diff --git a/.bitmap b/.bitmap
index 8a92b31899d7..05f0295b37c2 100644
--- a/.bitmap
+++ b/.bitmap
@@ -583,6 +583,19 @@
         "mainFile": "index.ts",
         "rootDir": "scopes/workspace/eject"
     },
+    "empty-env": {
+        "name": "empty-env",
+        "scope": "",
+        "version": "",
+        "defaultScope": "teambit.envs",
+        "mainFile": "index.ts",
+        "rootDir": "scopes/envs/empty-env",
+        "config": {
+            "teambit.envs/envs": {
+                "env": "teambit.envs/empty-env"
+            }
+        }
+    },
     "entities/lane-diff": {
         "name": "entities/lane-diff",
         "scope": "teambit.lanes",
diff --git a/components/legacy/e2e-helper/e2e-command-helper.ts b/components/legacy/e2e-helper/e2e-command-helper.ts
index 4ec636340fb3..f3e2e364112d 100644
--- a/components/legacy/e2e-helper/e2e-command-helper.ts
+++ b/components/legacy/e2e-helper/e2e-command-helper.ts
@@ -894,7 +894,14 @@ export default class CommandHelper {
     runCmdOpts?: { envVariables?: Record<string, string> }
   ) {
     const parsedOpts = this.parseOptions(options);
-    return this.runCmd(`bit install ${packages} ${parsedOpts}`, cwd, 'pipe', undefined, false, runCmdOpts?.envVariables);
+    return this.runCmd(
+      `bit install ${packages} ${parsedOpts}`,
+      cwd,
+      'pipe',
+      undefined,
+      false,
+      runCmdOpts?.envVariables
+    );
   }
   update(flags?: string) {
     return this.runCmd(`bit update ${flags || ''}`);
diff --git a/components/ui/inputs/lane-selector_1/lane-menu-item.tsx b/components/ui/inputs/lane-selector_1/lane-menu-item.tsx
index c70992527713..b94beb141abf 100644
--- a/components/ui/inputs/lane-selector_1/lane-menu-item.tsx
+++ b/components/ui/inputs/lane-selector_1/lane-menu-item.tsx
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import { MenuLinkItem } from '@teambit/design.ui.surfaces.menu.link-item';
 import { UserAvatar } from '@teambit/design.ui.avatar';
 import { TimeAgo } from '@teambit/design.ui.time-ago';
 import { Ellipsis } from '@teambit/design.ui.styles.ellipsis';
-import { Icon } from '@teambit/design.elements.icon'
+import { Icon } from '@teambit/design.elements.icon';
 import styles from './lane-menu-item.module.scss';
 
 export type LaneMenuItemProps = {
diff --git a/components/ui/models/lanes-model/lanes-model.ts b/components/ui/models/lanes-model/lanes-model.ts
index 568cc82f270f..42e935f2406b 100644
--- a/components/ui/models/lanes-model/lanes-model.ts
+++ b/components/ui/models/lanes-model/lanes-model.ts
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ export type LaneQueryResult = {
   updatedAt?: Date;
   updatedBy?: LaneQueryLaneOwner;
   dependents?: Array<ComponentIdObj>;
-  slug?: string
+  slug?: string;
   deleted?: boolean;
 };
 /**
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ export type LaneModel = {
   updatedAt?: Date;
   updatedBy?: LaneQueryLaneOwner;
   dependents?: ComponentID[];
-  slug?: string
+  slug?: string;
   deleted?: boolean;
 };
 /**
@@ -234,7 +234,7 @@ export class LanesModel {
       createdBy,
       deleted,
       dependents: dependents?.map((dependent) => ComponentID.fromObject(dependent)),
-      slug
+      slug,
     };
   }
 
