diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 348eedeef30a9..916302aa06eae 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -720,7 +720,7 @@
     "less": "npm:@elastic/less@2.7.3-kibana",
     "license-checker": "^16.0.0",
     "listr": "^0.14.1",
-    "lmdb-store": "^0.6.10",
+    "lmdb-store": "^0.8.15",
     "load-grunt-config": "^3.0.1",
     "loader-utils": "^1.2.3",
     "log-symbols": "^2.2.0",
diff --git a/packages/kbn-optimizer/src/node/cache.ts b/packages/kbn-optimizer/src/node/cache.ts
index e918bae86c835..417e38d5fb7ab 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-optimizer/src/node/cache.ts
+++ b/packages/kbn-optimizer/src/node/cache.ts
@@ -17,91 +17,67 @@
  * under the License.
  */
 
-import Path from 'path';
-import Fs from 'fs';
+import { Writable } from 'stream';
 
-// @ts-expect-error no types available
+import chalk from 'chalk';
 import * as LmdbStore from 'lmdb-store';
-import { REPO_ROOT, UPSTREAM_BRANCH } from '@kbn/dev-utils';
-
-const LMDB_PKG = JSON.parse(
-  Fs.readFileSync(Path.resolve(REPO_ROOT, 'node_modules/lmdb-store/package.json'), 'utf8')
-);
-const CACHE_DIR = Path.resolve(
-  REPO_ROOT,
-  `data/node_auto_transpilation_cache/lmdb-${LMDB_PKG.version}/${UPSTREAM_BRANCH}`
-);
-
-const reportError = () => {
-  // right now I'm not sure we need to worry about errors, the cache isn't actually
-  // necessary, and if the cache is broken it should just rebuild on the next restart
-  // of the process. We don't know how often errors occur though and what types of
-  // things might fail on different machines so we probably want some way to signal
-  // to users that something is wrong
-};
 
 const GLOBAL_ATIME = `${Date.now()}`;
 const MINUTE = 1000 * 60;
 const HOUR = MINUTE * 60;
 const DAY = HOUR * 24;
 
-interface Lmdb<T> {
-  name: string;
-  get(key: string): T | undefined;
-  put(key: string, value: T, version?: number, ifVersion?: number): Promise<boolean>;
-  remove(key: string, ifVersion?: number): Promise<boolean>;
-  removeSync(key: string): void;
-  openDB<T2>(options: {
-    name: string;
-    encoding: 'msgpack' | 'string' | 'json' | 'binary';
-  }): Lmdb<T2>;
-  getRange(options?: {
-    start?: T;
-    end?: T;
-    reverse?: boolean;
-    limit?: number;
-    versions?: boolean;
-  }): Iterable<{ key: string; value: T }>;
-}
+const dbName = (db: LmdbStore.Database) =>
+  // @ts-expect-error db.name is not a documented/typed property
+  db.name;
 
 export class Cache {
-  private readonly codes: Lmdb<string>;
-  private readonly atimes: Lmdb<string>;
-  private readonly mtimes: Lmdb<string>;
-  private readonly sourceMaps: Lmdb<any>;
+  private readonly codes: LmdbStore.RootDatabase<string, string>;
+  private readonly atimes: LmdbStore.Database<string, string>;
+  private readonly mtimes: LmdbStore.Database<string, string>;
+  private readonly sourceMaps: LmdbStore.Database<string, string>;
   private readonly prefix: string;
+  private readonly log?: Writable;
+  private readonly timer: NodeJS.Timer;
 
-  constructor(config: { prefix: string }) {
+  constructor(config: { dir: string; prefix: string; log?: Writable }) {
     this.prefix = config.prefix;
+    this.log = config.log;
 
-    this.codes = LmdbStore.open({
+    this.codes = LmdbStore.open(config.dir, {
       name: 'codes',
-      path: CACHE_DIR,
+      encoding: 'string',
       maxReaders: 500,
     });
 
