diff --git a/packages/db/src/integration.ts b/packages/db/src/integration.ts
index 6d4ea53e73..f17cee9ead 100644
--- a/packages/db/src/integration.ts
+++ b/packages/db/src/integration.ts
@@ -3,15 +3,20 @@ import { vitePluginDb } from './vite-plugin-db.js';
 import { vitePluginInjectEnvTs } from './vite-plugin-inject-env-ts.js';
 import { typegen } from './typegen.js';
 import { collectionsSchema } from './types.js';
+import { seed } from './seed.js';
 
 export function integration(): AstroIntegration {
 	return {
 		name: 'astro:db',
 		hooks: {
-			async 'astro:config:setup'({ updateConfig, config }) {
+			async 'astro:config:setup'({ updateConfig, config, command }) {
 				// TODO: refine where we load collections
 				// @matthewp: may want to load collections by path at runtime
 				const collections = collectionsSchema.parse(config.db?.collections ?? {});
+				const isDev = command === 'dev';
+				if (!isDev) {
+					await seed({ collections, root: config.root });
+				}
 				updateConfig({
 					vite: {
 						plugins: [
@@ -20,6 +25,7 @@ export function integration(): AstroIntegration {
 							vitePluginDb({
 								collections,
 								root: config.root,
+								isDev,
 							}),
 							// @ts-ignore
 							vitePluginInjectEnvTs(config),
diff --git a/packages/db/src/seed.ts b/packages/db/src/seed.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2caa978f0e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/db/src/seed.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,106 @@
+import { existsSync, unlinkSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs';
+import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
+import { type BuildOptions, build as esbuild } from 'esbuild';
+import { SUPPORTED_SEED_FILES, VIRTUAL_MODULE_ID } from './consts.js';
+import { getVirtualModContents } from './vite-plugin-db.js';
+import type { DBCollections } from './types.js';
+
+export async function seed({ collections, root }: { collections: DBCollections; root: URL }) {
+	let seedFileUrl: URL | undefined;
+	for (const filename of SUPPORTED_SEED_FILES) {
+		const fileUrl = new URL(filename, root);
+		if (!existsSync(fileUrl)) continue;
+
+		seedFileUrl = fileUrl;
+		break;
+	}
+	if (!seedFileUrl) return;
+
+	const { code } = await bundleFile(seedFileUrl, [
+		{
+			name: 'resolve-astro-db',
+			setup(build) {
+				build.onResolve({ filter: /^astro:db$/ }, ({ path }) => {
+					return { path, namespace: VIRTUAL_MODULE_ID };
+				});
+				build.onLoad({ namespace: VIRTUAL_MODULE_ID, filter: /.*/ }, () => {
+					return {
+						contents: getVirtualModContents({
+							collections,
+							root,
+							isDev: false,
+						}),
+						// Needed to resolve `@packages/studio` internals
+						resolveDir: process.cwd(),
+					};
+				});
+			},
+		},
+	]);
+	// seed file supports top-level await. Runs when config is loaded!
+	await loadBundledFile({ code, root });
+
+	console.info('Seeding complete 🌱');
+}
+
+/**
+ * Bundle config file to support `.ts` files. Simplified fork from Vite's `bundleConfigFile`
+ * function:
+ *
+ * @see https://github.com/vitejs/vite/blob/main/packages/vite/src/node/config.ts#L961
+ */
+async function bundleFile(
+	fileUrl: URL,
+	esbuildPlugins?: BuildOptions['plugins']
+): Promise<{ code: string; dependencies: string[] }> {
+	const result = await esbuild({
+		absWorkingDir: process.cwd(),
+		entryPoints: [fileURLToPath(fileUrl)],
+		outfile: 'out.js',
+		packages: 'external',
+		write: false,
+		target: ['node16'],
+		platform: 'node',
+		bundle: true,
+		format: 'esm',
+		sourcemap: 'inline',
+		metafile: true,
+		plugins: esbuildPlugins,
+	});
+
+	const file = result.outputFiles[0];
+	if (!file) {
+		throw new Error(`Unexpected: no output file`);
+	}
+
+	return {
+		code: file.text,
+		dependencies: Object.keys(result.metafile.inputs),
+	};
+}
+
+/**
+ * Forked from Vite config loader, replacing CJS-based path concat with ESM only
+ *
+ * @see https://github.com/vitejs/vite/blob/main/packages/vite/src/node/config.ts#L1074
+ */
+async function loadBundledFile({
+	code,
+	root,
+}: {
+	root: URL;
+	code: string;
+}): Promise<{ default?: unknown }> {
+	// Write it to disk, load it with native Node ESM, then delete the file.
+	const tmpFileUrl = new URL(`studio.seed.timestamp-${Date.now()}.mjs`, root);
+	writeFileSync(tmpFileUrl, code);
+	try {
+		return await import(tmpFileUrl.pathname);
+	} finally {
+		try {
+			unlinkSync(tmpFileUrl);
+		} catch {
+			// already removed if this function is called twice simultaneously
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/packages/db/src/vite-plugin-db.ts b/packages/db/src/vite-plugin-db.ts
index 253db9cdff..348fd188e9 100644
--- a/packages/db/src/vite-plugin-db.ts
+++ b/packages/db/src/vite-plugin-db.ts
@@ -15,9 +15,11 @@ const resolvedVirtualModuleId = '\0' + VIRTUAL_MODULE_ID;
 export function vitePluginDb({
 	collections,
 	root,
+	isDev: isDev,
 }: {
 	collections: DBCollections;
 	root: URL;
+	isDev: boolean;
 }): VitePlugin {
 	return {
 		name: 'astro:db',
@@ -29,7 +31,7 @@ export function vitePluginDb({
 		},
 		load(id) {
 			if (id !== resolvedVirtualModuleId) return;
-			return getLocalVirtualModuleContents({ collections, root });
+			return getVirtualModContents({ collections, root, isDev });
 		},
 	};
 }
@@ -38,12 +40,14 @@ const seedErrorMessage = `${red(
 	'⚠️ Failed to seed data.'
 )} Is the seed file out-of-date with recent schema changes?`;
 
-export function getLocalVirtualModuleContents({
+export function getVirtualModContents({
 	collections,
 	root,
+	isDev,
 }: {
 	collections: DBCollections;
 	root: URL;
+	isDev: boolean;
 }) {
 	const seedFile = SUPPORTED_SEED_FILES.map((f) => fileURLToPath(new URL(f, root))).find((f) =>
 		existsSync(f)
@@ -57,7 +61,7 @@ export * from ${DRIZZLE_MOD_IMPORT};
 ${getStringifiedCollectionExports(collections)}
 
 ${
-	seedFile
+	seedFile && isDev
 		? `try {
 	await import(${JSON.stringify(seedFile)});
 } catch {