diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 2f916ef8cdb..d3939e1c066 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -3479,6 +3479,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "itertools 0.14.0",
  "num-complex",
  "pyo3",
+ "rustpython-pylib",
  "rustpython-stdlib",
  "rustpython-vm",
 ]
diff --git a/crates/capi/Cargo.toml b/crates/capi/Cargo.toml
index 70b7fc4b8c5..601989faa1d 100644
--- a/crates/capi/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/capi/Cargo.toml
@@ -15,15 +15,12 @@ crate-type = ["cdylib", "rlib"]
 bitflags = { workspace = true }
 itertools = { workspace = true }
 num-complex = { workspace = true }
-rustpython-vm = { workspace = true, features = ["threading", "compiler"] }
+rustpython-vm = { workspace = true, features = ["threading", "compiler", "importlib", "host_env"] }
 rustpython-stdlib = {workspace = true, features = ["threading"] }
+rustpython-pylib = { workspace = true }
 
 [dev-dependencies]
 pyo3 = { workspace = true, features = ["auto-initialize", "abi3"] }
 
 [lints]
 workspace = true
-
-[package.metadata.cargo-shear]
-# Not a direct dependency (yet), but we need to enable threading support in the stdlib.
-ignored = ["rustpython-stdlib"]
diff --git a/crates/capi/src/import.rs b/crates/capi/src/import.rs
index d380d1f8266..3550baa1440 100644
--- a/crates/capi/src/import.rs
+++ b/crates/capi/src/import.rs
@@ -19,4 +19,11 @@ mod tests {
             let _module = py.import("sys").unwrap();
         })
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn import_stdlib() {
+        Python::attach(|py| {
+            let _module = py.import("types").unwrap();
+        })
+    }
 }
diff --git a/crates/capi/src/pylifecycle.rs b/crates/capi/src/pylifecycle.rs
index 6760b2822a3..df964d11753 100644
--- a/crates/capi/src/pylifecycle.rs
+++ b/crates/capi/src/pylifecycle.rs
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ use crate::get_main_interpreter;
 use crate::pyerrors::init_exception_statics;
 use crate::pystate::ensure_thread_has_vm_attached;
 use core::ffi::c_int;
+use rustpython_vm::common::rc::PyRc;
 use rustpython_vm::vm::thread::ThreadedVirtualMachine;
 use rustpython_vm::{Context, Interpreter};
 use std::sync::Mutex;
@@ -32,7 +33,19 @@ pub extern "C" fn Py_InitializeEx(_initsigs: c_int) {
     if interp.is_none() {
         // Safety: Interpreter was not initialized before, so we can safely assume the statics are not used
         unsafe { init_exception_statics(&Context::genesis().exceptions) };
-        *interp = Interpreter::with_init(Default::default(), |_vm| {}).into();
+        let builder = Interpreter::builder(Default::default());
+        let defs = rustpython_stdlib::stdlib_module_defs(&builder.ctx);
+        *interp = builder
+            .add_native_modules(&defs)
+            .init_hook(|vm| {
+                let state = PyRc::get_mut(&mut vm.state).unwrap();
+                let path = rustpython_pylib::LIB_PATH.to_owned();
+
+                state.config.paths.stdlib_dir = Some(path.clone());
+                state.config.paths.module_search_paths.insert(0, path);
+            })
+            .build()
+            .into();
         drop(interp);
         ensure_thread_has_vm_attached();
     }