diff --git a/src/runtime/query/match/pipeline-legacy.ts b/src/runtime/query/match/pipeline-legacy.ts
index 455c8e052..d0ab17c4a 100644
--- a/src/runtime/query/match/pipeline-legacy.ts
+++ b/src/runtime/query/match/pipeline-legacy.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,10 @@ export function createPipelineFetcherLegacy<T> (getContentsList: () => Promise<T
   const _pipelineFetcher = createPipelineFetcher(getContentsList)
 
   return async (query: QueryBuilder<T>): Promise<T | T[]> => {
+    // fetch dir config to match api behavior
+    if (query.params().first) {
+      (query as unknown as ContentQueryBuilder<T>).withDirConfig()
+    }
     const params = query.params()
     const result = await _pipelineFetcher(query as unknown as ContentQueryBuilder<T>)