diff --git a/.changeset/four-pandas-push.md b/.changeset/four-pandas-push.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..acc2609b0cd4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/four-pandas-push.md
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+'@sveltejs/kit': patch
+'@sveltejs/adapter-node': patch
+---
+
+[breaking] set Vite's `publicDir` and `base` options
diff --git a/packages/adapter-node/index.js b/packages/adapter-node/index.js
index ec1d53eeccfe..4dbd7d1bd9ad 100644
--- a/packages/adapter-node/index.js
+++ b/packages/adapter-node/index.js
@@ -50,7 +50,6 @@ export default function (opts = {}) {
 			if (precompress) {
 				builder.log.minor('Compressing assets');
 				await compress(`${out}/client`);
-				await compress(`${out}/static`);
 				await compress(`${out}/prerendered`);
 			}
 		}
diff --git a/packages/kit/src/core/adapt/builder.js b/packages/kit/src/core/adapt/builder.js
index b2e52c86aebc..d0b5dad7ffdb 100644
--- a/packages/kit/src/core/adapt/builder.js
+++ b/packages/kit/src/core/adapt/builder.js
@@ -122,10 +122,7 @@ export function create_builder({ config, build_data, prerendered, log }) {
 		},
 
 		writeClient(dest) {
-			return [
-				...copy(`${config.kit.outDir}/output/client`, dest),
-				...copy(config.kit.files.assets, dest)
-			];
+			return [...copy(`${config.kit.outDir}/output/client`, dest)];
 		},
 
 		writePrerendered(dest, { fallback } = {}) {
diff --git a/packages/kit/src/core/adapt/builder.spec.js b/packages/kit/src/core/adapt/builder.spec.js
index 0af84ddec6c5..2f2c82f4a78f 100644
--- a/packages/kit/src/core/adapt/builder.spec.js
+++ b/packages/kit/src/core/adapt/builder.spec.js
@@ -43,13 +43,7 @@ test('copy files', () => {
 	builder.writeClient(dest);
 
 	assert.equal(
-		[
-			...glob('**', {
-				cwd: /** @type {import('types').ValidatedConfig} */ (mocked).kit.files.assets,
-				dot: true
-			}),
-			...glob('**', { cwd: `${outDir}/output/client`, dot: true })
-		],
+		glob('**', { cwd: `${outDir}/output/client`, dot: true }),
 		glob('**', { cwd: dest, dot: true })
 	);
 
diff --git a/packages/kit/src/core/prerender/prerender.js b/packages/kit/src/core/prerender/prerender.js
index 5995984c2861..a16cdbc83140 100644
--- a/packages/kit/src/core/prerender/prerender.js
+++ b/packages/kit/src/core/prerender/prerender.js
@@ -103,24 +103,22 @@ export async function prerender({ config, entries, files, log }) {
 	/**
 	 * @param {string | null} referrer
 	 * @param {string} decoded
-	 * @param {string} [encoded]
 	 */
-	function enqueue(referrer, decoded, encoded) {
+	function enqueue(referrer, decoded) {
 		if (seen.has(decoded)) return;
 		seen.add(decoded);
 
 		const file = decoded.slice(config.paths.base.length + 1);
 		if (files.has(file)) return;
 
-		return q.add(() => visit(decoded, encoded || encodeURI(decoded), referrer));
+		return q.add(() => visit(decoded, referrer));
 	}
 
 	/**
 	 * @param {string} decoded
-	 * @param {string} encoded
 	 * @param {string?} referrer
 	 */
-	async function visit(decoded, encoded, referrer) {
+	async function visit(decoded, referrer) {
 		if (!decoded.startsWith(config.paths.base)) {
 			error({ status: 404, path: decoded, referrer, referenceType: 'linked' });
 			return;
@@ -129,7 +127,8 @@ export async function prerender({ config, entries, files, log }) {
 		/** @type {Map<string, import('types').PrerenderDependency>} */
 		const dependencies = new Map();
 
-		const response = await server.respond(new Request(`http://sveltekit-prerender${encoded}`), {
+		const path = encodeURI(decoded.slice(config.paths.base.length));
+		const response = await server.respond(new Request(`http://sveltekit-prerender${path}`), {
 			getClientAddress,
 			prerendering: {
 				dependencies
@@ -138,6 +137,8 @@ export async function prerender({ config, entries, files, log }) {
 
 		const body = Buffer.from(await response.arrayBuffer());
 
