diff --git a/apps/lightcraft-web/Cargo.toml b/apps/lightcraft-web/Cargo.toml
index a5732beeaa..62fb546991 100644
--- a/apps/lightcraft-web/Cargo.toml
+++ b/apps/lightcraft-web/Cargo.toml
@@ -32,10 +32,14 @@ js-sys = { workspace = true }
 web-sys = { workspace = true, features = [
     "Blob",
     "BlobPropertyBag",
+    "CustomEvent",
+    "CustomEventInit",
+    "CssStyleDeclaration",
     "DedicatedWorkerGlobalScope",
     "Document",
     "DomStringList",
     "Element",
+    "Event",
     "EventTarget",
     "File",
     "FileList",
diff --git a/apps/lightcraft-web/src/host.rs b/apps/lightcraft-web/src/host.rs
index 4f8eb03bab..b7970dc22e 100644
--- a/apps/lightcraft-web/src/host.rs
+++ b/apps/lightcraft-web/src/host.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
-//! The `postMessage` bridge to a same-origin parent page (`?host=parent`), for pages that embed
-//! LightCraft in an `<iframe>` (issue #2270). The protocol is the one PdfCraft, GridCraft and
-//! DeckCraft speak, with `lightcraft:` message types:
+//! The bridge to a host page (issue #2270): a same-origin page embeds LightCraft in an `<iframe>`
+//! (`?host=parent`) or in its own document (`data-host="page"` on the canvas). The protocol is
+//! the one PdfCraft, GridCraft and DeckCraft speak, with `lightcraft:` message types:
 //!
 //! - `lightcraft:ready` (to the parent): `{ version }`, the app is listening.
 //! - `lightcraft:failed` (to the parent): `{ error }`, the app couldn't start, or it refused a
@@ -29,8 +29,17 @@
 //! either: its `location` cannot be read, and exports keep downloading. There is no `docClosed`: LightCraft has a
 //! library, not documents that close.
 //!
+//! ## `data-host="page"` — the page's own document
+//!
+//! A page can also run LightCraft in its own document, no iframe: the canvas opts in with
+//! `data-host="page"`, and the same messages travel as DOM `CustomEvent`s on the canvas instead
+//! of `postMessage` — outward with the message's fields as the event's `detail`, inward as
+//! `lightcraft:open` and `lightcraft:cmd` events the page dispatches on the canvas. Events don't
+//! bubble, so two editors on one page can't hear each other, and the canvas is the only target
+//! the bridge listens on.
+//!
 //! The message layer (what a message means, what is sent back) is plain Rust, tested natively;
-//! [`Bridge`] (wasm32 only) moves it over `postMessage`.
+//! [`Bridge`] (wasm32 only) moves it over `postMessage`, or over DOM events in page mode.
 
 /// A message from the parent page, once understood.
 #[derive(Clone, Debug, PartialEq, Eq)]
@@ -138,6 +147,25 @@ impl DirtyReport {
     pub fn sent(&mut self, dirty: bool) {
         self.reported = Some(dirty);
     }
+
+    /// Record `dirty` before the send. A page host can report another state while the event is
+    /// still dispatching, and that later report wins. Returns the message to send and the state
+    /// to put back if this send fails and nothing else recorded one.
+    pub fn prepare(&mut self, dirty: bool) -> (Option<Outgoing>, Option<bool>) {
+        let previous = self.reported;
+        let message = self.change(dirty);
+        if message.is_some() {
+            self.sent(dirty);
+        }
+        (message, previous)
+    }
+
+    /// Forget a send that failed, unless a nested report already recorded a different state.
+    pub fn restore_if_unchanged(&mut self, dirty: bool, previous: Option<bool>) {
+        if self.reported == Some(dirty) {
+            self.reported = previous;
+        }
+    }
 }
 
