/lib/implementation/read-rc-file.ts b/packages/core/src/lib/implementation/read-rc-file.ts
index 090ad2c0e..fb27a0733 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/lib/implementation/read-rc-file.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/lib/implementation/read-rc-file.ts
@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@ export async function readRcByPath(
       const result = await importModule({
         filepath: filePath,
         tsconfig,
-        format: 'esm',
       });
       return { result, message: `Imported config from ${formattedTarget}` };
     },
diff --git a/packages/core/src/lib/implementation/read-rc-file.unit.test.ts b/packages/core/src/lib/implementation/read-rc-file.unit.test.ts
index 54387069b..5ec8b8861 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/lib/implementation/read-rc-file.unit.test.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/lib/implementation/read-rc-file.unit.test.ts
@@ -4,32 +4,30 @@ import { CONFIG_FILE_NAME, type CoreConfig } from '@code-pushup/models';
 import { MEMFS_VOLUME } from '@code-pushup/test-utils';
 import { autoloadRc } from './read-rc-file.js';
 
-// mock bundleRequire inside importEsmModule used for fetching config
-vi.mock('bundle-require', async () => {
+vi.mock('@code-pushup/utils', async () => {
   const { CORE_CONFIG_MOCK }: Record<string, CoreConfig> =
     await vi.importActual('@code-pushup/test-fixtures');
 
+  const actualUtils = await vi.importActual('@code-pushup/utils');
+
   return {
-    bundleRequire: vi
+    ...actualUtils,
+    importModule: vi
       .fn()
       .mockImplementation((options: { filepath: string }) => {
         const extension = options.filepath.split('.').at(-1);
         return {
-          mod: {
-            default: {
-              ...CORE_CONFIG_MOCK,
-              upload: {
-                ...CORE_CONFIG_MOCK?.upload,
-                project: extension, // returns loaded file extension to check format precedence
-              },
-            },
+          ...CORE_CONFIG_MOCK,
+          upload: {
+            ...CORE_CONFIG_MOCK?.upload,
+            project: extension, // returns loaded file extension to check format precedence
           },
         };
       }),
   };
 });
 
-// Note: memfs files are only listed to satisfy a system check, value is used from bundle-require mock
+// Note: memfs files are only listed to satisfy a system check, value is used from importModule mock
 describe('autoloadRc', () => {
   it('prioritise a .ts configuration file', async () => {
     vol.fromJSON(
diff --git a/packages/create-cli/eslint.config.js b/packages/create-cli/eslint.config.js
index 22fda2e40..72617ff9a 100644
--- a/packages/create-cli/eslint.config.js
+++ b/packages/create-cli/eslint.config.js
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import tseslint from 'typescript-eslint';
 import baseConfig from '../../eslint.config.js';
 
 export default tseslint.config(
-  ...baseConfig,
+  ...(await (typeof baseConfig === 'function' ? baseConfig() : baseConfig)),
   {
     files: ['**/*.ts'],
     languageOptions: {
diff --git a/packages/models/code-pushup.config.ts b/packages/models/code-pushup.config.ts
index f34ecdcde..ca7f05db6 100644
--- a/packages/models/code-pushup.config.ts
+++ b/packages/models/code-pushup.config.ts
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ const config: CoreConfig = [
   await configureCoveragePlugin(projectName),
   // FIXME: Can't create TS program in getDiagnostics. Cannot find module './packages/models/transformers/dist'
   // configureTypescriptPlugin(projectName),
-  configureJsDocsPlugin(projectName),
+  await configureJsDocsPlugin(projectName),
 ].reduce(
   (acc, { plugins, categories }) => ({
     ...acc,
diff --git a/packages/models/eslint.config.js b/packages/models/eslint.config.js
index 48fd0b2be..602a07662 100644
--- a/packages/models/eslint.config.js
+++ b/packages/models/eslint.config.js
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import tseslint from 'typescript-eslint';
 import baseConfig from '../../eslint.config.js';
 
 export default tseslint.config(
-  ...baseConfig,
+  ...(await (typeof baseConfig === 'function' ? baseConfig() : baseConfig)),
   {
     files: ['/**/*.ts'],
     languageOptions: {
diff --git a/packages/nx-plugin/eslint.config.js b/packages/nx-plugin/eslint.config.js
index f0ea93505..73bd854a1 100644
--- a/packages/nx-plugin/eslint.config.js
+++ b/packages/nx-plugin/eslint.config.js
@@ -1,53 +1,56 @@
 const tseslint = require('typescript-eslint');
 const baseConfig = require('../../eslint.config.js').default;
 
-module.exports = tseslint.config(
-  ...baseConfig,
-  {
-    files: ['**/*.ts'],
-    languageOptions: {
-      parserOptions: {
-        projectService: true,
-        tsconfigRootDir: __dirname,
+// eslint-disable-next-line unicorn/prefer-top-level-await, arrow-body-style
+module.exports = (async () => {
+  return tseslint.config(
+    ...(await (typeof baseConfig === 'function' ? baseConfig() : baseConfig)),
+    {
+      files: ['**/*.ts'],
+      languageOptions: {
+        parserOptions: {
+          projectService: true,
+          tsconfigRootDir: __dirname,
+        },
       },
     },
-  },
-  {
-    files: ['**/*.ts'],
-    rules: {
-      // Nx plugins don't yet support ESM: https://github.com/nrwl/nx/issues/15682
-      'unicorn/prefer-module': 'off',
-      // used instead of verbatimModuleSyntax tsconfig flag (requires ESM)
-      '@typescript-eslint/consistent-type-imports': [
-        'warn',
-        {
-          fixStyle: 'inline-type-imports',
-          disallowTypeAnnotations: false,
-        },
-      ],
-      '@typescript-eslint/consistent-type-exports': [
-        'warn',
-        { fixMixedExportsWithInlineTypeSpecifier: true },
-      ],
-      // `import path from 'node:path'` incompatible with CJS runtime, prefer `import * as path from 'node:path'`
-      'unicorn/import-style': [
-        'warn',
-        { styles: { 'node:path': { namespace: true } } },
-      ],
-      // `import { logger } from '@nx/devkit' is OK here
-      'no-restricted-imports': 'off',
+    {
+      files: ['**/*.ts'],
+      rules: {
+        // Nx plugins don't yet support ESM: https://github.com/nrwl/nx/issues/15682
+        'unicorn/prefer-module': 'off',
+        // used instead of verbatimModuleSyntax tsconfig flag (requires ESM)
+        '@typescript-eslint/consistent-type-imports': [
+          'warn',
+          {
+            fixStyle: 'inline-type-imports',
+            disallowTypeAnnotations: false,
+          },
+        ],
+        '@typescript-eslint/consistent-type-exports': [
+          'warn',
+          { fixMixedExportsWithInlineTypeSpecifier: true },
+        ],
+        // `import path from 'node:path'` incompatible with CJS runtime, prefer `import * as path from 'node:path'`
+        'unicorn/import-style': [
+          'warn',
+          { styles: { 'node:path': { namespace: true } } },
+        ],
+        // `import { logger } from '@nx/devkit' is OK here
+        'no-restricted-imports': 'off',
+      },
     },
-  },
-  {
-    files: ['**/*.json'],
-    rules: {
-      '@nx/dependency-checks': 'error',
+    {
+      files: ['**/*.json'],
+      rules: {
+        '@nx/dependency-checks': 'error',
+      },
     },
-  },
-  {
-    files: ['**/package.json', '**/generators.json'],
-    rules: {
-      '@nx/nx-plugin-checks': 'error',
+    {
+      files: ['**/package.json', '**/generators.json'],
+      rules: {
+        '@nx/nx-plugin-checks': 'error',
+      },
     },
-  },
-);
+  );
+})();
diff --git a/packages/plugin-axe/eslint.config.js b/packages/plugin-axe/eslint.config.js
index 2656b27cb..05c619c08 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-axe/eslint.config.js
+++ b/packages/plugin-axe/eslint.config.js
@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
 import tseslint from 'typescript-eslint';
 import baseConfig from '../../eslint.config.js';
 
-export default tseslint.config(...baseConfig, {
-  files: ['**/*.ts'],
-  languageOptions: {
-    parserOptions: {
-      projectService: true,
-      tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+export default tseslint.config(
+  ...(await (typeof baseConfig === 'function' ? baseConfig() : baseConfig)),
+  {
+    files: ['**/*.ts'],
+    languageOptions: {
+      parserOptions: {
+        projectService: true,
+        tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+      },
     },
   },
-});
+);
diff --git a/packages/plugin-axe/package.json b/packages/plugin-axe/package.json
index daaf04641..3e18fa1b8 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-axe/package.json
+++ b/packages/plugin-axe/package.json
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@
     "@code-pushup/models": "0.108.1",
     "@code-pushup/utils": "0.108.1",
     "axe-core": "^4.11.0",
+    "jsdom": "^25.0.0",
     "playwright-core": "^1.56.1",
     "zod": "^4.2.1"
   },
diff --git a/packages/plugin-axe/src/_index.ts b/packages/plugin-axe/src/_index.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..655266b33
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/plugin-axe/src/_index.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+export { axePlugin } from './lib/axe-plugin.js';
+
+export type { AxePluginOptions, AxePreset } from './lib/config.js';
+export type { AxeGroupSlug } from './lib/groups.js';
+
+export {
+  axeAuditRef,
+  axeAuditRefs,
+  axeGroupRef,
+  axeGroupRefs,
+} from './lib/utils.js';
+export { axeCategories } from './lib/categories.js';
+
+// Utility for working with DOM-dependent libraries
+export { withDom } from './lib/safe-axe-import.js';
diff --git a/packages/plugin-axe/src/index.ts b/packages/plugin-axe/src/index.ts
index fc6a6c5b6..7d2c52825 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-axe/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin-axe/src/index.ts
@@ -2,13 +2,4 @@ import { axePlugin } from './lib/axe-plugin.js';
 
 export default axePlugin;
 
