diff --git a/jest.setup.ts b/jest.setup.ts
index 45aaf8b..07b1956 100644
--- a/jest.setup.ts
+++ b/jest.setup.ts
@@ -4,16 +4,16 @@ import z from 'zod';
 import tsConfig from './tsconfig.json';
 
 declare global {
-  function parseShape(shape: string): z.ZodType<any, any, any>;
+  function parseShape(shape: string, deps?: Record<string, unknown>): z.ZodType<any, any, any>;
   function serializeShape(type: z.ZodType<any, any, any>): string;
 }
 
-globalThis.parseShape = global.parseShape = function (shape) {
+globalThis.parseShape = global.parseShape = function (shape, deps = {}) {
   // remove strict mode for inline transpilation, as it would add `use strict` to the output
   const options = { ...tsConfig, compilerOptions: { ...tsConfig.compilerOptions, strict: false } };
   const { outputText } = transpileModule(shape, options as unknown as TranspileOptions);
   // evaluate adding zod to the scope
-  return new Function('z', `return ${outputText};`)(z);
+  return new Function(...Object.keys(deps), `return ${outputText};`)(...Object.values(deps));
 };
 
 globalThis.serializeShape = global.serializeShape = function (type) {
diff --git a/src/cli.ts b/src/cli.ts
index 002a9d7..8576a13 100644
--- a/src/cli.ts
+++ b/src/cli.ts
@@ -50,13 +50,14 @@ export async function loadAndTransformCollections(
   await Promise.all(
     collections.map(async collection => {
       // transform collection
-      const { compiled: cptime } = transformCollection(collection);
+      const { compiled, dependencies } = transformCollection(collection);
       const keys = { name: collection.name };
       const name = naming.replace(/%%(\w+)%%/, (_, k: keyof typeof keys) => keys[k] ?? _);
       const path = resolve(to, name);
 
       // build content and prettify if possible
-      const raw = `import { z } from 'astro:content';\n\nexport const schema = ${cptime};\n`;
+      const imports = [...new Set(dependencies)].toSorted();
+      const raw = `import { ${imports.join(', ')} } from 'astro:content';\n\nexport const schema = ${compiled};\n`;
       const pretty = await tryOrFail(() => formatCode(raw, 'typescript'), ERROR.FORMATTING_FAILED);
 
       // prepare folder if non-existent, remove existing and write file
diff --git a/src/transformers/field-boolean.transform.ts b/src/transformers/field-boolean.transform.ts
index 91fc06c..b5fc0fe 100644
--- a/src/transformers/field-boolean.transform.ts
+++ b/src/transformers/field-boolean.transform.ts
@@ -5,4 +5,5 @@ import type { Transformer } from '../utils/transform.utils.js';
 // https://decapcms.org/docs/widgets/#boolean
 export const transformBooleanField: Transformer<CmsFieldBase & CmsFieldBoolean> = () => ({
   compiled: 'z.boolean()',
+  dependencies: ['z'],
 });
diff --git a/src/transformers/field-code.transform.spec.ts b/src/transformers/field-code.transform.spec.ts
index 513a07e..f8298c9 100644
--- a/src/transformers/field-code.transform.spec.ts
+++ b/src/transformers/field-code.transform.spec.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import type { CmsFieldBase, CmsFieldCode } from 'decap-cms-core';
-import z, { ZodObject } from 'zod';
+import * as z from 'zod';
 
 import { transformCodeField } from './field-code.transform.js';
 
