diff --git a/.changeset/smart-numbers-shout.md b/.changeset/smart-numbers-shout.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..4d5083862a43
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/smart-numbers-shout.md
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+---
+'astro': patch
+---
+
+Astro is smarter about CSS! Small stylesheets are now inlined by default, and no longer incur the cost of additional requests to your server. Your visitors will have to wait less before they see your pages, especially those in remote locations or in a subway.
+
+This may not be news to you if you had opted-in via the `build.inlineStylesheets` configuration. Stabilized in Astro 2.6 and set to "auto" by default for Starlight, this configuration allows you to reduce the number of requests for stylesheets by inlining them into <style> tags. The new default is "auto", which selects assets smaller than 4kB and includes them in the initial response.
+
+To go back to the previous default behavior, change `build.inlineStylesheets` to "never".
+
+```ts
+import { defineConfig } from 'astro/config';
+
+export default defineConfig({
+	build: {
+		inlineStylesheets: 'never',
+	},
+});
+```
diff --git a/packages/astro/src/@types/astro.ts b/packages/astro/src/@types/astro.ts
index 0449b89d47ad..422f37bcd29c 100644
--- a/packages/astro/src/@types/astro.ts
+++ b/packages/astro/src/@types/astro.ts
@@ -836,7 +836,7 @@ export interface AstroUserConfig {
 		 * @docs
 		 * @name build.inlineStylesheets
 		 * @type {('always' | 'auto' | 'never')}
-		 * @default `never`
+		 * @default `auto`
 		 * @version 2.6.0
 		 * @description
 		 * Control whether project styles are sent to the browser in a separate css file or inlined into `<style>` tags. Choose from the following options:
@@ -847,7 +847,7 @@ export interface AstroUserConfig {
 		 * ```js
 		 * {
 		 * 	build: {
-		 *		inlineStylesheets: `auto`,
+		 *		inlineStylesheets: `never`,
 		 * 	},
 		 * }
 		 * ```
diff --git a/packages/astro/src/core/config/schema.ts b/packages/astro/src/core/config/schema.ts
index bff55b392b1f..897ebabf696b 100644
--- a/packages/astro/src/core/config/schema.ts
+++ b/packages/astro/src/core/config/schema.ts
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ const ASTRO_CONFIG_DEFAULTS = {
 		assets: '_astro',
 		serverEntry: 'entry.mjs',
 		redirects: true,
-		inlineStylesheets: 'never',
+		inlineStylesheets: 'auto',
 		split: false,
 		excludeMiddleware: false,
 	},
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/alias-tsconfig-baseurl-only.test.js b/packages/astro/test/alias-tsconfig-baseurl-only.test.js
index 55b7ecc37b01..64c196808441 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/alias-tsconfig-baseurl-only.test.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/alias-tsconfig-baseurl-only.test.js
@@ -29,6 +29,8 @@ describe('Aliases with tsconfig.json - baseUrl only', () => {
 
 	before(async () => {
 		fixture = await loadFixture({
+			// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+			build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 			root: './fixtures/alias-tsconfig-baseurl-only/',
 		});
 	});
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/alias-tsconfig.test.js b/packages/astro/test/alias-tsconfig.test.js
index 4668ea66e7d0..283a66ea1d15 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/alias-tsconfig.test.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/alias-tsconfig.test.js
@@ -29,6 +29,8 @@ describe('Aliases with tsconfig.json', () => {
 