-export type { AxePluginOptions, AxePreset } from './lib/config.js';
-export type { AxeGroupSlug } from './lib/groups.js';
-
-export {
-  axeAuditRef,
-  axeAuditRefs,
-  axeGroupRef,
-  axeGroupRefs,
-} from './lib/utils.js';
-export { axeCategories } from './lib/categories.js';
+export * from './_index.js';
diff --git a/packages/plugin-axe/src/lib/axe-plugin.ts b/packages/plugin-axe/src/lib/axe-plugin.ts
index 9d867a6ae..6092b6d87 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-axe/src/lib/axe-plugin.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin-axe/src/lib/axe-plugin.ts
@@ -18,10 +18,10 @@ import { createRunnerFunction } from './runner/runner.js';
  * @param options - {@link AxePluginOptions} Plugin options
  * @returns Plugin configuration
  */
-export function axePlugin(
+export async function axePlugin(
   urls: PluginUrls,
   options: AxePluginOptions = {},
-): PluginConfig {
+): Promise<PluginConfig> {
   const { preset, scoreTargets, timeout, setupScript } = validate(
     axePluginOptionsSchema,
     options,
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ export function axePlugin(
 
   const { urls: normalizedUrls, context } = normalizeUrlInput(urls);
 
-  const { audits, groups, ruleIds } = processAuditsAndGroups(
+  const { audits, groups, ruleIds } = await processAuditsAndGroups(
     normalizedUrls,
     preset,
   );
diff --git a/packages/plugin-axe/src/lib/groups.int.test.ts b/packages/plugin-axe/src/lib/groups.int.test.ts
index f344da177..817691ae3 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-axe/src/lib/groups.int.test.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin-axe/src/lib/groups.int.test.ts
@@ -1,30 +1,42 @@
-import axe from 'axe-core';
 import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
 import { axeCategoryGroupSlugSchema, axeWcagTagSchema } from './groups.js';
+import { importAxeCore } from './safe-axe-import.js';
 
 describe('axeCategoryGroupSlugSchema', () => {
-  const axeCategoryTags = axe
-    .getRules()
-    .flatMap(rule => rule.tags)
-    .filter(tag => tag.startsWith('cat.'));
+  it('should not have categories removed by axe-core', async () => {
+    const axe = await importAxeCore();
+    const axeCategoryTags = axe
+      .getRules()
+      .flatMap(rule => rule.tags)
+      .filter(tag => tag.startsWith('cat.'));
 
-  const ourCategoryTags = axeCategoryGroupSlugSchema.options.map(
-    slug => `cat.${slug}`,
-  );
+    const ourCategoryTags = axeCategoryGroupSlugSchema.options.map(
+      slug => `cat.${slug}`,
+    );
 
-  it('should not have categories removed by axe-core', () => {
     expect(axeCategoryTags).toIncludeAllMembers(ourCategoryTags);
   });
 
-  it('should not be missing categories added by axe-core', () => {
+  it('should not be missing categories added by axe-core', async () => {
+    const axe = await importAxeCore();
+    const axeCategoryTags = axe
+      .getRules()
+      .flatMap(rule => rule.tags)
+      .filter(tag => tag.startsWith('cat.'));
+
+    const ourCategoryTags = axeCategoryGroupSlugSchema.options.map(
+      slug => `cat.${slug}`,
+    );
+
     expect(ourCategoryTags).toIncludeAllMembers(axeCategoryTags);
   });
 });
 
 describe('axeWcagTagSchema', () => {
-  const axeTags = axe.getRules().flatMap(rule => rule.tags);
+  it('should not have WCAG tags removed by axe-core', async () => {
+    const axe = await importAxeCore();
+    const axeTags = axe.getRules().flatMap(rule => rule.tags);
 
-  it('should not have WCAG tags removed by axe-core', () => {
     expect(axeTags).toIncludeAllMembers(axeWcagTagSchema.options);
   });
 });
diff --git a/packages/plugin-axe/src/lib/meta/audits.unit.test.ts b/packages/plugin-axe/src/lib/meta/audits.unit.test.ts
index 95bd88189..d71e3f8c2 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-axe/src/lib/meta/audits.unit.test.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin-axe/src/lib/meta/audits.unit.test.ts
@@ -10,16 +10,15 @@ describe('transformRulesToAudits', () => {
     ['all', 100, 110],
   ])(
     'should transform %j preset rules into audits within expected range',
-    (preset, min, max) => {
-      expect(transformRulesToAudits(loadAxeRules(preset))).toBeInRange(
-        min,
-        max,
-      );
+    async (preset, min, max) => {
+      const rules = await loadAxeRules(preset);
+      expect(transformRulesToAudits(rules)).toBeInRange(min, max);
     },
   );
 
-  it('should include required metadata fields for all transformed audits', () => {
-    const audit = transformRulesToAudits(loadAxeRules('wcag21aa'))[0]!;
+  it('should include required metadata fields for all transformed audits', async () => {
+    const rules = await loadAxeRules('wcag21aa');
+    const audit = transformRulesToAudits(rules)[0]!;
 
     expect(audit).toMatchObject({
       slug: expect.any(String),
diff --git a/packages/plugin-axe/src/lib/meta/groups.unit.test.ts b/packages/plugin-axe/src/lib/meta/groups.unit.test.ts
index 788a31108..c3883cfd3 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-axe/src/lib/meta/groups.unit.test.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin-axe/src/lib/meta/groups.unit.test.ts
@@ -3,24 +3,27 @@ import type { Group } from '@code-pushup/models';
 import { loadAxeRules, transformRulesToGroups } from './transform.js';
 
 describe('transformRulesToGroups', () => {
-  it('should create category groups for "wcag21aa" preset', () => {
-    const groups = transformRulesToGroups(loadAxeRules('wcag21aa'));
+  it('should create category groups for "wcag21aa" preset', async () => {
+    const rules = await loadAxeRules('wcag21aa');
+    const groups = transformRulesToGroups(rules);
 
     expect(groups.length).toBeGreaterThan(5);
     expect(groups).toPartiallyContain({ slug: 'aria', title: 'ARIA' });
     expect(groups).toPartiallyContain({ slug: 'forms', title: 'Forms' });
   });
 
-  it('should create category groups for "wcag22aa" preset', () => {
-    const groups = transformRulesToGroups(loadAxeRules('wcag22aa'));
+  it('should create category groups for "wcag22aa" preset', async () => {
+    const rules = await loadAxeRules('wcag22aa');
+    const groups = transformRulesToGroups(rules);
 
     expect(groups.length).toBeGreaterThan(5);
     expect(groups).toPartiallyContain({ slug: 'aria', title: 'ARIA' });
     expect(groups).toPartiallyContain({ slug: 'forms', title: 'Forms' });
   });
 
-  it('should create category groups for "best-practice" preset', () => {
-    const groups = transformRulesToGroups(loadAxeRules('best-practice'));
+  it('should create category groups for "best-practice" preset', async () => {
+    const rules = await loadAxeRules('best-practice');
+    const groups = transformRulesToGroups(rules);
 
     expect(groups.length).toBeGreaterThan(5);
     expect(groups).toPartiallyContain({ slug: 'aria', title: 'ARIA' });
@@ -30,8 +33,9 @@ describe('transformRulesToGroups', () => {
     });
   });
 
-  it('should create category groups for "all" preset', () => {
-    const groups = transformRulesToGroups(loadAxeRules('all'));
+  it('should create category groups for "all" preset', async () => {
+    const rules = await loadAxeRules('all');
+    const groups = transformRulesToGroups(rules);
 
     expect(groups.length).toBeGreaterThan(10);
     expect(groups).toPartiallyContain({ slug: 'aria', title: 'ARIA' });
@@ -41,8 +45,9 @@ describe('transformRulesToGroups', () => {
     });
   });
 
-  it('should format category titles using display names', () => {
-    const groups = transformRulesToGroups(loadAxeRules('all'));
+  it('should format category titles using display names', async () => {
+    const rules = await loadAxeRules('all');
+    const groups = transformRulesToGroups(rules);
 
     expect(groups).toPartiallyContain({ slug: 'aria', title: 'ARIA' });
     expect(groups).toPartiallyContain({
@@ -55,22 +60,25 @@ describe('transformRulesToGroups', () => {
     });
   });
 
-  it('should not include "cat." prefix in group slugs', () => {
-    const groups = transformRulesToGroups(loadAxeRules('all'));
+  it('should not include "cat." prefix in group slugs', async () => {
+    const rules = await loadAxeRules('all');
+    const groups = transformRulesToGroups(rules);
 
     expect(groups).toSatisfyAll<Group>(({ slug }) => !slug.startsWith('cat.'));
   });
 
-  it('should assign equal weight to all audit references within groups', () => {
-    const groups = transformRulesToGroups(loadAxeRules('wcag21aa'));
+  it('should assign equal weight to all audit references within groups', async () => {
+    const rules = await loadAxeRules('wcag21aa');
+    const groups = transformRulesToGroups(rules);
 
     expect(groups).toSatisfyAll<Group>(({ refs }) =>
       refs.every(({ weight }) => weight === 1),
     );
   });
 
-  it('should filter out empty groups', () => {
-    const groups = transformRulesToGroups(loadAxeRules('all'));
+  it('should filter out empty groups', async () => {
+    const rules = await loadAxeRules('all');
+    const groups = transformRulesToGroups(rules);
 
     expect(groups).toSatisfyAll<Group>(({ refs }) => refs.length > 0);
   });
diff --git a/packages/plugin-axe/src/lib/meta/processing.ts b/packages/plugin-axe/src/lib/meta/processing.ts
index 55d951889..dbc9cd6bb 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-axe/src/lib/meta/processing.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin-axe/src/lib/meta/processing.ts
@@ -17,15 +17,15 @@ import {
 } from './transform.js';
 
