diff --git a/packages/nitro/src/rollup/plugins/externals.ts b/packages/nitro/src/rollup/plugins/externals.ts
index 73993e73b..796c634a2 100644
--- a/packages/nitro/src/rollup/plugins/externals.ts
+++ b/packages/nitro/src/rollup/plugins/externals.ts
@@ -44,8 +44,8 @@ export function externals (opts: NodeExternalsOptions): Plugin {
       } catch (_err) { }
 
       return {
-        id: isAbsolute(id) ? relative(opts.outDir, id) : id,
-        external: true
+        id,
+        external: 'absolute'
       }
     },
     async buildEnd () {