 	before(async () => {
 		fixture = await loadFixture({
+			// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+			build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 			root: './fixtures/alias-tsconfig/',
 		});
 	});
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/asset-url-base.test.js b/packages/astro/test/asset-url-base.test.js
index 0dc565b7fd0b..de63ef4b7446 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/asset-url-base.test.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/asset-url-base.test.js
@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@ describe('Asset URL resolution in build', () => {
 				fixture = await loadFixture({
 					root: './fixtures/asset-url-base/',
 					site: 'http://example.com/sub/path/',
+					// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+					build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 				});
 				await fixture.build();
 			});
@@ -30,6 +32,8 @@ describe('Asset URL resolution in build', () => {
 					root: './fixtures/asset-url-base/',
 					site: 'http://example.com/sub/path/',
 					base: '/another/base/',
+					// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+					build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 				});
 				await fixture.build();
 			});
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/astro-client-only.test.js b/packages/astro/test/astro-client-only.test.js
index c003e0a28622..9f6de9116c70 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/astro-client-only.test.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/astro-client-only.test.js
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ describe('Client only components', () => {
 	before(async () => {
 		fixture = await loadFixture({
 			root: './fixtures/astro-client-only/',
+			// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+			build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 		});
 		await fixture.build();
 	});
@@ -72,6 +74,8 @@ describe('Client only components subpath', () => {
 			site: 'https://site.com',
 			base: '/blog',
 			root: './fixtures/astro-client-only/',
+			// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+			build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 		});
 		await fixture.build();
 	});
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/astro-css-bundling.test.js b/packages/astro/test/astro-css-bundling.test.js
index 415c8f39814f..2da01108fa9d 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/astro-css-bundling.test.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/astro-css-bundling.test.js
@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@ describe('CSS Bundling', function () {
 		before(async () => {
 			fixture = await loadFixture({
 				root: './fixtures/astro-css-bundling/',
+				// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+				build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 			});
 			await fixture.build({ mode: 'production' });
 		});
@@ -76,6 +78,9 @@ describe('CSS Bundling', function () {
 			fixture = await loadFixture({
 				root: './fixtures/astro-css-bundling/',
 
+				// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+				build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
+
 				vite: {
 					build: {
 						rollupOptions: {
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/astro-directives.test.js b/packages/astro/test/astro-directives.test.js
index 2a86e4ba2c67..ca01e8ff47af 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/astro-directives.test.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/astro-directives.test.js
@@ -6,7 +6,11 @@ describe('Directives', async () => {
 	let fixture;
 
 	before(async () => {
-		fixture = await loadFixture({ root: './fixtures/astro-directives/' });
+		fixture = await loadFixture({
+			root: './fixtures/astro-directives/',
+			// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+			build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' }
+		});
 		await fixture.build();
 	});
 
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/astro-head.test.js b/packages/astro/test/astro-head.test.js
index 862894d735b1..ed28500dc707 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/astro-head.test.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/astro-head.test.js
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@ describe('Head in its own component', () => {
 			root: './fixtures/astro-head/',
 			site: 'https://mysite.dev/',
 			base: '/blog',
+			// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+			build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 		});
 		await fixture.build();
 	});
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/build-assets.test.js b/packages/astro/test/build-assets.test.js
index 1fa17e8d20ad..3d4dacd7b5b0 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/build-assets.test.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/build-assets.test.js
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@ describe('build assets (static)', () => {
 			fixture = await loadFixture({
 				root: './fixtures/build-assets/',
 				integrations: [preact()],
+				// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+				build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 			});
 			await fixture.build();
 		});
@@ -57,6 +59,7 @@ describe('build assets (static)', () => {
 				integrations: [preact()],
 				build: {
 					assets: 'custom-assets',
+					inlineStylesheets: 'never',
 				},
 			});
 			await fixture.build();
@@ -96,6 +99,8 @@ describe('build assets (server)', () => {
 				root: './fixtures/build-assets/',
 				integrations: [preact()],
 				adapter: testAdapter(),
+				// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+				build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 			});
 			await fixture.build();
 		});
@@ -140,6 +145,7 @@ describe('build assets (server)', () => {
 				integrations: [preact()],
 				build: {
 					assets: 'custom-assets',
+					inlineStylesheets: 'never',
 				},
 				adapter: testAdapter(),
 			});
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/component-library.test.js b/packages/astro/test/component-library.test.js
index 58c7fb6b80aa..c11f9eed662e 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/component-library.test.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/component-library.test.js
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@ describe('Component Libraries', () => {
 	before(async () => {
 		fixture = await loadFixture({
 			root: './fixtures/component-library/',
+			// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+			build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 		});
 	});
 