 /** Loads and processes Axe rules into audits and groups, expanding for multiple URLs if needed. */
-export function processAuditsAndGroups(
+export async function processAuditsAndGroups(
   urls: string[],
   preset: AxePreset,
-): {
+): Promise<{
   audits: Audit[];
   groups: Group[];
   ruleIds: string[];
-} {
-  const rules = loadAxeRules(preset);
+}> {
+  const rules = await loadAxeRules(preset);
   const ruleIds = rules.map(({ ruleId }) => ruleId);
   const audits = transformRulesToAudits(rules);
   const groups = transformRulesToGroups(rules);
diff --git a/packages/plugin-axe/src/lib/meta/processing.unit.test.ts b/packages/plugin-axe/src/lib/meta/processing.unit.test.ts
index 5fd66d810..7fdbee16b 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-axe/src/lib/meta/processing.unit.test.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin-axe/src/lib/meta/processing.unit.test.ts
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@ import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
 import { processAuditsAndGroups } from './processing.js';
 
 describe('processAuditsAndGroups', () => {
-  it('should return audits and groups without expansion when analyzing single URL', () => {
-    const { audits, groups } = processAuditsAndGroups(
+  it('should return audits and groups without expansion when analyzing single URL', async () => {
+    const { audits, groups } = await processAuditsAndGroups(
       ['https://example.com'],
       'wcag21aa',
     );
@@ -15,8 +15,8 @@ describe('processAuditsAndGroups', () => {
     expect(groups[0]!.slug).not.toContain('-1');
   });
 
-  it('should expand audits and groups when analyzing multiple URLs', () => {
-    const { audits, groups } = processAuditsAndGroups(
+  it('should expand audits and groups when analyzing multiple URLs', async () => {
+    const { audits, groups } = await processAuditsAndGroups(
       ['https://example.com', 'https://another-example.com'],
       'wcag21aa',
     );
diff --git a/packages/plugin-axe/src/lib/meta/transform.ts b/packages/plugin-axe/src/lib/meta/transform.ts
index f4e8ad03e..a0a000c49 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-axe/src/lib/meta/transform.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin-axe/src/lib/meta/transform.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import axe from 'axe-core';
+import type { RuleMetadata } from 'axe-core';
 import type { Audit, Group } from '@code-pushup/models';
 import { objectToEntries, wrapTags } from '@code-pushup/utils';
 import type { AxePreset } from '../config.js';
@@ -7,15 +7,22 @@ import {
   CATEGORY_GROUPS,
   getWcagPresetTags,
 } from '../groups.js';
+import { importAxeCore } from '../safe-axe-import.js';
+
+let axeModule: any | null = null;
 
 /** Loads Axe rules filtered by the specified preset. */
-export function loadAxeRules(preset: AxePreset): axe.RuleMetadata[] {
+export async function loadAxeRules(preset: AxePreset): Promise<RuleMetadata[]> {
+  if (!axeModule) {
+    axeModule = await importAxeCore();
+  }
+
   const tags = getPresetTags(preset);
-  return tags.length === 0 ? axe.getRules() : axe.getRules(tags);
+  return tags.length === 0 ? axeModule.getRules() : axeModule.getRules(tags);
 }
 
 /** Transforms Axe rule metadata into Code PushUp audit definitions. */
-export function transformRulesToAudits(rules: axe.RuleMetadata[]): Audit[] {
+export function transformRulesToAudits(rules: RuleMetadata[]): Audit[] {
   return rules.map(rule => ({
     slug: rule.ruleId,
     title: wrapTags(rule.help),
@@ -25,7 +32,7 @@ export function transformRulesToAudits(rules: axe.RuleMetadata[]): Audit[] {
 }
 
 /** Transforms Axe rules into Code PushUp groups based on accessibility categories. */
-export function transformRulesToGroups(rules: axe.RuleMetadata[]): Group[] {
+export function transformRulesToGroups(rules: RuleMetadata[]): Group[] {
   const groups = createCategoryGroups(rules);
   return groups.filter(({ refs }) => refs.length > 0);
 }
@@ -52,7 +59,7 @@ function getPresetTags(preset: AxePreset): string[] {
 function createGroup(
   slug: AxeGroupSlug,
   title: string,
-  rules: axe.RuleMetadata[],
+  rules: RuleMetadata[],
 ): Group {
   return {
     slug,
@@ -61,7 +68,7 @@ function createGroup(
   };
 }
 
-function createCategoryGroups(rules: axe.RuleMetadata[]): Group[] {
+function createCategoryGroups(rules: RuleMetadata[]): Group[] {
   return objectToEntries(CATEGORY_GROUPS).map(([slug, title]) => {
     const tag = `cat.${slug}`;
     const categoryRules = rules.filter(({ tags }) => tags.includes(tag));
diff --git a/packages/plugin-axe/src/lib/safe-axe-import.ts b/packages/plugin-axe/src/lib/safe-axe-import.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..85cc66072
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/plugin-axe/src/lib/safe-axe-import.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+import { JSDOM } from 'jsdom';
+
+/**
+ * Executes a function with a temporary DOM environment set up.
+ * Global state is automatically restored after execution.
+ *
+ * This is the recommended pattern for working with DOM-dependent libraries
+ * in Node.js environments. It provides proper isolation and cleanup.
+ *
+ * @param html - HTML string to initialize the DOM with
+ * @param fn - Function to execute with the DOM environment
+ * @returns The result of the function execution
+ */
+export async function withDom<T>(
+  html: string,
+  fn: () => Promise<T> | T,
+): Promise<T> {
+  const { JSDOM } = await import('jsdom');
+
+  // Save previous global state
+  const previous = {
+    window: (globalThis as any).window,
+    document: (globalThis as any).document,
+    Node: (globalThis as any).Node,
+  };
+
+  // Set up DOM environment
+  const dom = new JSDOM(html);
+  Object.assign(globalThis, {
+    window: dom.window,
+    document: dom.window.document,
+    Node: dom.window.Node,
+  });
+
+  try {
+    return await fn();
+  } finally {
+    // Restore previous global state
+    Object.assign(globalThis, previous);
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Safely imports axe-core by setting up the DOM environment first.
+ *
+ * This is the only correct pattern for importing axe-core in Node.js.
+ * Always set up the DOM before importing axe-core, never after.
+ *
+ * @returns The axe-core module
+ */
+export async function importAxeCore(): Promise<any> {
+  return withDom('<!doctype html><html><body></body></html>', async () => {
+    const axe = await import('axe-core');
+    return axe.default;
+  });
+}
diff --git a/packages/plugin-axe/src/lib/safe-axe-import.unit.test.ts b/packages/plugin-axe/src/lib/safe-axe-import.unit.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..dc2b0e8b4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/plugin-axe/src/lib/safe-axe-import.unit.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
+import { withDom } from './safe-axe-import.js';
+
+describe('withDom', () => {
+  it('should set up DOM globals during function execution', async () => {
+    const originalWindow = (globalThis as any).window;
+    const originalDocument = (globalThis as any).document;
+    const originalNode = (globalThis as any).Node;
+
+    let capturedGlobals: any = {};
+
+    await withDom(
+      '<html><body><div id="test">Hello</div></body></html>',
+      async () => {
+        capturedGlobals = {
+          window: (globalThis as any).window,
+          document: (globalThis as any).document,
+          Node: (globalThis as any).Node,
+        };
+
+        // Verify DOM globals are set
+        expect(capturedGlobals.window).toBeDefined();
+        expect(capturedGlobals.document).toBeDefined();
+        expect(capturedGlobals.Node).toBeDefined();
+
+        // Verify we can access DOM elements
+        const testElement = capturedGlobals.document.getElementById('test');
+        expect(testElement).toBeDefined();
+        expect(testElement?.textContent).toBe('Hello');
+
+        return 'success';
+      },
+    );
+
+    // Verify globals are restored
+    expect((globalThis as any).window).toBe(originalWindow);
+    expect((globalThis as any).document).toBe(originalDocument);
+    expect((globalThis as any).Node).toBe(originalNode);
+  });
+
+  it('should restore globals even if function throws', async () => {
+    const originalWindow = (globalThis as any).window;
+    const originalDocument = (globalThis as any).document;
+
+    let globalsWereSet = false;
+
+    await expect(
+      withDom('<html><body></body></html>', async () => {
+        globalsWereSet = (globalThis as any).window !== originalWindow;
+        throw new Error('Test error');
+      }),
+    ).rejects.toThrow('Test error');
+
+    // Verify globals were set during execution
+    expect(globalsWereSet).toBe(true);
+
+    // Verify globals are restored after error
+    expect((globalThis as any).window).toBe(originalWindow);
+    expect((globalThis as any).document).toBe(originalDocument);
+  });
+
+  it('should return the function result', async () => {
+    const result = await withDom('<html><body></body></html>', async () => {
+      return { success: true, value: 42 };
+    });
+
+    expect(result).toEqual({ success: true, value: 42 });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/plugin-coverage/eslint.config.js b/packages/plugin-coverage/eslint.config.js
index 40165321a..ca61d55f3 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-coverage/eslint.config.js
+++ b/packages/plugin-coverage/eslint.config.js
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import tseslint from 'typescript-eslint';
 import baseConfig from '../../eslint.config.js';
 
 export default tseslint.config(
-  ...baseConfig,
+  ...(await (typeof baseConfig === 'function' ? baseConfig() : baseConfig)),
   {
     files: ['**/*.ts'],
     languageOptions: {
diff --git a/packages/plugin-coverage/src/lib/nx/coverage-paths.ts b/packages/plugin-coverage/src/lib/nx/coverage-paths.ts
index f2a5dd073..638c2d684 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-coverage/src/lib/nx/coverage-paths.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin-coverage/src/lib/nx/coverage-paths.ts
@@ -165,7 +165,6 @@ export async function getCoveragePathForVitest(
 
   const vitestConfig = await importModule<VitestCoverageConfig>({
     filepath: config,
-    format: 'esm',
   });
 
   const reportsDirectory =
diff --git a/packages/plugin-coverage/src/lib/nx/coverage-paths.unit.test.ts b/packages/plugin-coverage/src/lib/nx/coverage-paths.unit.test.ts
index 5bcaaa422..36504f567 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-coverage/src/lib/nx/coverage-paths.unit.test.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin-coverage/src/lib/nx/coverage-paths.unit.test.ts
@@ -13,74 +13,77 @@ import {
   getCoveragePathsForTarget,
 } from './coverage-paths.js';
 
-vi.mock('bundle-require', () => ({
-  bundleRequire: vi.fn().mockImplementation((options: { filepath: string }) => {
-    const VITEST_VALID: VitestCoverageConfig = {
-      test: {
-        coverage: {
-          reporter: ['lcov'],
-          reportsDirectory: path.join('coverage', 'cli'),
-        },
-      },
-    };
+vi.mock('@code-pushup/utils', async () => {
+  const actualUtils = await vi.importActual('@code-pushup/utils');
 
