diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index fbb0539..369f294 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
 ## [Unreleased] - 2026-07-08
+### Fixed
+- Explain how to load TypeScript prompt files when Node reports an unknown file extension.
 ### Maintenance
 - Routine maintenance sync (14:47) — dependencies & docs review.
diff --git a/docs/getting-started.md b/docs/getting-started.md
index f030e25..b984508 100644
--- a/docs/getting-started.md
+++ b/docs/getting-started.md
@@ -30,6 +30,10 @@ export default definePrompt<{ name: string; language?: string }>({
 })
 ```
 
+TypeScript prompt files require a runtime that supports them, such as `tsx`,
+`bun`, or `ts-node`. Plain Node cannot import `.ts` files directly, so use one
+of those runtimes or pre-compile the files to `.js`.
+
 Render it without a model:
 
 ```ts
diff --git a/src/loader.ts b/src/loader.ts
index 1b28d40..88a10b4 100644
--- a/src/loader.ts
+++ b/src/loader.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,9 @@ import { LoaderError } from './errors.js'
 import type { PromptDefinition, PromptInput } from './types.js'
 
 const SUPPORTED_EXTENSIONS = new Set(['.js', '.mjs', '.cjs', '.ts', '.mts', '.cts'])
+const TYPESCRIPT_EXTENSIONS = new Set(['.ts', '.mts', '.cts'])
+const TYPESCRIPT_LOADER_HINT =
+  "Node can't import `.ts` files directly. Run with `tsx`, `bun`, or `ts-node`, or pre-compile to `.js`."
 
 /** Options for {@link loadPromptsFromDir}. */
 export interface LoadOptions {
@@ -92,8 +95,16 @@ export async function loadPromptFile(
     const url = pathToFileURL(filePath).href
     mod = (await import(url)) as Record<string, unknown>
   } catch (e) {
+    const errorMessage = e instanceof Error ? e.message : String(e)
+    const needsTypeScriptLoader =
+      TYPESCRIPT_EXTENSIONS.has(extname(filePath)) &&
+      typeof e === 'object' &&
+      e !== null &&
+      'code' in e &&
+      e.code === 'ERR_UNKNOWN_FILE_EXTENSION'
+
     throw new LoaderError(
-      `Failed to import "${filePath}": ${e instanceof Error ? e.message : String(e)}`,
+      `Failed to import "${filePath}": ${errorMessage}${needsTypeScriptLoader ? ` ${TYPESCRIPT_LOADER_HINT}` : ''}`,
       filePath,
     )
   }
diff --git a/tests/loader.test.ts b/tests/loader.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4ed49eb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/loader.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, vi } from 'vitest'
+import { loadPromptFile } from '../src/loader.js'
+
+vi.mock('node:url', () => ({
+  pathToFileURL(path: string) {
+    if (path === 'unsupported-prompt.ts') {
+      const source = `
+          const error = new Error('Unknown file extension ".ts"')
+          error.code = 'ERR_UNKNOWN_FILE_EXTENSION'
+          throw error
+        `
+      return new URL(`data:text/javascript,${encodeURIComponent(source)}`)
+    }
+
+    throw new Error(`Unexpected test path: ${path}`)
+  },
+}))
+
+describe('loadPromptFile', () => {
+  it('explains how to load TypeScript files without a loader', async () => {
+    await expect(loadPromptFile('unsupported-prompt.ts')).rejects.toThrow(
+      "Node can't import `.ts` files directly. Run with `tsx`, `bun`, or `ts-node`, or pre-compile to `.js`.",
+    )
+  })
+})