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/config-vite-css-target.test.js b/packages/astro/test/config-vite-css-target.test.js
index cb9fa8de2e51..94fa74e74651 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/config-vite-css-target.test.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/config-vite-css-target.test.js
@@ -10,7 +10,11 @@ let fixture;
 
 describe('CSS', function () {
 	before(async () => {
-		fixture = await loadFixture({ root: './fixtures/config-vite-css-target/' });
+		fixture = await loadFixture({
+			root: './fixtures/config-vite-css-target/',
+			// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+			build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
+		});
 	});
 
 	describe('build', () => {
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/config-vite.test.js b/packages/astro/test/config-vite.test.js
index f910bc30bed4..b15729dd792d 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/config-vite.test.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/config-vite.test.js
@@ -6,7 +6,11 @@ describe('Vite Config', async () => {
 	let fixture;
 
 	before(async () => {
-		fixture = await loadFixture({ root: './fixtures/config-vite/' });
+		fixture = await loadFixture({
+			root: './fixtures/config-vite/',
+			// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+			build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
+		});
 		await fixture.build();
 	});
 
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/content-collections-render.test.js b/packages/astro/test/content-collections-render.test.js
index f6a9c3c72d1b..27eb33b5a6b5 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/content-collections-render.test.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/content-collections-render.test.js
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@ describe('Content Collections - render()', () => {
 		before(async () => {
 			fixture = await loadFixture({
 				root: './fixtures/content/',
+				// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+				build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 			});
 			await fixture.build();
 		});
@@ -106,6 +108,8 @@ describe('Content Collections - render()', () => {
 				output: 'server',
 				root: './fixtures/content/',
 				adapter: testAdapter(),
+				// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+				build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 			});
 			await fixture.build();
 		});
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/css-import-as-inline.test.js b/packages/astro/test/css-import-as-inline.test.js
index 7dacab37740a..dcff4f32bc28 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/css-import-as-inline.test.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/css-import-as-inline.test.js
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@ describe('Importing raw/inlined CSS', () => {
 	before(async () => {
 		fixture = await loadFixture({
 			root: './fixtures/css-import-as-inline/',
+			// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+			build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 		});
 	});
 	describe('Build', () => {
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/css-no-code-split.test.js b/packages/astro/test/css-no-code-split.test.js
index 7fcf7efc208f..fc91c60f7dab 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/css-no-code-split.test.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/css-no-code-split.test.js
@@ -7,7 +7,11 @@ describe('vite.build.cssCodeSplit: false', () => {
 	let fixture;
 
 	before(async () => {
-		fixture = await loadFixture({ root: './fixtures/css-no-code-split/' });
+		fixture = await loadFixture({
+			root: './fixtures/css-no-code-split/',
+			// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+			build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
+		});
 		await fixture.build();
 	});
 
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/css-order-import.test.js b/packages/astro/test/css-order-import.test.js
index 745187c539c7..9a5cf693340e 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/css-order-import.test.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/css-order-import.test.js
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ describe('CSS ordering - import order', () => {
 	before(async () => {
 		fixture = await loadFixture({
 			root: './fixtures/css-order-import/',
+			// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+			build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 		});
 	});
 
@@ -133,6 +135,8 @@ describe('CSS ordering - import order', () => {
 		before(async () => {
 			fixture = await loadFixture({
 				root: './fixtures/css-order-dynamic-import/',
+				// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+				build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 			});
 			await fixture.build();
 		});
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/css-order-layout.test.js b/packages/astro/test/css-order-layout.test.js
index 948f7975bf64..991246faf60e 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/css-order-layout.test.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/css-order-layout.test.js
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ describe('CSS ordering - import order with layouts', () => {
 	before(async () => {
 		fixture = await loadFixture({
 			root: './fixtures/css-order-layout/',
+			// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+			build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 		});
 	});
 
