diff --git a/packages/browser/src/node/index.ts b/packages/browser/src/node/index.ts
index 3dc3c672a..1c6312a37 100644
--- a/packages/browser/src/node/index.ts
+++ b/packages/browser/src/node/index.ts
@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@ export async function createBrowserServer(
       hmr: false,
       watch: null,
     },
+    cacheDir: project.vite.config.cacheDir,
     plugins: [
       ...prePlugins,
       ...(project.options?.plugins || []),
diff --git a/packages/vitest/src/node/cache/index.ts b/packages/vitest/src/node/cache/index.ts
index 3339ae440..5a1e4ceb9 100644
--- a/packages/vitest/src/node/cache/index.ts
+++ b/packages/vitest/src/node/cache/index.ts
@@ -24,13 +24,12 @@ export class VitestCache {
   }
 
   static resolveCacheDir(root: string, dir?: string, projectName?: string): string {
-    const baseDir = slash(dir || 'node_modules/.vite/vitest')
-    return projectName
-      ? resolve(
-          root,
-          baseDir,
-          hash('md5', projectName, 'hex'),
-        )
-      : resolve(root, baseDir)
+    const baseDir = slash(dir || 'node_modules/.vite')
+    return resolve(
+      root,
+      baseDir,
+      'vitest',
+      hash('md5', projectName || '', 'hex'),
+    )
   }
 }
diff --git a/packages/vitest/src/node/config/resolveConfig.ts b/packages/vitest/src/node/config/resolveConfig.ts
index bf0dad29f..a4659f08f 100644
--- a/packages/vitest/src/node/config/resolveConfig.ts
+++ b/packages/vitest/src/node/config/resolveConfig.ts
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@ import {
 import { benchmarkConfigDefaults, configDefaults } from '../../defaults'
 import { isCI, stdProvider } from '../../utils/env'
 import { getWorkersCountByPercentage } from '../../utils/workers'
-import { VitestCache } from '../cache'
 import { builtinPools } from '../pool'
 import { BaseSequencer } from '../sequencers/BaseSequencer'
 import { RandomSequencer } from '../sequencers/RandomSequencer'
@@ -745,29 +744,13 @@ export function resolveConfig(
   }
 
   if (resolved.cache !== false) {
-    let cacheDir = VitestCache.resolveCacheDir(
-      '',
-      viteConfig.cacheDir,
-      resolved.name,
-    )
-
-    if (resolved.cache && resolved.cache.dir) {
-      logger.console.warn(
-        c.yellow(
-          `${c.inverse(
-            c.yellow(' Vitest '),
-          )} "cache.dir" is deprecated, use Vite's "cacheDir" instead if you want to change the cache director. Note caches will be written to "cacheDir\/vitest"`,
-        ),
-      )
-
-      cacheDir = VitestCache.resolveCacheDir(
-        resolved.root,
-        resolved.cache.dir,
-        resolved.name,
+    if (resolved.cache && typeof resolved.cache.dir === 'string') {
+      vitest.logger.deprecate(
+        `"cache.dir" is deprecated, use Vite's "cacheDir" instead if you want to change the cache director. Note caches will be written to "cacheDir\/vitest"`,
       )
     }
 
-    resolved.cache = { dir: cacheDir }
+    resolved.cache = { dir: viteConfig.cacheDir }
   }
 
   resolved.sequence ??= {} as any
diff --git a/packages/vitest/src/node/logger.ts b/packages/vitest/src/node/logger.ts
index 5581c4030..c1a46d521 100644
--- a/packages/vitest/src/node/logger.ts
+++ b/packages/vitest/src/node/logger.ts
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ export class Logger {
   }
 
   deprecate(message: string): void {
-    this.log(c.bold(c.bgYellow(' DEPRECATED ')), c.yellow(message))
+    this.error(c.bold(c.bgYellow(' DEPRECATED ')), c.yellow(message))
   }
 
   clearHighlightCache(filename?: string): void {
diff --git a/packages/vitest/src/node/plugins/index.ts b/packages/vitest/src/node/plugins/index.ts
index 5644ec41a..c31ee181d 100644
--- a/packages/vitest/src/node/plugins/index.ts
+++ b/packages/vitest/src/node/plugins/index.ts
@@ -144,6 +144,12 @@ export async function VitestPlugin(
           },
         }
 
