diff --git a/examples/sandbox-vercel/src/fdb-tuple-shim.mjs b/examples/sandbox-vercel/src/fdb-tuple-shim.mjs
deleted file mode 100644
index bc05d17a98..0000000000
--- a/examples/sandbox-vercel/src/fdb-tuple-shim.mjs
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,5 +0,0 @@
-import { createRequire } from "node:module";
-const require = createRequire(import.meta.url);
-const fdbTuple = require("fdb-tuple");
-export const { concat2, unboundVersionstamp, rawRange, pack, packUnboundVersionstamp, name, unpack, range, bakeVersionstamp } = fdbTuple;
-export default fdbTuple;
diff --git a/examples/sandbox/src/fdb-tuple-shim.mjs b/examples/sandbox/src/fdb-tuple-shim.mjs
deleted file mode 100644
index bc05d17a98..0000000000
--- a/examples/sandbox/src/fdb-tuple-shim.mjs
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,5 +0,0 @@
-import { createRequire } from "node:module";
-const require = createRequire(import.meta.url);
-const fdbTuple = require("fdb-tuple");
-export const { concat2, unboundVersionstamp, rawRange, pack, packUnboundVersionstamp, name, unpack, range, bakeVersionstamp } = fdbTuple;
-export default fdbTuple;
diff --git a/examples/sandbox/vite.config.ts b/examples/sandbox/vite.config.ts
index c87e296970..fabe9b5525 100644
--- a/examples/sandbox/vite.config.ts
+++ b/examples/sandbox/vite.config.ts
@@ -1,13 +1,7 @@
-import { resolve } from "node:path";
 import react from "@vitejs/plugin-react";
 import { defineConfig } from "vite";
 import srvx from "vite-plugin-srvx";
 
 export default defineConfig({
 	plugins: [react(), ...srvx({ entry: "src/server.ts" })],
-	resolve: {
-		alias: {
-			"fdb-tuple": resolve(import.meta.dirname, "src/fdb-tuple-shim.mjs"),
-		},
-	},
 });
diff --git a/rivetkit-typescript/packages/rivetkit/src/actor/definition.ts b/rivetkit-typescript/packages/rivetkit/src/actor/definition.ts
index c85f95e017..53a2fc3111 100644
--- a/rivetkit-typescript/packages/rivetkit/src/actor/definition.ts
+++ b/rivetkit-typescript/packages/rivetkit/src/actor/definition.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,7 @@
 import type { RegistryConfig } from "@/registry/config";
-import { getRequireFn } from "@/utils/node";
 import type { Actions, ActorConfig } from "./config";
 import type { AnyDatabaseProvider } from "./database";
-import type { ActorInstance } from "./instance/mod";
+import { ActorInstance } from "./instance/mod";
 
 export type AnyActorDefinition = ActorDefinition<
 	any,
@@ -33,48 +32,11 @@ export class ActorDefinition<
 		return this.#config;
 	}
 
-	async instantiate(): Promise<ActorInstance<S, CP, CS, V, I, DB>> {
-		// Lazy import to avoid pulling server-only dependencies (traces, fdb-tuple, etc.)
-		// into browser bundles. This method is only called on the server.
-		// const requireFn = getRequireFn();
-		// if (!requireFn) {
-		// 	throw new Error(
-		// 		"ActorDefinition.instantiate requires a Node.js environment",
-		// 	);
-		// }
-
-		try {
-			const { ActorInstance: ActorInstanceClass } = await import(
-				"./instance/mod"
-			);
-			return new ActorInstanceClass(this.#config);
-		} catch (error) {
-			if (!isInstanceModuleNotFound(error)) {
-				throw error;
-			}
-
-			try {
-				// In tests, register tsx so require() can resolve .ts files.
-				await getRequireFn()("tsx/cjs");
-			} catch {
-				throw error;
-			}
-
-			const { ActorInstance: ActorInstanceClass } = await import(
-				"./instance/mod"
-			);
-			return new ActorInstanceClass(this.#config);
-		}
+	instantiate(): ActorInstance<S, CP, CS, V, I, DB> {
+		return new ActorInstance(this.#config);
 	}
 }
 
-function isInstanceModuleNotFound(error: unknown): boolean {
-	if (!error || typeof error !== "object") return false;
-	const err = error as { code?: string; message?: string };
-	if (err.code !== "MODULE_NOT_FOUND") return false;
-	return (err.message ?? "").includes("./instance/mod");
-}
-
 export function lookupInRegistry(
 	config: RegistryConfig,
 	name: string,