diff --git a/assets/esm_shims.js b/assets/esm_shims.js
index c238cb331..1dd6b96cc 100644
--- a/assets/esm_shims.js
+++ b/assets/esm_shims.js
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 // Shim globals in esm bundle
-import { fileURLToPath } from 'url'
-import path from 'path'
+import * as path from 'node:path'
+import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url'
 
 const getFilename = () => fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)
 const getDirname = () => path.dirname(getFilename())
diff --git a/src/esbuild/index.ts b/src/esbuild/index.ts
index 9b07f24e9..7a39a6547 100644
--- a/src/esbuild/index.ts
+++ b/src/esbuild/index.ts
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ export async function runEsbuild(
 
   await pluginContainer.buildStarted()
   const esbuildPlugins: Array<EsbuildPlugin | false | undefined> = [
-    format === 'cjs' && options.removeNodeProtocol && nodeProtocolPlugin(),
+    options.removeNodeProtocol && nodeProtocolPlugin(),
     {
       name: 'modify-options',
       setup(build) {
diff --git a/test/shims.test.ts b/test/shims.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..31042e5e1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/shims.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,134 @@
+import { test } from 'vitest'
+import type { Options } from '../src/index.js'
+import { getTestName, run } from './utils.js'
+
+test('removeNodeProtocol works on shims', async ({ expect, task }) => {
+  const { getFileContent, outFiles } = await run(
+    getTestName(),
+    {
+      'src/index.ts': `export const foo = __dirname`,
+      'tsup.config.ts': `export default ${JSON.stringify(
+        {
+          name: task.name,
+          entry: { index: 'src/index.ts' },
+          format: ['esm'],
+          shims: true,
+          removeNodeProtocol: true,
+        } satisfies Options,
+        null,
+        2,
+      )}`,
+      'package.json': JSON.stringify(
+        {
+          name: 'remove-node-protocol-works-on-shims',
+          description: task.name,
+          type: 'commonjs',
+          sideEffects: false,
+        },
+        null,
+        2,
+      ),
+      'tsconfig.json': JSON.stringify(
+        {
+          compilerOptions: {
+            outDir: './dist',
+            rootDir: './src',
+            skipLibCheck: true,
+            strict: true,
+          },
+          include: ['src'],
+        },
+        null,
+        2,
+      ),
+    },
+    {
+      entry: [],
+    },
+  )
+
+  expect(outFiles).toStrictEqual(['index.mjs'])
+
+  const indexMjsContent = `// ../../../assets/esm_shims.js
+import * as path from "path";
+import { fileURLToPath } from "url";
+var getFilename = () => fileURLToPath(import.meta.url);
+var getDirname = () => path.dirname(getFilename());
+var __dirname = /* @__PURE__ */ getDirname();
+
+// src/index.ts
+var foo = __dirname;
+export {
+  foo
+};
+`
+
+  expect(await getFileContent('dist/index.mjs')).toStrictEqual(indexMjsContent)
+})
+
+test('disabling removeNodeProtocol retains node protocol in shims', async ({
+  expect,
+  task,
+}) => {
+  const { getFileContent, outFiles } = await run(
+    getTestName(),
+    {
+      'src/index.ts': `export const foo = __dirname`,
+      'tsup.config.ts': `export default ${JSON.stringify(
+        {
+          name: task.name,
+          entry: { index: 'src/index.ts' },
+          format: ['esm'],
+          shims: true,
+          removeNodeProtocol: false,
+        } satisfies Options,
+        null,
+        2,
+      )}`,
+      'package.json': JSON.stringify(
+        {
+          name: 'disabling-remove-node-protocol-retains-node-protocol-in-shims',
+          description: task.name,
+          type: 'commonjs',
+          sideEffects: false,
+        },
+        null,
+        2,
+      ),
+      'tsconfig.json': JSON.stringify(
+        {
+          compilerOptions: {
+            outDir: './dist',
+            rootDir: './src',
+            skipLibCheck: true,
+            strict: true,
+          },
+          include: ['src'],
+        },
+        null,
+        2,
+      ),
+    },
+    {
+      entry: [],
+    },
+  )
+
+  expect(outFiles).toStrictEqual(['index.mjs'])
+
+  const indexMjsContent = `// ../../../assets/esm_shims.js
+import * as path from "node:path";
+import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
+var getFilename = () => fileURLToPath(import.meta.url);
+var getDirname = () => path.dirname(getFilename());
+var __dirname = /* @__PURE__ */ getDirname();
+
+// src/index.ts
+var foo = __dirname;
+export {
+  foo
+};
+`
+
+  expect(await getFileContent('dist/index.mjs')).toStrictEqual(indexMjsContent)
+})