+        // inherit so it's available in VitestOptimizer
+        // I cannot wait to rewrite all of this in Vitest 4
+        if (options.cache != null) {
+          config.test!.cache = options.cache
+        }
+
         if (vitest.configOverride.project) {
           // project filter was set by the user, so we need to filter the project
           options.project = vitest.configOverride.project
diff --git a/packages/vitest/src/node/plugins/optimizer.ts b/packages/vitest/src/node/plugins/optimizer.ts
index 5077327ca..4c2f00ffe 100644
--- a/packages/vitest/src/node/plugins/optimizer.ts
+++ b/packages/vitest/src/node/plugins/optimizer.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
 import type { Plugin } from 'vite'
+import { resolve } from 'pathe'
+import { VitestCache } from '../cache'
 import { resolveOptimizerConfig } from './utils'
 
 export function VitestOptimizer(): Plugin {
@@ -11,18 +13,23 @@ export function VitestOptimizer(): Plugin {
         const webOptimizer = resolveOptimizerConfig(
           testConfig.deps?.optimizer?.web,
           viteConfig.optimizeDeps,
-          testConfig,
-          viteConfig.cacheDir,
         )
         const ssrOptimizer = resolveOptimizerConfig(
           testConfig.deps?.optimizer?.ssr,
           viteConfig.ssr?.optimizeDeps,
-          testConfig,
-          viteConfig.cacheDir,
         )
 
-        viteConfig.cacheDir
-          = webOptimizer.cacheDir || ssrOptimizer.cacheDir || viteConfig.cacheDir
+        const root = resolve(viteConfig.root || process.cwd())
+        const name = viteConfig.test?.name
+        const label = typeof name === 'string' ? name : (name?.label || '')
+
+        viteConfig.cacheDir = VitestCache.resolveCacheDir(
+          resolve(root || process.cwd()),
+          testConfig.cache != null && testConfig.cache !== false
+            ? testConfig.cache.dir
+            : viteConfig.cacheDir,
+          label,
+        )
         viteConfig.optimizeDeps = webOptimizer.optimizeDeps
         viteConfig.ssr ??= {}
         viteConfig.ssr.optimizeDeps = ssrOptimizer.optimizeDeps
diff --git a/packages/vitest/src/node/plugins/utils.ts b/packages/vitest/src/node/plugins/utils.ts
index 4486ebf46..17b3553e2 100644
--- a/packages/vitest/src/node/plugins/utils.ts
+++ b/packages/vitest/src/node/plugins/utils.ts
@@ -2,18 +2,15 @@ import type {
   DepOptimizationOptions,
   UserConfig as ViteConfig,
 } from 'vite'
-import type { DepsOptimizationOptions, InlineConfig } from '../types/config'
+import type { DepsOptimizationOptions } from '../types/config'
 import { dirname } from 'pathe'
 import { searchForWorkspaceRoot, version as viteVersion } from 'vite'
 import * as vite from 'vite'
 import { rootDir } from '../../paths'
-import { VitestCache } from '../cache'
 
 export function resolveOptimizerConfig(
   _testOptions: DepsOptimizationOptions | undefined,
   viteOptions: DepOptimizationOptions | undefined,
-  testConfig: InlineConfig,
-  viteCacheDir: string | undefined,
 ): { cacheDir?: string; optimizeDeps: DepOptimizationOptions } {
   const testOptions = _testOptions || {}
   const newConfig: { cacheDir?: string; optimizeDeps: DepOptimizationOptions }
@@ -41,7 +38,6 @@ export function resolveOptimizerConfig(
     }
   }
   else {
-    const root = testConfig.root ?? process.cwd()
     const currentInclude = testOptions.include || viteOptions?.include || []
     const exclude = [
       'vitest',
@@ -59,9 +55,6 @@ export function resolveOptimizerConfig(
       (n: string) => !exclude.includes(n),
     )
 
-    const projectName = typeof testConfig.name === 'string' ? testConfig.name : testConfig.name?.label
-
-    newConfig.cacheDir = (testConfig.cache !== false && testConfig.cache?.dir) || VitestCache.resolveCacheDir(root, viteCacheDir, projectName)
     newConfig.optimizeDeps = {
       ...viteOptions,
       ...testOptions,
diff --git a/packages/vitest/src/node/plugins/workspace.ts b/packages/vitest/src/node/plugins/workspace.ts
index 35c04912d..8fcbc8b84 100644
--- a/packages/vitest/src/node/plugins/workspace.ts
+++ b/packages/vitest/src/node/plugins/workspace.ts
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ export function WorkspaceVitestPlugin(
   return <VitePlugin[]>[
     {
       name: 'vitest:project',
-      enforce: 'pre',
+      enforce: 'post',
       options() {
         this.meta.watchMode = false
       },
@@ -190,9 +190,9 @@ export function WorkspaceVitestPlugin(
     },
     SsrReplacerPlugin(),
     ...CSSEnablerPlugin(project),
-    CoverageTransform(project.ctx),
+    CoverageTransform(project.vitest),
     ...MocksPlugins(),
-    VitestProjectResolver(project.ctx),
+    VitestProjectResolver(project.vitest),
     VitestOptimizer(),
     NormalizeURLPlugin(),
   ]
diff --git a/packages/vitest/src/node/types/config.ts b/packages/vitest/src/node/types/config.ts
index e30a5b060..06fca56cf 100644
--- a/packages/vitest/src/node/types/config.ts
+++ b/packages/vitest/src/node/types/config.ts
@@ -687,7 +687,7 @@ export interface InlineConfig {
 