-    const VITEST_NO_DIR: VitestCoverageConfig = {
-      test: { coverage: { reporter: ['lcov'] } },
-    };
+  return {
+    ...actualUtils,
+    importModule: vi
+      .fn()
+      .mockImplementation((options: { filepath: string }) => {
+        const VITEST_VALID: VitestCoverageConfig = {
+          test: {
+            coverage: {
+              reporter: ['lcov'],
+              reportsDirectory: path.join('coverage', 'cli'),
+            },
+          },
+        };
 
-    const VITEST_NO_LCOV: VitestCoverageConfig = {
-      test: {
-        coverage: {
-          reporter: ['json'],
-          reportsDirectory: 'coverage',
-        },
-      },
-    };
+        const VITEST_NO_DIR: VitestCoverageConfig = {
+          test: { coverage: { reporter: ['lcov'] } },
+        };
 
-    const JEST_VALID: JestCoverageConfig = {
-      coverageReporters: ['lcov'],
-      coverageDirectory: path.join('coverage', 'core'),
-    };
+        const VITEST_NO_LCOV: VitestCoverageConfig = {
+          test: {
+            coverage: {
+              reporter: ['json'],
+              reportsDirectory: 'coverage',
+            },
+          },
+        };
 
-    const JEST_NO_DIR: JestCoverageConfig = {
-      coverageReporters: ['lcov'],
-    };
+        const JEST_VALID: JestCoverageConfig = {
+          coverageReporters: ['lcov'],
+          coverageDirectory: path.join('coverage', 'core'),
+        };
 
-    const JEST_NO_LCOV: JestCoverageConfig = {
-      coverageReporters: ['json'],
-      coverageDirectory: 'coverage',
-    };
+        const JEST_NO_DIR: JestCoverageConfig = {
+          coverageReporters: ['lcov'],
+        };
 
-    const JEST_PRESET: JestCoverageConfig & { preset?: string } = {
-      preset: '../../jest.preset.ts',
-      coverageDirectory: 'coverage',
-    };
+        const JEST_NO_LCOV: JestCoverageConfig = {
+          coverageReporters: ['json'],
+          coverageDirectory: 'coverage',
+        };
 
-    const wrapReturnValue = (
-      value: VitestCoverageConfig | JestCoverageConfig,
-    ) => ({ mod: { default: value } });
+        const JEST_PRESET: JestCoverageConfig & { preset?: string } = {
+          preset: '../../jest.preset.ts',
+          coverageDirectory: 'coverage',
+        };
 
-    const config = options.filepath.split('.')[0];
-    switch (config) {
-      case 'vitest-valid':
-        return wrapReturnValue(VITEST_VALID);
-      case 'vitest-no-lcov':
-        return wrapReturnValue(VITEST_NO_LCOV);
-      case 'vitest-no-dir':
-        return wrapReturnValue(VITEST_NO_DIR);
-      case 'jest-valid':
-        return wrapReturnValue(JEST_VALID);
-      case 'jest-no-lcov':
-        return wrapReturnValue(JEST_NO_LCOV);
-      case 'jest-no-dir':
-        return wrapReturnValue(JEST_NO_DIR);
-      case 'jest-preset':
-        return wrapReturnValue(JEST_PRESET);
-      default:
-        return wrapReturnValue({});
-    }
-  }),
-}));
+        const config = options.filepath.split('.')[0];
+        switch (config) {
+          case 'vitest-valid':
+            return VITEST_VALID;
+          case 'vitest-no-lcov':
+            return VITEST_NO_LCOV;
+          case 'vitest-no-dir':
+            return VITEST_NO_DIR;
+          case 'jest-valid':
+            return JEST_VALID;
+          case 'jest-no-lcov':
+            return JEST_NO_LCOV;
+          case 'jest-no-dir':
+            return JEST_NO_DIR;
+          case 'jest-preset':
+            return JEST_PRESET;
+          default:
+            return {};
+        }
+      }),
+  };
+});
 
 describe('getCoveragePathForTarget', () => {
   beforeEach(() => {
diff --git a/packages/plugin-eslint/eslint.config.js b/packages/plugin-eslint/eslint.config.js
index 40165321a..ca61d55f3 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-eslint/eslint.config.js
+++ b/packages/plugin-eslint/eslint.config.js
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import tseslint from 'typescript-eslint';
 import baseConfig from '../../eslint.config.js';
 
 export default tseslint.config(
-  ...baseConfig,
+  ...(await (typeof baseConfig === 'function' ? baseConfig() : baseConfig)),
   {
     files: ['**/*.ts'],
     languageOptions: {
diff --git a/packages/plugin-js-packages/eslint.config.js b/packages/plugin-js-packages/eslint.config.js
index 40165321a..ca61d55f3 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-js-packages/eslint.config.js
+++ b/packages/plugin-js-packages/eslint.config.js
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import tseslint from 'typescript-eslint';
 import baseConfig from '../../eslint.config.js';
 
 export default tseslint.config(
-  ...baseConfig,
+  ...(await (typeof baseConfig === 'function' ? baseConfig() : baseConfig)),
   {
     files: ['**/*.ts'],
     languageOptions: {
diff --git a/packages/plugin-jsdocs/eslint.config.js b/packages/plugin-jsdocs/eslint.config.js
index 40165321a..ca61d55f3 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-jsdocs/eslint.config.js
+++ b/packages/plugin-jsdocs/eslint.config.js
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import tseslint from 'typescript-eslint';
 import baseConfig from '../../eslint.config.js';
 
 export default tseslint.config(
-  ...baseConfig,
+  ...(await (typeof baseConfig === 'function' ? baseConfig() : baseConfig)),
   {
     files: ['**/*.ts'],
     languageOptions: {
diff --git a/packages/plugin-lighthouse/eslint.config.js b/packages/plugin-lighthouse/eslint.config.js
index 40165321a..ca61d55f3 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-lighthouse/eslint.config.js
+++ b/packages/plugin-lighthouse/eslint.config.js
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import tseslint from 'typescript-eslint';
 import baseConfig from '../../eslint.config.js';
 
 export default tseslint.config(
-  ...baseConfig,
+  ...(await (typeof baseConfig === 'function' ? baseConfig() : baseConfig)),
   {
     files: ['**/*.ts'],
     languageOptions: {
diff --git a/packages/plugin-lighthouse/src/lib/runner/utils.ts b/packages/plugin-lighthouse/src/lib/runner/utils.ts
index a68ad368e..347c16bb4 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-lighthouse/src/lib/runner/utils.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin-lighthouse/src/lib/runner/utils.ts
@@ -144,7 +144,6 @@ export async function getConfig(
             message,
             result: await importModule<Config>({
               filepath: configPath,
-              format: 'esm',
             }),
           };
         }
diff --git a/packages/plugin-lighthouse/src/lib/runner/utils.unit.test.ts b/packages/plugin-lighthouse/src/lib/runner/utils.unit.test.ts
index 458efe97d..a914745b2 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-lighthouse/src/lib/runner/utils.unit.test.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin-lighthouse/src/lib/runner/utils.unit.test.ts
@@ -26,25 +26,23 @@ import {
   withLocalTmpDir,
 } from './utils.js';
 
-// mock bundleRequire inside importEsmModule used for fetching config
-vi.mock('bundle-require', async () => {
+vi.mock('@code-pushup/utils', async () => {
   const { CORE_CONFIG_MOCK }: Record<string, CoreConfig> =
     await vi.importActual('@code-pushup/test-utils');
 
+  const actualUtils = await vi.importActual('@code-pushup/utils');
+
   return {
-    bundleRequire: vi
+    ...actualUtils,
+    importModule: vi
       .fn()
       .mockImplementation((options: { filepath: string }) => {
         const project = options.filepath.split('.').at(-2);
         return {
-          mod: {
-            default: {
-              ...CORE_CONFIG_MOCK,
-              upload: {
-                ...CORE_CONFIG_MOCK?.upload,
-                project, // returns loaded file extension to check in test
-              },
-            },
+          ...CORE_CONFIG_MOCK,
+          upload: {
+            ...CORE_CONFIG_MOCK?.upload,
+            project, // returns loaded file extension to check in test
           },
         };
       }),
diff --git a/packages/plugin-typescript/eslint.config.js b/packages/plugin-typescript/eslint.config.js
index 40165321a..ca61d55f3 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-typescript/eslint.config.js
+++ b/packages/plugin-typescript/eslint.config.js
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import tseslint from 'typescript-eslint';
 import baseConfig from '../../eslint.config.js';
 
 export default tseslint.config(
-  ...baseConfig,
+  ...(await (typeof baseConfig === 'function' ? baseConfig() : baseConfig)),
   {
     files: ['**/*.ts'],
     languageOptions: {
diff --git a/packages/plugin-typescript/src/lib/runner/ts-runner.ts b/packages/plugin-typescript/src/lib/runner/ts-runner.ts
index 6103b6e1e..d1541f126 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-typescript/src/lib/runner/ts-runner.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin-typescript/src/lib/runner/ts-runner.ts
@@ -3,8 +3,12 @@ import {
   createProgram,
   getPreEmitDiagnostics,
 } from 'typescript';
-import { logger, pluralizeToken, stringifyError } from '@code-pushup/utils';
-import { loadTargetConfig } from './utils.js';
+import {
+  loadTargetConfig,
+  logger,
+  pluralizeToken,
+  stringifyError,
+} from '@code-pushup/utils';
 