-    this.atimes = this.codes.openDB({
+    // TODO: redundant 'name' syntax is necessary because of a bug that I have yet to fix
+    this.atimes = this.codes.openDB('atimes', {
       name: 'atimes',
       encoding: 'string',
     });
 
-    this.mtimes = this.codes.openDB({
+    this.mtimes = this.codes.openDB('mtimes', {
       name: 'mtimes',
       encoding: 'string',
     });
 
-    this.sourceMaps = this.codes.openDB({
+    this.sourceMaps = this.codes.openDB('sourceMaps', {
       name: 'sourceMaps',
-      encoding: 'msgpack',
+      encoding: 'string',
     });
 
     // after the process has been running for 30 minutes prune the
     // keys which haven't been used in 30 days. We use `unref()` to
     // make sure this timer doesn't hold other processes open
     // unexpectedly
-    setTimeout(() => {
+    this.timer = setTimeout(() => {
       this.pruneOldKeys();
-    }, 30 * MINUTE).unref();
+    }, 30 * MINUTE);
+
+    // timer.unref is not defined in jest which emulates the dom by default
+    if (typeof this.timer.unref === 'function') {
+      this.timer.unref();
+    }
   }
 
   getMtime(path: string) {
@@ -110,45 +86,78 @@ export class Cache {
 
   getCode(path: string) {
     const key = this.getKey(path);
+    const code = this.safeGet(this.codes, key);
 
-    // when we use a file from the cache set the "atime" of that cache entry
-    // so that we know which cache items we use and which haven't been
-    // touched in a long time (currently 30 days)
-    this.atimes.put(key, GLOBAL_ATIME).catch(reportError);
+    if (code !== undefined) {
+      // when we use a file from the cache set the "atime" of that cache entry
+      // so that we know which cache items we use and which haven't been
+      // touched in a long time (currently 30 days)
+      this.safePut(this.atimes, key, GLOBAL_ATIME);
+    }
 
-    return this.safeGet(this.codes, key);
+    return code;
   }
 
   getSourceMap(path: string) {
-    return this.safeGet(this.sourceMaps, this.getKey(path));
+    const map = this.safeGet(this.sourceMaps, this.getKey(path));
+    if (typeof map === 'string') {
+      return JSON.parse(map);
+    }
   }
 
-  update(path: string, file: { mtime: string; code: string; map: any }) {
+  async update(path: string, file: { mtime: string; code: string; map: any }) {
     const key = this.getKey(path);
 
-    Promise.all([
-      this.atimes.put(key, GLOBAL_ATIME),
-      this.mtimes.put(key, file.mtime),
-      this.codes.put(key, file.code),
-      this.sourceMaps.put(key, file.map),
-    ]).catch(reportError);
+    await Promise.all([
+      this.safePut(this.atimes, key, GLOBAL_ATIME),
+      this.safePut(this.mtimes, key, file.mtime),
+      this.safePut(this.codes, key, file.code),
+      this.safePut(this.sourceMaps, key, JSON.stringify(file.map)),
+    ]);
+  }
+
+  close() {
+    clearTimeout(this.timer);
   }
 
   private getKey(path: string) {
     return `${this.prefix}${path}`;
   }
 
-  private safeGet<V>(db: Lmdb<V>, key: string) {
+  private safeGet<V>(db: LmdbStore.Database<V, string>, key: string) {
     try {
-      return db.get(key);
+      const value = db.get(key);
+      this.debug(value === undefined ? 'MISS' : 'HIT', db, key);
+      return value;
     } catch (error) {
-      process.stderr.write(
-        `failed to read node transpilation [${db.name}] cache for [${key}]: ${error.stack}\n`
-      );
-      db.removeSync(key);
+      this.logError('GET', db, key, error);
     }
   }
 