   /**
    * Options for configuring cache policy.
-   * @default { dir: 'node_modules/.vite/vitest' }
+   * @default { dir: 'node_modules/.vite/vitest/{project-hash}' }
    */
   cache?:
     | false
diff --git a/test/config/test/cache.test.ts b/test/config/test/cache.test.ts
index 386e28408..81e6b2ac0 100644
--- a/test/config/test/cache.test.ts
+++ b/test/config/test/cache.test.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ import { describe, expect, test } from 'vitest'
 import { runVitest } from '../../test-utils'
 
 const root = resolve(__dirname, '../fixtures/cache')
-const project = resolve(__dirname, '../')
 
 test('default', async () => {
   const { ctx, stdout, stderr } = await runVitest({
@@ -16,7 +15,7 @@ test('default', async () => {
   expect(stderr).toBe('')
 
   const cachePath = ctx!.cache.results.getCachePath()
-  const path = resolve(project, 'node_modules/.vite/results.json')
+  const path = resolve(root, 'node_modules/.vite/vitest/d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e/results.json')
   expect(cachePath).toMatch(path)
 })
 
@@ -35,7 +34,7 @@ test('use cache.dir', async () => {
   expect(stderr).toContain('"cache.dir" is deprecated')
 
   const cachePath = ctx!.cache.results.getCachePath()
-  const path = resolve(root, 'node_modules/.vitest-custom/results.json')
+  const path = resolve(root, 'node_modules/.vitest-custom/vitest/d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e/results.json')
   expect(cachePath).toMatch(path)
 })
 
@@ -54,7 +53,7 @@ test('use cacheDir', async () => {
   expect(stderr).toBe('')
 
   const cachePath = ctx!.cache.results.getCachePath()
-  const path = resolve(root, 'node_modules/.vite-custom/results.json')
+  const path = resolve(root, 'node_modules/.vite-custom/vitest/d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e/results.json')
   expect(cachePath).toMatch(path)
 })
 
@@ -103,7 +102,7 @@ describe('with optimizer enabled', () => {
     expect(stderr).toBe('')
 
     const cachePath = ctx!.cache.results.getCachePath()
-    const path = resolve(root, 'node_modules/.vite/vitest/results.json')
+    const path = resolve(root, 'node_modules/.vite/vitest/d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e/results.json')
     expect(cachePath).toBe(path)
   })
 
@@ -123,7 +122,7 @@ describe('with optimizer enabled', () => {
     expect(stderr).toContain('"cache.dir" is deprecated')
 
     const cachePath = ctx!.cache.results.getCachePath()
-    const path = resolve(root, 'node_modules/.vitest-custom/results.json')
+    const path = resolve(root, 'node_modules/.vitest-custom/vitest/d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e/results.json')
     expect(cachePath).toBe(path)
   })
 
@@ -143,7 +142,7 @@ describe('with optimizer enabled', () => {
     expect(stderr).toBe('')
 
     const cachePath = ctx!.cache.results.getCachePath()
-    const path = resolve(root, 'node_modules/.vite-custom/results.json')
+    const path = resolve(root, 'node_modules/.vite-custom/vitest/d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e/results.json')
     expect(cachePath).toBe(path)
   })
 })
diff --git a/test/config/test/project.test.ts b/test/config/test/project.test.ts
index fd6616601..d9f6b14b7 100644
--- a/test/config/test/project.test.ts
+++ b/test/config/test/project.test.ts
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ test.each([
 ])('should match projects correctly: $pattern', async ({ pattern, expected }) => {
   const { ctx, stderr, stdout } = await runVitest({
     root: 'fixtures/project',
-    reporters: ['basic'],
+    reporters: ['default'],
     project: pattern,
   })
 
diff --git a/test/config/test/projects.test.ts b/test/config/test/projects.test.ts
index c91fe361a..b3aa172f9 100644
--- a/test/config/test/projects.test.ts
+++ b/test/config/test/projects.test.ts
@@ -3,11 +3,12 @@ import { expect, it } from 'vitest'
 import { runVitest } from '../../test-utils'
 