 export type DiagnosticsOptions = {
   tsconfig: string;
diff --git a/packages/plugin-typescript/src/lib/runner/utils.ts b/packages/plugin-typescript/src/lib/runner/utils.ts
index 23c3ee67b..48c68560c 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-typescript/src/lib/runner/utils.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin-typescript/src/lib/runner/utils.ts
@@ -3,9 +3,6 @@ import {
   type Diagnostic,
   DiagnosticCategory,
   flattenDiagnosticMessageText,
-  parseJsonConfigFileContent,
-  readConfigFile,
-  sys,
 } from 'typescript';
 import type { Issue } from '@code-pushup/models';
 import { truncateIssueMessage } from '@code-pushup/utils';
@@ -88,30 +85,3 @@ export function getIssueFromDiagnostic(diag: Diagnostic) {
     },
   } satisfies Issue;
 }
-
-export function loadTargetConfig(tsConfigPath: string) {
-  const resolvedConfigPath = path.resolve(tsConfigPath);
-  const { config, error } = readConfigFile(resolvedConfigPath, sys.readFile);
-
-  if (error) {
-    throw new Error(
-      `Error reading TypeScript config file at ${tsConfigPath}:\n${error.messageText}`,
-    );
-  }
-
-  const parsedConfig = parseJsonConfigFileContent(
-    config,
-    sys,
-    path.dirname(resolvedConfigPath),
-    {},
-    resolvedConfigPath,
-  );
-
-  if (parsedConfig.fileNames.length === 0) {
-    throw new Error(
-      'No files matched by the TypeScript configuration. Check your "include", "exclude" or "files" settings.',
-    );
-  }
-
-  return parsedConfig;
-}
diff --git a/packages/utils/eslint.config.js b/packages/utils/eslint.config.js
index 1ad01224a..702cfae12 100644
--- a/packages/utils/eslint.config.js
+++ b/packages/utils/eslint.config.js
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import tseslint from 'typescript-eslint';
 import baseConfig from '../../eslint.config.js';
 
 export default tseslint.config(
-  ...baseConfig,
+  ...(await (typeof baseConfig === 'function' ? baseConfig() : baseConfig)),
   {
     files: ['**/*.ts'],
     languageOptions: {
diff --git a/packages/utils/mocks/fixtures/basic-setup/src/0-no-diagnostics/constants.ts b/packages/utils/mocks/fixtures/basic-setup/src/0-no-diagnostics/constants.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9cbbe8809
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/utils/mocks/fixtures/basic-setup/src/0-no-diagnostics/constants.ts
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+export const TEST = 'test';
diff --git a/packages/utils/mocks/fixtures/basic-setup/tsconfig.extends-base.json b/packages/utils/mocks/fixtures/basic-setup/tsconfig.extends-base.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d98091ca6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/utils/mocks/fixtures/basic-setup/tsconfig.extends-base.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+  "compilerOptions": {
+    "rootDir": "${configDir}",
+    "verbatimModuleSyntax": false
+  },
+  "include": ["src/**/*.ts"]
+}
diff --git a/packages/utils/mocks/fixtures/basic-setup/tsconfig.extends-extending.json b/packages/utils/mocks/fixtures/basic-setup/tsconfig.extends-extending.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f1b970c13
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/utils/mocks/fixtures/basic-setup/tsconfig.extends-extending.json
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+{
+  "extends": "./tsconfig.extends-base.json",
+  "compilerOptions": {
+    "verbatimModuleSyntax": true,
+    "module": "CommonJS"
+  },
+  "exclude": ["src/*-errors/**/*.ts"]
+}
diff --git a/packages/utils/mocks/fixtures/basic-setup/tsconfig.init.json b/packages/utils/mocks/fixtures/basic-setup/tsconfig.init.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ba648354a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/utils/mocks/fixtures/basic-setup/tsconfig.init.json
@@ -0,0 +1,103 @@
+{
+  "compilerOptions": {
+    /* Visit https://aka.ms/tsconfig to read more about this file */
+
+    /* Projects */
+    // "incremental": true,                              /* Save .tsbuildinfo files to allow for incremental compilation of projects. */
+    // "composite": true,                                /* Enable constraints that allow a TypeScript project to be used with project references. */
+    // "tsBuildInfoFile": "./.tsbuildinfo",              /* Specify the path to .tsbuildinfo incremental compilation file. */
+    // "disableSourceOfProjectReferenceRedirect": true,  /* Disable preferring source files instead of declaration files when referencing composite projects. */
+    // "disableSolutionSearching": true,                 /* Opt a project out of multi-project reference checking when editing. */
+    // "disableReferencedProjectLoad": true,             /* Reduce the number of projects loaded automatically by TypeScript. */
+
+    /* Language and Environment */
+    "target": "es2016" /* Set the JavaScript language version for emitted JavaScript and include compatible library declarations. */,
+    // "lib": [],                                        /* Specify a set of bundled library declaration files that describe the target runtime environment. */
+    // "jsx": "preserve",                                /* Specify what JSX code is generated. */
+    // "experimentalDecorators": true,                   /* Enable experimental support for TC39 stage 2 draft decorators. */
+    // "emitDecoratorMetadata": true,                    /* Emit design-type metadata for decorated declarations in source files. */
+    // "jsxFactory": "",                                 /* Specify the JSX factory function used when targeting React JSX emit, e.g. 'React.createElement' or 'h'. */
+    // "jsxFragmentFactory": "",                         /* Specify the JSX Fragment reference used for fragments when targeting React JSX emit e.g. 'React.Fragment' or 'Fragment'. */
+    // "jsxImportSource": "",                            /* Specify module specifier used to import the JSX factory functions when using 'jsx: react-jsx*'. */
+    // "reactNamespace": "",                             /* Specify the object invoked for 'createElement'. This only applies when targeting 'react' JSX emit. */
+    // "noLib": true,                                    /* Disable including any library files, including the default lib.d.ts. */
+    // "useDefineForClassFields": true,                  /* Emit ECMAScript-standard-compliant class fields. */
+    // "moduleDetection": "auto",                        /* Control what method is used to detect module-format JS files. */
+
+    /* Modules */
+    "module": "commonjs" /* Specify what module code is generated. */,
+    // "rootDir": "./",                                  /* Specify the root folder within your source files. */
+    // "moduleResolution": "node",                       /* Specify how TypeScript looks up a file from a given module specifier. */
+    // "baseUrl": "./",                                  /* Specify the base directory to resolve non-relative module names. */
+    // "paths": {},                                      /* Specify a set of entries that re-map imports to additional lookup locations. */
+    // "rootDirs": [],                                   /* Allow multiple folders to be treated as one when resolving modules. */
+    // "typeRoots": [],                                  /* Specify multiple folders that act like './node_modules/@types'. */
+    // "types": [],                                      /* Specify type package names to be included without being referenced in a source file. */
+    // "allowUmdGlobalAccess": true,                     /* Allow accessing UMD globals from modules. */
+    // "moduleSuffixes": [],                             /* List of file name suffixes to search when resolving a module. */
+    // "resolveJsonModule": true,                        /* Enable importing .json files. */
+    // "noResolve": true,                                /* Disallow 'import's, 'require's or '<reference>'s from expanding the number of files TypeScript should add to a project. */
+
+    /* JavaScript Support */
+    // "allowJs": true,                                  /* Allow JavaScript files to be a part of your program. Use the 'checkJS' option to get errors from these files. */
+    // "checkJs": true,                                  /* Enable error reporting in type-checked JavaScript files. */
+    // "maxNodeModuleJsDepth": 1,                        /* Specify the maximum folder depth used for checking JavaScript files from 'node_modules'. Only applicable with 'allowJs'. */
+
+    /* Emit */
+    // "declaration": true,                              /* Generate .d.ts files from TypeScript and JavaScript files in your project. */
+    // "declarationMap": true,                           /* Create sourcemaps for d.ts files. */
+    // "emitDeclarationOnly": true,                      /* Only output d.ts files and not JavaScript files. */
+    // "sourceMap": true,                                /* Create source map files for emitted JavaScript files. */
+    // "outFile": "./",                                  /* Specify a file that bundles all outputs into one JavaScript file. If 'declaration' is true, also designates a file that bundles all .d.ts output. */
+    // "outDir": "./",                                   /* Specify an output folder for all emitted files. */
+    // "removeComments": true,                           /* Disable emitting comments. */
+    // "noEmit": true,                                   /* Disable emitting files from a compilation. */
+    // "importHelpers": true,                            /* Allow importing helper functions from tslib once per project, instead of including them per-file. */
+    // "importsNotUsedAsValues": "remove",               /* Specify emit/checking behavior for imports that are only used for types. */
+    // "downlevelIteration": true,                       /* Emit more compliant, but verbose and less performant JavaScript for iteration. */
+    // "sourceRoot": "",                                 /* Specify the root path for debuggers to find the reference source code. */
+    // "mapRoot": "",                                    /* Specify the location where debugger should locate map files instead of generated locations. */
+    // "inlineSourceMap": true,                          /* Include sourcemap files inside the emitted JavaScript. */
+    // "inlineSources": true,                            /* Include source code in the sourcemaps inside the emitted JavaScript. */
+    // "emitBOM": true,                                  /* Emit a UTF-8 Byte Order Mark (BOM) in the beginning of output files. */
+    // "newLine": "crlf",                                /* Set the newline character for emitting files. */
+    // "stripInternal": true,                            /* Disable emitting declarations that have '@internal' in their JSDoc comments. */
+    // "noEmitHelpers": true,                            /* Disable generating custom helper functions like '__extends' in compiled output. */
+    // "noEmitOnError": true,                            /* Disable emitting files if any type checking errors are reported. */
+    // "preserveConstEnums": true,                       /* Disable erasing 'const enum' declarations in generated code. */
+    // "declarationDir": "./",                           /* Specify the output directory for generated declaration files. */
+    // "preserveValueImports": true,                     /* Preserve unused imported values in the JavaScript output that would otherwise be removed. */
+
+    /* Interop Constraints */
+    // "isolatedModules": true,                          /* Ensure that each file can be safely transpiled without relying on other imports. */
+    // "allowSyntheticDefaultImports": true,             /* Allow 'import x from y' when a module doesn't have a default export. */
+    "esModuleInterop": true /* Emit additional JavaScript to ease support for importing CommonJS modules. This enables 'allowSyntheticDefaultImports' for type compatibility. */,
+    // "preserveSymlinks": true,                         /* Disable resolving symlinks to their realpath. This correlates to the same flag in node. */
+    "forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true /* Ensure that casing is correct in imports. */,
+
+    /* Type Checking */
+    "strict": true /* Enable all strict type-checking options. */,
+    // "noImplicitAny": true,                            /* Enable error reporting for expressions and declarations with an implied 'any' type. */
+    // "strictNullChecks": true,                         /* When type checking, take into account 'null' and 'undefined'. */
+    // "strictFunctionTypes": true,                      /* When assigning functions, check to ensure parameters and the return values are subtype-compatible. */
+    // "strictBindCallApply": true,                      /* Check that the arguments for 'bind', 'call', and 'apply' methods match the original function. */
+    // "strictPropertyInitialization": true,             /* Check for class properties that are declared but not set in the constructor. */
+    // "noImplicitThis": true,                           /* Enable error reporting when 'this' is given the type 'any'. */
+    // "useUnknownInCatchVariables": true,               /* Default catch clause variables as 'unknown' instead of 'any'. */
+    // "alwaysStrict": true,                             /* Ensure 'use strict' is always emitted. */
+    // "noUnusedLocals": true,                           /* Enable error reporting when local variables aren't read. */
+    // "noUnusedParameters": true,                       /* Raise an error when a function parameter isn't read. */
+    // "exactOptionalPropertyTypes": true,               /* Interpret optional property types as written, rather than adding 'undefined'. */
+    // "noImplicitReturns": true,                        /* Enable error reporting for codepaths that do not explicitly return in a function. */
+    // "noFallthroughCasesInSwitch": true,               /* Enable error reporting for fallthrough cases in switch statements. */
+    // "noUncheckedIndexedAccess": true,                 /* Add 'undefined' to a type when accessed using an index. */
+    // "noImplicitOverride": true,                       /* Ensure overriding members in derived classes are marked with an override modifier. */
+    // "noPropertyAccessFromIndexSignature": true,       /* Enforces using indexed accessors for keys declared using an indexed type. */
+    // "allowUnusedLabels": true,                        /* Disable error reporting for unused labels. */
+    // "allowUnreachableCode": true,                     /* Disable error reporting for unreachable code. */
+
+    /* Completeness */
+    // "skipDefaultLibCheck": true,                      /* Skip type checking .d.ts files that are included with TypeScript. */
+    "skipLibCheck": true /* Skip type checking all .d.ts files. */
+  }
+}
diff --git a/packages/utils/mocks/fixtures/tsconfig-setup/import-alias.ts b/packages/utils/mocks/fixtures/tsconfig-setup/import-alias.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4488e1aa9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/utils/mocks/fixtures/tsconfig-setup/import-alias.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+import { name } from '@utils';
+
+export default `valid-ts-default-export-${name}`;
diff --git a/packages/utils/mocks/fixtures/tsconfig-setup/tsconfig.json b/packages/utils/mocks/fixtures/tsconfig-setup/tsconfig.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d22493e7f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/utils/mocks/fixtures/tsconfig-setup/tsconfig.json
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+{
+  "compilerOptions": {
+    "paths": {
+      "@utils/*": ["./utils.ts"]
+    }
+  },
+  "include": ["*.ts"]
+}
diff --git a/packages/utils/mocks/fixtures/tsconfig-setup/utils.ts b/packages/utils/mocks/fixtures/tsconfig-setup/utils.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a7bfb2e45
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/utils/mocks/fixtures/tsconfig-setup/utils.ts
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+export const name = 'utils-export';
diff --git a/packages/utils/package.json b/packages/utils/package.json
index aed4bca83..4af7e2940 100644
--- a/packages/utils/package.json
+++ b/packages/utils/package.json
@@ -30,14 +30,15 @@
     "@code-pushup/models": "0.108.1",
     "ansis": "^3.3.0",
     "build-md": "^0.4.2",
-    "bundle-require": "^5.1.0",
     "esbuild": "^0.25.2",
     "ora": "^9.0.0",
     "semver": "^7.6.0",
     "simple-git": "^3.20.0",
     "string-width": "^8.1.0",
     "wrap-ansi": "^9.0.2",
-    "zod": "^4.2.1"
+    "zod": "^4.2.1",
+    "typescript": "5.7.3",
+    "jiti": "^2.6.1"
   },
   "files": [
     "src",
diff --git a/packages/utils/src/index.ts b/packages/utils/src/index.ts
index f019b8055..a06e834b5 100644
--- a/packages/utils/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/utils/src/index.ts
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ export {
   type ProcessObserver,
   type ProcessResult,
 } from './lib/execute-process.js';
+export { loadTargetConfig } from './lib/load-ts-config.js';
 export {
   crawlFileSystem,
   createReportPath,
@@ -41,7 +42,6 @@ export {
   filePathToCliArg,
   findLineNumberInText,
   findNearestFile,
-  importModule,
   pluginWorkDir,
   projectToFilename,
   readJsonFile,
@@ -178,3 +178,4 @@ export type {
   Prettify,
   WithRequired,
 } from './lib/types.js';
+export * from './lib/import-module.js';
diff --git a/packages/utils/src/lib/file-system.ts b/packages/utils/src/lib/file-system.ts
index 5956dbbff..cbe72f547 100644
--- a/packages/utils/src/lib/file-system.ts
+++ b/packages/utils/src/lib/file-system.ts
@@ -1,9 +1,7 @@
-import { type Options, bundleRequire } from 'bundle-require';
 import { mkdir, readFile, readdir, rm, stat } from 'node:fs/promises';
 import path from 'node:path';
 import type { Format, PersistConfig } from '@code-pushup/models';
 import { logger } from './logger.js';
-import { settlePromise } from './promises.js';
 
