diff --git a/src/_pytest/config/__init__.py b/src/_pytest/config/__init__.py
index 8bbb2720d..34a7a80e1 100644
--- a/src/_pytest/config/__init__.py
+++ b/src/_pytest/config/__init__.py
@@ -240,6 +240,7 @@ default_plugins = essential_plugins + (
     "unittest",
     "capture",
     "skipping",
+    "legacypath",
     "tmpdir",
     "monkeypatch",
     "recwarn",
diff --git a/src/_pytest/legacypath.py b/src/_pytest/legacypath.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..602fe1de8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/_pytest/legacypath.py
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+"""Add backward compatibility support for the legacy py path type."""