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/css-order.test.js b/packages/astro/test/css-order.test.js
index e3333b8756f3..73b1472127b2 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/css-order.test.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/css-order.test.js
@@ -75,6 +75,8 @@ describe('CSS production ordering', () => {
 		before(async () => {
 			fixture = await loadFixture({
 				root: './fixtures/css-order/',
+				// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+				build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 			});
 			await fixture.build();
 		});
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/glob-pages-css.test.js b/packages/astro/test/glob-pages-css.test.js
index 72558490f406..3c2bb5454e5e 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/glob-pages-css.test.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/glob-pages-css.test.js
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ describe('Astro.glob on pages/ directory', () => {
 	before(async () => {
 		fixture = await loadFixture({
 			root: './fixtures/glob-pages-css/',
+			// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+			build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 		});
 		await fixture.build();
 	});
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/head-injection.test.js b/packages/astro/test/head-injection.test.js
index a2c0389df165..139c97005cf7 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/head-injection.test.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/head-injection.test.js
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ describe('Head injection', () => {
 	before(async () => {
 		fixture = await loadFixture({
 			root: './fixtures/head-injection/',
+			// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+			build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 		});
 	});
 
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/lazy-layout.test.js b/packages/astro/test/lazy-layout.test.js
index 4ed22f5a00a3..8f50a91dc3c1 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/lazy-layout.test.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/lazy-layout.test.js
@@ -7,7 +7,11 @@ describe('Lazily imported layouts', () => {
 	let fixture;
 
 	before(async () => {
-		fixture = await loadFixture({ root: './fixtures/lazy-layout/' });
+		fixture = await loadFixture({
+			root: './fixtures/lazy-layout/',
+			// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+			build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
+		});
 		await fixture.build();
 	});
 
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/minification-html.test.js b/packages/astro/test/minification-html.test.js
index bd86e233b3a5..cd3e70a1dfb1 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/minification-html.test.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/minification-html.test.js
@@ -47,7 +47,11 @@ describe('HTML minification', () => {
 	describe('Build SSG', () => {
 		let fixture;
 		before(async () => {
-			fixture = await loadFixture({ root: './fixtures/minification-html/' });
+			fixture = await loadFixture({
+				root: './fixtures/minification-html/',
+				// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+				build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
+			});
 			await fixture.build();
 		});
 
@@ -64,6 +68,8 @@ describe('HTML minification', () => {
 				root: './fixtures/minification-html/',
 				output: 'server',
 				adapter: testAdapter(),
+				// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+				build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 			});
 			await fixture.build();
 		});
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/page-level-styles.test.js b/packages/astro/test/page-level-styles.test.js
index 3fdce62b9c75..541a4b6eba63 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/page-level-styles.test.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/page-level-styles.test.js
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ describe('Page-level styles', () => {
 	before(async () => {
 		fixture = await loadFixture({
 			root: './fixtures/page-level-styles/',
+				// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+				build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 		});
 		await fixture.build();
 	});
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/postcss.test.js b/packages/astro/test/postcss.test.js
index 126fca95cad3..0fcc60409913 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/postcss.test.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/postcss.test.js
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@ describe('PostCSS', function () {
 		this.timeout(45000); // test needs a little more time in CI
 		fixture = await loadFixture({
 			root: './fixtures/postcss',
+			// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+			build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 		});
 		await fixture.build();
 
