diff --git a/.chronus/changes/expose-init-internals-2025-2-8-13-21-58.md b/.chronus/changes/expose-init-internals-2025-2-8-13-21-58.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..98f98fef0e6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.chronus/changes/expose-init-internals-2025-2-8-13-21-58.md
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+changeKind: internal
+packages:
+  - "@typespec/bundler"
+---
+
diff --git a/.chronus/changes/expose-init-internals-2025-2-8-20-55-39.md b/.chronus/changes/expose-init-internals-2025-2-8-20-55-39.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..2b4998e4d46
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.chronus/changes/expose-init-internals-2025-2-8-20-55-39.md
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+---
+# Change versionKind to one of: internal, fix, dependencies, feature, deprecation, breaking
+changeKind: internal
+packages:
+  - "@typespec/compiler"
+---
+
+Expose initScaffolding via an internals export
diff --git a/packages/bundler/src/bundler.ts b/packages/bundler/src/bundler.ts
index d06b3aa10fa..1af72475880 100644
--- a/packages/bundler/src/bundler.ts
+++ b/packages/bundler/src/bundler.ts
@@ -126,7 +126,9 @@ async function resolveTypeSpecBundleDefinition(
 
   const exports = pkg.exports
     ? Object.fromEntries(
-        Object.entries(pkg.exports).filter(([k, v]) => k !== "." && k !== "./testing"),
+        Object.entries(pkg.exports).filter(
+          ([k, v]) => k !== "." && k !== "./testing" && k !== "./internals",
+        ),
       )
     : {};
 
diff --git a/packages/compiler/package.json b/packages/compiler/package.json
index 48fbd54a94c..fb6995a2834 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/package.json
+++ b/packages/compiler/package.json
@@ -49,6 +49,10 @@
     "./experimental/typekit": {
       "types": "./dist/src/experimental/typekit/index.d.ts",
       "default": "./dist/src/experimental/typekit/index.js"
+    },
+    "./internals": {
+      "types": "./dist/src/internals/index.d.ts",
+      "import": "./dist/src/internals/index.js"
     }
   },
   "browser": {
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/config/config-loader.ts b/packages/compiler/src/config/config-loader.ts
index 1d27899dda9..2dd1ace6366 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/config/config-loader.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/config/config-loader.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,8 @@ import { getDirectoryPath, isPathAbsolute, joinPaths, resolvePath } from "../cor
 import { createJSONSchemaValidator } from "../core/schema-validator.js";
 import { createSourceFile } from "../core/source-file.js";
 import { CompilerHost, Diagnostic, NoTarget, SourceFile } from "../core/types.js";
-import { deepClone, deepFreeze, doIO, omitUndefined } from "../utils/misc.js";
+import { doIO } from "../utils/io.js";
+import { deepClone, deepFreeze, omitUndefined } from "../utils/misc.js";
 import { getLocationInYamlScript } from "../yaml/index.js";
 import { parseYaml } from "../yaml/parser.js";
 import { YamlScript } from "../yaml/types.js";
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/config/config-to-options.ts b/packages/compiler/src/config/config-to-options.ts
index 6471259448c..322b6b372aa 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/config/config-to-options.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/config/config-to-options.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,8 @@ import { createDiagnostic } from "../core/messages.js";
 import { CompilerOptions } from "../core/options.js";
 import { getDirectoryPath, normalizePath } from "../core/path-utils.js";
 import { CompilerHost, Diagnostic, NoTarget } from "../core/types.js";
-import { deepClone, doIO, omitUndefined } from "../utils/misc.js";
+import { doIO } from "../utils/io.js";
+import { deepClone, omitUndefined } from "../utils/misc.js";
 import { expandConfigVariables } from "./config-interpolation.js";
 import { loadTypeSpecConfigForPath, validateConfigPathsAbsolute } from "./config-loader.js";
 import { EmitterOptions, TypeSpecConfig } from "./types.js";
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/core/cli/actions/compile/compile.ts b/packages/compiler/src/core/cli/actions/compile/compile.ts
index fe2ce70aa6b..c827cc0931c 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/core/cli/actions/compile/compile.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/core/cli/actions/compile/compile.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { typespecVersion } from "../../../../utils/misc.js";
+import { typespecVersion } from "../../../../manifest.js";
 import { logDiagnostics } from "../../../diagnostics.js";
 import { resolveTypeSpecEntrypoint } from "../../../entrypoint-resolution.js";
 import { CompilerOptions } from "../../../options.js";
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/core/cli/cli.ts b/packages/compiler/src/core/cli/cli.ts
index c426b10467d..2150a6c2e6b 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/core/cli/cli.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/core/cli/cli.ts
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ try {
 
