diff --git a/demo/src/entrypoints/background.ts b/demo/src/entrypoints/background.ts
index 160c4209..8b6ee0ee 100644
--- a/demo/src/entrypoints/background.ts
+++ b/demo/src/entrypoints/background.ts
@@ -7,4 +7,9 @@ export default defineBackground(() => {
     firefox: __IS_FIREFOX__,
     manifestVersion: __MANIFEST_VERSION__,
   });
+
+  // @ts-expect-error: should only accept entrypoints or public assets
+  browser.runtime.getURL('/');
+  browser.runtime.getURL('/background.js');
+  browser.runtime.getURL('/icon/128.png');
 });
diff --git a/docs/guide/auto-imports.md b/docs/guide/auto-imports.md
index 53ca9960..afb63e10 100644
--- a/docs/guide/auto-imports.md
+++ b/docs/guide/auto-imports.md
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ To setup your test environment for auto-imports, see [Testing](/get-started/test
 
 Some WXT APIs can be used without importing them:
 
-- [`browser`](/config.md#browser) from `webextension-polyfill`
+- [`browser`](/config.md#browser) from `wxt/browser`, a small wrapper around `webextension-polyfill`
 - [`defineContentScript`](/config.md#defiencontentscript) from `wxt/client`
 - [`defineBackground`](/config.md#definebackgroundscript) from `wxt/client`
 
diff --git a/e2e/tests/auto-imports.test.ts b/e2e/tests/auto-imports.test.ts
index 3aa895b3..6d9366f8 100644
--- a/e2e/tests/auto-imports.test.ts
+++ b/e2e/tests/auto-imports.test.ts
@@ -21,10 +21,17 @@ describe('Auto Imports', () => {
         ".wxt/types/paths.d.ts
         ----------------------------------------
         // Generated by wxt
-        type EntrypointPath =
-          | \\"/background.js\\"
-          | \\"/content-scripts/overlay.js\\"
-          | \\"/popup.html\\"
+        import \\"wxt/browser\\";
+
+        declare module \\"wxt/browser\\" {
+          type PublicPath =
+            | \\"/background.js\\"
+            | \\"/content-scripts/overlay.js\\"
+            | \\"/popup.html\\"
+          export interface ProjectRuntime extends Runtime.Static {
+            getURL(path: PublicPath): string;
+          }
+        }
         "
       `);
   });
@@ -37,18 +44,18 @@ describe('Auto Imports', () => {
 
     expect(await project.serializeFile('.wxt/types/imports.d.ts'))
       .toMatchInlineSnapshot(`
-      ".wxt/types/imports.d.ts
-      ----------------------------------------
-      // Generated by wxt
-      export {}
-      declare global {
-        const browser: typeof import('webextension-polyfill')
-        const defineBackground: typeof import('wxt/client')['defineBackground']
-        const defineConfig: typeof import('wxt')['defineConfig']
-        const defineContentScript: typeof import('wxt/client')['defineContentScript']
-        const mountContentScriptUi: typeof import('wxt/client')['mountContentScriptUi']
-      }
-      "
-    `);
+        ".wxt/types/imports.d.ts
+        ----------------------------------------
+        // Generated by wxt
+        export {}
+        declare global {
+          const browser: typeof import('wxt/browser')['browser']
+          const defineBackground: typeof import('wxt/client')['defineBackground']
+          const defineConfig: typeof import('wxt')['defineConfig']
+          const defineContentScript: typeof import('wxt/client')['defineContentScript']
+          const mountContentScriptUi: typeof import('wxt/client')['mountContentScriptUi']
+        }
+        "
+      `);
   });
 });
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index ffdf5b92..533f7f7d 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -39,9 +39,12 @@
       "types": "./dist/index.d.ts"
     },
     "./client": {
-      "require": "./dist/client.cjs",
       "import": "./dist/client.js",
       "types": "./dist/client.d.ts"
+    },
+    "./browser": {
+      "import": "./dist/browser.js",
+      "types": "./dist/browser.d.ts"
     }
   },
   "scripts": {
diff --git a/scripts/build.ts b/scripts/build.ts
index ecf21e5b..687e64cc 100644
--- a/scripts/build.ts
+++ b/scripts/build.ts
@@ -37,6 +37,13 @@ await Promise.all([
     dts: true,
     silent: true,
   }),
+  tsup.build({
+    entry: { browser: 'src/client/browser.ts' },
+    format: ['esm'],
+    sourcemap: 'inline',
+    dts: true,
+    silent: true,
+  }),
   ...virtualEntrypoints.map((entryName) =>
     tsup.build({
       entry: {
diff --git a/src/client/browser.ts b/src/client/browser.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a42ef264
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/client/browser.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+import originalBrowser, { Browser, Runtime } from 'webextension-polyfill';
+
+export interface AugmentedBrowser extends Browser {
+  runtime: ProjectRuntime;
+}
+
+export interface ProjectRuntime extends Runtime.Static {
+  // Overriden per-project
+}
+
+export const browser: AugmentedBrowser = originalBrowser;
diff --git a/src/core/build/buildEntrypoints.ts b/src/core/build/buildEntrypoints.ts
index fbf4a5d2..c2c82022 100644
--- a/src/core/build/buildEntrypoints.ts
+++ b/src/core/build/buildEntrypoints.ts
@@ -9,9 +9,9 @@ import {
 import * as plugins from '../vite-plugins';
 import { removeEmptyDirs } from '../utils/removeEmptyDirs';
 import { getEntrypointBundlePath } from '../utils/entrypoints';
-import glob from 'fast-glob';
 import fs from 'fs-extra';
 import { dirname, resolve } from 'path';
+import { getPublicFiles } from '../utils/public';
 
