diff --git a/editors/vscode/client/ConfigService.ts b/editors/vscode/client/ConfigService.ts
index e2cf0a455a1eb..f1ea54e875c4c 100644
--- a/editors/vscode/client/ConfigService.ts
+++ b/editors/vscode/client/ConfigService.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,10 @@
-import * as path from "node:path";
 import { ConfigurationChangeEvent, Uri, workspace, WorkspaceFolder } from "vscode";
 import { DiagnosticPullMode } from "vscode-languageclient";
-import { validateSafeBinaryPath } from "./PathValidator";
+import {
+  searchGlobalNodeModulesBin,
+  searchProjectNodeModulesBin,
+  searchSettingsBin,
+} from "./findBinary";
 import { IDisposable } from "./types";
 import { VSCodeConfig } from "./VSCodeConfig";
 import {
@@ -113,84 +116,14 @@ export class ConfigService implements IDisposable {
     settingsBinary: string | undefined,
     defaultBinaryName: string,
   ): Promise<string | undefined> {
-    if (!settingsBinary) {
-      return this.searchNodeModulesBin(defaultBinaryName);
-    }
-
-    if (!workspace.isTrusted) {
-      return;
+    if (settingsBinary) {
+      return searchSettingsBin(settingsBinary);
     }
 
-    // validates the given path is safe to use
-    if (!validateSafeBinaryPath(settingsBinary)) {
-      return undefined;
-    }
-
-    if (!path.isAbsolute(settingsBinary)) {
-      const cwd = this.workspaceConfigs.keys().next().value;
-      if (!cwd) {
-        return undefined;
-      }
-      // if the path is not absolute, resolve it to the first workspace folder
-      settingsBinary = path.normalize(path.join(cwd, settingsBinary));
-      settingsBinary = this.removeWindowsLeadingSlash(settingsBinary);
-    }
-
-    if (process.platform !== "win32" && settingsBinary.endsWith(".exe")) {
-      // on non-Windows, remove `.exe` extension if present
-      settingsBinary = settingsBinary.slice(0, -4);
-    }
-
-    try {
-      await workspace.fs.stat(Uri.file(settingsBinary));
-      return settingsBinary;
-    } catch {}
-
-    // on Windows, also check for `.exe` extension (bun uses `.exe` for its binaries)
-    if (process.platform === "win32") {
-      if (!settingsBinary.endsWith(".exe")) {
-        settingsBinary += ".exe";
-      }
-
-      try {
-        await workspace.fs.stat(Uri.file(settingsBinary));
-        return settingsBinary;
-      } catch {}
-    }
-
-    // no valid binary found
-    return undefined;
-  }
-
-  /**
-   * strip the leading slash on Windows
-   */
-  private removeWindowsLeadingSlash(path: string): string {
-    if (process.platform === "win32" && path.startsWith("\\")) {
-      return path.slice(1);
-    }
-    return path;
-  }
-
-  /**
-   * Search for the binary in all workspaces' node_modules/.bin directories.
-   * If multiple workspaces contain the binary, the first one found is returned.
-   */
-  private async searchNodeModulesBin(binaryName: string): Promise<string | undefined> {
-    // try to resolve via require.resolve
-    try {
-      const resolvedPath = require
-        .resolve(binaryName, {
-          paths: workspace.workspaceFolders?.map((folder) => folder.uri.fsPath) ?? [],
-        })
-        // we want to target the binary instead of the main index file
-        // Improvement: search inside package.json "bin" and `main` field for more reliability
-        .replace(
-          `${binaryName}${path.sep}dist${path.sep}index.js`,
-          `${binaryName}${path.sep}bin${path.sep}${binaryName}`,
-        );
-      return resolvedPath;
-    } catch {}
+    return (
+      (await searchProjectNodeModulesBin(defaultBinaryName)) ??
+      (await searchGlobalNodeModulesBin(defaultBinaryName))
+    );
   }
 
   private async onVscodeConfigChange(event: ConfigurationChangeEvent): Promise<void> {
diff --git a/editors/vscode/client/findBinary.ts b/editors/vscode/client/findBinary.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..1f036d76cf673
--- /dev/null
+++ b/editors/vscode/client/findBinary.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,130 @@
+import { spawnSync } from "node:child_process";
+import { homedir } from "node:os";
+import * as path from "node:path";
+import { Uri, workspace } from "vscode";
+import { validateSafeBinaryPath } from "./PathValidator";
+
+function replaceTargetFromMainToBin(resolvedPath: string, binaryName: string): string {
+  // we want to target the binary instead of the main index file
+  // Improvement: search inside package.json "bin" and `main` field for more reliability
+  return resolvedPath.replace(
+    `${binaryName}${path.sep}dist${path.sep}index.js`,
+    `${binaryName}${path.sep}bin${path.sep}${binaryName}`,
+  );
+}
+/**
+ * Search for the binary in all workspaces' node_modules/.bin directories.
+ * If multiple workspaces contain the binary, the first one found is returned.
+ */
+export async function searchProjectNodeModulesBin(binaryName: string): Promise<string | undefined> {
+  // try to resolve via require.resolve
+  try {
+    const resolvedPath = replaceTargetFromMainToBin(
+      require.resolve(binaryName, {
+        paths: workspace.workspaceFolders?.map((folder) => folder.uri.fsPath) ?? [],
+      }),
+      binaryName,
+    );
+    return resolvedPath;
+  } catch {}
+}
+
+/**
+ * Search for the binary in global node_modules.