 import yargs from "yargs";
 import { installTypeSpecDependencies } from "../../install/install.js";
-import { typespecVersion } from "../../utils/misc.js";
+import { typespecVersion } from "../../manifest.js";
 import { getTypeSpecEngine } from "../engine.js";
 import { compileAction } from "./actions/compile/compile.js";
 import { formatAction } from "./actions/format.js";
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/core/entrypoint-resolution.ts b/packages/compiler/src/core/entrypoint-resolution.ts
index dc290321e9a..b9d34c17869 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/core/entrypoint-resolution.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/core/entrypoint-resolution.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-import { doIO, loadFile, resolveTspMain } from "../utils/misc.js";
+import { doIO, loadFile } from "../utils/io.js";
+import { resolveTspMain } from "../utils/misc.js";
 import { DiagnosticHandler } from "./diagnostics.js";
 import { resolvePath } from "./path-utils.js";
 import { CompilerHost } from "./types.js";
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/core/node-host.ts b/packages/compiler/src/core/node-host.ts
index 34d8998c3bd..8ecb429265b 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/core/node-host.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/core/node-host.ts
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
-import { realpath } from "fs";
-import { mkdir, readdir, readFile, rm, stat, writeFile } from "fs/promises";
+import { mkdir, stat } from "fs/promises";
 import { fileURLToPath, pathToFileURL } from "url";
-import { findProjectRoot } from "../utils/misc.js";
+import { findProjectRoot } from "../utils/io.js";
 import { createConsoleSink } from "./logger/index.js";
+import { NodeSystemHost } from "./node-system-host.js";
 import { joinPaths } from "./path-utils.js";
-import { createSourceFile, getSourceFileKindFromExt } from "./source-file.js";
-import { CompilerHost, RmOptions } from "./types.js";
+import { getSourceFileKindFromExt } from "./source-file.js";
+import { CompilerHost } from "./types.js";
 
 export const CompilerPackageRoot = (await findProjectRoot(stat, fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)))!;
 
