diff --git a/packages/playwright-test/src/cli.ts b/packages/playwright-test/src/cli.ts
index abee986ebd..353ff563b9 100644
--- a/packages/playwright-test/src/cli.ts
+++ b/packages/playwright-test/src/cli.ts
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ async function runTests(args: string[], opts: { [key: string]: any }) {
     configLoader.ignoreProjectDependencies();
 
   const config = configLoader.fullConfig();
-  config._internal.testFileFilters = args.map(arg => {
+  config._internal.cliFileFilters = args.map(arg => {
     const match = /^(.*?):(\d+):?(\d+)?$/.exec(arg);
     return {
       re: forceRegExp(match ? match[1] : arg),
@@ -169,9 +169,9 @@ async function runTests(args: string[], opts: { [key: string]: any }) {
   });
   const grepMatcher = opts.grep ? createTitleMatcher(forceRegExp(opts.grep)) : () => true;
   const grepInvertMatcher = opts.grepInvert ? createTitleMatcher(forceRegExp(opts.grepInvert)) : () => false;
-  config._internal.testTitleMatcher = (title: string) => !grepInvertMatcher(title) && grepMatcher(title);
+  config._internal.cliTitleMatcher = (title: string) => !grepInvertMatcher(title) && grepMatcher(title);
   config._internal.listOnly = !!opts.list;
-  config._internal.projectFilter = opts.project || undefined;
+  config._internal.cliProjectFilter = opts.project || undefined;
   config._internal.passWithNoTests = !!opts.passWithNoTests;
 
   const runner = new Runner(config);
diff --git a/packages/playwright-test/src/common/compilationCache.ts b/packages/playwright-test/src/common/compilationCache.ts
index 20463eb959..44e23a9975 100644
--- a/packages/playwright-test/src/common/compilationCache.ts
+++ b/packages/playwright-test/src/common/compilationCache.ts
@@ -94,7 +94,12 @@ export function serializeCompilationCache(): any {
   };
 }
 
-export function initializeCompilationCache(payload: any) {
+export function clearCompilationCache() {
+  sourceMaps.clear();
+  memoryCache.clear();
+}
+
+export function addToCompilationCache(payload: any) {
   for (const entry of payload.sourceMaps)
     sourceMaps.set(entry[0], entry[1]);
   for (const entry of payload.memoryCache)
diff --git a/packages/playwright-test/src/common/configLoader.ts b/packages/playwright-test/src/common/configLoader.ts
index 1a7130e1a9..87ffb6473c 100644
--- a/packages/playwright-test/src/common/configLoader.ts
+++ b/packages/playwright-test/src/common/configLoader.ts
@@ -450,8 +450,8 @@ export const baseFullConfig: FullConfigInternal = {
     maxConcurrentTestGroups: 0,
     ignoreSnapshots: false,
     plugins: [],
-    testTitleMatcher: () => true,
-    testFileFilters: [],
+    cliTitleMatcher: () => true,
+    cliFileFilters: [],
     listOnly: false,
   }
 };
diff --git a/packages/playwright-test/src/common/types.ts b/packages/playwright-test/src/common/types.ts
index e5453b9533..ae8c712696 100644
--- a/packages/playwright-test/src/common/types.ts
+++ b/packages/playwright-test/src/common/types.ts
@@ -50,9 +50,9 @@ type ConfigInternal = {
   webServers: Exclude<FullConfigPublic['webServer'], null>[];
   plugins: TestRunnerPluginRegistration[];
   listOnly: boolean;
-  testFileFilters: TestFileFilter[];
-  testTitleMatcher: Matcher;
-  projectFilter?: string[];
+  cliFileFilters: TestFileFilter[];
+  cliTitleMatcher: Matcher;
+  cliProjectFilter?: string[];
   passWithNoTests?: boolean;
 };
 