 export async function buildEntrypoints(
   groups: EntrypointGroup[],
@@ -132,11 +132,10 @@ function getBuildOutputChunks(
 async function copyPublicDirectory(
   config: InternalConfig,
 ): Promise<BuildOutput['publicAssets']> {
+  const files = await getPublicFiles(config);
+  if (files.length === 0) return [];
+
   const publicAssets: BuildOutput['publicAssets'] = [];
-  if (!(await fs.exists(config.publicDir))) return publicAssets;
-
-  const files = await glob('**/*', { cwd: config.publicDir });
-
   for (const file of files) {
     const srcPath = resolve(config.publicDir, file);
     const outPath = resolve(config.outDir, file);
diff --git a/src/core/build/generateTypesDir.ts b/src/core/build/generateTypesDir.ts
index 117e0def..4194057d 100644
--- a/src/core/build/generateTypesDir.ts
+++ b/src/core/build/generateTypesDir.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import { relative, resolve } from 'path';
 import { getEntrypointBundlePath } from '../utils/entrypoints';
 import { getUnimportOptions } from '../utils/auto-imports';
 import { getGlobals } from '../utils/globals';
+import { getPublicFiles } from '../utils/public';
 
 /**
  * Generate and write all the files inside the `InternalConfig.typesDir` directory.
@@ -49,23 +50,33 @@ async function writePathsDeclarationFile(
 ): Promise<string> {
   const filePath = resolve(config.typesDir, 'paths.d.ts');
   const unions = entrypoints
-    .map((entry) => {
-      const path = getEntrypointBundlePath(
+    .map((entry) =>
+      getEntrypointBundlePath(
         entry,
         config.outDir,
         entry.inputPath.endsWith('.html') ? '.html' : '.js',
-      );
-      return `  | "/${path}"`;
-    })
-    .sort();
+      ),
+    )
+    .concat(await getPublicFiles(config))
+    .map((path) => `    | "/${path}"`)
+    .sort()
+    .join('\n');
+
+  const template = `// Generated by wxt
+import "wxt/browser";
+
+declare module "wxt/browser" {
+  type PublicPath =
+{{ union }}
+  export interface ProjectRuntime extends Runtime.Static {
+    getURL(path: PublicPath): string;
+  }
+}
+`;
 
   await fs.writeFile(
     filePath,
-    [
-      '// Generated by wxt',
-      'type EntrypointPath =',
-      ...(unions.length === 0 ? ['  never'] : unions),
-    ].join('\n') + '\n',
+    template.replace('{{ union }}', unions || '    | never'),
   );
 
   return filePath;
diff --git a/src/core/utils/auto-imports.ts b/src/core/utils/auto-imports.ts
index 575782b1..45883ae6 100644
--- a/src/core/utils/auto-imports.ts
+++ b/src/core/utils/auto-imports.ts
@@ -7,11 +7,8 @@ export function getUnimportOptions(
 ): Partial<UnimportOptions> {
   const defaultOptions: Partial<UnimportOptions> = {
     debugLog: config.logger.debug,
-    imports: [
-      { name: '*', as: 'browser', from: 'webextension-polyfill' },
-      { name: 'defineConfig', from: 'wxt' },
-    ],
-    presets: [{ package: 'wxt/client' }],
+    imports: [{ name: 'defineConfig', from: 'wxt' }],
+    presets: [{ package: 'wxt/client' }, { package: 'wxt/browser' }],
     warn: config.logger.warn,
     dirs: ['./components/*', './composables/*', './hooks/*', './utils/*'],
   };
diff --git a/src/core/utils/importTsFile.ts b/src/core/utils/importTsFile.ts
index 54a5dd32..df150a35 100644
--- a/src/core/utils/importTsFile.ts
+++ b/src/core/utils/importTsFile.ts
@@ -31,7 +31,6 @@ export async function importTsFile<T>(
   const unimport = createUnimport({
     ...getUnimportOptions(config),
     // Only allow specific imports, not all from the project
-    imports: [{ name: '*', as: 'browser', from: 'webextension-polyfill' }],
     dirs: [],
   });
   await unimport.init();
diff --git a/src/core/utils/public.ts b/src/core/utils/public.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..39a9fd85
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/core/utils/public.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+import { InternalConfig } from '../types';
+import fs from 'fs-extra';
+import glob from 'fast-glob';
+
+/**
+ * Get all the files in the project's public directory. Returned paths are relative to the
+ * `config.publicDir`.
+ */
+export async function getPublicFiles(
+  config: InternalConfig,
+): Promise<string[]> {
+  if (!(await fs.exists(config.publicDir))) return [];
+
+  return await glob('**/*', { cwd: config.publicDir });
+}