@@ -387,10 +387,11 @@ export class LanesModel {
   };
 
   resolveComponentFromUrl = (idFromUrl: string, laneId?: LaneId) => {
-    const comps = (
-      (laneId && this.lanes.find((lane) => lane.slug === laneId.toString() || lane.id.isEqual(laneId))) ||
-      this.viewedLane
-    )?.components || [];
+    const comps =
+      (
+        (laneId && this.lanes.find((lane) => lane.slug === laneId.toString() || lane.id.isEqual(laneId))) ||
+        this.viewedLane
+      )?.components || [];
     const includesScope = idFromUrl.includes('.');
     if (includesScope) {
       return comps.find((component) => component.toStringWithoutVersion() === idFromUrl);
diff --git a/docs/removing-core-envs.md b/docs/removing-core-envs.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..7fb1e7a733c3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/removing-core-envs.md
@@ -0,0 +1,94 @@
+# Removing Core Environments from Bit Core
+
+## Overview
+
+This document describes the implementation for removing **all** core environments from Bit's core binary to reduce its size and node_modules footprint. These environments will become regular dependencies instead of bundled core aspects.
+
+### Environments Being Removed
+
+All of the following environments are being removed from core:
+
+- `teambit.harmony/aspect` - Aspect environment
+- `teambit.html/html` - HTML environment
+- `teambit.mdx/mdx` - MDX environment
+- `teambit.envs/env` - Env environment (for creating custom envs)
+- `teambit.mdx/readme` - Readme environment
+- `teambit.harmony/bit-custom-aspect` - Custom aspect environment
+- `teambit.harmony/node` - Node.js environment
+- `teambit.react/react` - React environment
+- `teambit.react/react-native` - React Native environment
+
+## Background
+
+**Problem**: Core environments are currently bundled with Bit, increasing binary size and node_modules footprint unnecessarily.
+
+**Challenge**: Components using core envs were saved with IDs without versions (e.g., `teambit.harmony/node`) because they were core aspects. After removal, they need versions like any other dependency.
+
+**Solution**: Implement backward compatibility by assigning versions to legacy core envs in memory during component load, without migrating existing snapshots. Use `teambit.envs/empty-env` as the new default environment.
+
+## Implementation
+
+### Empty Env Solution
+
+The key challenge was the default env (`teambit.harmony/node`) being removed from core but still needed during initialization. The solution:
+
+**Created `teambit.envs/empty-env`** - a minimal environment with no compiler, tester, or tools that remains in core as a lightweight aspect. This becomes the new `DEFAULT_ENV`.
+
+Files created in `scopes/envs/empty-env/`:
+
+- `empty-env.env.ts` - Empty env class
+- `empty-env.aspect.ts` - Aspect definition
+- `empty-env.main.runtime.ts` - Runtime registration
+- `index.ts` - Type exports
+
+### Backward Compatibility
+
+**`scopes/envs/envs/environments.main.runtime.ts`** - Key changes:
+
+```typescript
+// Track all 9 legacy core envs for backward compatibility
+private getLegacyCoreEnvsIds(): string[] {
+  return [
+    'teambit.harmony/aspect',
+    'teambit.html/html',
+    'teambit.mdx/mdx',
+    'teambit.envs/env',
+    'teambit.mdx/readme',
+    'teambit.harmony/bit-custom-aspect',
+    'teambit.harmony/node',
+    'teambit.react/react',
+    'teambit.react/react-native',
+  ];
+}
+
+// Include empty-env as a core env along with legacy envs
+getCoreEnvsIds(): string[] {
+  return ['teambit.envs/empty-env', ...this.getLegacyCoreEnvsIds()];
+}
+
+// Changed DEFAULT_ENV constant
+export const DEFAULT_ENV = 'teambit.envs/empty-env';
+```
+
+The `resolveEnv()` method handles version assignment for legacy envs: when loading components with envs lacking versions, it searches the component's aspects for a versioned reference, falls back to envSlot, and assigns the latest available version in memory.
+
+### Core Aspects
+
+**`scopes/harmony/bit/manifests.ts`** - Removed all env aspects from manifestsMap except EmptyEnvAspect:
+
+```typescript
+import { EmptyEnvAspect } from '@teambit/empty-env';
+
+export const manifestsMap = {
+  // ... other aspects
+  [EmptyEnvAspect.id]: EmptyEnvAspect,
+};
+```
+
+## Benefits
+
+- **Reduced binary size**: Core envs no longer bundled with Bit
+- **Smaller node_modules**: Only needed envs are installed
+- **Backward compatible**: Old components without env versions work via automatic version resolution
+- **No breaking changes**: Version assignment happens transparently in memory
+- **Minimal overhead**: Empty-env adds negligible size to core
diff --git a/e2e/harmony/dependencies/allow-scripts.e2e.ts b/e2e/harmony/dependencies/allow-scripts.e2e.ts
index 3269d1d4c584..6e19297ecdf3 100644
--- a/e2e/harmony/dependencies/allow-scripts.e2e.ts
