diff --git a/.changeset/witty-maps-pull.md b/.changeset/witty-maps-pull.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..7d57cffdf39e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/witty-maps-pull.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@sveltejs/kit': patch
+---
+
+Add `@sveltejs/kit` to `noExternal` in dev server as well
diff --git a/packages/kit/src/core/dev/index.js b/packages/kit/src/core/dev/index.js
index 9ae31440ef3b..e361b03a3abb 100644
--- a/packages/kit/src/core/dev/index.js
+++ b/packages/kit/src/core/dev/index.js
@@ -167,8 +167,12 @@ class Watcher extends EventEmitter {
 				}
 			},
 			ssr: {
-				// @ts-expect-error - ssr is considered in alpha, so not yet exposed by Vite
-				noExternal: [...((vite_config.ssr && vite_config.ssr.noExternal) || []), ...svelte_packages]
+				noExternal: [
+					'@sveltejs/kit', // TODO: see https://github.com/vitejs/vite/issues/3953
+					// @ts-expect-error - ssr is considered in alpha, so not yet exposed by Vite
+					...((vite_config.ssr && vite_config.ssr.noExternal) || []),
+					...svelte_packages
+				]
 			},
 			base: this.config.kit.paths.assets.startsWith('/') ? `${this.config.kit.paths.assets}/` : '/'
 		});