diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 97bcae5..9f9531f 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -71,6 +71,9 @@
     "vitest": "^2.1.9",
     "vitest-mock-extended": "^2.0.2"
   },
+  "peerDependencies": {
+    "@vitejs/plugin-legacy": "^7.0.0 || ^8.0.0"
+  },
   "lint-staged": {
     "*.ts": [
       "prettier --write",
diff --git a/src/core/CoreTextNode.test.ts b/src/core/CoreTextNode.test.ts
index 42cd324..72652b4 100644
--- a/src/core/CoreTextNode.test.ts
+++ b/src/core/CoreTextNode.test.ts
@@ -147,6 +147,75 @@ describe('CoreTextNode (canvas) clearing text', () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe('CoreTextNode eager dimensions', () => {
+  const makeCanvasRendererWithFont = (
+    isFontLoaded: boolean,
+    measured: TextRenderInfo,
+  ): TextRenderer => {
+    const font = mock<FontHandler>({
+      type: 'canvas',
+      isFontLoaded: vi.fn(() => isFontLoaded),
+      waitingForFont: vi.fn(),
+    });
+    return {
+      type: 'canvas',
+      font,
+      renderText: vi.fn(),
+      measureText: vi.fn(() => measured),
+      addQuads: vi.fn(),
+      renderQuads: vi.fn(),
+      init: vi.fn(),
+    } as unknown as TextRenderer;
+  };
+
+  it('measures dimensions synchronously at construction when the font is loaded, without rendering', () => {
+    const renderer = makeCanvasRendererWithFont(true, {
+      width: 120,
+      height: 40,
+    });
+    const stage = makeStage(makeLoadedTexture());
+
+    const onLoaded = vi.fn();
+    // Spy must be wired through the renderer-agnostic path; emit happens only
+    // on render, not on measure.
+    const node = new CoreTextNode(
+      stage,
+      defaultProps({ text: 'Hello' }),
+      renderer,
+    );
+    node.on('loaded', onLoaded);
+
+    // Dimensions are available immediately — no frame, no microtask.
+    expect(renderer.measureText).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(node.props.w).toBe(120);
+    expect(node.props.h).toBe(40);
+
+    // Measuring must NOT render: no rasterization, no texture, no loaded event.
+    expect(renderer.renderText).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(node.texture).toBe(null);
+    expect(onLoaded).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it('does not measure or render when the font is not yet loaded', () => {
+    const renderer = makeCanvasRendererWithFont(false, {
+      width: 120,
+      height: 40,
+    });
+    const stage = makeStage(makeLoadedTexture());
+
+    const node = new CoreTextNode(
+      stage,
+      defaultProps({ text: 'Hello' }),
+      renderer,
+    );
+
+    expect(renderer.measureText).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(renderer.renderText).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(node.props.w).toBe(0);
+    expect(node.props.h).toBe(0);
+  });
+});
+
 describe('CoreTextNode (sdf) renderOnlyInViewport', () => {
   const makeSdfRenderer = (): TextRenderer => {
     const font = mock<FontHandler>({ type: 'sdf' });
diff --git a/src/core/CoreTextNode.ts b/src/core/CoreTextNode.ts
index 4d33db9..6dd7c08 100644
--- a/src/core/CoreTextNode.ts
+++ b/src/core/CoreTextNode.ts
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@ import {
 } from './CoreNode.js';
 import type { Stage } from './Stage.js';
 import type {
-  NodeTextFailedPayload,
   NodeTextLoadedPayload,
   NodeTextureLoadedPayload,
 } from '../common/CommonTypes.js';
@@ -85,6 +84,39 @@ export class CoreTextNode extends CoreNode implements CoreTextNodeProps {
     this._containType = TextConstraint[props.contain];
 