+		const encoded = encodeURI(decoded);
+
 		save('pages', response, body, decoded, encoded, referrer, 'linked');
 
 		for (const [dependency_path, result] of dependencies) {
@@ -171,7 +172,7 @@ export async function prerender({ config, entries, files, log }) {
 					// TODO warn that query strings have no effect on statically-exported pages
 				}
 
-				enqueue(decoded, decodeURI(pathname), pathname);
+				enqueue(decoded, decodeURI(pathname));
 			}
 		}
 	}
@@ -201,7 +202,7 @@ export async function prerender({ config, entries, files, log }) {
 			if (location) {
 				const resolved = resolve(encoded, location);
 				if (is_root_relative(resolved)) {
-					enqueue(decoded, decodeURI(resolved), resolved);
+					enqueue(decoded, decodeURI(resolved));
 				}
 
 				if (!response.headers.get('x-sveltekit-normalize')) {
diff --git a/packages/kit/src/runtime/server/index.js b/packages/kit/src/runtime/server/index.js
index d149441a0cfb..a1a69c8196fd 100644
--- a/packages/kit/src/runtime/server/index.js
+++ b/packages/kit/src/runtime/server/index.js
@@ -57,13 +57,6 @@ export async function respond(request, options, state) {
 	/** @type {Record<string, string>} */
 	let params = {};
 
-	if (options.paths.base && !state.prerendering?.fallback) {
-		if (!decoded.startsWith(options.paths.base)) {
-			return new Response('Not found', { status: 404 });
-		}
-		decoded = decoded.slice(options.paths.base.length) || '/';
-	}
-
 	const is_data_request = decoded.endsWith(DATA_SUFFIX);
 
 	if (is_data_request) {
@@ -93,13 +86,14 @@ export async function respond(request, options, state) {
 			const normalized = normalize_path(url.pathname, options.trailing_slash);
 
 			if (normalized !== url.pathname && !state.prerendering?.fallback) {
+				const path = options.paths.base + normalized;
 				return new Response(undefined, {
 					status: 301,
 					headers: {
 						'x-sveltekit-normalize': '1',
 						location:
 							// ensure paths starting with '//' are not treated as protocol-relative
-							(normalized.startsWith('//') ? url.origin + normalized : normalized) +
+							(normalized.startsWith('//') ? url.origin + path : path) +
 							(url.search === '?' ? '' : url.search)
 					}
 				});
diff --git a/packages/kit/src/vite/build/utils.js b/packages/kit/src/vite/build/utils.js
index a0acb8771215..7636072d089b 100644
--- a/packages/kit/src/vite/build/utils.js
+++ b/packages/kit/src/vite/build/utils.js
@@ -116,9 +116,7 @@ export const get_default_config = function ({ config, input, ssr, outDir }) {
 			__SVELTEKIT_APP_VERSION_FILE__: JSON.stringify(`${config.kit.appDir}/version.json`),
 			__SVELTEKIT_APP_VERSION_POLL_INTERVAL__: JSON.stringify(config.kit.version.pollInterval)
 		},
-		// prevent Vite copying the contents of `config.kit.files.assets`,
-		// if it happens to be 'public' instead of 'static'
-		publicDir: false,
+		publicDir: ssr ? false : config.kit.files.assets,
 		resolve: {
 			alias: get_aliases(config.kit)
 		},
diff --git a/packages/kit/src/vite/dev/index.js b/packages/kit/src/vite/dev/index.js
index b118afc23070..800678eda7d9 100644
--- a/packages/kit/src/vite/dev/index.js
+++ b/packages/kit/src/vite/dev/index.js
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 import fs from 'fs';
 import colors from 'kleur';
 import path from 'path';
-import sirv from 'sirv';
 import { URL } from 'url';
 import { getRequest, setResponse } from '../../node/index.js';
 import { installPolyfills } from '../../node/polyfills.js';
@@ -173,12 +172,6 @@ export async function dev(vite, vite_config, svelte_config) {
 	}
 
 	const assets = svelte_config.kit.paths.assets ? SVELTE_KIT_ASSETS : svelte_config.kit.paths.base;
-	const asset_server = sirv(svelte_config.kit.files.assets, {
-		dev: true,
-		etag: true,
-		maxAge: 0,
-		extensions: []
-	});
 