@@ -14,37 +14,13 @@ export const CompilerPackageRoot = (await findProjectRoot(stat, fileURLToPath(im
  * This is the the CompilerHost used by TypeSpec CLI.
  */
 export const NodeHost: CompilerHost = {
-  readUrl: async (url: string) => {
-    const response = await fetch(url, { redirect: "follow" });
-    const text = await response.text();
-    return createSourceFile(text, response.url);
-  },
-  readFile: async (path: string) => createSourceFile(await readUtf8File(path), path),
-  writeFile: (path: string, content: string) => writeFile(path, content, { encoding: "utf-8" }),
-  readDir: (path: string) => readdir(path),
-  rm: (path: string, options: RmOptions) => rm(path, options),
+  ...NodeSystemHost,
   getExecutionRoot: () => CompilerPackageRoot,
   getJsImport: (path: string) => import(pathToFileURL(path).href),
   getLibDirs() {
     const rootDir = this.getExecutionRoot();
     return [joinPaths(rootDir, "lib/std")];
   },
-  stat(path: string) {
-    return stat(path);
-  },
-  realpath(path) {
-    // BUG in the promise version of realpath https://github.com/microsoft/typespec/issues/2783
-    // Fix was only made to node 21.6 at this time. https://github.com/nodejs/node/issues/51031
-    return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
-      realpath(path, (err, resolvedPath) => {
-        if (err) {
-          reject(err);
-        } else {
-          resolve(resolvedPath);
-        }
-      });
-    });
-  },
   getSourceFileKind: getSourceFileKindFromExt,
   mkdirp: (path: string) => mkdir(path, { recursive: true }),
   logSink: createConsoleSink(),
@@ -53,26 +29,3 @@ export const NodeHost: CompilerHost = {
     return pathToFileURL(path).href;
   },
 };
-
-async function readUtf8File(path: string) {
-  const buffer = await readFile(path);
-  const len = buffer.length;
-  if (len >= 2 && buffer[0] === 0xfe && buffer[1] === 0xff) {
-    throw new InvalidEncodingError("UTF-16 BE");
-  }
-  if (len >= 2 && buffer[0] === 0xff && buffer[1] === 0xfe) {
-    throw new InvalidEncodingError("UTF-16 LE");
-  }
-  if (len >= 3 && buffer[0] === 0xef && buffer[1] === 0xbb && buffer[2] === 0xbf) {
-    // UTF-8 byte order mark detected
-    return buffer.toString("utf8", 3);
-  }
-  // Default is UTF-8 with no byte order mark
-  return buffer.toString("utf8");
-}
-
-export class InvalidEncodingError extends Error {
-  constructor(encoding: string) {
-    super(`Invalid encoding ${encoding}. TypeSpec only supports UTF-8 and UTF-8 with bom`);
-  }
-}
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/core/node-system-host.ts b/packages/compiler/src/core/node-system-host.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..0384d61fee6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/core/node-system-host.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+import { realpath } from "fs";
+import { mkdir, readdir, readFile, rm, stat, writeFile } from "fs/promises";
+import { createSourceFile } from "./source-file.js";
+import { RmOptions, SystemHost } from "./types.js";
+
+/**
+ * Implementation of the @see SystemHost using the real file system.
+ */
+export const NodeSystemHost: SystemHost = {
+  readUrl: async (url: string) => {
+    const response = await fetch(url, { redirect: "follow" });
+    const text = await response.text();
+    return createSourceFile(text, response.url);
+  },
+  readFile: async (path: string) => createSourceFile(await readUtf8File(path), path),
+  writeFile: (path: string, content: string) => writeFile(path, content, { encoding: "utf-8" }),
+  readDir: (path: string) => readdir(path),
+  rm: (path: string, options: RmOptions) => rm(path, options),
+  stat(path: string) {
+    return stat(path);
+  },
+  realpath(path) {
+    // BUG in the promise version of realpath https://github.com/microsoft/typespec/issues/2783
+    // Fix was only made to node 21.6 at this time. https://github.com/nodejs/node/issues/51031
+    return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+      realpath(path, (err, resolvedPath) => {
+        if (err) {
+          reject(err);
+        } else {
+          resolve(resolvedPath);
+        }
+      });
+    });
+  },
+  mkdirp: (path: string) => mkdir(path, { recursive: true }),
+};
+
+async function readUtf8File(path: string) {
+  const buffer = await readFile(path);
+  const len = buffer.length;
+  if (len >= 2 && buffer[0] === 0xfe && buffer[1] === 0xff) {
+    throw new InvalidEncodingError("UTF-16 BE");
+  }
+  if (len >= 2 && buffer[0] === 0xff && buffer[1] === 0xfe) {
+    throw new InvalidEncodingError("UTF-16 LE");
+  }
+  if (len >= 3 && buffer[0] === 0xef && buffer[1] === 0xbb && buffer[2] === 0xbf) {
+    // UTF-8 byte order mark detected
+    return buffer.toString("utf8", 3);
+  }
+  // Default is UTF-8 with no byte order mark
+  return buffer.toString("utf8");
+}
+
+export class InvalidEncodingError extends Error {
+  constructor(encoding: string) {
+    super(`Invalid encoding ${encoding}. TypeSpec only supports UTF-8 and UTF-8 with bom`);
+  }
+}
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/core/program.ts b/packages/compiler/src/core/program.ts
index f84902160c7..fa1fa0f7057 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/core/program.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/core/program.ts
@@ -11,7 +11,8 @@ import {
   resolveModule,
 } from "../module-resolver/module-resolver.js";
 import { PackageJson } from "../types/package-json.js";
-import { deepEquals, findProjectRoot, isDefined, mapEquals, mutate } from "../utils/misc.js";
+import { findProjectRoot } from "../utils/io.js";
+import { deepEquals, isDefined, mapEquals, mutate } from "../utils/misc.js";
 import { createBinder } from "./binder.js";
 import { Checker, createChecker } from "./checker.js";
 import { createSuppressCodeFix } from "./compiler-code-fixes/suppress.codefix.js";
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/core/source-loader.ts b/packages/compiler/src/core/source-loader.ts
index 16fdcc60f13..f946f78c331 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/core/source-loader.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/core/source-loader.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,8 @@ import {
   ResolveModuleHost,
 } from "../module-resolver/module-resolver.js";
 import { PackageJson } from "../types/package-json.js";
-import { deepEquals, doIO, resolveTspMain } from "../utils/misc.js";
+import { doIO } from "../utils/io.js";
+import { deepEquals, resolveTspMain } from "../utils/misc.js";
 import { compilerAssert, createDiagnosticCollector } from "./diagnostics.js";
 import { resolveTypeSpecEntrypointForDir } from "./entrypoint-resolution.js";
 import { createDiagnostic } from "./messages.js";
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/core/types.ts b/packages/compiler/src/core/types.ts
index 260cd5a2916..91018c26bad 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/core/types.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/core/types.ts
@@ -2034,18 +2034,13 @@ export interface RmOptions {
   recursive?: boolean;
 }
 
