diff --git a/Herebyfile.mjs b/Herebyfile.mjs
index fd5e48752b568..8e68f5d282a82 100644
--- a/Herebyfile.mjs
+++ b/Herebyfile.mjs
@@ -393,17 +393,39 @@ function entrypointBuildTask(options) {
     return { build, bundle, shim, main, watch };
 }
 
-const { main: tsc, watch: watchTsc } = entrypointBuildTask({
-    name: "tsc",
+const { main: tscReal, watch: watchTscReal } = entrypointBuildTask({
+    name: "tscReal",
     description: "Builds the command-line compiler",
     buildDeps: [generateDiagnostics],
     project: "src/tsc",
     srcEntrypoint: "./src/tsc/tsc.ts",
     builtEntrypoint: "./built/local/tsc/tsc.js",
+    output: "./built/local/tscReal.js",
+    mainDeps: [generateLibs],
+});
+
+const { main: tscSnapshot, watch: watchTscSnapshot } = entrypointBuildTask({
+    name: "tscSnapshot",
+    description: "Builds the command-line compiler",
+    buildDeps: [generateDiagnostics],
+    project: "src/tsc",
+    srcEntrypoint: "./src/tscSnapshot/tsc.ts",
+    builtEntrypoint: "./built/local/tscSnapshot/tsc.js",
     output: "./built/local/tsc.js",
     mainDeps: [generateLibs],
 });
-export { tsc, watchTsc };
+
+export const tsc = task({
+    name: "tsc",
+    description: "Builds the command-line compiler",
+    dependencies: [tscReal, tscSnapshot],
+});
+
+export const watchTsc = task({
+    name: "watchTsc",
+    description: "Builds the command-line compiler",
+    dependencies: [watchTscReal, watchTscSnapshot],
+});
 
 const { main: services, build: buildServices, watch: watchServices } = entrypointBuildTask({
     name: "services",
diff --git a/scripts/produceLKG.mjs b/scripts/produceLKG.mjs
index 47630c43db5f8..751693c7ad2b4 100644
--- a/scripts/produceLKG.mjs
+++ b/scripts/produceLKG.mjs
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ async function copyTypesMap() {
 async function copyScriptOutputs() {
     await copyFromBuiltLocal("cancellationToken.js");
     await copyFromBuiltLocal("tsc.js");
+    await copyFromBuiltLocal("tscReal.js");
     await copyFromBuiltLocal("tsserver.js");
     await copyFromBuiltLocal("tsserverlibrary.js");
     await copyFromBuiltLocal("typescript.js");
diff --git a/src/compiler/sys.ts b/src/compiler/sys.ts
index 281622d004c77..ea760e613bd53 100644
--- a/src/compiler/sys.ts
+++ b/src/compiler/sys.ts
@@ -1469,8 +1469,8 @@ interface DirectoryWatcher extends FileWatcher {
     referenceCount: number;
 }
 
-// TODO: GH#18217 this is used as if it's certainly defined in many places.
-export let sys: System = (() => {
+/** @internal */
+export function createSystem(): System {
     // NodeJS detects "\uFEFF" at the start of the string and *replaces* it with the actual
     // byte order mark from the specified encoding. Using any other byte order mark does
     // not actually work.
@@ -2026,21 +2026,26 @@ export let sys: System = (() => {
         patchWriteFileEnsuringDirectory(sys);
     }
     return sys!;
-})();
+}
+
+// TODO: GH#18217 this is used as if it's certainly defined in many places.
+export let sys: System;
 
 /** @internal */
 export function setSys(s: System) {
     sys = s;
-}
 
-if (sys && sys.getEnvironmentVariable) {
-    setCustomPollingValues(sys);
-    Debug.setAssertionLevel(
-        /^development$/i.test(sys.getEnvironmentVariable("NODE_ENV"))
-            ? AssertionLevel.Normal
-            : AssertionLevel.None,
-    );
-}
-if (sys && sys.debugMode) {
-    Debug.isDebugging = true;
+    if (sys && sys.getEnvironmentVariable) {
+        setCustomPollingValues(sys);
+        Debug.setAssertionLevel(
+            /^development$/i.test(sys.getEnvironmentVariable("NODE_ENV"))
+                ? AssertionLevel.Normal
+                : AssertionLevel.None,
+        );
+    }
+    if (sys && sys.debugMode) {
+        Debug.isDebugging = true;
+    }
 }
+
+setSys(createSystem());
diff --git a/src/tsc/tsc.ts b/src/tsc/tsc.ts
index d7c3c42a01f61..9fa8b4a4568ea 100644
--- a/src/tsc/tsc.ts
+++ b/src/tsc/tsc.ts
@@ -9,16 +9,47 @@ ts.Debug.loggingHost = {
     },
 };
 
-if (ts.Debug.isDebugging) {
-    ts.Debug.enableDebugInfo();
+interface V8 {
+    startupSnapshot?: {
+        isBuildingSnapshot(): boolean;
+        setDeserializeMainFunction(fn: () => void): void;
+    };
 }
 
