payload migrate:create fails with ERR_MODULE_NOT_FOUND on TS imports without explicit extensions (Next 16 + ESM strict)

Bug

npx payload migrate:create <name> (and any other payload CLI subcommand
that loads payload.config.ts) fails with ERR_MODULE_NOT_FOUND when
TypeScript imports in the config or in any collection file omit the
explicit file extension — which is the standard Next.js / Turbopack style.

The CLI uses a nested tsx (payload/node_modules/tsx) in strict ESM
mode that does not auto-resolve .ts extensions on relative imports.

Environment

• payload@3.84.1
• next@16.2.6
• @payloadcms/db-postgres@3.84.1
• Node 22.x, macOS 15

Repro

Project layout:

src/payload.config.ts
src/collections/Users.ts
src/collections/Articoli.ts

src/payload.config.ts:

import { Users } from './collections/Users'
import { Articoli } from './collections/Articoli'
// ...

Run:

npx payload migrate:create initial

Crash:

Error [ERR_MODULE_NOT_FOUND]: Cannot find module '/.../src/collections/Users' imported from /.../src/payload.config.ts
    at finalizeResolution (node:internal/modules/esm/resolve:275:11)
    at moduleResolve (node:internal/modules/esm/resolve:861:10)
    at resolve (.../payload/node_modules/tsx/dist/esm/index.mjs:2:5279)

The same imports work fine under next dev, next build, next start,
and standalone tsx (project-level dependency, not the nested one in
payload). The crash happens for payload --help, migrate:create,
migrate:status, generate:types — i.e. anything that loads the config.

Workaround

Add explicit .ts (or .js) extensions to every relative import in
payload.config.ts and in every file it transitively loads
(collections/*.ts, etc.). Invasive for an existing codebase.

Proposed fix

The Payload CLI should either:

• use the same resolver semantics as Next.js / Turbopack
  (allow extensionless relative TS imports), or
• document explicitly that the CLI requires .ts/.js extensions on
  relative imports, and validate payload.config.ts at startup with a
  clear error message instead of an opaque ERR_MODULE_NOT_FOUND.

The current behaviour silently breaks every Payload CLI subcommand on
any Next 16 project that follows the Next-recommended import style.

Workaround in use here

pg_dump --schema-only of the dev DB committed in scripts/, applied
manually on first deploy. Schema deltas tracked as raw .sql files
until the CLI is usable.

Start by tracing the Payload CLI entry points for payload --help, migrate:create, migrate:status, and generate:types to the loader for payload.config.ts, then inspect how the nested payload/node_modules/tsx resolver handles the imports shown in the report. Done means extensionless TypeScript imports work for config loading, or startup provides a clear documented validation error instead of ERR_MODULE_NOT_FOUND.