-export interface CompilerHost {
+export interface SystemHost {
   /** read a file at the given url. */
   readUrl(url: string): Promise<SourceFile>;
 
   /** read a utf-8 or utf-8 with bom encoded file */
   readFile(path: string): Promise<SourceFile>;
 
-  /**
-   * Optional cache to reuse the results of parsing and binding across programs.
-   */
-  parseCache?: WeakMap<SourceFile, TypeSpecScriptNode>;
-
   /**
    * Write the file.
    * @param path Path to the file.
@@ -2072,6 +2067,19 @@ export interface CompilerHost {
    */
   mkdirp(path: string): Promise<string | undefined>;
 
+  // get info about a path
+  stat(path: string): Promise<{ isDirectory(): boolean; isFile(): boolean }>;
+
+  // get the real path of a possibly symlinked path
+  realpath(path: string): Promise<string>;
+}
+
+export interface CompilerHost extends SystemHost {
+  /**
+   * Optional cache to reuse the results of parsing and binding across programs.
+   */
+  parseCache?: WeakMap<SourceFile, TypeSpecScriptNode>;
+
   // get the directory TypeSpec is executing from
   getExecutionRoot(): string;
 
@@ -2081,14 +2089,8 @@ export interface CompilerHost {
   // get a promise for the ESM module shape of a JS module
   getJsImport(path: string): Promise<Record<string, any>>;
 
-  // get info about a path
-  stat(path: string): Promise<{ isDirectory(): boolean; isFile(): boolean }>;
-
   getSourceFileKind(path: string): SourceFileKind | undefined;
 
-  // get the real path of a possibly symlinked path
-  realpath(path: string): Promise<string>;
-
   // convert a file URL to a path in a file system
   fileURLToPath(url: string): string;
 
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/init/core-templates.ts b/packages/compiler/src/init/core-templates.ts
index ad284f8a704..8e9f3ab45cb 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/init/core-templates.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/init/core-templates.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { CompilerPackageRoot } from "../core/node-host.js";
 import { resolvePath } from "../core/path-utils.js";
-import { CompilerHost } from "../index.js";
+import type { SystemHost } from "../core/types.js";
 
 export const templatesDir = resolvePath(CompilerPackageRoot, "templates");
 export interface LoadedCoreTemplates {
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ export interface LoadedCoreTemplates {
 }
 
 let typeSpecCoreTemplates: LoadedCoreTemplates | undefined;
-export async function getTypeSpecCoreTemplates(host: CompilerHost): Promise<LoadedCoreTemplates> {
+export async function getTypeSpecCoreTemplates(host: SystemHost): Promise<LoadedCoreTemplates> {
   if (typeSpecCoreTemplates === undefined) {
     const file = await host.readFile(resolvePath(templatesDir, "scaffolding.json"));
     const content = JSON.parse(file.text);
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/init/scaffold.ts b/packages/compiler/src/init/scaffold.ts
index 51a1f9e4fe7..9a43d1bb0ac 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/init/scaffold.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/init/scaffold.ts
@@ -1,19 +1,23 @@
 import { stringify } from "yaml";
-import { TypeSpecConfigFilename } from "../config/config-loader.js";
-import { TypeSpecRawConfig } from "../config/types.js";
-import { formatTypeSpec } from "../core/formatter.js";
+import type { TypeSpecRawConfig } from "../config/types.js";
 import { getDirectoryPath, joinPaths } from "../core/path-utils.js";
-import { CompilerHost } from "../core/types.js";
-import { PackageJson } from "../types/package-json.js";
+import type { SystemHost } from "../core/types.js";
+import type { PackageJson } from "../types/package-json.js";
 import { readUrlOrPath, resolveRelativeUrlOrPath } from "../utils/misc.js";
-import { FileTemplatingContext, createFileTemplatingContext, render } from "./file-templating.js";
 import {
+  createFileTemplatingContext,
+  type FileTemplatingContext,
+  render,
+} from "./file-templating.js";
+import type {
   InitTemplate,
   InitTemplateFile,
   InitTemplateLibrary,
   InitTemplateLibrarySpec,
 } from "./init-template.js";
 