+++ b/e2e/harmony/dependencies/allow-scripts.e2e.ts
@@ -90,7 +90,9 @@ chai.use(chaiFs);
       helper.command.setConfig('registry', npmCiRegistry.getRegistryUrl());
       // The installation below would fail if we didn't explicitly disallow
       // @pnpm.e2e/failing-postinstall in allowScripts.
-      helper.command.install('@pnpm.e2e/failing-postinstall @pnpm.e2e/pre-and-postinstall-scripts-example --disallow-scripts=@pnpm.e2e/failing-postinstall --allow-scripts=@pnpm.e2e/pre-and-postinstall-scripts-example');
+      helper.command.install(
+        '@pnpm.e2e/failing-postinstall @pnpm.e2e/pre-and-postinstall-scripts-example --disallow-scripts=@pnpm.e2e/failing-postinstall --allow-scripts=@pnpm.e2e/pre-and-postinstall-scripts-example'
+      );
       workspaceJsonc = helper.workspaceJsonc.read();
     });
     after(() => {
@@ -136,14 +138,19 @@ chai.use(chaiFs);
       });
       // The installation below would fail if we didn't explicitly disallow
       // @pnpm.e2e/failing-postinstall in allowScripts.
-      helper.command.install('@pnpm.e2e/failing-postinstall @pnpm.e2e/pre-and-postinstall-scripts-example', undefined, undefined, {
-        envVariables: {
-          BIT_ALLOW_SCRIPTS: JSON.stringify({
-            '@pnpm.e2e/failing-postinstall': false,
-            '@pnpm.e2e/pre-and-postinstall-scripts-example': true,
-          }),
-        },
-      });
+      helper.command.install(
+        '@pnpm.e2e/failing-postinstall @pnpm.e2e/pre-and-postinstall-scripts-example',
+        undefined,
+        undefined,
+        {
+          envVariables: {
+            BIT_ALLOW_SCRIPTS: JSON.stringify({
+              '@pnpm.e2e/failing-postinstall': false,
+              '@pnpm.e2e/pre-and-postinstall-scripts-example': true,
+            }),
+          },
+        }
+      );
       workspaceJsonc = helper.workspaceJsonc.read();
     });
     after(() => {
diff --git a/scopes/envs/empty-env/empty-env.aspect.ts b/scopes/envs/empty-env/empty-env.aspect.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..20b4ddfd8ca0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scopes/envs/empty-env/empty-env.aspect.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+import { Aspect } from '@teambit/harmony';
+
+export const EmptyEnvAspect = Aspect.create({
+  id: 'teambit.envs/empty-env',
+});
diff --git a/scopes/envs/empty-env/empty-env.env.ts b/scopes/envs/empty-env/empty-env.env.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..6b79c041967a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scopes/envs/empty-env/empty-env.env.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+/**
+ * EmptyEnv - A minimal empty environment used as the default fallback.
+ * This env has no compiler, tester, linter, or any other tools configured.
+ * It's used as the default env when no other env is specified.
+ */
+export class EmptyEnv {
+  /**
+   * mandatory! otherwise, it is not recognized as an env. (see getEnvDescriptorFromEnvDef)
+   */
+  async __getDescriptor() {
+    return {
+      type: 'empty',
+    };
+  }
+}
+
+export default new EmptyEnv();
diff --git a/scopes/envs/empty-env/empty-env.main.runtime.ts b/scopes/envs/empty-env/empty-env.main.runtime.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..d9f1a9c47369
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scopes/envs/empty-env/empty-env.main.runtime.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+import type { EnvsMain } from '@teambit/envs';
+import { EnvsAspect } from '@teambit/envs';
+import { MainRuntime } from '@teambit/cli';
+import { EmptyEnv } from './empty-env.env';
+import { EmptyEnvAspect } from './empty-env.aspect';
+
+export class EmptyEnvMain {
+  static runtime = MainRuntime;
+  static dependencies = [EnvsAspect];
+  static async provider([envs]: [EnvsMain]) {
+    const emptyEnv = new EmptyEnv();
+    envs.registerEnv(emptyEnv);
+    return new EmptyEnvMain();
+  }
+}
+
+EmptyEnvAspect.addRuntime(EmptyEnvMain);
diff --git a/scopes/envs/empty-env/index.ts b/scopes/envs/empty-env/index.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..f53dfeded785
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scopes/envs/empty-env/index.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+export type { EmptyEnv } from './empty-env.env';
+export type { EmptyEnvMain } from './empty-env.main.runtime';
+export { EmptyEnvAspect, EmptyEnvAspect as default } from './empty-env.aspect';
diff --git a/scopes/envs/envs/environments.main.runtime.ts b/scopes/envs/envs/environments.main.runtime.ts
index 86f6bf6f3788..346110835150 100644
--- a/scopes/envs/envs/environments.main.runtime.ts
+++ b/scopes/envs/envs/environments.main.runtime.ts
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ export type EnvCompDescriptor = EnvCompDescriptorProps & {
 
