diff --git a/src/memory/sqlite.ts b/src/memory/sqlite.ts
index 00308fb607c..3ff30061506 100644
--- a/src/memory/sqlite.ts
+++ b/src/memory/sqlite.ts
@@ -5,5 +5,15 @@ const require = createRequire(import.meta.url);
 
 export function requireNodeSqlite(): typeof import("node:sqlite") {
   installProcessWarningFilter();
-  return require("node:sqlite") as typeof import("node:sqlite");
+  try {
+    return require("node:sqlite") as typeof import("node:sqlite");
+  } catch (err) {
+    const message = err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err);
+    // Node distributions can ship without the experimental builtin SQLite module.
+    // Surface an actionable error instead of the generic "unknown builtin module".
+    throw new Error(
+      `SQLite support is unavailable in this Node runtime (missing node:sqlite). ${message}`,
+      { cause: err },
+    );
+  }
 }