+export const TypeSpecConfigFilename = "tspconfig.yaml";
+
 export interface ScaffoldingConfig {
   /** Template used to resolve that config */
   template: InitTemplate;
@@ -83,7 +87,7 @@ export function makeScaffoldingConfig(
  * @param host
  * @param config
  */
-export async function scaffoldNewProject(host: CompilerHost, config: ScaffoldingConfig) {
+export async function scaffoldNewProject(host: SystemHost, config: ScaffoldingConfig) {
   await host.mkdirp(config.directory);
   await writePackageJson(host, config);
   await writeConfig(host, config);
@@ -101,7 +105,7 @@ export function isFileSkipGeneration(fileName: string, files: InitTemplateFile[]
   return false;
 }
 
-async function writePackageJson(host: CompilerHost, config: ScaffoldingConfig) {
+async function writePackageJson(host: SystemHost, config: ScaffoldingConfig) {
   if (isFileSkipGeneration("package.json", config.template.files ?? [])) {
     return;
   }
@@ -156,7 +160,7 @@ const placeholderConfig = `
 # warn-as-error: true                           # Treat warnings as errors
 # output-dir: "{project-root}/_generated"       # Configure the base output directory for all emitters
 `.trim();
-async function writeConfig(host: CompilerHost, config: ScaffoldingConfig) {
+async function writeConfig(host: SystemHost, config: ScaffoldingConfig) {
   if (isFileSkipGeneration(TypeSpecConfigFilename, config.template.files ?? [])) {
     return;
   }
@@ -178,7 +182,7 @@ async function writeConfig(host: CompilerHost, config: ScaffoldingConfig) {
   return host.writeFile(joinPaths(config.directory, TypeSpecConfigFilename), content);
 }
 
-async function writeMain(host: CompilerHost, config: ScaffoldingConfig) {
+async function writeMain(host: SystemHost, config: ScaffoldingConfig) {
   if (isFileSkipGeneration("main.tsp", config.template.files ?? [])) {
     return;
   }
@@ -191,7 +195,7 @@ async function writeMain(host: CompilerHost, config: ScaffoldingConfig) {
   const lines = [...config.libraries.map((x) => `import "${x.name}";`), ""];
   const content = lines.join("\n");
 
-  return host.writeFile(joinPaths(config.directory, "main.tsp"), await formatTypeSpec(content));
+  return host.writeFile(joinPaths(config.directory, "main.tsp"), content);
 }
 
 const defaultGitignore = `
@@ -205,7 +209,7 @@ dist/
 # Dependency directories
 node_modules/
 `.trim();
-async function writeGitignore(host: CompilerHost, config: ScaffoldingConfig) {
+async function writeGitignore(host: SystemHost, config: ScaffoldingConfig) {
   if (!config.includeGitignore || isFileSkipGeneration(".gitignore", config.template.files ?? [])) {
     return;
   }
@@ -213,7 +217,7 @@ async function writeGitignore(host: CompilerHost, config: ScaffoldingConfig) {
   return host.writeFile(joinPaths(config.directory, ".gitignore"), defaultGitignore);
 }
 
-async function writeFiles(host: CompilerHost, config: ScaffoldingConfig) {
+async function writeFiles(host: SystemHost, config: ScaffoldingConfig) {
   const templateContext = createFileTemplatingContext(config);
   if (!config.template.files) {
     return;
@@ -226,7 +230,7 @@ async function writeFiles(host: CompilerHost, config: ScaffoldingConfig) {
 }
 