diff --git a/packages/playwright-test/src/loader/loaderMain.ts b/packages/playwright-test/src/loader/loaderMain.ts
index 9b317a516d..a3bf5ac27a 100644
--- a/packages/playwright-test/src/loader/loaderMain.ts
+++ b/packages/playwright-test/src/loader/loaderMain.ts
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import { ProcessRunner } from '../common/process';
 import type { FullConfigInternal } from '../common/types';
 import { loadTestFile } from '../common/testLoader';
 import type { TestError } from '../../reporter';
+import { addToCompilationCache, serializeCompilationCache } from '../common/compilationCache';
 
 export class LoaderMain extends ProcessRunner {
   private _serializedConfig: SerializedConfig;
@@ -27,6 +28,7 @@ export class LoaderMain extends ProcessRunner {
 
   constructor(serializedConfig: SerializedConfig) {
     super();
+    addToCompilationCache(serializedConfig.compilationCache);
     this._serializedConfig = serializedConfig;
   }
 
@@ -39,8 +41,12 @@ export class LoaderMain extends ProcessRunner {
   async loadTestFile(params: { file: string }) {
     const testErrors: TestError[] = [];
     const config = await this._config();
-    const rootSuite = await loadTestFile(params.file, config.rootDir, testErrors);
-    return { rootSuite: rootSuite._deepSerialize(), testErrors };
+    const fileSuite = await loadTestFile(params.file, config.rootDir, testErrors);
+    return { fileSuite: fileSuite._deepSerialize(), testErrors };
+  }
+
+  async serializeCompilationCache() {
+    return serializeCompilationCache();
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/packages/playwright-test/src/runner/loadUtils.ts b/packages/playwright-test/src/runner/loadUtils.ts
index e0acf4695e..2700476002 100644
--- a/packages/playwright-test/src/runner/loadUtils.ts
+++ b/packages/playwright-test/src/runner/loadUtils.ts
@@ -21,15 +21,15 @@ import type { LoaderHost } from './loaderHost';
 import { Suite } from '../common/test';
 import type { TestCase } from '../common/test';
 import type { FullConfigInternal, FullProjectInternal } from '../common/types';
-import { createFileMatcherFromFilters, createTitleMatcher, errorWithFile } from '../util';
+import { createTitleMatcher, errorWithFile } from '../util';
 import type { Matcher, TestFileFilter } from '../util';
 import { buildProjectsClosure, collectFilesForProject, filterProjects } from './projectUtils';
 import { requireOrImport } from '../common/transform';
 import { buildFileSuiteForProject, filterByFocusedLine, filterOnly, filterTestsRemoveEmptySuites } from '../common/suiteUtils';
 import { filterForShard } from './testGroups';
 
-export async function loadAllTests(config: FullConfigInternal, errors: TestError[]): Promise<Suite> {
-  const projects = filterProjects(config.projects, config._internal.projectFilter);
+export async function loadAllTests(config: FullConfigInternal, projectsToIgnore: Set<FullProjectInternal>, fileMatcher: Matcher, errors: TestError[]): Promise<Suite> {
+  const projects = filterProjects(config.projects, config._internal.cliProjectFilter);
 
   let filesToRunByProject = new Map<FullProjectInternal, string[]>();
   let topLevelProjects: FullProjectInternal[];
@@ -41,14 +41,15 @@ export async function loadAllTests(config: FullConfigInternal, errors: TestError
     // First collect all files for the projects in the command line, don't apply any file filters.
     const allFilesForProject = new Map<FullProjectInternal, string[]>();
     for (const project of projects) {
+      if (projectsToIgnore.has(project))
+        continue;
       const files = await collectFilesForProject(project, fsCache);
       allFilesForProject.set(project, files);
     }
 
     // Filter files based on the file filters, eliminate the empty projects.
-    const commandLineFileMatcher = config._internal.testFileFilters.length ? createFileMatcherFromFilters(config._internal.testFileFilters) : null;
     for (const [project, files] of allFilesForProject) {
-      const filteredFiles = commandLineFileMatcher ? files.filter(commandLineFileMatcher) : files;
+      const filteredFiles = files.filter(fileMatcher);
       if (filteredFiles.length)
         filesToRunByProject.set(project, filteredFiles);
     }
@@ -67,6 +68,9 @@ export async function loadAllTests(config: FullConfigInternal, errors: TestError
     topLevelProjects = filteredProjectClosure.filter(p => p._internal.type === 'top-level');
     dependencyProjects = filteredProjectClosure.filter(p => p._internal.type === 'dependency');
 