 export type Descriptor = RegularCompDescriptor | EnvCompDescriptor;
 
-export const DEFAULT_ENV = 'teambit.harmony/node';
+export const DEFAULT_ENV = 'teambit.envs/empty-env';
 
 export class EnvsMain {
   /**
@@ -229,20 +229,31 @@ export class EnvsMain {
     return new EnvDefinition(DEFAULT_ENV, defaultEnv);
   }
 
-  getCoreEnvsIds(): string[] {
+  /**
+   * Returns IDs of legacy core envs that were removed from core.
+   * These envs were previously bundled with Bit but are now regular dependencies.
+   * Used for backward compatibility - old components reference these without versions.
+   */
+  private getLegacyCoreEnvsIds(): string[] {
     return [
       'teambit.harmony/aspect',
-      'teambit.react/react',
-      'teambit.harmony/node',
-      'teambit.react/react-native',
       'teambit.html/html',
       'teambit.mdx/mdx',
       'teambit.envs/env',
       'teambit.mdx/readme',
       'teambit.harmony/bit-custom-aspect',
+      'teambit.harmony/node',
+      'teambit.react/react',
+      'teambit.react/react-native',
     ];
   }
 
+  getCoreEnvsIds(): string[] {
+    // All core envs have been removed from core and are now regular dependencies.
+    // Return only legacy core envs for backward compatibility with old components.
+    return ['teambit.envs/empty-env', ...this.getLegacyCoreEnvsIds()];
+  }
+
   /**
    * compose a new environment from a list of environment transformers.
    */
@@ -588,11 +599,32 @@ export class EnvsMain {
     };
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Resolves an env ID to a ComponentID with version.
+   * For legacy core envs (removed from core), assigns the latest loaded version.
+   */
   resolveEnv(component: Component, id: string) {
     const matchedEntry = component.state.aspects.entries.find((aspectEntry) => {
       return id === aspectEntry.id.toString() || id === aspectEntry.id.toString({ ignoreVersion: true });
     });
 
+    if (matchedEntry?.id) return matchedEntry.id;
+
+    // Handle legacy core envs that were removed from core
+    // Old components have these envs stored without version
+    const withoutVersion = id.split('@')[0];
+    if (this.getLegacyCoreEnvsIds().includes(withoutVersion)) {
+      // Try to find this env in the component's aspects (with version)
+      const legacyEnvWithVersion = component.state.aspects.entries.find((aspectEntry) => {
+        return aspectEntry.id.toStringWithoutVersion() === withoutVersion;
+      });
+      if (legacyEnvWithVersion) return legacyEnvWithVersion.id;
+
+      // Fallback: check if env is registered in slot (loaded from workspace/scope)
+      const fromSlot = this.envSlot.toArray().find(([envId]) => envId.startsWith(`${withoutVersion}@`));
+      if (fromSlot) return ComponentID.fromString(fromSlot[0]);
+    }
+
     return matchedEntry?.id;
   }
 