 async function writeFile(
-  host: CompilerHost,
+  host: SystemHost,
   config: ScaffoldingConfig,
   context: FileTemplatingContext,
   file: InitTemplateFile,
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/internals/index.ts b/packages/compiler/src/internals/index.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..c5a6c2dbb1a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/internals/index.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+/**
+ * This file is meant to export internal items from the TypeSpec compiler to some other tools that bundle them.
+ * DO NOT USE it, it might change at any time with no warning.
+ */
+
+if (!(globalThis as any).enableCompilerInternalsExport) {
+  throw new Error("Importing @typespec/compiler/internals is reserved for internal use only.");
+}
+
+export { NodeSystemHost } from "../core/node-system-host.js";
+export { InitTemplateSchema } from "../init/init-template.js";
+export { scaffoldNewProject } from "../init/scaffold.js";
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/server/compile-service.ts b/packages/compiler/src/server/compile-service.ts
index 8064adb3410..1bdf867e26c 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/server/compile-service.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/server/compile-service.ts
@@ -20,7 +20,8 @@ import type {
   Diagnostic as TypeSpecDiagnostic,
   TypeSpecScriptNode,
 } from "../core/types.js";
-import { doIO, loadFile, resolveTspMain } from "../utils/misc.js";
+import { doIO, loadFile } from "../utils/io.js";
+import { resolveTspMain } from "../utils/misc.js";
 import { serverOptions } from "./constants.js";
 import { FileService } from "./file-service.js";
 import { FileSystemCache } from "./file-system-cache.js";
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/server/completion.ts b/packages/compiler/src/server/completion.ts
index b47fa87a4f3..fb9fcb8f315 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/server/completion.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/server/completion.ts
@@ -32,7 +32,8 @@ import {
   TypeSpecScriptNode,
 } from "../core/types.js";
 import { PackageJson } from "../types/package-json.js";
-import { findProjectRoot, loadFile, resolveTspMain } from "../utils/misc.js";
+import { findProjectRoot, loadFile } from "../utils/io.js";
+import { resolveTspMain } from "../utils/misc.js";
 import { getSymbolDetails } from "./type-details.js";
 
 export type CompletionContext = {
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/server/server.ts b/packages/compiler/src/server/server.ts
index b7ceb6e16fe..355fbd214eb 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/server/server.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/server/server.ts
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ import {
   createConnection,
 } from "vscode-languageserver/node.js";
 import { NodeHost } from "../core/node-host.js";
-import { typespecVersion } from "../utils/misc.js";
+import { typespecVersion } from "../manifest.js";
 import { createServer } from "./serverlib.js";
 import { CustomRequestName, Server, ServerHost, ServerLog } from "./types.js";
 