+    topLevelProjects = topLevelProjects.filter(p => !projectsToIgnore.has(p));
+    dependencyProjects = dependencyProjects.filter(p => !projectsToIgnore.has(p));
+
     // (Re-)add all files for dependent projects, disregard filters.
     for (const project of dependencyProjects) {
       const files = allFilesForProject.get(project) || await collectFilesForProject(project, fsCache);
@@ -113,7 +117,7 @@ export async function loadAllTests(config: FullConfigInternal, errors: TestError
 
   // Prepend the projects that are dependencies.
   for (const project of dependencyProjects) {
-    const projectSuite = await createProjectSuite(fileSuits, project, { testFileFilters: [], testTitleMatcher: undefined }, filesToRunByProject.get(project)!);
+    const projectSuite = await createProjectSuite(fileSuits, project, { cliFileFilters: [], cliTitleMatcher: undefined }, filesToRunByProject.get(project)!);
     if (projectSuite)
       rootSuite._prependSuite(projectSuite);
   }
@@ -121,7 +125,7 @@ export async function loadAllTests(config: FullConfigInternal, errors: TestError
   return rootSuite;
 }
 
-async function createProjectSuite(fileSuits: Suite[], project: FullProjectInternal, options: { testFileFilters: TestFileFilter[], testTitleMatcher?: Matcher }, files: string[]): Promise<Suite | null> {
+async function createProjectSuite(fileSuits: Suite[], project: FullProjectInternal, options: { cliFileFilters: TestFileFilter[], cliTitleMatcher?: Matcher }, files: string[]): Promise<Suite | null> {
   const fileSuitesMap = new Map<string, Suite>();
   for (const fileSuite of fileSuits)
     fileSuitesMap.set(fileSuite._requireFile, fileSuite);
@@ -140,7 +144,7 @@ async function createProjectSuite(fileSuits: Suite[], project: FullProjectIntern
     }
   }
   // Filter tests to respect line/column filter.
-  filterByFocusedLine(projectSuite, options.testFileFilters);
+  filterByFocusedLine(projectSuite, options.cliFileFilters);
 
   const grepMatcher = createTitleMatcher(project.grep);
   const grepInvertMatcher = project.grepInvert ? createTitleMatcher(project.grepInvert) : null;
@@ -149,7 +153,7 @@ async function createProjectSuite(fileSuits: Suite[], project: FullProjectIntern
     const grepTitle = test.titlePath().join(' ');
     if (grepInvertMatcher?.(grepTitle))
       return false;
-    return grepMatcher(grepTitle) && (!options.testTitleMatcher || options.testTitleMatcher(grepTitle));
+    return grepMatcher(grepTitle) && (!options.cliTitleMatcher || options.cliTitleMatcher(grepTitle));
   };
 
   if (filterTestsRemoveEmptySuites(projectSuite, titleMatcher))
diff --git a/packages/playwright-test/src/runner/loaderHost.ts b/packages/playwright-test/src/runner/loaderHost.ts
index 84bd78d690..399659a6b3 100644
--- a/packages/playwright-test/src/runner/loaderHost.ts
+++ b/packages/playwright-test/src/runner/loaderHost.ts
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import { loadTestFile } from '../common/testLoader';
 import type { LoadError } from '../common/fixtures';
 import type { FullConfigInternal } from '../common/types';
 import { PoolBuilder } from '../common/poolBuilder';
+import { addToCompilationCache } from '../common/compilationCache';
 
 export abstract class LoaderHost {
   protected _config: FullConfigInternal;
@@ -56,18 +57,20 @@ export class OutOfProcessLoaderHost extends LoaderHost {
 
   constructor(config: FullConfigInternal) {
     super(config);
-    this._processHost = new ProcessHost(require.resolve('../loaderMain.js'), 'loader');
+    this._processHost = new ProcessHost(require.resolve('../loader/loaderMain.js'), 'loader');
     this._startPromise = this._processHost.startRunner(serializeConfig(config), true, {});
   }
 