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/remote-css.test.js b/packages/astro/test/remote-css.test.js
index 4ca6eb422914..4f9a25e35a9f 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/remote-css.test.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/remote-css.test.js
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ describe('Remote CSS', () => {
 	before(async () => {
 		fixture = await loadFixture({
 			root: './fixtures/remote-css/',
+			// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+			build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 		});
 		await fixture.build();
 	});
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/root-srcdir-css.test.js b/packages/astro/test/root-srcdir-css.test.js
index 3902b4ab2256..e033ff35b8b3 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/root-srcdir-css.test.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/root-srcdir-css.test.js
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ describe('srcDir', () => {
 	before(async () => {
 		fixture = await loadFixture({
 			root: './fixtures/root-srcdir-css/',
+			// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+			build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 		});
 		await fixture.build();
 	});
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/scoped-style-strategy.test.js b/packages/astro/test/scoped-style-strategy.test.js
index a59f227adf76..7781badf7877 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/scoped-style-strategy.test.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/scoped-style-strategy.test.js
@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@ describe('scopedStyleStrategy', () => {
 			fixture = await loadFixture({
 				root: './fixtures/scoped-style-strategy/',
 				scopedStyleStrategy: 'where',
+				// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+				build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 			});
 			await fixture.build();
 
@@ -40,6 +42,8 @@ describe('scopedStyleStrategy', () => {
 			fixture = await loadFixture({
 				root: './fixtures/scoped-style-strategy/',
 				scopedStyleStrategy: 'class',
+				// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+				build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 			});
 			await fixture.build();
 
@@ -67,6 +71,8 @@ describe('scopedStyleStrategy', () => {
 		before(async () => {
 			fixture = await loadFixture({
 				root: './fixtures/scoped-style-strategy/',
+				// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+				build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 			});
 			await fixture.build();
 
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/ssr-404-500-pages.test.js b/packages/astro/test/ssr-404-500-pages.test.js
index ac747a16cc43..253f9bc1ca99 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/ssr-404-500-pages.test.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/ssr-404-500-pages.test.js
@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@ describe('404 and 500 pages', () => {
 			root: './fixtures/ssr-api-route-custom-404/',
 			output: 'server',
 			adapter: testAdapter(),
+			// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+			build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 		});
 	});
 
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/ssr-assets.test.js b/packages/astro/test/ssr-assets.test.js
index e02045bc04db..01015f087753 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/ssr-assets.test.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/ssr-assets.test.js
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ describe('SSR Assets', () => {
 			root: './fixtures/ssr-assets/',
 			output: 'server',
 			adapter: testAdapter(),
+			// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+			build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 		});
 		await fixture.build();
 	});
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/ssr-dynamic.test.js b/packages/astro/test/ssr-dynamic.test.js
index e4bb61b4a7fb..62e67e410d32 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/ssr-dynamic.test.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/ssr-dynamic.test.js
@@ -25,6 +25,8 @@ describe('Dynamic pages in SSR', () => {
 				},
 			],
 			adapter: testAdapter(),
+			// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+			build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 		});
 		await fixture.build();
 	});
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/ssr-manifest.test.js b/packages/astro/test/ssr-manifest.test.js
index bd9483505b79..b45d6b581d90 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/ssr-manifest.test.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/ssr-manifest.test.js
@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@ describe('astro:ssr-manifest', () => {
 			root: './fixtures/ssr-manifest/',
 			output: 'server',
 			adapter: testAdapter(),
+			// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+			build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 		});
 		await fixture.build();
 	});
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/ssr-split-manifest.test.js b/packages/astro/test/ssr-split-manifest.test.js
index d7c1f32c5e71..38a3233ee5e7 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/ssr-split-manifest.test.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/ssr-split-manifest.test.js
@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@ describe('astro:ssr-manifest, split', () => {
 					currentRoutes = routes;
 				},
 			}),
+			// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+			build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 		});
 		await fixture.build();
 	});
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/static-build.test.js b/packages/astro/test/static-build.test.js
index 0552c353f068..77c24f398c0b 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/static-build.test.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/static-build.test.js
@@ -34,6 +34,8 @@ describe('Static build', () => {
 
 		fixture = await loadFixture({
 			root: './fixtures/static-build/',
+			// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+			build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 		});
 		await fixture.build({ logging });
 	});
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/virtual-astro-file.test.js b/packages/astro/test/virtual-astro-file.test.js
index e5247a684e54..470169f133db 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/virtual-astro-file.test.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/virtual-astro-file.test.js
@@ -6,7 +6,11 @@ describe('Loading virtual Astro files', () => {
 	let fixture;
 