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/server/serverlib.ts b/packages/compiler/src/server/serverlib.ts
index 67fb4fec76b..07733dfd630 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/server/serverlib.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/server/serverlib.ts
@@ -89,8 +89,9 @@ import { getTypeSpecCoreTemplates } from "../init/core-templates.js";
 import { validateTemplateDefinitions } from "../init/init-template-validate.js";
 import { InitTemplate } from "../init/init-template.js";
 import { scaffoldNewProject } from "../init/scaffold.js";
+import { typespecVersion } from "../manifest.js";
 import { resolveModule, ResolveModuleHost } from "../module-resolver/module-resolver.js";
-import { getNormalizedRealPath, resolveTspMain, typespecVersion } from "../utils/misc.js";
+import { getNormalizedRealPath, resolveTspMain } from "../utils/misc.js";
 import { getSemanticTokens } from "./classify.js";
 import { createCompileService } from "./compile-service.js";
 import { resolveCompletion } from "./completion.js";
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/testing/test-utils.ts b/packages/compiler/src/testing/test-utils.ts
index 354b1b0fce1..6b34d559b97 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/testing/test-utils.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/testing/test-utils.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import { NodeHost } from "../core/node-host.js";
 import { CompilerOptions } from "../core/options.js";
 import { resolvePath } from "../core/path-utils.js";
 import type { Type } from "../core/types.js";
-import { findProjectRoot } from "../utils/misc.js";
+import { findProjectRoot } from "../utils/io.js";
 import {
   BasicTestRunner,
   TestHost,
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/utils/io.ts b/packages/compiler/src/utils/io.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..125bfae5b64
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/utils/io.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,107 @@
+import { DiagnosticHandler } from "../core/diagnostics.js";
+import { createDiagnostic } from "../core/messages.js";
+import { getDirectoryPath, joinPaths } from "../core/path-utils.js";
+import { createSourceFile } from "../core/source-file.js";
+import { CompilerHost, Diagnostic, DiagnosticTarget, NoTarget, SourceFile } from "../core/types.js";
+
+export interface FileHandlingOptions {
+  allowFileNotFound?: boolean;
+  diagnosticTarget?: DiagnosticTarget | typeof NoTarget;
+  jsDiagnosticTarget?: DiagnosticTarget;
+}
+
+export async function doIO<T>(
+  action: (path: string) => Promise<T>,
+  path: string,
+  reportDiagnostic: DiagnosticHandler,
+  options?: FileHandlingOptions,
+): Promise<T | undefined> {
+  let result;
+  try {
+    result = await action(path);
+  } catch (e: any) {
+    let diagnostic: Diagnostic;
+    let target = options?.diagnosticTarget ?? NoTarget;
+
+    // blame the JS file, not the TypeSpec import statement for JS syntax errors.
+    if (e instanceof SyntaxError && options?.jsDiagnosticTarget) {
+      target = options.jsDiagnosticTarget;
+    }
+
+    switch (e.code) {
+      case "ENOENT":
+        if (options?.allowFileNotFound) {
+          return undefined;
+        }
+        diagnostic = createDiagnostic({ code: "file-not-found", target, format: { path } });
+        break;
+      default:
+        diagnostic = createDiagnostic({
+          code: "file-load",
+          target,
+          format: { message: e.message },
+        });
+        break;
+    }
+
+    reportDiagnostic(diagnostic);
+    return undefined;
+  }
+
+  return result;
+}
+
+export async function loadFile<T>(
+  host: CompilerHost,
+  path: string,
+  load: (contents: string) => T,
+  reportDiagnostic: DiagnosticHandler,
+  options?: FileHandlingOptions,
+): Promise<[T | undefined, SourceFile]> {
+  const file = await doIO(host.readFile, path, reportDiagnostic, options);
+  if (!file) {
+    return [undefined, createSourceFile("", path)];
+  }
+  let data: T;
+  try {
+    data = load(file.text);
+  } catch (e: any) {
+    reportDiagnostic({
+      code: "file-load",
+      message: e.message,
+      severity: "error",
+      target: { file, pos: 1, end: 1 },
+    });
+    return [undefined, file];
+  }
+
+  return [data, file];
+}
+
+/**
+ * Look for the project root by looking up until a `package.json` is found.
+ * @param path Path to start looking
+ * @param lookIn
+ */
+export async function findProjectRoot(
+  statFn: CompilerHost["stat"],
+  path: string,
+): Promise<string | undefined> {
+  let current = path;
+  while (true) {
+    const pkgPath = joinPaths(current, "package.json");
+    const stat = await doIO(
+      () => statFn(pkgPath),
+      pkgPath,
+      () => {},
+    );
+    if (stat?.isFile()) {
+      return current;
+    }
+    const parent = getDirectoryPath(current);
+    if (parent === current) {
+      return undefined;
+    }
+    current = parent;
+  }
+}
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/utils/misc.ts b/packages/compiler/src/utils/misc.ts
index eeaff7232ee..df6d3aa7e60 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/utils/misc.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/utils/misc.ts
@@ -1,27 +1,12 @@
-import { DiagnosticHandler } from "../core/diagnostics.js";
-import { createDiagnostic } from "../core/messages.js";
-import {
-  getDirectoryPath,
-  isPathAbsolute,
-  isUrl,
-  joinPaths,
-  normalizePath,
-  resolvePath,
-} from "../core/path-utils.js";
-import { createSourceFile } from "../core/source-file.js";
-import {
-  CompilerHost,
-  Diagnostic,
-  DiagnosticTarget,
+import { isPathAbsolute, isUrl, normalizePath, resolvePath } from "../core/path-utils.js";
+import type {
   MutableSymbolTable,
-  NoTarget,
   RekeyableMap,
   SourceFile,
   SymbolTable,
+  SystemHost,
 } from "../core/types.js";
 
-export { typespecVersion } from "../manifest.js";
-
 /**
  * Recursively calls Object.freeze such that all objects and arrays
  * referenced are frozen.
@@ -135,7 +120,7 @@ export function mapEquals<K, V>(
   return true;
 }
 
-export async function getNormalizedRealPath(host: CompilerHost, path: string) {
+export async function getNormalizedRealPath(host: SystemHost, path: string) {
   try {
     return normalizePath(await host.realpath(path));
   } catch (error: any) {
@@ -147,81 +132,7 @@ export async function getNormalizedRealPath(host: CompilerHost, path: string) {
   }
 }
 