 /// Whether a page origin can tell the parent apart from any other window: an opaque origin
@@ -152,6 +180,48 @@ pub fn save_name(path: &str) -> String {
     std::path::Path::new(path).file_name().map(|n| n.to_string_lossy().to_string()).filter(|n| !n.is_empty()).unwrap_or_else(|| path.to_string())
 }
 
+/// The one `data-host` value that opts a page into page host mode: the exact string `"page"`.
+pub const PAGE_HOST: &str = "page";
+
+/// How a host page reaches the app. The modes behave the same; they differ only in how an event
+/// goes out ([`Bridge::post`] and `save`, wasm32) and how one comes in ([`Bridge::listen`]).
+#[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug, PartialEq, Eq)]
+pub enum Mode {
+    /// `?host=parent`: the page framed LightCraft in an `<iframe>`; `postMessage`.
+    Parent,
+    /// `data-host="page"`: the page runs LightCraft in its own document; DOM `CustomEvent`s.
+    Page,
+}
+
+/// The mode the page asked for. `?host=parent` wins when the page asks for both, the same order
+/// as the other apps. Page mode is the exact `data-host="page"` ([`PAGE_HOST`]). `None` with
+/// neither, so that URL stays the normal app with downloads.
+pub fn transport_for(data_host: Option<&str>, query: &str) -> Option<Mode> {
+    if host_parent_requested(query) {
+        Some(Mode::Parent)
+    } else if data_host == Some(PAGE_HOST) {
+        Some(Mode::Page)
+    } else {
+        None
+    }
+}
+
+/// The message type. A page-mode `CustomEvent` is named `lightcraft:open` or `lightcraft:cmd`
+/// and its `detail` is only the fields, so the event name is the type. A parent `postMessage`
+/// carries `type` in the object and has no event name.
+pub fn incoming_kind(event_name: Option<&str>, detail_type: Option<String>) -> Option<String> {
+    event_name.map(str::to_string).or(detail_type)
+}
+
+/// Does the query ask for the parent bridge? The same reading of `?host=parent` the URL options
+/// always used: the first `host` parameter whose value is exactly `parent`.
+pub fn host_parent_requested(query: &str) -> bool {
+    query.trim_start_matches('?').split('&').find_map(|p| {
+        let (k, v) = p.split_once('=').unwrap_or((p, ""));
+        (k == "host").then_some(v == "parent")
+    }) == Some(true)
+}
+
 #[cfg(target_arch = "wasm32")]
 pub use bridge::Bridge;
 
@@ -164,22 +234,61 @@ mod bridge {
     use wasm_bindgen::JsValue;
     use wasm_bindgen::closure::Closure;
 
-    use super::{DirtyReport, Field, Incoming, Outgoing, Raw, open_size_error, origin_is_usable, save_name};
+    use super::{DirtyReport, Field, Incoming, Mode, Outgoing, Raw, open_size_error, origin_is_usable, save_name};
 