@@ -7,8 +7,8 @@ describe('field-string.transform', () => {
   it('always sets the code along with the language', () => {
     const field = { name: 'foo', widget: 'code' } as CmsFieldBase & CmsFieldCode;
     const { compiled } = transformCodeField(field);
-    const runtime = parseShape(compiled);
-    const { shape } = runtime as ZodObject<any>;
+    const runtime = parseShape(compiled, { z });
+    const { shape } = runtime as z.ZodObject<any>;
     expect(shape).toHaveProperty('code');
     expect(shape).toHaveProperty('language');
     expect(shape.code).toBeInstanceOf(z.ZodString);
diff --git a/src/transformers/field-code.transform.ts b/src/transformers/field-code.transform.ts
index 6ac6151..1fbfeef 100644
--- a/src/transformers/field-code.transform.ts
+++ b/src/transformers/field-code.transform.ts
@@ -7,4 +7,5 @@ export const transformCodeField: Transformer<CmsFieldBase & CmsFieldCode> = ({
   output_code_only: flat,
 }) => ({
   compiled: flat ? 'z.string()' : 'z.object({ code: z.string(), language: z.string() })',
+  dependencies: ['z'],
 });
diff --git a/src/transformers/field-date-time.transform.ts b/src/transformers/field-date-time.transform.ts
index 603dd17..c6ebe56 100644
--- a/src/transformers/field-date-time.transform.ts
+++ b/src/transformers/field-date-time.transform.ts
@@ -7,4 +7,5 @@ export const transformDateTimeField: Transformer<CmsFieldBase & CmsFieldDateTime
   // Decap does not store seconds, but we can just articulate 'no milliseconds'
   // https://zod.dev/?id=dates-1
   compiled: 'z.date()',
+  dependencies: ['z'],
 });
diff --git a/src/transformers/field-file.transform.ts b/src/transformers/field-file.transform.ts
index 05b505a..5deae8d 100644
--- a/src/transformers/field-file.transform.ts
+++ b/src/transformers/field-file.transform.ts
@@ -6,4 +6,5 @@ import type { Transformer } from '../utils/transform.utils.js';
 // https://decapcms.org/docs/widgets/#image
 export const transformFileField: Transformer<CmsFieldBase & CmsFieldStringOrText> = () => ({
   compiled: 'z.string()',
+  dependencies: ['z'],
 });
diff --git a/src/transformers/field-hidden.transform.ts b/src/transformers/field-hidden.transform.ts
index 9d84e92..7db0b23 100644
--- a/src/transformers/field-hidden.transform.ts
+++ b/src/transformers/field-hidden.transform.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ export const transformHiddenField: Transformer<CmsFieldBase & CmsFieldHidden> =
     const json: Zod.ZodType<Json> = z.lazy(() => z.union([literal, z.array(json), z.record(json)]));
     return json;
   })`,
+  dependencies: ['z'],
   // This @jsdoc version was meant to make tests working, as the cptime string has simply been eval'd.
   // That might be helpful (or not) later. For now, we compile the cptime string first and then eval it.
   // cptime: `z.lazy(() => {
diff --git a/src/transformers/field-list.transform.spec.ts b/src/transformers/field-list.transform.spec.ts
index b652cce..1f13531 100644
--- a/src/transformers/field-list.transform.spec.ts
+++ b/src/transformers/field-list.transform.spec.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import type { CmsField, CmsFieldBase, CmsFieldList } from 'decap-cms-core';
+import * as z from 'zod';
 
 import { transformListField } from './field-list.transform.js';
 
@@ -10,7 +11,7 @@ describe('field-list.transform', () => {
       field: { name: 'foo', widget: 'text' } as CmsField,
     } as CmsFieldBase & CmsFieldList;
     const { compiled } = transformListField(field);
-    const runtime = parseShape(compiled);
+    const runtime = parseShape(compiled, { z });
     const result = ['foo', 'bar', 'baz'];
     expect(() => runtime.parse(result)).not.toThrow();
   });
@@ -25,7 +26,7 @@ describe('field-list.transform', () => {
       ],
     } as CmsFieldBase & CmsFieldList;
     const { compiled } = transformListField(field);
-    const runtime = parseShape(compiled);
+    const runtime = parseShape(compiled, { z });
     const result = [{ foo: 'foo', bar: 123 }];
     expect(() => runtime.parse(result)).not.toThrow();
   });
@@ -45,7 +46,7 @@ describe('field-list.transform', () => {
       ],
     } as CmsFieldBase & CmsFieldList;
     const { compiled } = transformListField(field);
-    const runtime = parseShape(compiled);
+    const runtime = parseShape(compiled, { z });
     const result = [{ type: 'foo', foo: 'foo', bar: 123 }];
     expect(() => runtime.parse(result)).not.toThrow();
   });
diff --git a/src/transformers/field-list.transform.ts b/src/transformers/field-list.transform.ts
index f41f86b..3b3228d 100644
--- a/src/transformers/field-list.transform.ts
+++ b/src/transformers/field-list.transform.ts
@@ -19,20 +19,30 @@ export const transformListField: Transformer<CmsFieldBase & CmsFieldList> = ({
       // transform first
       const item = transformObjectField(type);
       // extend with type discriminator
-      return { compiled: `${item.compiled}.extend({type: z.literal('${type.name}')})` };
+      return {
+        compiled: `${item.compiled}.extend({type: z.literal('${type.name}')})`,
+        dependencies: ['z', ...item.dependencies],
+      };
     });
     return {
       compiled: `z.array(z.discriminatedUnion('type', [${items.map(t => t.compiled).join(',')}]))`,
+      dependencies: ['z', ...items.flatMap(({ dependencies }) => dependencies)],
     };
   }
 
