diff --git a/.changeset/olive-tigers-hammer.md b/.changeset/olive-tigers-hammer.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..f718444cc40d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/olive-tigers-hammer.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@typescript/vfs": patch
+---
+
+Skip the localStorage feature detect in Node so importing the package no longer emits an ExperimentalWarning on Node 26
diff --git a/packages/typescript-vfs/src/index.ts b/packages/typescript-vfs/src/index.ts
index 9dfeec90f1b7..cf1b4decebb6 100755
--- a/packages/typescript-vfs/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/typescript-vfs/src/index.ts
@@ -17,13 +17,25 @@ interface LocalStorageLike {
 declare var localStorage: LocalStorageLike | undefined;
 declare var fetch: FetchLike | undefined;
 
+const hasProcess = typeof process !== `undefined`
+
+// Node >= 26 exposes `localStorage` as a global accessor which emits an
+// ExperimentalWarning when it is read - including via `typeof` - unless the process
+// was started with `--localstorage-file`. Probing it here would print that warning at
+// module evaluation for every consumer, so skip the probe entirely in a bare Node
+// process, where `process.env.DEBUG` below is the only reachable way to opt in anyway.
+// DOM-bearing hosts that also expose `process` (Electron renderers) still get probed.
+const isBareNodeProcess =
+  hasProcess && typeof process.versions?.node === `string` && !(`window` in globalThis)
+
 let hasLocalStorage = false
-try {
-  hasLocalStorage = typeof localStorage !== `undefined`
-} catch (error) { }
+if (!isBareNodeProcess) {
+  try {
+    hasLocalStorage = typeof localStorage !== `undefined` && typeof localStorage.getItem === `function`
+  } catch (error) { }
+}
 
-const hasProcess = typeof process !== `undefined`
-const shouldDebug = (hasLocalStorage && typeof localStorage!.getItem === 'function' && localStorage!.getItem("DEBUG")) || (hasProcess && process.env.DEBUG)
+const shouldDebug = (hasLocalStorage && localStorage!.getItem("DEBUG")) || (hasProcess && process.env.DEBUG)
 const debugLog = shouldDebug ? console.log : (_message?: any, ..._optionalParams: any[]) => ""
 
 export interface VirtualTypeScriptEnvironment {
diff --git a/packages/typescript-vfs/test/localStorageProbe.test.ts b/packages/typescript-vfs/test/localStorageProbe.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..99dc2b42845e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/typescript-vfs/test/localStorageProbe.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+/**
+ * @jest-environment node
+ */
+
+// Regression coverage for the import-time `localStorage` feature detect.
+//
+// Node >= 26 exposes `localStorage` as a global accessor which emits an
+// ExperimentalWarning when it is read - `typeof` included - unless the process was
+// started with `--localstorage-file`. The probe therefore must not touch the global
+// in a bare Node process. Installing a counting accessor lets us assert that
+// directly, on whichever Node version CI happens to run.
+
+const globals = globalThis as any
+
+/** Defines `localStorage` as an accessor and reports how many times it was read. */
+const installLocalStorageAccessor = () => {
+  let reads = 0
+  Object.defineProperty(globals, "localStorage", {
+    configurable: true,
+    get() {
+      reads++
+      return { getItem: () => null, setItem: () => { }, removeItem: () => { } }
+    },
+  })
+  return () => reads
+}
+
+/** Evaluates the module fresh, so the import-time probe runs again. */
+const importModule = () => {
+  jest.resetModules()
+  require("../src")
+}
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  delete globals.localStorage
+  delete globals.window
+})
+
+it("does not read the localStorage global when evaluated in a bare Node process", () => {
+  const reads = installLocalStorageAccessor()
+
+  importModule()
+
+  expect(reads()).toBe(0)
+})
+
+it("still reads the localStorage global when a DOM is present", () => {
+  globals.window = {}
+  const reads = installLocalStorageAccessor()
+
+  importModule()
+
+  expect(reads()).toBeGreaterThan(0)
+})