@@ -609,8 +641,12 @@ export class EnvsMain {
       ? ComponentID.fromString(envIdFromEnvsConfig).toStringWithoutVersion()
       : undefined;
 
+    // Handle core envs (including legacy core envs that were removed from core)
+    // Legacy envs without version will get resolved via resolveEnv() later
     if (envIdFromEnvsConfig && this.isCoreEnv(envIdFromEnvsConfig)) {
-      return ComponentID.fromString(envIdFromEnvsConfig);
+      // Try to resolve version for legacy core envs
+      const resolved = this.resolveEnv(component, envIdFromEnvsConfig);
+      return resolved ? ComponentID.fromString(resolved.toString()) : ComponentID.fromString(envIdFromEnvsConfig);
     }
 
     // in some cases we have the id configured in the teambit.envs/envs but without the version
diff --git a/scopes/harmony/bit/manifests.ts b/scopes/harmony/bit/manifests.ts
index ed28cffbd0f2..d6568898dc2e 100644
--- a/scopes/harmony/bit/manifests.ts
+++ b/scopes/harmony/bit/manifests.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { AspectAspect } from '@teambit/aspect';
+// import { AspectAspect } from '@teambit/aspect'; // Removed from core - now a regular env
 import { AspectLoaderAspect } from '@teambit/aspect-loader';
 import { BuilderAspect } from '@teambit/builder';
 import { BundlerAspect } from '@teambit/bundler';
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ import { DependencyResolverAspect } from '@teambit/dependency-resolver';
 import { DeprecationAspect } from '@teambit/deprecation';
 import { DocsAspect } from '@teambit/docs';
 import { EnvsAspect } from '@teambit/envs';
-import { EnvAspect } from '@teambit/env';
+// import { EnvAspect } from '@teambit/env'; // Removed from core - now a regular env
 import { ExpressAspect } from '@teambit/express';
 import { YarnAspect } from '@teambit/yarn';
 import { GeneratorAspect } from '@teambit/generator';
@@ -23,14 +23,14 @@ import { InsightsAspect } from '@teambit/insights';
 import { IsolatorAspect } from '@teambit/isolator';
 import { JestAspect } from '@teambit/jest';
 import { LoggerAspect } from '@teambit/logger';
-import { NodeAspect } from '@teambit/node';
+// import { NodeAspect } from '@teambit/node'; // Removed from core - now a regular env
 import { NotificationsAspect } from '@teambit/notifications';
 import { PanelUiAspect } from '@teambit/panels';
 import { PkgAspect } from '@teambit/pkg';
 import { PnpmAspect } from '@teambit/pnpm';
 import { PreviewAspect } from '@teambit/preview';
 import { ComponentSizerAspect } from '@teambit/component-sizer';
-import { ReactAspect } from '@teambit/react';
+// import { ReactAspect } from '@teambit/react'; // Removed from core - now a regular env
 import { VueAspect } from '@teambit/vue-aspect';
 import { ReactRouterAspect } from '@teambit/react-router';
 import { SchemaAspect } from '@teambit/schema';
@@ -61,8 +61,8 @@ import { PrettierAspect } from '@teambit/prettier';
 import { WorkerAspect } from '@teambit/worker';
 import { GlobalConfigAspect } from '@teambit/global-config';
 import { MultiCompilerAspect } from '@teambit/multi-compiler';
-import { MDXAspect } from '@teambit/mdx';
-import { ReadmeAspect } from '@teambit/readme';
+// import { MDXAspect } from '@teambit/mdx'; // Removed from core - now a regular env
+// import { ReadmeAspect } from '@teambit/readme'; // Removed from core - now a regular env
 import { ApplicationAspect } from '@teambit/application';
 import { ExportAspect } from '@teambit/export';
 import { ImporterAspect } from '@teambit/importer';
@@ -108,6 +108,7 @@ import { ConfigStoreAspect } from '@teambit/config-store';
 import { CliMcpServerAspect } from '@teambit/cli-mcp-server';
 import { CiAspect } from '@teambit/ci';
 import { ScriptsAspect } from '@teambit/scripts';
+import { EmptyEnvAspect } from '@teambit/empty-env';
 