 it('correctly runs workspace tests when workspace config path is specified', async () => {
+  // TODO: remove the test in Vitest 4
   const { stderr, stdout } = await runVitest({
     root: 'fixtures/workspace',
     workspace: 'nested/e2e.projects.js',
   })
-  expect(stderr).toBe('')
+  expect(stderr).toContain('The workspace file is deprecated and will be removed in the next major')
   expect(stdout).toContain('1 + 1 = 2')
   expect(stdout).not.toContain('2 + 2 = 4')
 })
diff --git a/test/coverage-test/fixtures/configs/vitest.workspace.multi-transforms.ts b/test/coverage-test/fixtures/configs/vitest.config.multi-transforms.ts
similarity index 59%
rename from test/coverage-test/fixtures/configs/vitest.workspace.multi-transforms.ts
rename to test/coverage-test/fixtures/configs/vitest.config.multi-transforms.ts
index 507ede9cf..d02e01c44 100644
--- a/test/coverage-test/fixtures/configs/vitest.workspace.multi-transforms.ts
+++ b/test/coverage-test/fixtures/configs/vitest.config.multi-transforms.ts
@@ -1,34 +1,38 @@
 import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
-import { Plugin, defineWorkspace } from "vitest/config";
+import { Plugin, defineConfig } from "vitest/config";
 import MagicString from "magic-string";
 
-export default defineWorkspace([
-  // Project that uses its own "root" and custom transform plugin
-  {
-    test: {
-      name: "custom-with-root",
-      root: "fixtures/workspaces/custom-2",
-    },
-    plugins: [customFilePlugin("2")],
-  },
+export default defineConfig({
+  test: {
+    projects: [
+      // Project that uses its own "root" and custom transform plugin
+      {
+        test: {
+          name: "custom-with-root",
+          root: "fixtures/workspaces/custom-2",
+        },
+        plugins: [customFilePlugin("2")],
+      },
 
-  // Project that cannot transform "*.custom-x" files
-  {
-    test: {
-      name: "normal",
-      include: ["fixtures/test/math.test.ts"],
-    },
-  },
+      // Project that cannot transform "*.custom-x" files
+      {
+        test: {
+          name: "normal",
+          include: ["fixtures/test/math.test.ts"],
+        },
+      },
 
-  // Project that uses default "root" and has custom transform plugin
-  {
-    test: {
-      name: "custom",
-      include: ["fixtures/test/custom-1-syntax.test.ts"],
-    },
-    plugins: [customFilePlugin("1")],
-  },
-]);
+      // Project that uses default "root" and has custom transform plugin
+      {
+        test: {
+          name: "custom",
+          include: ["fixtures/test/custom-1-syntax.test.ts"],
+        },
+        plugins: [customFilePlugin("1")],
+      },
+    ]
+  }
+});
 
 /**
  * Plugin for transforming `.custom-1` and/or `.custom-2` files to Javascript
diff --git a/test/coverage-test/test/workspace.multi-transform.test.ts b/test/coverage-test/test/workspace.multi-transform.test.ts
index 1a1652551..eecc0353e 100644
--- a/test/coverage-test/test/workspace.multi-transform.test.ts
+++ b/test/coverage-test/test/workspace.multi-transform.test.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import { isV8Provider, readCoverageMap, runVitest, test } from '../utils'
 
 test('{ all: true } includes uncovered files that require custom transform', async () => {
   await runVitest({
-    workspace: 'fixtures/configs/vitest.workspace.multi-transforms.ts',
+    config: './fixtures/configs/vitest.config.multi-transforms.ts',
     coverage: {
       all: true,
       extension: ['.ts', '.custom-1', '.custom-2'],
diff --git a/test/optimize-deps/test/ssr.test.ts b/test/optimize-deps/test/ssr.test.ts
index 8f3b1b83d..39d92337d 100644
--- a/test/optimize-deps/test/ssr.test.ts
+++ b/test/optimize-deps/test/ssr.test.ts
@@ -8,5 +8,5 @@ import { expect, test } from 'vitest'
 // TODO: flaky on Windows
 // https://github.com/vitest-dev/vitest/pull/5215#discussion_r1492066033
 test.skipIf(process.platform === 'win32')('import.meta.url', () => {
-  expect(importMetaUrl).toContain('/node_modules/.vite/vitest/deps_ssr/')
+  expect(importMetaUrl).toContain('/node_modules/.vite/vitest/d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e/deps_ssr/')
 })
diff --git a/test/optimize-deps/test/web.test.ts b/test/optimize-deps/test/web.test.ts
index e7ce6cf41..2d1a0d64e 100644
--- a/test/optimize-deps/test/web.test.ts
+++ b/test/optimize-deps/test/web.test.ts
@@ -6,5 +6,5 @@ import { importMetaUrl } from '@vitest/test-dep-url'
 import { expect, test } from 'vitest'
 
 test('import.meta.url', () => {
-  expect(importMetaUrl).toContain('/node_modules/.vite/vitest/deps/')
+  expect(importMetaUrl).toContain('/node_modules/.vite/vitest/d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e/deps/')
 })