     this.setUpdateType(UpdateType.All);
+
+    // Eagerly measure the text dimensions at construction (when the font is
+    // already loaded) so layout consumers can read the node's real w/h before
+    // it is rendered. This computes layout only — the actual rasterization /
+    // glyph upload stays on update()'s visibility-gated path, exactly as
+    // before, so off-screen text still does no render work. Measuring is cheap
+    // and emits no `loaded` event, so it runs synchronously here.
+    if (this.fontHandler.isFontLoaded(props.fontFamily) === true) {
+      this.generateDimensions();
+    }
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Measure the text and apply its dimensions to the node without rendering.
+   *
+   * Sets w/h from the renderer's measure-only path and flags the
+   * dimension-dependent updates, but leaves `_layoutGenerated` false so
+   * update() still runs the full (deferred, visibility-gated) render later.
+   */
+  private generateDimensions(): void {
+    const info = this.textRenderer.measureText(this.textProps);
+    if (info.width === this.props.w && info.height === this.props.h) {
+      return;
+    }
+    this.props.w = info.width;
+    this.props.h = info.height;
+    this._renderInfo = info;
+    // Direct props.w/h writes bypass the w/h setters, so raise RecalcUniforms
+    // (dimensions feed shader uniforms) alongside Local/RenderBounds — mirrors
+    // handleRenderResult.
+    this.setUpdateType(
+      UpdateType.Local | UpdateType.RenderBounds | UpdateType.RecalcUniforms,
+    );
   }
 
   protected override onTextureLoaded: TextureLoadedEventHandler = (
@@ -192,25 +224,36 @@ export class CoreTextNode extends CoreNode implements CoreTextNodeProps {
     }
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Generate the text layout for the current props.
+   *
+   * If the font is already loaded the layout is produced and `_layoutGenerated`
+   * is latched so `update()` won't redo it. If the font is not yet loaded the
+   * node registers with the font handler and the layout is produced on a later
+   * frame, once the load promise resolves.
+   */
+  private generateLayout(): void {
+    if (this.fontHandler.isFontLoaded(this.textProps.fontFamily)) {
+      this._waitingForFont = false;
+      this._cachedLayout = null; // Invalidate cached layout
+      const resp = this.textRenderer.renderText(this.textProps);
+      this.handleRenderResult(resp);
+      this._layoutGenerated = true;
+    } else if (!this._waitingForFont) {
+      this.fontHandler.waitingForFont(this.textProps.fontFamily, this);
+      this._waitingForFont = true;
+    }
+  }
+
   /**
    * Override CoreNode's update method to handle text-specific updates
    */
   override update(delta: number, parentClippingRect: RectWithValid): void {
     if (
-      (this.textProps.forceLoad === true ||
-        this.allowTextGeneration() === true) &&
-      this._layoutGenerated === false
+      (this.textProps.forceLoad || this.allowTextGeneration()) &&
+      !this._layoutGenerated
     ) {
-      if (this.fontHandler.isFontLoaded(this.textProps.fontFamily) === true) {
-        this._waitingForFont = false;
-        this._cachedLayout = null; // Invalidate cached layout
-        const resp = this.textRenderer.renderText(this.textProps);
-        this.handleRenderResult(resp);
-        this._layoutGenerated = true;
-      } else if (this._waitingForFont === false) {
-        this.fontHandler.waitingForFont(this.textProps.fontFamily, this);
-        this._waitingForFont = true;
-      }
+      this.generateLayout();
     }
 
     // First run the standard CoreNode update
diff --git a/src/core/text-rendering/CanvasTextRenderer.ts b/src/core/text-rendering/CanvasTextRenderer.ts
index 43bded2..73961c3 100644
--- a/src/core/text-rendering/CanvasTextRenderer.ts
+++ b/src/core/text-rendering/CanvasTextRenderer.ts
@@ -83,6 +83,53 @@ const init = (stage: Stage): void => {
   CanvasFontHandler.init(context, measureContext);
 };
 
