diff --git a/.changeset/rude-falcons-smash.md b/.changeset/rude-falcons-smash.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..f27922395d47
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/rude-falcons-smash.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@astrojs/image': patch
+---
+
+Enable usage outside of vite contexts, such as the config file
diff --git a/packages/integrations/image/src/lib/get-image.ts b/packages/integrations/image/src/lib/get-image.ts
index 9ec58795bc19..c295831a345d 100644
--- a/packages/integrations/image/src/lib/get-image.ts
+++ b/packages/integrations/image/src/lib/get-image.ts
@@ -117,8 +117,9 @@ export async function getImage(
 
 	const attributes = await loader.getImageAttributes(resolved);
 
+	// `.env` must be optional to support running in environments outside of `vite` (such as `astro.config`)
 	// @ts-ignore
-	const isDev = import.meta.env.DEV;
+	const isDev = import.meta.env?.DEV;
 	const isLocalImage = !isRemoteImage(resolved.src);
 
 	const _loader = isDev && isLocalImage ? sharp : loader;