diff --git a/packages/playwright/src/common/esmLoaderHost.ts b/packages/playwright/src/common/esmLoaderHost.ts
index 24f55784ea..f165318c08 100644
--- a/packages/playwright/src/common/esmLoaderHost.ts
+++ b/packages/playwright/src/common/esmLoaderHost.ts
@@ -60,6 +60,9 @@ export async function stopCollectingFileDeps(file: string) {
 export async function incorporateCompilationCache() {
   if (!loaderChannel)
     return;
+  // This is needed to gather dependency information from the esm loader
+  // that is populated from the resovle hook. We do not need to push
+  // this information proactively during load, but gather it at the end.
   const result = await loaderChannel.send('getCompilationCache', {});
   addToCompilationCache(result.cache);
 }
diff --git a/packages/playwright/src/transform/compilationCache.ts b/packages/playwright/src/transform/compilationCache.ts
index 0730630249..d7db4bcad4 100644
--- a/packages/playwright/src/transform/compilationCache.ts
+++ b/packages/playwright/src/transform/compilationCache.ts
@@ -92,12 +92,24 @@ export function installSourceMapSupportIfNeeded() {
   });
 }
 
-function _innerAddToCompilationCache(filename: string, entry: MemoryCache) {
+function _innerAddToCompilationCacheAndSerialize(filename: string, entry: MemoryCache) {
   sourceMaps.set(entry.moduleUrl || filename, entry.sourceMapPath);
   memoryCache.set(filename, entry);
+  return {
+    sourceMaps: [[entry.moduleUrl || filename, entry.sourceMapPath]],
+    memoryCache: [[filename, entry]],
+    fileDependencies: [],
+    externalDependencies: [],
+  };
 }
 
-export function getFromCompilationCache(filename: string, hash: string, moduleUrl?: string): { cachedCode?: string, addToCache?: (code: string, map: any | undefined | null, data: Map<string, any>) => void } {
+type CompilationCacheLookupResult = {
+  serializedCache?: any;
+  cachedCode?: string;
+  addToCache?: (code: string, map: any | undefined | null, data: Map<string, any>) => { serializedCache?: any };
+};
+
+export function getFromCompilationCache(filename: string, hash: string, moduleUrl?: string): CompilationCacheLookupResult {
   // First check the memory cache by filename, this cache will always work in the worker,
   // because we just compiled this file in the loader.
   const cache = memoryCache.get(filename);
@@ -116,22 +128,23 @@ export function getFromCompilationCache(filename: string, hash: string, moduleUr
   const dataPath = cachePath + '.data';
   try {
     const cachedCode = fs.readFileSync(codePath, 'utf8');
-    _innerAddToCompilationCache(filename, { codePath, sourceMapPath, dataPath, moduleUrl });
-    return { cachedCode };
+    const serializedCache = _innerAddToCompilationCacheAndSerialize(filename, { codePath, sourceMapPath, dataPath, moduleUrl });
+    return { cachedCode, serializedCache };
   } catch {
   }
 
   return {
     addToCache: (code: string, map: any | undefined | null, data: Map<string, any>) => {
       if (isWorkerProcess())
-        return;
+        return {};
       fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(cachePath), { recursive: true });
       if (map)
         fs.writeFileSync(sourceMapPath, JSON.stringify(map), 'utf8');
       if (data.size)
         fs.writeFileSync(dataPath, JSON.stringify(Object.fromEntries(data.entries()), undefined, 2), 'utf8');
       fs.writeFileSync(codePath, code, 'utf8');
-      _innerAddToCompilationCache(filename, { codePath, sourceMapPath, dataPath, moduleUrl });
+      const serializedCache = _innerAddToCompilationCacheAndSerialize(filename, { codePath, sourceMapPath, dataPath, moduleUrl });
+      return { serializedCache };
     }
   };
 }
diff --git a/packages/playwright/src/transform/esmLoader.ts b/packages/playwright/src/transform/esmLoader.ts
index 4a02b8511e..13c99f1f7f 100644
--- a/packages/playwright/src/transform/esmLoader.ts
+++ b/packages/playwright/src/transform/esmLoader.ts
@@ -30,6 +30,8 @@ async function resolve(specifier: string, context: { parentURL?: string }, defau
       specifier = url.pathToFileURL(resolved).toString();
   }
   const result = await defaultResolve(specifier, context, defaultResolve);
+  // Note: we collect dependencies here that will be sent to the main thread
+  // (and optionally runner process) after the loading finishes.
   if (result?.url && result.url.startsWith('file://'))
     currentFileDepsCollector()?.add(url.fileURLToPath(result.url));
 
@@ -54,14 +56,15 @@ async function load(moduleUrl: string, context: { format?: string }, defaultLoad
     return defaultLoad(moduleUrl, context, defaultLoad);
 
   const code = fs.readFileSync(filename, 'utf-8');
-  const source = transformHook(code, filename, moduleUrl);
+  const transformed = transformHook(code, filename, moduleUrl);
 
-  // Flush the source maps to the main thread.
-  await transport?.send('pushToCompilationCache', { cache: serializeCompilationCache() });
+  // Flush the source maps to the main thread, so that errors during import() are source-mapped.
+  if (transformed.serializedCache)
+    await transport?.send('pushToCompilationCache', { cache: transformed.serializedCache });
 