 export async function readTextFile(filePath: string): Promise<string> {
   const buffer = await readFile(filePath);
@@ -52,23 +50,6 @@ export async function removeDirectoryIfExists(dir: string) {
   }
 }
 
-export async function importModule<T = unknown>(options: Options): Promise<T> {
-  const resolvedStats = await settlePromise(stat(options.filepath));
-  if (resolvedStats.status === 'rejected') {
-    throw new Error(`File '${options.filepath}' does not exist`);
-  }
-  if (!resolvedStats.value.isFile()) {
-    throw new Error(`Expected '${options.filepath}' to be a file`);
-  }
-
-  const { mod } = await bundleRequire<object>(options);
-
-  if (typeof mod === 'object' && 'default' in mod) {
-    return mod.default as T;
-  }
-  return mod as T;
-}
-
 export function createReportPath({
   outputDir,
   filename,
diff --git a/packages/utils/src/lib/file-system.int.test.ts b/packages/utils/src/lib/import-module.int.test.ts
similarity index 64%
rename from packages/utils/src/lib/file-system.int.test.ts
rename to packages/utils/src/lib/import-module.int.test.ts
index b355e1bb1..bfbe51934 100644
--- a/packages/utils/src/lib/file-system.int.test.ts
+++ b/packages/utils/src/lib/import-module.int.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import path from 'node:path';
-import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
-import { importModule } from './file-system.js';
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
+import { importModule } from './import-module.js';
 
 describe('importModule', () => {
   const mockDir = path.join(
@@ -45,10 +45,31 @@ describe('importModule', () => {
     ).resolves.toBe('valid-ts-default-export');
   });
 
+  it('imports module with default tsconfig when tsconfig undefined', async () => {
+    vi.clearAllMocks();
+    await expect(
+      importModule({
+        filepath: path.join(mockDir, 'valid-ts-default-export.ts'),
+      }),
+    ).resolves.toBe('valid-ts-default-export');
+  });
+
+  it('imports module with custom tsconfig', async () => {
+    vi.clearAllMocks();
+    await expect(
+      importModule({
+        filepath: path.join(mockDir, 'tsconfig-setup', 'import-alias.ts'),
+        tsconfig: path.join(mockDir, 'tsconfig-setup', 'tsconfig.json'),
+      }),
+    ).resolves.toBe('valid-ts-default-export-utils-export');
+  });
+
   it('should throw if the file does not exist', async () => {
     await expect(
       importModule({ filepath: 'path/to/non-existent-export.mjs' }),
-    ).rejects.toThrow("File 'path/to/non-existent-export.mjs' does not exist");
+    ).rejects.toThrow(
+      `File '${path.resolve('path/to/non-existent-export.mjs')}' does not exist`,
+    );
   });
 
   it('should throw if path is a directory', async () => {
@@ -57,11 +78,9 @@ describe('importModule', () => {
     );
   });
 