   // handle fields list
   if (Array.isArray(fields)) {
     const items = transformObjectField({ fields } as any);
-    return { compiled: `z.array(${items.compiled})` };
+    return {
+      compiled: `z.array(${items.compiled})`,
+      dependencies: ['z', ...items.dependencies],
+    };
   }
 
   // handle single field (or never) list
   const item = transformField(field);
-  return { compiled: `z.array(${item.compiled})` };
+  return {
+    compiled: `z.array(${item.compiled})`,
+    dependencies: ['z', ...item.dependencies],
+  };
 };
diff --git a/src/transformers/field-map.transform.ts b/src/transformers/field-map.transform.ts
index 7eb2cbe..39589f8 100644
--- a/src/transformers/field-map.transform.ts
+++ b/src/transformers/field-map.transform.ts
@@ -12,4 +12,5 @@ import type { Transformer } from '../utils/transform.utils.js';
 // https://decapcms.org/docs/widgets/#map
 export const transformMapField: Transformer<CmsFieldBase & CmsFieldMap> = () => ({
   compiled: 'z.string()',
+  dependencies: ['z'],
 });
diff --git a/src/transformers/field-never.transform.ts b/src/transformers/field-never.transform.ts
index 7c045d0..2e7601c 100644
--- a/src/transformers/field-never.transform.ts
+++ b/src/transformers/field-never.transform.ts
@@ -4,4 +4,5 @@ import type { Transformer } from '../utils/transform.utils.js';
 
 export const transformNeverField: Transformer<CmsFieldBase> = () => ({
   compiled: 'z.never()',
+  dependencies: ['z'],
 });
diff --git a/src/transformers/field-number.transform.spec.ts b/src/transformers/field-number.transform.spec.ts
index b00c162..0b446b6 100644
--- a/src/transformers/field-number.transform.spec.ts
+++ b/src/transformers/field-number.transform.spec.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import type { CmsFieldBase, CmsFieldNumber } from 'decap-cms-core';
+import * as z from 'zod';
 
 import { transformNumberField } from './field-number.transform.js';
 
@@ -12,7 +13,7 @@ describe('field-number.transform', () => {
   it('can be integer', () => {
     const intField = { ...field, value_type: 'int' };
     const { compiled } = transformNumberField(intField);
-    const runtime = parseShape(compiled);
+    const runtime = parseShape(compiled, { z });
     const { checks } = runtime._def;
     expect(checks).toHaveLength(2);
     expect(checks).toEqual(expect.arrayContaining([{ kind: 'finite' }, { kind: 'int' }]));
@@ -21,7 +22,7 @@ describe('field-number.transform', () => {
   it('can have a min value', () => {
     const minField = { ...field, min: 1 };
     const { compiled } = transformNumberField(minField);
-    const runtime = parseShape(compiled);
+    const runtime = parseShape(compiled, { z });
     const { checks } = runtime._def;
     expect(checks).toHaveLength(3);
     expect(checks).toEqual(expect.arrayContaining([{ kind: 'min', inclusive: true, value: 1 }]));
@@ -30,7 +31,7 @@ describe('field-number.transform', () => {
   it('can have a max value', () => {
     const maxField = { ...field, max: 5 };
     const { compiled } = transformNumberField(maxField);
-    const runtime = parseShape(compiled);
+    const runtime = parseShape(compiled, { z });
     const { checks } = runtime._def;
     expect(checks).toHaveLength(3);
     expect(checks).toEqual(expect.arrayContaining([{ kind: 'max', inclusive: true, value: 5 }]));
diff --git a/src/transformers/field-number.transform.ts b/src/transformers/field-number.transform.ts
index 09b0064..b636cc1 100644
--- a/src/transformers/field-number.transform.ts
+++ b/src/transformers/field-number.transform.ts
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ export const transformNumberField: Transformer<CmsFieldBase & CmsFieldNumber> =
   min,
   value_type = 'int',
 }) => {
-  const transformed = { compiled: 'z.number().finite()' };
+  const transformed = { compiled: 'z.number().finite()', dependencies: ['z'] };
 
