diff --git a/packages/vite-plugin-web-extension/src/extension-runner/web-ext-runner.ts b/packages/vite-plugin-web-extension/src/extension-runner/web-ext-runner.ts
index ccece6af..a683680f 100644
--- a/packages/vite-plugin-web-extension/src/extension-runner/web-ext-runner.ts
+++ b/packages/vite-plugin-web-extension/src/extension-runner/web-ext-runner.ts
@@ -27,9 +27,12 @@ export function createWebExtRunner(
 
       const initialConfig = await loadConfig({ pluginOptions, logger, paths });
       const target =
-        pluginOptions.browser === null || pluginOptions.browser === "firefox"
-          ? null
-          : "chromium";
+        pluginOptions.browser === "chrome"
+          ? "chromium"
+          : pluginOptions.browser === null ||
+            pluginOptions.browser === "firefox"
+          ? "firefox-desktop"
+          : initialConfig.target ?? "chromium";
 
       const sourceDir = paths.outDir;
       const config = {
diff --git a/packages/vite-plugin-web-extension/src/options.ts b/packages/vite-plugin-web-extension/src/options.ts
index 1b428318..b5c1f612 100644
--- a/packages/vite-plugin-web-extension/src/options.ts
+++ b/packages/vite-plugin-web-extension/src/options.ts
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ export interface UserOptions {
    *
    * @default "chrome"
    */
-  browser?: string;
+  browser?: 'chrome' | 'firefox' | (string & {}) | null;
 
   /**
    * Do not validate your manifest to make sure it can be loaded by browsers.
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ export interface ResolvedOptions {
   additionalInputs: string[];
   disableAutoLaunch: boolean;
   watchFilePaths: string[];
-  browser?: string;
+  browser?: 'chrome' | 'firefox' | (string & {}) | null;
   skipManifestValidation: boolean;
   printSummary: boolean;
   htmlViteConfig?: vite.InlineConfig;