diff --git a/apps/studio/.npmrc b/apps/studio/.npmrc
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..94558d3bc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/studio/.npmrc
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+# Vercel doesn't support symlinked directories in serverless functions.
+# Use hoisted node-linker to create a flat node_modules structure without symlinks.
+node-linker=hoisted
diff --git a/apps/studio/package.json b/apps/studio/package.json
index c6eeff7e7..a6b3912e9 100644
--- a/apps/studio/package.json
+++ b/apps/studio/package.json
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
     "@ai-sdk/openai": "^3.0.52",
     "@ai-sdk/react": "^3.0.160",
     "@hono/node-server": "^1.19.14",
+    "@libsql/client": "^0.17.2",
     "@objectstack/client": "workspace:*",
     "@objectstack/client-react": "workspace:*",
     "@objectstack/driver-memory": "workspace:*",
@@ -57,6 +58,7 @@
     "@radix-ui/react-toast": "^1.2.15",
     "@radix-ui/react-tooltip": "^1.2.8",
     "ai": "^6.0.158",
+    "better-sqlite3": "^12.8.0",
     "class-variance-authority": "^0.7.1",
     "clsx": "^2.1.1",
     "hono": "^4.12.12",
diff --git a/apps/studio/scripts/build-vercel.sh b/apps/studio/scripts/build-vercel.sh
index 10a5507f4..00571fc20 100755
--- a/apps/studio/scripts/build-vercel.sh
+++ b/apps/studio/scripts/build-vercel.sh
@@ -28,31 +28,15 @@ cd apps/studio
 # 2. Bundle API serverless function
 node scripts/bundle-api.mjs
 
-# 3. Copy native/external modules into local node_modules for Vercel packaging.
+# 3. Copy @ai-sdk packages from monorepo root.
 #
-#    Unlike hotcrm (which uses shamefully-hoist=true), this monorepo uses pnpm's
-#    default strict node_modules structure. Transitive native dependencies like
-#    better-sqlite3 only exist in the monorepo root's node_modules/.pnpm/ virtual
-#    store — they're NOT symlinked into apps/studio/node_modules/.
+#    The @ai-sdk packages are workspace dependencies that pnpm doesn't hoist into
+#    apps/studio/node_modules by default. We copy them here so Vercel's includeFiles
+#    pattern can find them.
 #
-#    The vercel.json includeFiles pattern references node_modules/ relative to
-#    apps/studio/, so we must copy the actual module files here for Vercel to
-#    include them in the serverless function's deployment package.
-#
-#    Note: @libsql/client is now bundled by esbuild, so we no longer copy it.
-echo "[build-vercel] Copying external native modules to local node_modules..."
-for mod in better-sqlite3; do
-  src="../../node_modules/$mod"
-  if [ -e "$src" ]; then
-    dest="node_modules/$mod"
-    mkdir -p "$(dirname "$dest")"
-    cp -rL "$src" "$dest"
-    echo "[build-vercel]   ✓ Copied $mod"
-  else
-    echo "[build-vercel]   ⚠ $mod not found at $src (skipped)"
-  fi
-done
-# Copy the @ai-sdk scope (dynamically loaded provider packages)
+#    Note: .npmrc configures node-linker=hoisted to prevent pnpm from creating symlinks,
+#    which Vercel's serverless function packaging doesn't support.
+echo "[build-vercel] Copying @ai-sdk packages..."
 if [ -d "../../node_modules/@ai-sdk" ]; then
   mkdir -p "node_modules/@ai-sdk"
   for pkg in ../../node_modules/@ai-sdk/*/; do
diff --git a/apps/studio/scripts/bundle-api.mjs b/apps/studio/scripts/bundle-api.mjs
index 9f1d8fc81..1dc897e69 100644
--- a/apps/studio/scripts/bundle-api.mjs
+++ b/apps/studio/scripts/bundle-api.mjs
@@ -16,9 +16,8 @@ import { build } from 'esbuild';
 
 // Packages that cannot be bundled (native bindings / optional drivers)
 const EXTERNAL = [
-  // @libsql/client is now bundled (pure JS, no native bindings)
-  // Bundling it solves Vercel deployment issues where external packages
-  // aren't properly included in the serverless function despite includeFiles config
+  // @libsql/client must be external — bundling breaks internal HttpClient2 class constructor
+  '@libsql/client',
   'better-sqlite3',
   // AI SDK provider packages — dynamically imported based on env vars
   '@ai-sdk/anthropic',
diff --git a/apps/studio/vercel.json b/apps/studio/vercel.json
index 96e8daf72..eb63e91d8 100644
--- a/apps/studio/vercel.json
+++ b/apps/studio/vercel.json
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
     "api/**/*.js": {
       "memory": 1024,
       "maxDuration": 300,
-      "includeFiles": "node_modules/{better-sqlite3,@ai-sdk}/**"
+      "includeFiles": "node_modules/{@libsql/client,better-sqlite3,@ai-sdk}/**"
     }
   },
   "headers": [
diff --git a/pnpm-lock.yaml b/pnpm-lock.yaml
index 560a03771..f33cfd327 100644
--- a/pnpm-lock.yaml
+++ b/pnpm-lock.yaml
@@ -145,6 +145,9 @@ importers:
       '@hono/node-server':
         specifier: ^1.19.14
         version: 1.19.14(hono@4.12.12)
+      '@libsql/client':
+        specifier: ^0.17.2
+        version: 0.17.2
       '@objectstack/client':
         specifier: workspace:*
         version: link:../../packages/client
@@ -247,6 +250,9 @@ importers:
       ai:
         specifier: ^6.0.158
         version: 6.0.158(zod@4.3.6)
+      better-sqlite3:
+        specifier: ^12.8.0
+        version: 12.9.0
       class-variance-authority:
         specifier: ^0.7.1
         version: 0.7.1