 /**
  * this is the place to register core aspects.
@@ -129,8 +130,8 @@ export const manifestsMap = {
   [FormatterAspect.id]: FormatterAspect,
   [ValidatorAspect.id]: ValidatorAspect,
   [ComponentAspect.id]: ComponentAspect,
-  [MDXAspect.id]: MDXAspect,
-  [ReadmeAspect.id]: ReadmeAspect,
+  // [MDXAspect.id]: MDXAspect, // Removed from core - now a regular env
+  // [ReadmeAspect.id]: ReadmeAspect, // Removed from core - now a regular env
   [PreviewAspect.id]: PreviewAspect,
   [ComponentSizerAspect.id]: ComponentSizerAspect,
   [DocsAspect.id]: DocsAspect,
@@ -143,7 +144,7 @@ export const manifestsMap = {
   [UIAspect.id]: UIAspect,
   [GeneratorAspect.id]: GeneratorAspect,
   [EnvsAspect.id]: EnvsAspect,
-  [EnvAspect.id]: EnvAspect,
+  // [EnvAspect.id]: EnvAspect, // Removed from core - now a regular env
   [GraphAspect.id]: GraphAspect,
   [PubsubAspect.id]: PubsubAspect,
   [DependencyResolverAspect.id]: DependencyResolverAspect,
@@ -151,7 +152,7 @@ export const manifestsMap = {
   [IsolatorAspect.id]: IsolatorAspect,
   [LoggerAspect.id]: LoggerAspect,
   [PkgAspect.id]: PkgAspect,
-  [ReactAspect.id]: ReactAspect,
+  // [ReactAspect.id]: ReactAspect, // Removed from core - now a regular env
   [VueAspect.id]: VueAspect,
   [WorkerAspect.id]: WorkerAspect,
   // [StencilAspect.id]: StencilAspect,
@@ -162,14 +163,14 @@ export const manifestsMap = {
   [VariantsAspect.id]: VariantsAspect,
   [DeprecationAspect.id]: DeprecationAspect,
   [ExpressAspect.id]: ExpressAspect,
-  [AspectAspect.id]: AspectAspect,
+  // [AspectAspect.id]: AspectAspect, // Removed from core - now a regular env
   [WebpackAspect.id]: WebpackAspect,
   [SchemaAspect.id]: SchemaAspect,
   [ReactRouterAspect.id]: ReactRouterAspect,
   [TypescriptAspect.id]: TypescriptAspect,
   [PanelUiAspect.id]: PanelUiAspect,
   [BabelAspect.id]: BabelAspect,
-  [NodeAspect.id]: NodeAspect,
+  // [NodeAspect.id]: NodeAspect, // Removed from core - now a regular env
   [NotificationsAspect.id]: NotificationsAspect,
   [BundlerAspect.id]: BundlerAspect,
   [JestAspect.id]: JestAspect,
@@ -224,6 +225,7 @@ export const manifestsMap = {
   [CliMcpServerAspect.id]: CliMcpServerAspect,
   [CiAspect.id]: CiAspect,
   [ScriptsAspect.id]: ScriptsAspect,
+  [EmptyEnvAspect.id]: EmptyEnvAspect,
 };
 
 export function isCoreAspect(id: string) {
diff --git a/scopes/preview/preview/preview.main.runtime.ts b/scopes/preview/preview/preview.main.runtime.ts
index d9e7cfa4481b..3151eddd6e6c 100644
--- a/scopes/preview/preview/preview.main.runtime.ts
+++ b/scopes/preview/preview/preview.main.runtime.ts
@@ -449,11 +449,12 @@ export class PreviewMain {
   async calcPreviewDataFromEnv(
     component: Component
   ): Promise<Omit<PreviewAnyComponentData, 'doesScaling' | 'onlyOverview' | 'useNameParam'> | undefined> {
-    // Prevent infinite loop that caused by the fact that the env of the aspect env or the env env is the same as the component
+    // Prevent infinite loop that caused by the fact that the env of the aspect env, env env, or empty-env is the same as the component
     // so we can't load it since during load we are trying to get env component and load it again
     if (
       component.id.toStringWithoutVersion() === 'teambit.harmony/aspect' ||
-      component.id.toStringWithoutVersion() === 'teambit.envs/env'
+      component.id.toStringWithoutVersion() === 'teambit.envs/env' ||
+      component.id.toStringWithoutVersion() === 'teambit.envs/empty-env'
     ) {
       return {
         strategyName: COMPONENT_PREVIEW_STRATEGY_NAME,
@@ -461,7 +462,8 @@ export class PreviewMain {
       };
     }
 