   // numbers can be float or int
   if (value_type === 'int') {
diff --git a/src/transformers/field-object.transform.spec.ts b/src/transformers/field-object.transform.spec.ts
index 76e2e15..b2df903 100644
--- a/src/transformers/field-object.transform.spec.ts
+++ b/src/transformers/field-object.transform.spec.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import type { CmsField, CmsFieldBase, CmsFieldObject } from 'decap-cms-core';
+import * as z from 'zod';
 
 import { transformObjectField } from './field-object.transform.js';
 
@@ -13,8 +14,22 @@ describe('field-object.transform', () => {
       ],
     } as CmsFieldBase & CmsFieldObject;
     const { compiled } = transformObjectField(field);
-    const runtime = parseShape(compiled);
+    const runtime = parseShape(compiled, { z });
     const result = { foo: 'foo', bar: 123 };
     expect(() => runtime.parse(result)).not.toThrow();
   });
+
+  it('flattens all nested dependencies', () => {
+    const field = {
+      name: 'foo',
+      widget: 'object',
+      fields: [
+        { name: 'foo', widget: 'text' } as CmsField,
+        { name: 'bar', widget: 'number' } as CmsField,
+      ],
+    } as CmsFieldBase & CmsFieldObject;
+    const { dependencies } = transformObjectField(field);
+    // it's five instead of three, as `z.describe` is added for each field
+    expect(dependencies).toEqual(['z', 'z', 'z', 'z', 'z']);
+  });
 });
diff --git a/src/transformers/field-object.transform.ts b/src/transformers/field-object.transform.ts
index 7219190..83e631d 100644
--- a/src/transformers/field-object.transform.ts
+++ b/src/transformers/field-object.transform.ts
@@ -9,5 +9,6 @@ export const transformObjectField: Transformer<CmsFieldBase & CmsFieldObject> =
 }) => {
   const results = fields.map(field => [field.name, transformField(field)] as const);
   const compiled = `z.object({${results.map(([name, r]) => `${name}: ${r.compiled}`).join(',')}})`;
-  return { compiled };
+  const dependencies = ['z', ...results.flatMap(([, { dependencies }]) => dependencies)];
+  return { compiled, dependencies };
 };
diff --git a/src/transformers/field-relation.transform.ts b/src/transformers/field-relation.transform.ts
index 6151f4b..cb00601 100644
--- a/src/transformers/field-relation.transform.ts
+++ b/src/transformers/field-relation.transform.ts
@@ -6,4 +6,5 @@ import type { Transformer } from '../utils/transform.utils.js';
 // https://decapcms.org/docs/widgets/#relation
 export const transformRelationField: Transformer<CmsFieldBase & CmsFieldRelation> = () => ({
   compiled: 'z.string()',
+  dependencies: ['z'],
 });
diff --git a/src/transformers/field-select.transform.ts b/src/transformers/field-select.transform.ts
index 6704b4b..ee8e084 100644
--- a/src/transformers/field-select.transform.ts
+++ b/src/transformers/field-select.transform.ts
@@ -5,5 +5,8 @@ import type { Transformer } from '../utils/transform.utils.js';
 // https://decapcms.org/docs/widgets/#select
 export const transformSelectField: Transformer<CmsFieldBase & CmsFieldSelect> = ({ options }) => {
   const items = options.map(option => (typeof option === 'string' ? option : option.value));
-  return { compiled: `z.enum([${items.map(i => `'${i}'`).join(',')}])` };
+  return {
+    compiled: `z.enum([${items.map(i => `'${i}'`).join(',')}])`,
+    dependencies: ['z'],
+  };
 };
diff --git a/src/transformers/field-string.transform.ts b/src/transformers/field-string.transform.ts
index ea67b79..fc312c8 100644
--- a/src/transformers/field-string.transform.ts
+++ b/src/transformers/field-string.transform.ts
@@ -8,4 +8,4 @@ import type { Transformer } from '../utils/transform.utils.js';
 // https://decapcms.org/docs/widgets/#text
 export const transformStringField: Transformer<
   CmsFieldBase & (CmsFieldColor | CmsFieldStringOrText)
-> = () => ({ compiled: 'z.string()' });
+> = () => ({ compiled: 'z.string()', dependencies: ['z'] });
diff --git a/src/transformers/field.transform.spec.ts b/src/transformers/field.transform.spec.ts
index b2dfdd9..6f2038c 100644
--- a/src/transformers/field.transform.spec.ts
+++ b/src/transformers/field.transform.spec.ts
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ describe('field.transform', () => {
     });
 
