diff --git a/.changeset/chilled-pants-kiss.md b/.changeset/chilled-pants-kiss.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7859728db7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/chilled-pants-kiss.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@aws-amplify/sandbox': patch
+---
+
+move from importing the default export from the commonjs distribution of parcle/watcher to named export
diff --git a/packages/sandbox/src/file_watching_sandbox.test.ts b/packages/sandbox/src/file_watching_sandbox.test.ts
index 68e410a56f..27ce143ab7 100644
--- a/packages/sandbox/src/file_watching_sandbox.test.ts
+++ b/packages/sandbox/src/file_watching_sandbox.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, it, mock } from 'node:test';
 import path from 'path';
-import watcher from '@parcel/watcher';
+import watcher, { subscribe as _subscribe } from '@parcel/watcher';
 import {
   CDK_DEFAULT_BOOTSTRAP_VERSION_PARAMETER_NAME,
   FileWatchingSandbox,
@@ -39,7 +39,12 @@ import {
 
 // Watcher mocks
 const unsubscribeMockFn = mock.fn();
-const subscribeMock = mock.method(watcher, 'subscribe', async () => {
+// eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-unused-vars
+const subscribeMock = mock.fn<
+  (
+    ...args: Parameters<typeof _subscribe>
+  ) => Promise<{ unsubscribe: typeof unsubscribeMockFn }>
+>(async () => {
   return { unsubscribe: unsubscribeMockFn };
 });
 const packageManagerControllerFactory = new PackageManagerControllerFactory(
@@ -147,7 +152,8 @@ void describe('Sandbox to check if region is bootstrapped', () => {
       ssmClientMock,
       functionsLogStreamerMock as unknown as LambdaFunctionLogStreamer,
       printer as unknown as Printer,
-      openMock as never
+      openMock as never,
+      subscribeMock as never
     );
 
     ssmClientSendMock.mock.resetCalls();
@@ -1163,7 +1169,8 @@ const setupAndStartSandbox = async (
     testData.ssmClient,
     testData.functionsLogStreamer,
     printer as unknown as Printer,
-    testData.open ?? _open
+    testData.open ?? _open,
+    subscribeMock as never
   );
 
   await sandboxInstance.start(sandboxOptions);
diff --git a/packages/sandbox/src/file_watching_sandbox.ts b/packages/sandbox/src/file_watching_sandbox.ts
index aa1bb1c6a1..b056b85b8f 100644
--- a/packages/sandbox/src/file_watching_sandbox.ts
+++ b/packages/sandbox/src/file_watching_sandbox.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import debounce from 'debounce-promise';
-import parcelWatcher, { subscribe } from '@parcel/watcher';
+import { subscribe as _subscribe } from '@parcel/watcher';
 import { AmplifySandboxExecutor } from './sandbox_executor.js';
 import {
   BackendIdSandboxResolver,
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ export const getBootstrapUrl = (region: string) =>
  * Runs a file watcher and deploys
  */
 export class FileWatchingSandbox extends EventEmitter implements Sandbox {
-  private watcherSubscription: Awaited<ReturnType<typeof subscribe>>;
+  private watcherSubscription: Awaited<ReturnType<typeof _subscribe>>;
   private outputFilesExcludedFromWatch = ['.amplify'];
   private filesChangesTracker: FilesChangesTracker;
 
@@ -79,7 +79,8 @@ export class FileWatchingSandbox extends EventEmitter implements Sandbox {
     private readonly ssmClient: SSMClient,
     private readonly functionsLogStreamer: LambdaFunctionLogStreamer,
     private readonly printer: Printer,
-    private readonly open = _open
+    private readonly open = _open,
+    private readonly subscribe = _subscribe
   ) {
     process.once('SIGINT', () => void this.stop());
     process.once('SIGTERM', () => void this.stop());
@@ -197,7 +198,7 @@ export class FileWatchingSandbox extends EventEmitter implements Sandbox {
     });
 
     if (watchForChanges) {
-      this.watcherSubscription = await parcelWatcher.subscribe(
+      this.watcherSubscription = await this.subscribe(
         watchDir,
         async (_, events) => {
           // Log and track file changes.