-export interface FileHandlingOptions {
-  allowFileNotFound?: boolean;
-  diagnosticTarget?: DiagnosticTarget | typeof NoTarget;
-  jsDiagnosticTarget?: DiagnosticTarget;
-}
-
-export async function doIO<T>(
-  action: (path: string) => Promise<T>,
-  path: string,
-  reportDiagnostic: DiagnosticHandler,
-  options?: FileHandlingOptions,
-): Promise<T | undefined> {
-  let result;
-  try {
-    result = await action(path);
-  } catch (e: any) {
-    let diagnostic: Diagnostic;
-    let target = options?.diagnosticTarget ?? NoTarget;
-
-    // blame the JS file, not the TypeSpec import statement for JS syntax errors.
-    if (e instanceof SyntaxError && options?.jsDiagnosticTarget) {
-      target = options.jsDiagnosticTarget;
-    }
-
-    switch (e.code) {
-      case "ENOENT":
-        if (options?.allowFileNotFound) {
-          return undefined;
-        }
-        diagnostic = createDiagnostic({ code: "file-not-found", target, format: { path } });
-        break;
-      default:
-        diagnostic = createDiagnostic({
-          code: "file-load",
-          target,
-          format: { message: e.message },
-        });
-        break;
-    }
-
-    reportDiagnostic(diagnostic);
-    return undefined;
-  }
-
-  return result;
-}
-
-export async function loadFile<T>(
-  host: CompilerHost,
-  path: string,
-  load: (contents: string) => T,
-  reportDiagnostic: DiagnosticHandler,
-  options?: FileHandlingOptions,
-): Promise<[T | undefined, SourceFile]> {
-  const file = await doIO(host.readFile, path, reportDiagnostic, options);
-  if (!file) {
-    return [undefined, createSourceFile("", path)];
-  }
-  let data: T;
-  try {
-    data = load(file.text);
-  } catch (e: any) {
-    reportDiagnostic({
-      code: "file-load",
-      message: e.message,
-      severity: "error",
-      target: { file, pos: 1, end: 1 },
-    });
-    return [undefined, file];
-  }
-
-  return [data, file];
-}
-
-export async function readUrlOrPath(host: CompilerHost, pathOrUrl: string): Promise<SourceFile> {
+export async function readUrlOrPath(host: SystemHost, pathOrUrl: string): Promise<SourceFile> {
   if (isUrl(pathOrUrl)) {
     return host.readUrl(pathOrUrl);
   }
@@ -299,34 +210,6 @@ export function omitUndefined<T extends Record<string, unknown>>(data: T): T {
   return Object.fromEntries(Object.entries(data).filter(([k, v]) => v !== undefined)) as any;
 }
 
-/**
- * Look for the project root by looking up until a `package.json` is found.
- * @param path Path to start looking
- * @param lookIn
- */
-export async function findProjectRoot(
-  statFn: CompilerHost["stat"],
-  path: string,
-): Promise<string | undefined> {
-  let current = path;
-  while (true) {
-    const pkgPath = joinPaths(current, "package.json");
-    const stat = await doIO(
-      () => statFn(pkgPath),
-      pkgPath,
-      () => {},
-    );
-    if (stat?.isFile()) {
-      return current;
-    }
-    const parent = getDirectoryPath(current);
-    if (parent === current) {
-      return undefined;
-    }
-    current = parent;
-  }
-}
-
 /**
  * Extract package.json's tspMain entry point in a given path.
  * @param path Path that contains package.json
diff --git a/packages/compiler/test/core/node-host/node-host.test.ts b/packages/compiler/test/core/node-host/node-host.test.ts
index cd70d2dce0f..48c3d62f603 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/test/core/node-host/node-host.test.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/test/core/node-host/node-host.test.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,8 @@ import { mkdir, readFile, rm, writeFile } from "fs/promises";
 import { dirname } from "path";
 import { fileURLToPath } from "url";
 import { beforeAll, describe, it } from "vitest";
-import { InvalidEncodingError, NodeHost } from "../../../src/core/node-host.js";
+import { NodeHost } from "../../../src/core/node-host.js";
+import { InvalidEncodingError } from "../../../src/core/node-system-host.js";
 import { getDirectoryPath, resolvePath } from "../../../src/index.js";
 
 const __dirname = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
diff --git a/packages/compiler/test/internals.test.ts b/packages/compiler/test/internals.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..05cf023eb90
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/compiler/test/internals.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+import { expect, it } from "vitest";
+
+it("throw error if trying to import @typespec/compiler/internals", async () => {
+  await expect(() => import("@typespec/compiler/internals")).rejects.toThrowError(
+    "Importing @typespec/compiler/internals is reserved for internal use only.",
+  );
+});