+ * Returns undefined if not found.
+ */
+export async function searchGlobalNodeModulesBin(binaryName: string): Promise<string | undefined> {
+  // try to resolve via require.resolve
+  try {
+    const resolvedPath = replaceTargetFromMainToBin(
+      require.resolve(binaryName, { paths: globalNodeModulesPaths() }),
+      binaryName,
+    );
+    return resolvedPath;
+  } catch {}
+}
+
+/**
+ * Search for the binary based on user settings.
+ * If the path is relative, it is resolved against the first workspace folder.
+ * Returns undefined if no valid binary is found or the path is unsafe.
+ */
+export async function searchSettingsBin(settingsBinary: string): Promise<string | undefined> {
+  if (!workspace.isTrusted) {
+    return;
+  }
+
+  // validates the given path is safe to use
+  if (!validateSafeBinaryPath(settingsBinary)) {
+    return undefined;
+  }
+
+  if (!path.isAbsolute(settingsBinary)) {
+    const cwd = workspace.workspaceFolders?.[0]?.uri.fsPath;
+    if (!cwd) {
+      return undefined;
+    }
+    // if the path is not absolute, resolve it to the first workspace folder
+    settingsBinary = path.normalize(path.join(cwd, settingsBinary));
+  }
+
+  if (process.platform !== "win32" && settingsBinary.endsWith(".exe")) {
+    // on non-Windows, remove `.exe` extension if present
+    settingsBinary = settingsBinary.slice(0, -4);
+  }
+
+  try {
+    await workspace.fs.stat(Uri.file(settingsBinary));
+    return settingsBinary;
+  } catch {}
+
+  // on Windows, also check for `.exe` extension (bun uses `.exe` for its binaries)
+  if (process.platform === "win32") {
+    if (!settingsBinary.endsWith(".exe")) {
+      settingsBinary += ".exe";
+    }
+
+    try {
+      await workspace.fs.stat(Uri.file(settingsBinary));
+      return settingsBinary;
+    } catch {}
+  }
+
+  // no valid binary found
+  return undefined;
+}
+
+// copied from: https://github.com/biomejs/biome-vscode/blob/ae9b6df2254d0ff8ee9d626554251600eb2ca118/src/locator.ts#L28-L49
+function globalNodeModulesPaths(): string[] {
+  const npmGlobalNodeModulesPath = safeSpawnSync("npm", ["root", "-g"]);
+  const pnpmGlobalNodeModulesPath = safeSpawnSync("pnpm", ["root", "-g"]);
+  const bunGlobalNodeModulesPath = path.resolve(homedir(), ".bun/install/global/node_modules");
+
+  return [npmGlobalNodeModulesPath, pnpmGlobalNodeModulesPath, bunGlobalNodeModulesPath].filter(
+    Boolean,
+  ) as string[];
+}
+
+// only use this function with internal code, because it executes shell commands
+// which could be a security risk if the command or args are user-controlled
+const safeSpawnSync = (command: string, args: readonly string[] = []): string | undefined => {
+  let output: string | undefined;
+
+  try {
+    const result = spawnSync(command, args, {
+      shell: true,
+      encoding: "utf8",
+    });
+
+    if (result.error || result.status !== 0) {
+      output = undefined;
+    } else {
+      const trimmed = result.stdout.trim();
+      output = trimmed ? trimmed : undefined;
+    }
+  } catch {
+    output = undefined;
+  }
+
+  return output;
+};
diff --git a/editors/vscode/tests/unit/findBinary.spec.ts b/editors/vscode/tests/unit/findBinary.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..6a7f2cd03e0d6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/editors/vscode/tests/unit/findBinary.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+import { strictEqual } from "assert";
+import * as path from "node:path";
+import { searchGlobalNodeModulesBin, searchProjectNodeModulesBin } from "../../client/findBinary";
+
+suite("findBinary", () => {
+  const binaryName = "oxlint";
+
+  suite("searchProjectNodeModulesBin", () => {
+    test("should return undefined when binary is not found in project node_modules", async () => {
+      const result = await searchProjectNodeModulesBin("non-existent-binary-package-name-12345");
+      strictEqual(result, undefined);
+    });
+
+    // this depends on the binary being installed in the oxc project's node_modules
+    test("should replace dist/index.js with bin/<binary-name> in resolved path", async () => {
+      const result = (await searchProjectNodeModulesBin(binaryName))!;
+
+      strictEqual(result.includes(`${path.sep}dist${path.sep}index.js`), false);
+      strictEqual(result.includes(`${path.sep}bin${path.sep}${binaryName}`), true);
+    });
+  });
+
+  suite("searchGlobalNodeModulesBin", () => {
+    test("should return undefined when binary is not found in global node_modules", async () => {
+      const result = await searchGlobalNodeModulesBin("non-existent-binary-package-name-12345");
+      strictEqual(result, undefined);
+    });
+
+    // Skipping this test as it may depend on the actual global installation of the binary
+    test.skip("should replace dist/index.js with bin/<binary-name> in resolved path", async () => {
+      const result = (await searchGlobalNodeModulesBin(binaryName))!;
+
+      strictEqual(result.includes(`${path.sep}dist${path.sep}index.js`), false);
+      strictEqual(result.includes(`${path.sep}bin${path.sep}${binaryName}`), true);
+    });
+  });
+});