+  private async safePut<V>(db: LmdbStore.Database<V, string>, key: string, value: V) {
+    try {
+      await db.put(key, value);
+      this.debug('PUT', db, key);
+    } catch (error) {
+      this.logError('PUT', db, key, error);
+    }
+  }
+
+  private debug(type: string, db: LmdbStore.Database, key: LmdbStore.Key) {
+    if (this.log) {
+      this.log.write(`${type}   [${dbName(db)}]   ${String(key)}\n`);
+    }
+  }
+
+  private logError(type: 'GET' | 'PUT', db: LmdbStore.Database, key: LmdbStore.Key, error: Error) {
+    this.debug(`ERROR/${type}`, db, `${String(key)}: ${error.stack}`);
+    process.stderr.write(
+      chalk.red(
+        `[@kbn/optimizer/node] ${type} error [${dbName(db)}/${String(key)}]: ${error.stack}\n`
+      )
+    );
+  }
+
   private async pruneOldKeys() {
     try {
       const ATIME_LIMIT = Date.now() - 30 * DAY;
@@ -157,9 +166,10 @@ export class Cache {
       const validKeys: string[] = [];
       const invalidKeys: string[] = [];
 
+      // @ts-expect-error See https://github.com/DoctorEvidence/lmdb-store/pull/18
       for (const { key, value } of this.atimes.getRange()) {
-        const atime = parseInt(value, 10);
-        if (atime < ATIME_LIMIT) {
+        const atime = parseInt(`${value}`, 10);
+        if (Number.isNaN(atime) || atime < ATIME_LIMIT) {
           invalidKeys.push(key);
         } else {
           validKeys.push(key);
diff --git a/packages/kbn-optimizer/src/node/integration_tests/cache.test.ts b/packages/kbn-optimizer/src/node/integration_tests/cache.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..c860164d4306a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/kbn-optimizer/src/node/integration_tests/cache.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to Elasticsearch B.V. under one or more contributor
+ * license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright
+ * ownership. Elasticsearch B.V. licenses this file to you under
+ * the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may
+ * not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+import Path from 'path';
+import { Writable } from 'stream';
+
+import del from 'del';
+
+import { Cache } from '../cache';
+
+const DIR = Path.resolve(__dirname, '../__tmp__/cache');
+
+const makeTestLog = () => {
+  const log = Object.assign(
+    new Writable({
+      write(chunk, enc, cb) {
+        log.output += chunk;
+        cb();
+      },
+    }),
+    {
+      output: '',
+    }
+  );
+
+  return log;
+};
+
+const instances: Cache[] = [];
+const makeCache = (...options: ConstructorParameters<typeof Cache>) => {
+  const instance = new Cache(...options);
+  instances.push(instance);
+  return instance;
+};
+
+beforeEach(async () => await del(DIR));
+afterEach(async () => {
+  await del(DIR);
+  for (const instance of instances) {
+    instance.close();
+  }
+  instances.length = 0;
+});
+
+it('returns undefined until values are set', async () => {
+  const path = '/foo/bar.js';
+  const mtime = new Date().toJSON();
+  const log = makeTestLog();
+  const cache = makeCache({
+    dir: DIR,
+    prefix: 'foo',
+    log,
+  });
+
+  expect(cache.getMtime(path)).toBe(undefined);
+  expect(cache.getCode(path)).toBe(undefined);
+  expect(cache.getSourceMap(path)).toBe(undefined);
+
+  await cache.update(path, {
+    mtime,
+    code: 'var x = 1',
+    map: { foo: 'bar' },
+  });
+
+  expect(cache.getMtime(path)).toBe(mtime);
+  expect(cache.getCode(path)).toBe('var x = 1');
+  expect(cache.getSourceMap(path)).toEqual({ foo: 'bar' });
+  expect(log.output).toMatchInlineSnapshot(`
+    "MISS   [mtimes]   foo/foo/bar.js
+    MISS   [codes]   foo/foo/bar.js
+    MISS   [sourceMaps]   foo/foo/bar.js
+    PUT   [atimes]   foo/foo/bar.js
+    PUT   [mtimes]   foo/foo/bar.js
+    PUT   [codes]   foo/foo/bar.js
+    PUT   [sourceMaps]   foo/foo/bar.js
+    HIT   [mtimes]   foo/foo/bar.js
+    HIT   [codes]   foo/foo/bar.js
+    HIT   [sourceMaps]   foo/foo/bar.js
+    "
+  `);
+});
diff --git a/packages/kbn-optimizer/src/node/node_auto_tranpilation.ts b/packages/kbn-optimizer/src/node/node_auto_tranpilation.ts
index ff6ab1c68da53..d85413c516aee 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-optimizer/src/node/node_auto_tranpilation.ts
+++ b/packages/kbn-optimizer/src/node/node_auto_tranpilation.ts
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ import Crypto from 'crypto';
 