-    const env = this.envs.getEnv(component).env;
+    // Use getOrCalculateEnv to handle components whose env may not be loaded yet
+    const env = this.envs.getOrCalculateEnv(component).env;
     const envPreviewConfig = this.getEnvPreviewConfig(env);
     const data = {
       strategyName: envPreviewConfig?.strategyName,
diff --git a/scopes/react/aspect-docs/react/react.mdx b/scopes/react/aspect-docs/react/react.mdx
index e2f3b0f76853..a49988ce8926 100644
--- a/scopes/react/aspect-docs/react/react.mdx
+++ b/scopes/react/aspect-docs/react/react.mdx
@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ export class CustomReactExtension {
 }
 ```
 
-{/* ## Composition Providers
+{/\* ## Composition Providers
 
 The React environment is able to "wrap" component compositions with an array of providers, each of which is simply a component which wraps its `children` with functionality, such as a context, styling, theme, etc.
 
@@ -186,47 +186,43 @@ As such, they run in the environment's Preview runtime and not the Main runtime.
 For example, a provider that centers compositions in their rendering page, will look like this:
 
 ```tsx title="A composition provider example"
-import React, { ReactReact, ReactElement } from 'react'
+import React, { ReactReact, ReactElement } from 'react';
 
 const style = {
   display: 'flex',
   justifyContent: 'center',
   alignItems: 'center',
-  height: '100vh'
-}
+  height: '100vh',
+};
 
-export const Center = ({
-  children
-}: {
-  children: ReactReact
-}): ReactElement => {
-  return <div style={style}>{children}</div>
-}
+export const Center = ({ children }: { children: ReactReact }): ReactElement => {
+  return <div style={style}>{children}</div>;
+};
 ```
 
 This `Center` provider component will be registered using the registerProvider method in the React extension's `*.preview.runtime.tsx` file:
 
 ```tsx title="react-with-providers.preview.runtime.tsx"
-import { PreviewRuntime } from '@teambit/preview'
-import { ReactAspect, ReactPreview } from '@teambit/react'
-import { ReactWithProvidersAspect } from './react-with-providers.aspect'
-import { Center } from './composition-providers/center'
+import { PreviewRuntime } from '@teambit/preview';
+import { ReactAspect, ReactPreview } from '@teambit/react';
+import { ReactWithProvidersAspect } from './react-with-providers.aspect';
+import { Center } from './composition-providers/center';
 
 export class ReactWithProvidersPreview {
-  static runtime = PreviewRuntime
-  static dependencies = [ReactAspect]
+  static runtime = PreviewRuntime;
+  static dependencies = [ReactAspect];
 
   static async provider([react]: [ReactPreview]) {
-    react.registerProvider([Center])
+    react.registerProvider([Center]);
 
-    return ReactWithProvidersPreview
+    return ReactWithProvidersPreview;
   }
 }
 