+/**
+ * Measure-only path: lay out the text via the layout engine and return its
+ * dimensions, without rasterizing. Used to populate a text node's w/h eagerly
+ * at construction.
+ *
+ * Kept as a standalone function (rather than a helper shared with
+ * {@link renderText}) so renderText stays byte-identical to upstream — the
+ * mapTextLayout invocation below is intentionally a mirror of the one in
+ * renderText and must be kept in sync with it. See {@link TextRenderer.measureText}.
+ */
+const measureText = (props: CoreTextNodeProps): TextRenderInfo => {
+  assertTruthy(measureContext, 'Canvas measureContext is not available');
+
+  if (props.text.length === 0) {
+    return {
+      width: 0,
+      height: 0,
+    };
+  }
+
+  const { fontFamily, fontStyle, fontSize } = props;
+  measureContext.font = `${fontStyle} ${fontSize}px Unknown, ${fontFamily}`;
+  measureContext.textBaseline = 'alphabetic';
+
+  const metrics = CanvasFontHandler.getFontMetrics(fontFamily, fontSize);
+
+  const [, , , , , effectiveWidth, effectiveHeight] = mapTextLayout(
+    CanvasFontHandler.measureText,
+    metrics,
+    props.text,
+    props.textAlign,
+    fontFamily,
+    props.lineHeight,
+    props.overflowSuffix,
+    props.wordBreak,
+    props.letterSpacing,
+    props.maxLines,
+    props.maxWidth,
+    props.maxHeight,
+  );
+
+  return {
+    width: effectiveWidth,
+    height: effectiveHeight,
+  };
+};
+
 /**
  * Canvas text renderer
  *
@@ -273,6 +320,7 @@ const CanvasTextRenderer = {
   type,
   font,
   renderText,
+  measureText,
   addQuads,
   renderQuads,
   init,
diff --git a/src/core/text-rendering/SdfTextRenderer.ts b/src/core/text-rendering/SdfTextRenderer.ts
index b6172e5..7626527 100644
--- a/src/core/text-rendering/SdfTextRenderer.ts
+++ b/src/core/text-rendering/SdfTextRenderer.ts
@@ -255,6 +255,59 @@ const renderQuads = (
   return null;
 };
 
+/**
+ * Measure-only path: lay out the text via the layout engine and return its
+ * dimensions, without building the per-glyph vertex buffer. Used to populate a
+ * text node's w/h eagerly at construction.
+ *
+ * Kept as a standalone function (rather than a helper shared with
+ * {@link generateTextLayout}) so generateTextLayout stays byte-identical to
+ * upstream — the mapTextLayout invocation and the design-unit -> pixel scaling
+ * below mirror generateTextLayout and must be kept in sync with it. See
+ * {@link TextRenderer.measureText}.
+ */
+const measureText = (props: CoreTextNodeProps): TextRenderInfo => {
+  if (props.text.length === 0) {
+    return { width: 0, height: 0 };
+  }
+
+  const fontCache = SdfFontHandler.getFontData(props.fontFamily);
+  if (fontCache === undefined) {
+    return { width: 0, height: 0 };
+  }
+
+  const fontSize = props.fontSize;
+  const fontFamily = props.fontFamily;
+  const metrics = SdfFontHandler.getFontMetrics(fontFamily, fontSize);
+
+  // Pixel scale from atlas design units to pixels.
+  const fontScale = fontSize / fontCache.data.info.size;
+  const letterSpacing = props.letterSpacing / fontScale;
+  const maxWidth = props.maxWidth / fontScale;
+
+  const [, , , , , effectiveWidth, effectiveHeight] = mapTextLayout(
+    SdfFontHandler.measureText,
+    metrics,
+    props.text,
+    props.textAlign,
+    fontFamily,
+    props.lineHeight,
+    props.overflowSuffix,
+    props.wordBreak,
+    letterSpacing,
+    props.maxLines,
+    maxWidth,
+    props.maxHeight,
+  );
+
+  // generateTextLayout returns width in pixel space (effectiveWidth * fontScale)
+  // and height already in pixels — mirror that here.
+  return {
+    width: effectiveWidth * fontScale,
+    height: effectiveHeight,
+  };
+};
+
 /**
  * Generate complete text layout with glyph positioning for caching
  */
@@ -439,6 +492,7 @@ const SdfTextRenderer = {
   type,
   font,
   renderText,
+  measureText,
   addQuads,
   renderQuads,
   init,
diff --git a/src/core/text-rendering/TextRenderer.ts b/src/core/text-rendering/TextRenderer.ts
index 72703da..e13d27b 100644
--- a/src/core/text-rendering/TextRenderer.ts
+++ b/src/core/text-rendering/TextRenderer.ts
@@ -436,6 +436,14 @@ export interface TextRenderer {
   type: 'canvas' | 'sdf';
   font: FontHandler;
   renderText: (props: CoreTextNodeProps) => TextRenderInfo;
+  /**
+   * Compute only the laid-out dimensions of the text, without rasterizing
+   * (Canvas) or building glyph vertex data (SDF). Used to populate a text
+   * node's `w`/`h` eagerly at construction so layout consumers can react to
+   * the real size before the node is actually rendered. The returned width
+   * and height must match what {@link renderText} produces for the same props.
+   */
+  measureText: (props: CoreTextNodeProps) => TextRenderInfo;
   // Updated to accept layout data and return vertex buffer for performance
   addQuads: (layout?: TextLayout) => Float32Array | null;
   renderQuads: (