 	return () => {
 		const serve_static_middleware = vite.middlewares.stack.find(
@@ -197,20 +190,6 @@ export async function dev(vite, vite_config, svelte_config) {
 				}`;
 
 				const decoded = decodeURI(new URL(base + req.url).pathname);
-
-				if (decoded.startsWith(assets)) {
-					const pathname = decoded.slice(assets.length);
-					const file = svelte_config.kit.files.assets + pathname;
-
-					if (fs.existsSync(file) && !fs.statSync(file).isDirectory()) {
-						if (has_correct_case(file, svelte_config.kit.files.assets)) {
-							req.url = encodeURI(pathname); // don't need query/hash
-							asset_server(req, res);
-							return;
-						}
-					}
-				}
-
 				const file = posixify(path.resolve(decoded.slice(1)));
 				const is_file = fs.existsSync(file) && !fs.statSync(file).isDirectory();
 				const allowed =
@@ -223,13 +202,6 @@ export async function dev(vite, vite_config, svelte_config) {
 					return;
 				}
 
-				if (!decoded.startsWith(svelte_config.kit.paths.base)) {
-					return not_found(
-						res,
-						`Not found (did you mean ${svelte_config.kit.paths.base + req.url}?)`
-					);
-				}
-
 				/** @type {Partial<import('types').Hooks>} */
 				const user_hooks = resolve_entry(svelte_config.kit.files.hooks)
 					? await vite.ssrLoadModule(`/${svelte_config.kit.files.hooks}`)
@@ -383,12 +355,6 @@ export async function dev(vite, vite_config, svelte_config) {
 	};
 }
 
-/** @param {import('http').ServerResponse} res */
-function not_found(res, message = 'Not found') {
-	res.statusCode = 404;
-	res.end(message);
-}
-
 /**
  * @param {import('connect').Server} server
  */
@@ -444,24 +410,3 @@ async function find_deps(vite, node, deps) {
 
 	await Promise.all(branches);
 }
-
-/**
- * Determine if a file is being requested with the correct case,
- * to ensure consistent behaviour between dev and prod and across
- * operating systems. Note that we can't use realpath here,
- * because we don't want to follow symlinks
- * @param {string} file
- * @param {string} assets
- * @returns {boolean}
- */
-function has_correct_case(file, assets) {
-	if (file === assets) return true;
-
-	const parent = path.dirname(file);
-
-	if (fs.readdirSync(parent).includes(path.basename(file))) {
-		return has_correct_case(parent, assets);
-	}
-
-	return false;
-}
diff --git a/packages/kit/src/vite/index.js b/packages/kit/src/vite/index.js
index 08dc043cf598..af22c0491c4a 100644
--- a/packages/kit/src/vite/index.js
+++ b/packages/kit/src/vite/index.js
@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@ function kit() {
 			/** @type {import('vite').UserConfig} */
 			const result = {
 				appType: 'custom',
-				base: '/',
+				base: `${svelte_config.kit.paths.base}/`,
 				build: {
 					rollupOptions: {
 						// Vite dependency crawler needs an explicit JS entry point
@@ -208,6 +208,7 @@ function kit() {
 				define: {
 					__SVELTEKIT_APP_VERSION_POLL_INTERVAL__: '0'
 				},
+				publicDir: svelte_config.kit.files.assets,
 				resolve: {
 					alias: get_aliases(svelte_config.kit)
 				},
diff --git a/packages/kit/src/vite/preview/index.js b/packages/kit/src/vite/preview/index.js
index 078e6146ed3a..03ae86cd0764 100644
--- a/packages/kit/src/vite/preview/index.js
+++ b/packages/kit/src/vite/preview/index.js
@@ -44,9 +44,6 @@ export async function preview(vite, config, protocol) {
 	const server = new Server(manifest);
 
 	return () => {
-		// files in `static`
-		vite.middlewares.use(scoped(assets, mutable(config.kit.files.assets)));
-
 		// immutable generated client assets
 		vite.middlewares.use(
 			scoped(
@@ -70,7 +67,11 @@ export async function preview(vite, config, protocol) {
 				next();
 			} else {
 				res.statusCode = 404;
-				res.end(`Not found (did you mean ${base + pathname}?)`);
+				res.end(
+					`The server is configured with a public base URL of ${base}/ - did you mean to visit <a href="${
+						base + pathname
+					}">${base + pathname}</a> instead?`
+				);
 			}
 		});
 