 import * as babel from '@babel/core';
 import { addHook } from 'pirates';
-import { REPO_ROOT } from '@kbn/dev-utils';
+import { REPO_ROOT, UPSTREAM_BRANCH } from '@kbn/dev-utils';
 import sourceMapSupport from 'source-map-support';
 
 import { Cache } from './cache';
@@ -134,7 +134,13 @@ export function registerNodeAutoTranspilation() {
   installed = true;
 
   const cache = new Cache({
+    dir: Path.resolve(REPO_ROOT, 'data/node_auto_transpilation_cache', UPSTREAM_BRANCH),
     prefix: determineCachePrefix(),
+    log: process.env.DEBUG_NODE_TRANSPILER_CACHE
+      ? Fs.createWriteStream(Path.resolve(REPO_ROOT, 'node_auto_transpilation_cache.log'), {
+          flags: 'a',
+        })
+      : undefined,
   });
 
   sourceMapSupport.install({
diff --git a/yarn.lock b/yarn.lock
index 1155c0c296827..97809cdead633 100644
--- a/yarn.lock
+++ b/yarn.lock
@@ -18945,16 +18945,28 @@ livereload-js@^2.3.0:
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/livereload-js/-/livereload-js-2.4.0.tgz#447c31cf1ea9ab52fc20db615c5ddf678f78009c"
   integrity sha512-XPQH8Z2GDP/Hwz2PCDrh2mth4yFejwA1OZ/81Ti3LgKyhDcEjsSsqFWZojHG0va/duGd+WyosY7eXLDoOyqcPw==
 
-lmdb-store@^0.6.10:
-  version "0.6.10"
-  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/lmdb-store/-/lmdb-store-0.6.10.tgz#db8efde6e052aabd17ebc63c8a913e1f31694129"
-  integrity sha512-ZLvp3qbBQ5VlBmaWa4EUAPyYEZ8qdUHsW69HmxkDi84pFQ37WMxYhFaF/7PQkdtxS/vyiKkZigd9TFgHjek1Nw==
+lmdb-store-0.9@0.7.3:
+  version "0.7.3"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/lmdb-store-0.9/-/lmdb-store-0.9-0.7.3.tgz#c2cb27dfa916ab966cceed692c67e4236813104a"
+  integrity sha512-t8iCnN6T3NZPFelPmjYIjCg+nhGbOdc0xcHCG40v01AWRTN49OINSt2k/u+16/2/HrI+b6Ssb8WByXUhbyHz6w==
+  dependencies:
+    fs-extra "^9.0.1"
+    msgpackr "^0.5.3"
+    nan "^2.14.1"
+    node-gyp-build "^4.2.3"
+    weak-lru-cache "^0.3.9"
+
+lmdb-store@^0.8.15:
+  version "0.8.15"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/lmdb-store/-/lmdb-store-0.8.15.tgz#4efb0341c2df505dd6f3a7f26f834f0a142a80a2"
+  integrity sha512-4Q0WZh2FmcJC6esZRUWMfkCmNiz0WU9cOgrxt97ZMTnVfHyOdZhtrt0oOF5EQPfetxxJf/BorKY28aX92R6G6g==
   dependencies:
     fs-extra "^9.0.1"
-    msgpackr "^0.5.0"
+    lmdb-store-0.9 "0.7.3"
+    msgpackr "^0.5.4"
     nan "^2.14.1"
     node-gyp-build "^4.2.3"
-    weak-lru-cache "^0.2.0"
+    weak-lru-cache "^0.3.9"
 