 	before(async () => {
-		fixture = await loadFixture({ root: './fixtures/virtual-astro-file/' });
+		fixture = await loadFixture({
+			root: './fixtures/virtual-astro-file/',
+				// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+				build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
+		});
 		await fixture.build();
 	});
 
diff --git a/packages/integrations/deno/test/basics.test.ts b/packages/integrations/deno/test/basics.test.ts
index cdb0c616e212..30bca0eb34a0 100644
--- a/packages/integrations/deno/test/basics.test.ts
+++ b/packages/integrations/deno/test/basics.test.ts
@@ -48,14 +48,11 @@ Deno.test({
 			const html = await resp.text();
 
 			const doc = new DOMParser().parseFromString(html, `text/html`);
-			const link = doc!.querySelector('link');
-			const href = link!.getAttribute('href');
+			const style = doc!.querySelector('style');
 
-			resp = await fetch(new URL(href!, app.url));
-			assertEquals(resp.status, 200);
-			const ct = resp.headers.get('content-type');
-			assertEquals(ct, 'text/css; charset=UTF-8');
-			await resp.body!.cancel();
+			assertEquals(style?.getAttribute('type'), 'text/css');
+
+			assert(style?.textContent?.includes('Courier New'))
 		});
 
 		await t.step('Correctly loads run-time env variables', async () => {
diff --git a/packages/integrations/markdoc/test/propagated-assets.test.js b/packages/integrations/markdoc/test/propagated-assets.test.js
index 429e07141609..4326233c1d45 100644
--- a/packages/integrations/markdoc/test/propagated-assets.test.js
+++ b/packages/integrations/markdoc/test/propagated-assets.test.js
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ describe('Markdoc - propagated assets', () => {
 	before(async () => {
 		fixture = await loadFixture({
 			root: new URL('./fixtures/propagated-assets/', import.meta.url),
+			// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+			build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 		});
 	});
 
diff --git a/packages/integrations/mdx/test/css-head-mdx.test.js b/packages/integrations/mdx/test/css-head-mdx.test.js
index f4ece38d9710..ed1c6d1d68ce 100644
--- a/packages/integrations/mdx/test/css-head-mdx.test.js
+++ b/packages/integrations/mdx/test/css-head-mdx.test.js
@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@ describe('Head injection w/ MDX', () => {
 		fixture = await loadFixture({
 			root: new URL('./fixtures/css-head-mdx/', import.meta.url),
 			integrations: [mdx()],
+			// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+			build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 		});
 	});
 
diff --git a/packages/integrations/mdx/test/mdx-page.test.js b/packages/integrations/mdx/test/mdx-page.test.js
index 52d10bce38e3..752987012758 100644
--- a/packages/integrations/mdx/test/mdx-page.test.js
+++ b/packages/integrations/mdx/test/mdx-page.test.js
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ describe('MDX Page', () => {
 	before(async () => {
 		fixture = await loadFixture({
 			root: new URL('./fixtures/mdx-page/', import.meta.url),
+			// test suite was authored when inlineStylesheets defaulted to never
+			build: { inlineStylesheets: 'never' },
 		});
 	});
 
diff --git a/packages/integrations/node/test/prerender-404-500.test.js b/packages/integrations/node/test/prerender-404-500.test.js
index 8816ebe4c134..ea1b762a722d 100644
--- a/packages/integrations/node/test/prerender-404-500.test.js
+++ b/packages/integrations/node/test/prerender-404-500.test.js
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ describe('Prerender 404', () => {
 			const $ = cheerio.load(html);
 
 			// length will be 0 if the stylesheet does not get included
-			expect($('link[rel=stylesheet]')).to.have.a.lengthOf(1);
+			expect($('style[type="text/css"]')).to.have.a.lengthOf(1);
 		});
 	});