diff --git a/.changeset/global-install-virtual-store.md b/.changeset/global-install-virtual-store.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..8f00f19d51
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/global-install-virtual-store.md
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+"@pnpm/config": major
+"pnpm": major
+---
+
+Global installs (`pnpm install -g`) and `pnpm dlx` now use the global virtual store by default. Packages are stored at `{storeDir}/links` instead of per-project `.pnpm` directories. This can be disabled by setting `enableGlobalVirtualStore: false` [#10694](https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm/pull/10694).
diff --git a/config/config/src/index.ts b/config/config/src/index.ts
index ab16544828..ebd37543e7 100644
--- a/config/config/src/index.ts
+++ b/config/config/src/index.ts
@@ -379,7 +379,9 @@ export async function getConfig (opts: {
       throw new PnpmError('CONFIG_CONFLICT_VIRTUAL_STORE_DIR_WITH_GLOBAL',
         'Configuration conflict. "virtual-store-dir" may not be used with "global"')
     }
-    pnpmConfig.virtualStoreDir = '.pnpm'
+    if (pnpmConfig.enableGlobalVirtualStore == null) {
+      pnpmConfig.enableGlobalVirtualStore = true
+    }
   } else {
     pnpmConfig.dir = cwd
     if (!pnpmConfig.bin) {
diff --git a/exec/plugin-commands-script-runners/src/dlx.ts b/exec/plugin-commands-script-runners/src/dlx.ts
index 5c21007c68..2a321eaa0e 100644
--- a/exec/plugin-commands-script-runners/src/dlx.ts
+++ b/exec/plugin-commands-script-runners/src/dlx.ts
@@ -146,6 +146,7 @@ export async function handler (
     fs.mkdirSync(cachedDir, { recursive: true })
     await add.handler({
       ...opts,
+      enableGlobalVirtualStore: opts.enableGlobalVirtualStore ?? true,
       bin: path.join(cachedDir, 'node_modules/.bin'),
       dir: cachedDir,
       lockfileDir: cachedDir,
diff --git a/exec/plugin-commands-script-runners/test/dlx.e2e.ts b/exec/plugin-commands-script-runners/test/dlx.e2e.ts
index 195bfd0d4d..08b43f552d 100644
--- a/exec/plugin-commands-script-runners/test/dlx.e2e.ts
+++ b/exec/plugin-commands-script-runners/test/dlx.e2e.ts
@@ -335,6 +335,7 @@ test('dlx builds the package that is executed', async () => {
 
   await dlx.handler({
     ...DEFAULT_OPTS,
+    enableGlobalVirtualStore: false,
     dir: path.resolve('project'),
     storeDir: path.resolve('store'),
     cacheDir: path.resolve('cache'),
@@ -361,6 +362,7 @@ test('dlx builds the packages passed via --allow-build', async () => {
   const allowBuild = ['@pnpm.e2e/install-script-example']
   await dlx.handler({
     ...DEFAULT_OPTS,
+    enableGlobalVirtualStore: false,
     allowBuild,
     dir: path.resolve('project'),
     storeDir: path.resolve('store'),