-if (ts.sys.tryEnableSourceMapsForHost && /^development$/i.test(ts.sys.getEnvironmentVariable("NODE_ENV"))) {
-    ts.sys.tryEnableSourceMapsForHost();
+let v8: V8 | undefined;
+try {
+    if (!process.versions.bun) {
+        v8 = require("v8");
+    }
 }
+catch {
+    // do nothing
+}
+
+function main() {
+    if (ts.Debug.isDebugging) {
+        ts.Debug.enableDebugInfo();
+    }
+
+    if (ts.sys.tryEnableSourceMapsForHost && /^development$/i.test(ts.sys.getEnvironmentVariable("NODE_ENV"))) {
+        ts.sys.tryEnableSourceMapsForHost();
+    }
 
-if (ts.sys.setBlocking) {
-    ts.sys.setBlocking();
+    if (ts.sys.setBlocking) {
+        ts.sys.setBlocking();
+    }
+
+    ts.executeCommandLine(ts.sys, ts.noop, ts.sys.args);
 }
 
-ts.executeCommandLine(ts.sys, ts.noop, ts.sys.args);
+if (v8?.startupSnapshot?.isBuildingSnapshot()) {
+    v8.startupSnapshot.setDeserializeMainFunction(() => {
+        // When we're executed as a snapshot, argv won't contain the js file anymore.
+        process.argv.splice(1, 0, __filename);
+        ts.setSys(ts.createSystem());
+        main();
+    });
+}
+else {
+    main();
+}
diff --git a/src/tsc/tsconfig.json b/src/tsc/tsconfig.json
index 21e193ad5d70c..46f22c372f8ed 100644
--- a/src/tsc/tsconfig.json
+++ b/src/tsc/tsconfig.json
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 {
     "extends": "../tsconfig-base",
     "compilerOptions": {
+        "types": ["node"]
     },
     "references": [
         { "path": "../compiler" },
diff --git a/src/tscSnapshot/tsc.ts b/src/tscSnapshot/tsc.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..b805594cfa2f9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/tscSnapshot/tsc.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+import fs = require("fs");
+import path = require("path");
+import cp = require("child_process");
+
+let v8: typeof import("v8") | undefined;
+try {
+    if (!process.versions.bun) {
+        v8 = require("v8");
+    }
+}
+catch {
+    // do nothing
+}
+
+const exe = path.join(__dirname, "tscReal.js");
+
+if (!(v8 as any)?.startupSnapshot) {
+    require(exe);
+    throw new Error("unreachable");
+}
+
+const args = process.argv.slice(2);
+
+const doBuildSnapshot = process.env.TYPESCRIPT_BUILD_SNAPSHOT === "true";
+
+function checksumFile(path: string) {
+    const crypto = require("crypto") as typeof import("crypto");
+    // Benchmarking shows that sha1 is the fastest hash.
+    // It is theoretically insecure, but we're just using it to detect file mismatches.
+    // TODO(jakebailey): If sha1 is ever removed, this will fail; we should try catch
+    // and fall back to something from crypto.getHashes() if it does.
+    const hash = crypto.createHash("sha1");
+    const file = fs.readFileSync(path);
+    hash.update(file);
+    return hash.digest("hex");
+}
+
+const exeHash = checksumFile(exe);
+const blobName = `${exe}.${process.version}.${exeHash}.blob`;
+
+if (doBuildSnapshot) {
+    // Build and atomic rename.
+    const tmpName = `${blobName}.${process.pid}.tmp`;
+    cp.execFileSync(
+        process.execPath,
+        ["--snapshot-blob", tmpName, "--build-snapshot", exe],
+        { stdio: "ignore" },
+    );
+    try {
+        fs.renameSync(tmpName, blobName);
+    }
+    catch {
+        // If the rename fails, it's because another process beat us to it.
+    }
+    process.exit(0);
+}
+
+if (!fs.existsSync(blobName)) {
+    cp.spawn(
+        process.execPath,
+        [__filename],
+        {
+            detached: true,
+            stdio: "ignore",
+            env: { ...process.env, TYPESCRIPT_BUILD_SNAPSHOT: "true" },
+        },
+    ).unref();
+    require(exe);
+    throw new Error("unreachable");
+}
+
+try {
+    cp.execFileSync(process.execPath, ["--snapshot-blob", blobName, "--", ...args], { stdio: "inherit" });
+}
+catch (e) {
+    process.exitCode = e.status;
+}
diff --git a/src/tscSnapshot/tsconfig.json b/src/tscSnapshot/tsconfig.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..e39519532fd80
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/tscSnapshot/tsconfig.json
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+{
+    "extends": "../tsconfig-base",
+    "compilerOptions": {
+        "types": ["node"]
+    },
+    "references": [],
+    "include": ["**/*"]
+}