     it('exposes a Zod object at runtime', () => {
-      const runtime = parseShape(transformField(field).compiled);
+      const runtime = parseShape(transformField(field).compiled, { z });
       expect(runtime).toBeInstanceOf(z.ZodString);
     });
 
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ describe('field.transform', () => {
     });
 
     it(`exposes the correct runtime Zod object ${desc}`, () => {
-      const runtime = parseShape(transform(field).compiled);
+      const runtime = parseShape(transform(field).compiled, { z });
       expect(runtime).toBeInstanceOf(runtype);
     });
   });
diff --git a/src/transformers/field.transform.ts b/src/transformers/field.transform.ts
index e6218e5..b547cda 100644
--- a/src/transformers/field.transform.ts
+++ b/src/transformers/field.transform.ts
@@ -26,72 +26,72 @@ export const transformField: Transformer = field => {
   const knownWidgets = field.widget as DecapWidgetType;
   const applyTransform = (field: Decap.CmsField, transformer: Transformer<any>): TransformResult =>
     transformer(field);
-  let compiled: string;
+  let result: TransformResult;
 
   switch (knownWidgets) {
     case 'color': // https://decapcms.org/docs/widgets/#color
     case 'markdown': // https://decapcms.org/docs/widgets/#markdown
     case 'string': // https://decapcms.org/docs/widgets/#string
     case 'text': // https://decapcms.org/docs/widgets/#text
-      ({ compiled } = applyTransform(field, transformStringField));
+      result = applyTransform(field, transformStringField);
       break;
 
     case 'file': // https://decapcms.org/docs/widgets/#file
     case 'image': // https://decapcms.org/docs/widgets/#image
-      ({ compiled } = applyTransform(field, transformFileField));
+      result = applyTransform(field, transformFileField);
       break;
 
     case 'datetime': // https://decapcms.org/docs/widgets/#datetime
-      ({ compiled } = applyTransform(field, transformDateTimeField));
+      result = applyTransform(field, transformDateTimeField);
       break;
 
     case 'code': // https://decapcms.org/docs/widgets/#code
-      ({ compiled } = applyTransform(field, transformCodeField));
+      result = applyTransform(field, transformCodeField);
       break;
 
     case 'hidden': // https://decapcms.org/docs/widgets/#hidden
-      ({ compiled } = applyTransform(field, transformHiddenField));
+      result = applyTransform(field, transformHiddenField);
       break;
 
     case 'map': // https://decapcms.org/docs/widgets/#map
-      ({ compiled } = applyTransform(field, transformMapField));
+      result = applyTransform(field, transformMapField);
       break;
 