   async doLoadTestFile(file: string, loadErrors: LoadError[]): Promise<Suite> {
     await this._startPromise;
     const result = await this._processHost.sendMessage({ method: 'loadTestFile', params: { file } }) as any;
-    loadErrors.push(...result.loadErrors);
+    loadErrors.push(...result.testErrors);
     return Suite._deepParse(result.fileSuite);
   }
 
   override async stop() {
+    const result = await this._processHost.sendMessage({ method: 'serializeCompilationCache' }) as any;
+    addToCompilationCache(result);
     await this._processHost.stop();
   }
 }
diff --git a/packages/playwright-test/src/runner/tasks.ts b/packages/playwright-test/src/runner/tasks.ts
index f1e236a245..7a0b20f4d8 100644
--- a/packages/playwright-test/src/runner/tasks.ts
+++ b/packages/playwright-test/src/runner/tasks.ts
@@ -28,6 +28,8 @@ import { TaskRunner } from './taskRunner';
 import type { Suite } from '../common/test';
 import type { FullConfigInternal, FullProjectInternal } from '../common/types';
 import { loadAllTests, loadGlobalHook } from './loadUtils';
+import { createFileMatcherFromFilters } from '../util';
+import type { Matcher } from '../util';
 
 const removeFolderAsync = promisify(rimraf);
 const readDirAsync = promisify(fs.readdir);
@@ -106,7 +108,7 @@ function createRemoveOutputDirsTask(): Task<TaskRunnerState> {
   return async ({ config }) => {
     const outputDirs = new Set<string>();
     for (const p of config.projects) {
-      if (!config._internal.projectFilter || config._internal.projectFilter.includes(p.name))
+      if (!config._internal.cliProjectFilter || config._internal.cliProjectFilter.includes(p.name))
         outputDirs.add(p.outputDir);
     }
 
@@ -124,10 +126,12 @@ function createRemoveOutputDirsTask(): Task<TaskRunnerState> {
   };
 }
 
-function createLoadTask(): Task<TaskRunnerState> {
+function createLoadTask(projectsToIgnore = new Set<FullProjectInternal>(), additionalFileMatcher?: Matcher): Task<TaskRunnerState> {
   return async (context, errors) => {
     const { config } = context;
-    context.rootSuite = await loadAllTests(config, errors);
+    const cliMatcher = config._internal.cliFileFilters.length ? createFileMatcherFromFilters(config._internal.cliFileFilters) : () => true;
+    const fileMatcher = (value: string) => cliMatcher(value) && (additionalFileMatcher ? additionalFileMatcher(value) : true);
+    context.rootSuite = await loadAllTests(config, projectsToIgnore, fileMatcher, errors);
     // Fail when no tests.
     if (!context.rootSuite.allTests().length && !config._internal.passWithNoTests && !config.shard)
       throw new Error(`No tests found`);
diff --git a/packages/playwright-test/src/worker/workerMain.ts b/packages/playwright-test/src/worker/workerMain.ts
index 3330783dd2..ebd55a6810 100644
--- a/packages/playwright-test/src/worker/workerMain.ts
+++ b/packages/playwright-test/src/worker/workerMain.ts
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ import { ProcessRunner } from '../common/process';
 import { loadTestFile } from '../common/testLoader';
 import { buildFileSuiteForProject, filterTestsRemoveEmptySuites } from '../common/suiteUtils';
 import { PoolBuilder } from '../common/poolBuilder';
-import { initializeCompilationCache } from '../common/compilationCache';
+import { addToCompilationCache } from '../common/compilationCache';
 
 const removeFolderAsync = util.promisify(rimraf);
 
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ export class WorkerMain extends ProcessRunner {
     process.env.TEST_WORKER_INDEX = String(params.workerIndex);
     process.env.TEST_PARALLEL_INDEX = String(params.parallelIndex);
     setIsWorkerProcess();
-    initializeCompilationCache(params.config.compilationCache);
+    addToCompilationCache(params.config.compilationCache);
 
     this._params = params;
     this._fixtureRunner = new FixtureRunner();