-  it('should throw if file is not valid JS', async () => {
+  it('should load valid JSON', async () => {
     await expect(
       importModule({ filepath: path.join(mockDir, 'invalid-js-file.json') }),
-    ).rejects.toThrow(
-      `${path.join(mockDir, 'invalid-js-file.json')} is not a valid JS file`,
-    );
+    ).resolves.toStrictEqual({ key: 'value' });
   });
 });
diff --git a/packages/utils/src/lib/import-module.ts b/packages/utils/src/lib/import-module.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..326f63fa8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/utils/src/lib/import-module.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,174 @@
+import { createJiti as createJitiSource } from 'jiti';
+import { stat } from 'node:fs/promises';
+import path from 'node:path';
+import type { CompilerOptions } from 'typescript';
+import { fileExists } from './file-system.js';
+import { loadTargetConfig } from './load-ts-config.js';
+import { settlePromise } from './promises.js';
+
+// For unknown reason, we can't import `JitiOptions` directly in this repository
+type JitiOptions = Exclude<Parameters<typeof createJitiSource>[1], undefined>;
+
+export type ImportModuleOptions = JitiOptions & {
+  filepath: string;
+  tsconfig?: string;
+};
+export async function importModule<T = unknown>(
+  options: ImportModuleOptions,
+): Promise<T> {
+  const { filepath, tsconfig, ...jitiOptions } = options;
+
+  if (!filepath) {
+    throw new Error(
+      `Importing module failed. File '${filepath}' does not exist`,
+    );
+  }
+
+  const absoluteFilePath = path.resolve(process.cwd(), filepath);
+  const resolvedStats = await settlePromise(stat(absoluteFilePath));
+  if (resolvedStats.status === 'rejected') {
+    throw new Error(`File '${absoluteFilePath}' does not exist`);
+  }
+  if (!resolvedStats.value.isFile()) {
+    throw new Error(`Expected '${filepath}' to be a file`);
+  }
+
+  const jitiInstance = await createTsJiti(import.meta.url, {
+    ...jitiOptions,
+    tsconfigPath: tsconfig,
+  });
+
+  return (await jitiInstance.import(absoluteFilePath, { default: true })) as T;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Converts TypeScript paths configuration to jiti alias format
+ * @param paths TypeScript paths object from compiler options
+ * @param baseUrl Base URL for resolving relative paths
+ * @returns Jiti alias object with absolute paths
+ */
+export function mapTsPathsToJitiAlias(
+  paths: Record<string, string[]>,
+  baseUrl: string,
+): Record<string, string> {
+  return Object.entries(paths).reduce(
+    (aliases, [pathPattern, pathMappings]) => {
+      if (!Array.isArray(pathMappings) || pathMappings.length === 0) {
+        return aliases;
+      }
+      // Jiti does not support overloads (multiple mappings for the same path pattern)
+      if (pathMappings.length > 1) {
+        throw new Error(
+          `TypeScript path overloads are not supported by jiti. Path pattern '${pathPattern}' has ${pathMappings.length} mappings: ${pathMappings.join(', ')}. Jiti only supports a single alias mapping per pattern.`,
+        );
+      }
+      const aliasKey = pathPattern.replace(/\/\*$/, '');
+      const aliasValue = (pathMappings.at(0) as string).replace(/\/\*$/, '');
+      return {
+        ...aliases,
+        [aliasKey]: path.isAbsolute(aliasValue)
+          ? aliasValue
+          : path.resolve(baseUrl, aliasValue),
+      };
+    },
+    {} satisfies Record<string, string>,
+  );
+}
+
+/**
+ * Maps TypeScript JSX emit mode to Jiti JSX boolean option
+ * @param tsJsxMode TypeScript JsxEmit enum value (0-5)
+ * @returns true if JSX processing should be enabled, false otherwise
+ */
+export const mapTsJsxToJitiJsx = (tsJsxMode: number): boolean =>
+  tsJsxMode !== 0;
+
+/**
+ * Possible TS to jiti options mapping
+ * | Jiti Option       | Jiti Type               | TS Option              | TS Type                  | Description |
+ * |-------------------|-------------------------|-----------------------|--------------------------|-------------|
+ * | alias             | Record<string, string> | paths                 | Record<string, string[]> | Module path aliases for module resolution. |
+ * | interopDefault    | boolean                 | esModuleInterop       | boolean                  | Enable default import interop. |
+ * | sourceMaps        | boolean                 | sourceMap             | boolean                  | Enable sourcemap generation. |
+ * | jsx               | boolean                 | jsx                   | JsxEmit (0-5)           | TS JsxEmit enum (0-5) => boolean JSX processing. |
+ */
+export type MappableJitiOptions = Partial<
+  Pick<JitiOptions, 'alias' | 'interopDefault' | 'sourceMaps' | 'jsx'>
+>;
+/**
+ * Parse TypeScript compiler options to mappable jiti options
+ * @param compilerOptions TypeScript compiler options
+ * @param tsconfigDir Directory of the tsconfig file (for resolving relative baseUrl)
+ * @returns Mappable jiti options
+ */
+export function parseTsConfigToJitiConfig(
+  compilerOptions: CompilerOptions,
+  tsconfigDir?: string,
+): MappableJitiOptions {
+  const paths = compilerOptions.paths || {};
+  const baseUrl = compilerOptions.baseUrl
+    ? path.isAbsolute(compilerOptions.baseUrl)
+      ? compilerOptions.baseUrl
+      : tsconfigDir
+        ? path.resolve(tsconfigDir, compilerOptions.baseUrl)
+        : path.resolve(process.cwd(), compilerOptions.baseUrl)
+    : tsconfigDir || process.cwd();
+
+  return {
+    ...(Object.keys(paths).length > 0
+      ? {
+          alias: mapTsPathsToJitiAlias(paths, baseUrl),
+        }
+      : {}),
+    ...(compilerOptions.esModuleInterop == null
+      ? {}
+      : { interopDefault: compilerOptions.esModuleInterop }),
+    ...(compilerOptions.sourceMap == null
+      ? {}
+      : { sourceMaps: compilerOptions.sourceMap }),
+    ...(compilerOptions.jsx == null
+      ? {}
+      : { jsx: mapTsJsxToJitiJsx(compilerOptions.jsx) }),
+  };
+}
+
+/**
+ * Create a jiti instance with options derived from tsconfig.
+ * Used instead of direct jiti.createJiti to allow tsconfig integration.
+ * @param id
+ * @param options
+ * @param jiti
+ */
+export async function createTsJiti(
+  id: string,
+  options: JitiOptions & { tsconfigPath?: string } = {},
+  createJiti: (typeof import('jiti'))['createJiti'] = createJitiSource,
+) {
+  const { tsconfigPath, ...jitiOptions } = options;
+
+  const fallbackTsconfigPath = path.resolve(process.cwd(), 'tsconfig.json');
+
+  const validPath: null | string =
+    tsconfigPath == null
+      ? (await fileExists(fallbackTsconfigPath))
+        ? fallbackTsconfigPath
+        : null
+      : path.resolve(process.cwd(), tsconfigPath);
+
+  const tsDerivedJitiOptions: MappableJitiOptions = validPath
+    ? await jitiOptionsFromTsConfig(validPath)
+    : {};
+
+  return createJiti(id, { ...jitiOptions, ...tsDerivedJitiOptions });
+}
+
+/**
+ * Read tsconfig file and parse options to jiti options
+ * @param tsconfigPath
+ */
+export async function jitiOptionsFromTsConfig(
+  tsconfigPath: string,
+): Promise<MappableJitiOptions> {
+  const { options } = loadTargetConfig(tsconfigPath);
+  return parseTsConfigToJitiConfig(options, path.dirname(tsconfigPath));
+}
diff --git a/packages/utils/src/lib/import-module.unit.test.ts b/packages/utils/src/lib/import-module.unit.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a5e8e8934
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/utils/src/lib/import-module.unit.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,109 @@
+import type { CompilerOptions } from 'typescript';
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
+import {
+  mapTsPathsToJitiAlias,
+  parseTsConfigToJitiConfig,
+} from './import-module.js';
+
+describe('mapTsPathsToJitiAlias', () => {
+  it('returns empty object when paths is empty', () => {
+    expect(mapTsPathsToJitiAlias({}, '/base')).toStrictEqual({});
+  });
+
+  it('returns empty object when all path mappings are empty arrays', () => {
+    expect(mapTsPathsToJitiAlias({ '@/*': [] }, '/base')).toStrictEqual({});
+  });
+
+  it('maps single path pattern without wildcards', () => {
+    expect(mapTsPathsToJitiAlias({ '@': ['src'] }, '/base')).toStrictEqual({
+      '@': expect.pathToEndWith('base/src'),
+    });
+  });
+
+  it('strips /* from path pattern and mapping', () => {
+    expect(mapTsPathsToJitiAlias({ '@/*': ['src/*'] }, '/base')).toStrictEqual({
+      '@': expect.pathToEndWith('base/src'),
+    });
+  });
+
+  it('resolves relative path mappings to absolute', () => {
+    expect(mapTsPathsToJitiAlias({ '@/*': ['src/*'] }, '/app')).toStrictEqual({
+      '@': expect.pathToEndWith('app/src'),
+    });
+  });
+
+  it('keeps absolute path mappings as-is', () => {
+    expect(
+      mapTsPathsToJitiAlias({ '@/*': ['/absolute/path/*'] }, '/base'),
+    ).toStrictEqual({ '@': '/absolute/path' });
+  });
+
+  it('throws error when path overloads exist (multiple mappings)', () => {
+    expect(() =>
+      mapTsPathsToJitiAlias({ '@/*': ['first/*', 'second/*'] }, '/base'),
+    ).toThrow(
+      "TypeScript path overloads are not supported by jiti. Path pattern '@/*' has 2 mappings: first/*, second/*. Jiti only supports a single alias mapping per pattern.",
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('maps multiple path patterns', () => {
+    expect(
+      mapTsPathsToJitiAlias(
+        {
+          '@/*': ['src/*'],
+          '~/*': ['lib/*'],
+        },
+        '/base',
+      ),
+    ).toStrictEqual({
+      '@': expect.pathToEndWith('base/src'),
+      '~': expect.pathToEndWith('base/lib'),
+    });
+  });
+
+  it('filters out invalid mappings and keeps valid ones', () => {
+    expect(
+      mapTsPathsToJitiAlias(
+        {
+          'invalid/*': [],
+          '@/*': ['src/*'],
+          'also-invalid': [],
+        },
+        '/base',
+      ),
+    ).toStrictEqual({
+      '@': expect.pathToEndWith('src'),
+    });
+  });
+});
+
+describe('parseTsConfigToJitiConfig', () => {
+  it('returns empty object when compiler options are empty', () => {
+    expect(parseTsConfigToJitiConfig({})).toStrictEqual({});
+  });
+
+  it('includes all options jiti can use', () => {
+    const compilerOptions: CompilerOptions = {
+      paths: {
+        '@app/*': ['src/*'],
+        '@lib/*': ['lib/*'],
+      },
+      esModuleInterop: true,
+      sourceMap: true,
+      jsx: 2, // JsxEmit.React
+      include: ['**/*.ts'],
+
+      baseUrl: '/base',
+    };
+
+    expect(parseTsConfigToJitiConfig(compilerOptions)).toStrictEqual({
+      alias: {
+        '@app': expect.pathToEndWith('src'),
+        '@lib': expect.pathToEndWith('lib'),
+      },
+      interopDefault: true,
+      sourceMaps: true,
+      jsx: true,
+    });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/plugin-typescript/src/lib/runner/utils.int.test.ts b/packages/utils/src/lib/load-ts-config.int.test.ts
similarity index 90%
rename from packages/plugin-typescript/src/lib/runner/utils.int.test.ts
rename to packages/utils/src/lib/load-ts-config.int.test.ts
index c202d59be..fd4bc5842 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-typescript/src/lib/runner/utils.int.test.ts
+++ b/packages/utils/src/lib/load-ts-config.int.test.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import * as tsModule from 'typescript';
 import { describe, expect, vi } from 'vitest';
 import { osAgnosticPath } from '@code-pushup/test-utils';
-import { loadTargetConfig } from './utils.js';
+import { loadTargetConfig } from './load-ts-config.js';
 