     case 'relation': // https://decapcms.org/docs/widgets/#relation
-      ({ compiled } = applyTransform(field, transformRelationField));
+      result = applyTransform(field, transformRelationField);
       break;
 
     case 'number': // https://decapcms.org/docs/widgets/#number
-      ({ compiled } = applyTransform(field, transformNumberField));
+      result = applyTransform(field, transformNumberField);
       break;
 
     case 'boolean': // https://decapcms.org/docs/widgets/#boolean
-      ({ compiled } = applyTransform(field, transformBooleanField));
+      result = applyTransform(field, transformBooleanField);
       break;
 
     case 'select': // https://decapcms.org/docs/widgets/#select
-      ({ compiled } = applyTransform(field, transformSelectField));
+      result = applyTransform(field, transformSelectField);
       break;
 
     case 'object': // https://decapcms.org/docs/widgets/#object
-      ({ compiled } = applyTransform(field, transformObjectField));
+      result = applyTransform(field, transformObjectField);
       break;
 
     case 'list': // https://decapcms.org/docs/widgets/#list
-      ({ compiled } = applyTransform(field, transformListField));
+      result = applyTransform(field, transformListField);
       break;
 
     default:
       // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-unused-expressions
       (_exhaustiveCheck: never = knownWidgets) => null;
-      ({ compiled } = transformNeverField(field));
+      result = transformNeverField(field);
       break;
   }
 
   // flag field as optional, set a default value and add a description if available
-  ({ compiled } = applyOptional(field, { compiled }));
-  ({ compiled } = applyDefaultValue(field, { compiled }));
-  ({ compiled } = applyDescription(field, { compiled }));
+  result = applyOptional(field, result);
+  result = applyDefaultValue(field, result);
+  result = applyDescription(field, result);
 
-  return { compiled };
+  return result;
 };
diff --git a/src/utils/transform.utils.ts b/src/utils/transform.utils.ts
index 892f342..2b74fe7 100644
--- a/src/utils/transform.utils.ts
+++ b/src/utils/transform.utils.ts
@@ -9,11 +9,16 @@ export type Transformer<F = Decap.CmsField> = (field: F) => TransformResult;
 
 /**
  * Utility type defining the result of a transformation.
- * It consists of a Zod runtime type and a string representation of the Zod schema.
- * The latter is used to generate the content of a TypeScript file.
+ * It consists of a Zod schema string representation and an optional list of
+ * dependencies to the generated astro content module. The latter usually
+ * contains the `z` (zod) re-export of the Astro runtime.
  */
 export type TransformResult = {
+  // the compiled result as string
   compiled: string;
+  // the optional list of dependencies - as we want this to be explicitly optional,
+  // one must return at least an empty array if really no dependencies are required
+  dependencies: string[];
 };
 
 /**
@@ -26,6 +31,7 @@ export function applyOptional(field: Decap.CmsField, result: TransformResult): T
   if (field.required === false) {
     return {
       compiled: `${result.compiled}.nullish()`,
+      dependencies: ['z', ...result.dependencies],
     };
   }
   return result;
@@ -44,6 +50,7 @@ export function applyDefaultValue(field: Decap.CmsField, result: TransformResult
   // set default value
   return {
     compiled: `${result.compiled}.default(${JSON.stringify(def)})`,
+    dependencies: ['z', ...result.dependencies],
   };
 }
 
@@ -58,6 +65,7 @@ export function applyDescription(field: Decap.CmsField, result: TransformResult)
   // set a description
   return {
     compiled: `${result.compiled}.describe('${description}')`,
+    dependencies: ['z', ...result.dependencies],
   };
 }
 
@@ -99,9 +107,10 @@ export function transformCollection(collection: Decap.CmsCollection): TransformR
     // multiple file collection is a union of all results
     return {
       compiled: `z.union([${results.map(({ compiled: cptime }) => cptime).join(', ')}])`,
+      dependencies: ['z', ...results.flatMap(({ dependencies }) => dependencies)],
     };
   }
 
   // a collection without a folder OR a file list is invalid, thus we define `never`
-  return { compiled: 'z.never()' };
+  return { compiled: 'z.never()', dependencies: ['z'] };
 }