 load-bmfont@^1.3.1, load-bmfont@^1.4.0:
   version "1.4.0"
@@ -20477,20 +20489,20 @@ ms@2.1.1, ms@^2.0.0, ms@^2.1.1:
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/ms/-/ms-2.1.1.tgz#30a5864eb3ebb0a66f2ebe6d727af06a09d86e0a"
   integrity sha512-tgp+dl5cGk28utYktBsrFqA7HKgrhgPsg6Z/EfhWI4gl1Hwq8B/GmY/0oXZ6nF8hDVesS/FpnYaD/kOWhYQvyg==
 
-msgpackr-extract@^0.3.4:
-  version "0.3.4"
-  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/msgpackr-extract/-/msgpackr-extract-0.3.4.tgz#8ee5e73d1135340e564c498e8c593134365eb060"
-  integrity sha512-d3+qwTJzgqqsq2L2sQuH0SoO4StvpUhMqMAKy6tMimn7XdBaRtDlquFzRJsp0iMGt2hnU4UOqD8Tz9mb0KglTA==
+msgpackr-extract@^0.3.5:
+  version "0.3.5"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/msgpackr-extract/-/msgpackr-extract-0.3.5.tgz#0f206da058bd3dad0f8605d324de001a8f4de967"
+  integrity sha512-zHhstybu+m/j3H6CVBMcILVIzATK6dWRGtlePJjsnSAj8kLT5joMa9i0v21Uc80BPNDcwFsnG/dz2318tfI81w==
   dependencies:
     nan "^2.14.1"
     node-gyp-build "^4.2.3"
 
-msgpackr@^0.5.0:
-  version "0.5.1"
-  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/msgpackr/-/msgpackr-0.5.1.tgz#7eecbf342645b7718dd2e3386894368d06732b3f"
-  integrity sha512-nK2uJl67Q5KU3MWkYBUlYynqKS1UUzJ5M1h6TQejuJtJzD3hW2Suv2T1pf01E9lUEr93xaLokf/xC+jwBShMPQ==
+msgpackr@^0.5.3, msgpackr@^0.5.4:
+  version "0.5.4"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/msgpackr/-/msgpackr-0.5.4.tgz#c21c03d5e132d2e54d0b9ced02a75b1f48413380"
+  integrity sha512-ILEWtIWwd5ESWHKoVjJ4GP7JWkpuAUJ20qi2j2qEC6twecBmK4E6YG3QW847OpmvdAhMJGq2LoDJRn/kNERTeQ==
   optionalDependencies:
-    msgpackr-extract "^0.3.4"
+    msgpackr-extract "^0.3.5"
 
 multicast-dns-service-types@^1.1.0:
   version "1.1.0"
@@ -29326,10 +29338,10 @@ wcwidth@^1.0.1:
   dependencies:
     defaults "^1.0.3"
 
-weak-lru-cache@^0.2.0:
-  version "0.2.0"
-  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/weak-lru-cache/-/weak-lru-cache-0.2.0.tgz#447379ccff6dfda1b7a9566c9ef168260be859d1"
-  integrity sha512-M1l5CzKvM7maa7tCbtL0NW6sOnp8gqup853+9Aq7GL0XNWKNnFOkeE3v3Z5X2IeMzedPwQyPbi4RlFvD6rxs7A==
+weak-lru-cache@^0.3.9:
+  version "0.3.9"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/weak-lru-cache/-/weak-lru-cache-0.3.9.tgz#9e56920d4115e8542625d8ef8cc278cbd97f7624"
+  integrity sha512-WqAu3wzbHQvjSi/vgYhidZkf2p7L3Z8iDEIHnqvE31EQQa7Vh7PDOphrRJ1oxlW8JIjgr2HvMcRe9Q1GhW2NPw==
 
 web-namespaces@^1.0.0:
   version "1.1.4"