@@ -122,29 +123,31 @@ export async function preview(vite, config, protocol) {
 		);
 
 		// SSR
-		vite.middlewares.use(async (req, res) => {
-			const host = req.headers['host'];
+		vite.middlewares.use(
+			scoped(base, async (req, res) => {
+				const host = req.headers['host'];
 
-			let request;
+				let request;
 
-			try {
-				request = await getRequest(`${protocol}://${host}`, req);
-			} catch (/** @type {any} */ err) {
-				res.statusCode = err.status || 400;
-				return res.end(err.reason || 'Invalid request body');
-			}
+				try {
+					request = await getRequest(`${protocol}://${host}`, req);
+				} catch (/** @type {any} */ err) {
+					res.statusCode = err.status || 400;
+					return res.end(err.reason || 'Invalid request body');
+				}
 
-			setResponse(
-				res,
-				await server.respond(request, {
-					getClientAddress: () => {
-						const { remoteAddress } = req.socket;
-						if (remoteAddress) return remoteAddress;
-						throw new Error('Could not determine clientAddress');
-					}
-				})
-			);
-		});
+				setResponse(
+					res,
+					await server.respond(request, {
+						getClientAddress: () => {
+							const { remoteAddress } = req.socket;
+							if (remoteAddress) return remoteAddress;
+							throw new Error('Could not determine clientAddress');
+						}
+					})
+				);
+			})
+		);
 	};
 }
 
diff --git a/packages/kit/test/apps/basics/test/server.test.js b/packages/kit/test/apps/basics/test/server.test.js
index a4402c4c0c00..394aaf6839b8 100644
--- a/packages/kit/test/apps/basics/test/server.test.js
+++ b/packages/kit/test/apps/basics/test/server.test.js
@@ -473,11 +473,6 @@ test.describe('Static files', () => {
 		expect(await r2.json()).toEqual({ works: true });
 	});
 
-	test('Filenames are case-sensitive', async ({ request }) => {
-		const response = await request.get('/static.JSON');
-		expect(response.status()).toBe(404);
-	});
-
 	test('Serves symlinked asset', async ({ request }) => {
 		const response = await request.get('/symlink-from/hello.txt');
 		expect(response.status()).toBe(200);
diff --git a/packages/kit/test/apps/options-2/test/test.js b/packages/kit/test/apps/options-2/test/test.js
index 9ca9a0eb5bf0..fdea1e23026f 100644
--- a/packages/kit/test/apps/options-2/test/test.js
+++ b/packages/kit/test/apps/options-2/test/test.js
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ test.describe.configure({ mode: 'parallel' });
 
 test.describe('paths.base', () => {
 	test('serves /basepath', async ({ page }) => {
-		await page.goto('/basepath');
+		await page.goto('/basepath/');
 		expect(await page.textContent('h1')).toBe('Hello');
 	});
 
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ test.describe('Service worker', () => {
 	});
 
 	test('does not register /basepath/service-worker.js', async ({ page }) => {
-		await page.goto('/basepath');
+		await page.goto('/basepath/');
 		expect(await page.content()).not.toMatch(/navigator\.serviceWorker/);
 	});
 });
diff --git a/packages/kit/test/apps/options/test/test.js b/packages/kit/test/apps/options/test/test.js
index c7af4695c15b..565e43262dfe 100644
--- a/packages/kit/test/apps/options/test/test.js
+++ b/packages/kit/test/apps/options/test/test.js
@@ -7,9 +7,11 @@ test.describe.configure({ mode: 'parallel' });
 
 test.describe('base path', () => {
 	test('serves a useful 404 when visiting unprefixed path', async ({ request }) => {
-		const response = await request.get('/');
+		const response = await request.get('/slash/', { headers: { Accept: 'text/html' } });
 		expect(response.status()).toBe(404);
-		expect(await response.text()).toBe('Not found (did you mean /path-base/?)');
+		expect(await response.text()).toBe(
+			'The server is configured with a public base URL of /path-base/ - did you mean to visit <a href="/path-base/slash/">/path-base/slash/</a> instead?'
+		);
 	});
 
 	test('serves /', async ({ page, javaScriptEnabled }) => {