 describe('loadTargetConfig', () => {
   const readConfigFileSpy = vi.spyOn(tsModule, 'readConfigFile');
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ describe('loadTargetConfig', () => {
     expect(
       loadTargetConfig(
         osAgnosticPath(
-          'packages/plugin-typescript/mocks/fixtures/basic-setup/tsconfig.init.json',
+          'packages/utils/mocks/fixtures/basic-setup/tsconfig.init.json',
         ),
       ),
     ).toStrictEqual(
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ describe('loadTargetConfig', () => {
   it('should return the parsed content of a tsconfig file that extends another config', () => {
     expect(
       loadTargetConfig(
-        'packages/plugin-typescript/mocks/fixtures/basic-setup/tsconfig.extends-extending.json',
+        'packages/utils/mocks/fixtures/basic-setup/tsconfig.extends-extending.json',
       ),
     ).toStrictEqual(
       expect.objectContaining({
diff --git a/packages/utils/src/lib/load-ts-config.ts b/packages/utils/src/lib/load-ts-config.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..010732ebf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/utils/src/lib/load-ts-config.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+import path from 'node:path';
+import { parseJsonConfigFileContent, readConfigFile, sys } from 'typescript';
+
+export function loadTargetConfig(tsConfigPath: string) {
+  const resolvedConfigPath = path.resolve(tsConfigPath);
+  const { config, error } = readConfigFile(resolvedConfigPath, sys.readFile);
+
+  if (error) {
+    throw new Error(
+      `Error reading TypeScript config file at ${tsConfigPath}:\n${error.messageText}`,
+    );
+  }
+
+  const parsedConfig = parseJsonConfigFileContent(
+    config,
+    sys,
+    path.dirname(resolvedConfigPath),
+    {},
+    resolvedConfigPath,
+  );
+
+  if (parsedConfig.fileNames.length === 0) {
+    throw new Error(
+      'No files matched by the TypeScript configuration. Check your "include", "exclude" or "files" settings.',
+    );
+  }
+
+  return parsedConfig;
+}
diff --git a/project.json b/project.json
index 48e03fd94..c40f924ce 100644
--- a/project.json
+++ b/project.json
@@ -2,6 +2,16 @@
   "name": "workspace",
   "$schema": "node_modules/nx/schemas/project-schema.json",
   "targets": {
+    "jiti-test": {
+      "executor": "nx:run-commands",
+      "options": {
+        "command": "node -e \"console.log('Testing jiti path aliases:'); console.log('NODE_OPTIONS:', process.env.NODE_OPTIONS); console.log('JITI_TSCONFIG_PATH:', process.env.JITI_TSCONFIG_PATH); console.log('Testing import of @push-based/jiti-tsc...'); try { require('@push-based/jiti-tsc'); console.log('✓ jiti-tsc imported successfully'); } catch (e) { console.log('✗ Failed to import jiti-tsc:', e.message); }\"",
+        "env": {
+          "NODE_OPTIONS": "--import @push-based/jiti-tsc",
+          "JITI_TSCONFIG_PATH": "tsconfig.base.json"
+        }
+      }
+    },
     "code-pushup": {
       "dependsOn": [],
       "options": {
diff --git a/testing/test-fixtures/eslint.config.js b/testing/test-fixtures/eslint.config.js
index 2656b27cb..05c619c08 100644
--- a/testing/test-fixtures/eslint.config.js
+++ b/testing/test-fixtures/eslint.config.js
@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
 import tseslint from 'typescript-eslint';
 import baseConfig from '../../eslint.config.js';
 
-export default tseslint.config(...baseConfig, {
-  files: ['**/*.ts'],
-  languageOptions: {
-    parserOptions: {
-      projectService: true,
-      tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+export default tseslint.config(
+  ...(await (typeof baseConfig === 'function' ? baseConfig() : baseConfig)),
+  {
+    files: ['**/*.ts'],
+    languageOptions: {
+      parserOptions: {
+        projectService: true,
+        tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+      },
     },
   },
-});
+);
diff --git a/testing/test-fixtures/src/lib/fixtures/configs/code-pushup.needs-tsconfig.config.ts b/testing/test-fixtures/src/lib/fixtures/configs/code-pushup.needs-tsconfig.config.ts
index 44b4d0a2d..6ef0e8967 100644
--- a/testing/test-fixtures/src/lib/fixtures/configs/code-pushup.needs-tsconfig.config.ts
+++ b/testing/test-fixtures/src/lib/fixtures/configs/code-pushup.needs-tsconfig.config.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 // the point is to test runtime import which relies on alias defined in tsconfig.json "paths"
 // non-type import from '@example/custom-plugin' wouldn't work without --tsconfig
 // eslint-disable-next-line import/no-unresolved
-import customPlugin from '@example/custom-plugin';
+import customPlugin from '@definitely-non-existent-package/custom-plugin';
 
 const config = {
   plugins: [customPlugin],
diff --git a/testing/test-fixtures/src/lib/fixtures/configs/tsconfig.json b/testing/test-fixtures/src/lib/fixtures/configs/tsconfig.json
index 42976b47b..f7f68cd18 100644
--- a/testing/test-fixtures/src/lib/fixtures/configs/tsconfig.json
+++ b/testing/test-fixtures/src/lib/fixtures/configs/tsconfig.json
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "compilerOptions": {
     "paths": {
-      "@example/custom-plugin": ["./custom-plugin.ts"]
+      "@definitely-non-existent-package/custom-plugin": ["./custom-plugin.ts"]
     }
   }
 }
diff --git a/testing/test-nx-utils/eslint.config.js b/testing/test-nx-utils/eslint.config.js
index 2656b27cb..05c619c08 100644
--- a/testing/test-nx-utils/eslint.config.js
+++ b/testing/test-nx-utils/eslint.config.js
@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
 import tseslint from 'typescript-eslint';
 import baseConfig from '../../eslint.config.js';
 
-export default tseslint.config(...baseConfig, {
-  files: ['**/*.ts'],
-  languageOptions: {
-    parserOptions: {
-      projectService: true,
-      tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+export default tseslint.config(
+  ...(await (typeof baseConfig === 'function' ? baseConfig() : baseConfig)),
+  {
+    files: ['**/*.ts'],
+    languageOptions: {
+      parserOptions: {
+        projectService: true,
+        tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+      },
     },
   },
-});
+);
diff --git a/testing/test-setup-config/eslint.config.js b/testing/test-setup-config/eslint.config.js
index 2656b27cb..05c619c08 100644
--- a/testing/test-setup-config/eslint.config.js
+++ b/testing/test-setup-config/eslint.config.js
@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
 import tseslint from 'typescript-eslint';
 import baseConfig from '../../eslint.config.js';
 
-export default tseslint.config(...baseConfig, {
-  files: ['**/*.ts'],
-  languageOptions: {
-    parserOptions: {
-      projectService: true,
-      tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+export default tseslint.config(
+  ...(await (typeof baseConfig === 'function' ? baseConfig() : baseConfig)),
+  {
+    files: ['**/*.ts'],
+    languageOptions: {
+      parserOptions: {
+        projectService: true,
+        tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+      },
     },
   },
-});
+);
diff --git a/testing/test-setup/eslint.config.js b/testing/test-setup/eslint.config.js
index 2656b27cb..05c619c08 100644
--- a/testing/test-setup/eslint.config.js
+++ b/testing/test-setup/eslint.config.js
@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
 import tseslint from 'typescript-eslint';
 import baseConfig from '../../eslint.config.js';
 
-export default tseslint.config(...baseConfig, {
-  files: ['**/*.ts'],
-  languageOptions: {
-    parserOptions: {
-      projectService: true,
-      tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+export default tseslint.config(
+  ...(await (typeof baseConfig === 'function' ? baseConfig() : baseConfig)),
+  {
+    files: ['**/*.ts'],
+    languageOptions: {
+      parserOptions: {
+        projectService: true,
+        tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+      },
     },
   },
-});
+);
diff --git a/testing/test-utils/eslint.config.js b/testing/test-utils/eslint.config.js
index 2656b27cb..05c619c08 100644
--- a/testing/test-utils/eslint.config.js
+++ b/testing/test-utils/eslint.config.js
@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
 import tseslint from 'typescript-eslint';
 import baseConfig from '../../eslint.config.js';
 
-export default tseslint.config(...baseConfig, {
-  files: ['**/*.ts'],
-  languageOptions: {
-    parserOptions: {
-      projectService: true,
-      tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+export default tseslint.config(
+  ...(await (typeof baseConfig === 'function' ? baseConfig() : baseConfig)),
+  {
+    files: ['**/*.ts'],
+    languageOptions: {
+      parserOptions: {
+        projectService: true,
+        tsconfigRootDir: import.meta.dirname,
+      },
     },
   },
-});
+);
diff --git a/tools/eslint-formatter-multi/eslint.config.js b/tools/eslint-formatter-multi/eslint.config.js
index 29bda515b..0779f9a35 100644
--- a/tools/eslint-formatter-multi/eslint.config.js
+++ b/tools/eslint-formatter-multi/eslint.config.js
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import tseslint from 'typescript-eslint';
 import baseConfig from '../../eslint.config.js';
 
 export default tseslint.config(
-  ...baseConfig,
+  ...(await (typeof baseConfig === 'function' ? baseConfig() : baseConfig)),
   {
     files: ['**/*.ts'],
     languageOptions: {
diff --git a/tools/zod2md-jsdocs/eslint.config.js b/tools/zod2md-jsdocs/eslint.config.js
index 467b6c94b..4bfdd9419 100644
--- a/tools/zod2md-jsdocs/eslint.config.js
+++ b/tools/zod2md-jsdocs/eslint.config.js
@@ -1,11 +1,14 @@
 const baseConfig = require('../../eslint.config.js').default;
 
-module.exports = [
-  ...baseConfig,
-  {
-    files: ['**/*.json'],
-    rules: {
-      '@nx/dependency-checks': 'error',
+// eslint-disable-next-line unicorn/prefer-top-level-await, arrow-body-style
+module.exports = (async () => {
+  return [
+    ...(await (typeof baseConfig === 'function' ? baseConfig() : baseConfig)),
+    {
+      files: ['**/*.json'],
+      rules: {
+        '@nx/dependency-checks': 'error',
+      },
     },
-  },
-];
+  ];
+})();