   // Output format is always the same as input format, if it was unknown, we always report modules.
   // shortCircuit is required by Node >= 18.6 to designate no more loaders should be called.
-  return { format: context.format || 'module', source, shortCircuit: true };
+  return { format: context.format || 'module', source: transformed.code, shortCircuit: true };
 }
 
 let transport: PortTransport | undefined;
diff --git a/packages/playwright/src/transform/transform.ts b/packages/playwright/src/transform/transform.ts
index e53adf4494..82b5acdda1 100644
--- a/packages/playwright/src/transform/transform.ts
+++ b/packages/playwright/src/transform/transform.ts
@@ -163,7 +163,7 @@ export function setTransformData(pluginName: string, value: any) {
   transformData.set(pluginName, value);
 }
 
-export function transformHook(originalCode: string, filename: string, moduleUrl?: string): string {
+export function transformHook(originalCode: string, filename: string, moduleUrl?: string): { code: string, serializedCache?: any } {
   const isTypeScript = filename.endsWith('.ts') || filename.endsWith('.tsx') || filename.endsWith('.mts') || filename.endsWith('.cts');
   const hasPreprocessor =
       process.env.PW_TEST_SOURCE_TRANSFORM &&
@@ -172,9 +172,9 @@ export function transformHook(originalCode: string, filename: string, moduleUrl?
   const pluginsPrologue = _transformConfig.babelPlugins;
   const pluginsEpilogue = hasPreprocessor ? [[process.env.PW_TEST_SOURCE_TRANSFORM!]] as BabelPlugin[] : [];
   const hash = calculateHash(originalCode, filename, !!moduleUrl, pluginsPrologue, pluginsEpilogue);
-  const { cachedCode, addToCache } = getFromCompilationCache(filename, hash, moduleUrl);
+  const { cachedCode, addToCache, serializedCache } = getFromCompilationCache(filename, hash, moduleUrl);
   if (cachedCode !== undefined)
-    return cachedCode;
+    return { code: cachedCode, serializedCache };
 
   // We don't use any browserslist data, but babel checks it anyway.
   // Silence the annoying warning.
@@ -183,9 +183,10 @@ export function transformHook(originalCode: string, filename: string, moduleUrl?
   const { babelTransform }: { babelTransform: BabelTransformFunction } = require('./babelBundle');
   transformData = new Map<string, any>();
   const { code, map } = babelTransform(originalCode, filename, isTypeScript, !!moduleUrl, pluginsPrologue, pluginsEpilogue);
-  if (code)
-    addToCache!(code, map, transformData);
-  return code || '';
+  if (!code)
+    return { code: '', serializedCache };
+  const added = addToCache!(code, map, transformData);
+  return { code, serializedCache: added.serializedCache };
 }
 
 function calculateHash(content: string, filePath: string, isModule: boolean, pluginsPrologue: BabelPlugin[], pluginsEpilogue: BabelPlugin[]): string {
@@ -239,7 +240,7 @@ function installTransform(): () => void {
   const revertPirates = pirates.addHook((code: string, filename: string) => {
     if (!shouldTransform(filename))
       return code;
-    return transformHook(code, filename);
+    return transformHook(code, filename).code;
   }, { exts: ['.ts', '.tsx', '.js', '.jsx', '.mjs'] });
 
   return () => {
diff --git a/tests/playwright-test/esm.spec.ts b/tests/playwright-test/esm.spec.ts
index 20c796ee00..7097659d0d 100644
--- a/tests/playwright-test/esm.spec.ts
+++ b/tests/playwright-test/esm.spec.ts
@@ -157,6 +157,32 @@ test('should use source maps', async ({ runInlineTest }) => {
   expect(output).toContain('[foo] › a.test.ts:4:7 › check project name');
 });
 
+test('should use source maps when importing a file throws an error', async ({ runInlineTest }) => {
+  test.info().annotations.push({ type: 'issue', description: 'https://github.com/microsoft/playwright/issues/29418' });
+
+  const result = await runInlineTest({
+    'package.json': `{ "type": "module" }`,
+    'playwright.config.ts': `
+      export default {};
+    `,
+    'a.test.ts': `
+      import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';
+
+      throw new Error('Oh my!');
+    `
+  });
+  expect(result.exitCode).toBe(1);
+  expect(result.output).toContain(`Error: Oh my!
+
+   at a.test.ts:4
+
+  2 |       import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';
+  3 |
+> 4 |       throw new Error('Oh my!');
+    |             ^
+  `);
+});
+
 test('should show the codeframe in errors', async ({ runInlineTest }) => {
   const result = await runInlineTest({
     'package.json': `{ "type": "module" }`,
diff --git a/tests/playwright-test/reporter-blob.spec.ts b/tests/playwright-test/reporter-blob.spec.ts
index 1bbc3e2a26..f336e916ff 100644
--- a/tests/playwright-test/reporter-blob.spec.ts
+++ b/tests/playwright-test/reporter-blob.spec.ts
@@ -1706,6 +1706,5 @@ test('TestSuite.project() should return owning project', async ({ runInlineTest,
 
   const { exitCode, output } = await mergeReports(test.info().outputPath('blob-report'), undefined, { additionalArgs: ['--config', 'merge.config.ts'] });
   expect(exitCode).toBe(0);
-  console.log(output);
   expect(output).toContain(`test project: my-project`);
 });