-ReactWithProvidersAspect.addRuntime(ReactWithProvidersPreview)
+ReactWithProvidersAspect.addRuntime(ReactWithProvidersPreview);
 ```
 
-> See the full demo project [here](https://github.com/teambit/react-env-with-providers). */}
+> See the full demo project [here](https://github.com/teambit/react-env-with-providers). \*/}
 
 ### Transformers API docs
 
diff --git a/scopes/react/ui/loader-fallback/loader-fallback.docs.mdx b/scopes/react/ui/loader-fallback/loader-fallback.docs.mdx
index abc84697c65a..0d9ec7e8b549 100644
--- a/scopes/react/ui/loader-fallback/loader-fallback.docs.mdx
+++ b/scopes/react/ui/loader-fallback/loader-fallback.docs.mdx
@@ -22,9 +22,9 @@ const safeTarget = useFallback(Target && <Target />, <DefaultComponent />, { tim
    1. then, after _x_ seconds - show the default.
 
 {/* live playground doesn't keep state when editing :( */}
-{/* Try it out:
+{/\* Try it out:
 
-```tsx live
+````tsx live
 function Example() {
   return (
     <LoaderFallback
@@ -43,3 +43,4 @@ function Example() {
   }
 }
 ``` */}
+````
diff --git a/scopes/workspace/install/install.cmd.tsx b/scopes/workspace/install/install.cmd.tsx
index 202576355b41..18d98527ccae 100644
--- a/scopes/workspace/install/install.cmd.tsx
+++ b/scopes/workspace/install/install.cmd.tsx
@@ -69,8 +69,16 @@ automatically imports components, compiles components, links to node_modules, an
     ],
     ['', 'no-optional [noOptional]', 'do not install optional dependencies (works with pnpm only)'],
     ['', 'lockfile-only', 'dependencies are not written to node_modules. Only the lockfile is updated'],
-    ['', 'allow-scripts [pkgNames]', 'a comma separated list of package names that are allowed to run installation scripts'],
-    ['', 'disallow-scripts [pkgNames]', 'a comma separated list of package names that are NOT allowed to run installation scripts'],
+    [
+      '',
+      'allow-scripts [pkgNames]',
+      'a comma separated list of package names that are allowed to run installation scripts',
+    ],
+    [
+      '',
+      'disallow-scripts [pkgNames]',
+      'a comma separated list of package names that are NOT allowed to run installation scripts',
+    ],
   ] as CommandOptions;
 
   constructor(
@@ -168,7 +176,7 @@ automatically imports components, compiles components, links to node_modules, an
     return allowScripts;
   }
 
-  private * _parseCommaSeparatedPkgList(pkgList: string): IterableIterator<string> {
+  private *_parseCommaSeparatedPkgList(pkgList: string): IterableIterator<string> {
     for (const pkgName of pkgList.split(',')) {
       const trimmed = pkgName.trim();
       if (trimmed) {
diff --git a/scopes/workspace/workspace/workspace-aspects-loader.ts b/scopes/workspace/workspace/workspace-aspects-loader.ts
index 9c60439d18a2..064df5e0533a 100644
--- a/scopes/workspace/workspace/workspace-aspects-loader.ts
+++ b/scopes/workspace/workspace/workspace-aspects-loader.ts
@@ -158,7 +158,8 @@ needed-for: ${neededFor || '<unknown>'}. using opts: ${JSON.stringify(mergedOpts
 
     const potentialPluginsIndexes = compact(
       manifests.map((manifest, index) => {
-        if (this.aspectLoader.isValidAspect(manifest)) return undefined;
+        const isValid = this.aspectLoader.isValidAspect(manifest);
+        if (isValid) return undefined;
         return index;
       })
     );
diff --git a/workspace.jsonc b/workspace.jsonc
index 7eff41df72cb..e47b8d7574e5 100644
--- a/workspace.jsonc
+++ b/workspace.jsonc
@@ -5,10 +5,17 @@
     "icon": "https://static.bit.dev/bit-logo.svg",
     "defaultScope": "teambit.bit",
     "defaultDirectory": "components",
-    // Setting this to false since the external core aspect env uses the core aspects
-    // so we need it to be installed in a capsule
-    "resolveEnvsFromRoots": false
+    // Setting this to true to load envs from node_modules instead of capsules
+    // This allows envs with only .bit-env.ts files (like core-aspect-env) to load via plugin mechanism
+    "resolveEnvsFromRoots": true
   },
+  // These envs are loaded from node_modules (no longer bundled as core aspects)
+  "teambit.harmony/envs/core-aspect-env": {},
+  "teambit.envs/env": {},
+  "teambit.harmony/node": {},
+  "teambit.react/react": {},
+  "teambit.mdx/mdx": {},
+  "teambit.harmony/aspect": {},
   "teambit.dependencies/dependency-resolver": {
     "allowScripts": {
       "@apollo/protobufjs": true,