-    /// The parent page's end of the bridge (cheap to clone; one per page).
+    /// How an event goes to the host page, per mode ([`Mode`]).
+    #[derive(Clone)]
+    enum Transport {
+        /// `?host=parent`: `postMessage` between same-origin windows.
+        Parent { parent: web_sys::Window, origin: String },
+        /// `data-host="page"`: DOM `CustomEvent`s on the editor's own canvas.
+        Page { canvas: web_sys::HtmlCanvasElement },
+    }
+
+    impl Transport {
+        /// Hand an event to the host. Parent mode: a `postMessage` whose `type` field is `event`
+        /// (the same message as before, transferring `transfer` when given). Page mode: a
+        /// non-bubbling `CustomEvent` of that name on the canvas, whose `detail` holds the
+        /// fields; nothing is transferred there, the buffer just rides inside `detail`.
+        fn send(&self, event: &str, fields: &[(&str, JsValue)], transfer: Option<&js_sys::ArrayBuffer>) -> Result<(), String> {
+            match self {
+                Transport::Parent { parent, origin } => {
+                    let mut all = Vec::with_capacity(fields.len() + 1);
+                    all.push(("type", JsValue::from_str(event)));
+                    all.extend_from_slice(fields);
+                    let message = message(&all).ok_or_else(|| "couldn't build the message".to_string())?;
+                    let sent = match transfer {
+                        Some(buffer) => parent.post_message_with_transfer(&message, origin, &js_sys::Array::of1(buffer)),
+                        None => parent.post_message(&message, origin),
+                    };
+                    sent.map_err(|e| js_error(&e, "couldn't post the message"))
+                }
+                Transport::Page { canvas } => {
+                    let detail = message(fields).ok_or_else(|| "couldn't build the event detail".to_string())?;
+                    let init = web_sys::CustomEventInit::new();
+                    init.set_bubbles(false);
+                    init.set_detail(&detail);
+                    let custom =
+                        web_sys::CustomEvent::new_with_event_init_dict(event, &init).map_err(|e| js_error(&e, "couldn't create the event"))?;
+                    canvas.dispatch_event(&custom).map_err(|e| js_error(&e, "couldn't dispatch the event"))?;
+                    Ok(())
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// The host page's end of the bridge (cheap to clone; one per page).
     #[derive(Clone)]
     pub struct Bridge {
-        window: web_sys::Window,
-        parent: web_sys::Window,
-        origin: String,
-        /// What the parent sent since the last frame, oldest first.
+        transport: Transport,
+        /// What the host sent since the last frame, oldest first.
         incoming: Rc<RefCell<Vec<Incoming>>>,
         dirty: Rc<RefCell<DirtyReport>>,
     }
 
     impl Bridge {
-        /// `None` when the page isn't framed, its origin is opaque, or the parent is on another
-        /// origin (exports then keep downloading).
+        /// The parent bridge for `?host=parent`. `None` when the page isn't framed, its origin is
+        /// opaque, or the parent is on another origin (exports then keep downloading).
         pub fn new() -> Option<Self> {
             let window = web_sys::window()?;
             let parent = window.parent().ok().flatten()?;
@@ -196,41 +305,60 @@ mod bridge {
             if parent.location().origin().ok().as_deref() != Some(origin.as_str()) {
                 return None;
             }
-            Some(Self { window, parent, origin, incoming: Rc::default(), dirty: Rc::default() })
+            Some(Self { transport: Transport::Parent { parent, origin }, incoming: Rc::default(), dirty: Rc::default() })
         }
 
-        /// Hear the parent from now on; a message wakes the app for the next frame.
+        /// The page bridge for `data-host="page"`: the host page runs LightCraft in its own
+        /// document and hears the app's DOM `CustomEvent`s on this canvas.
+        pub fn for_page(canvas: &web_sys::HtmlCanvasElement) -> Self {
+            Self { transport: Transport::Page { canvas: canvas.clone() }, incoming: Rc::default(), dirty: Rc::default() }
+        }
+
+        /// The bridge for the mode the page opted into (`host::transport_for`): page mode needs
+        /// its canvas, and parent mode falls back to `None` as [`Bridge::new`] always did.
+        pub fn for_mode(mode: Mode, canvas: Option<&web_sys::HtmlCanvasElement>) -> Option<Self> {
+            match mode {
+                Mode::Page => canvas.map(Self::for_page),
+                Mode::Parent => Self::new(),
+            }
+        }
+
+        /// Hear the host from now on; a message wakes the app for the next frame.
         pub fn listen(&self, ctx: egui::Context) {
-            let parent = self.parent.clone();
-            let origin = self.origin.clone();
-            let incoming = self.incoming.clone();
-            let on_message = Closure::<dyn FnMut(web_sys::MessageEvent)>::new(move |event: web_sys::MessageEvent| {
-                if event.origin() != origin || !event.source().is_some_and(|s| js_sys::Object::is(&s, &parent)) {
-                    return;
+            match &self.transport {
+                Transport::Parent { parent, origin } => {
+                    let parent = parent.clone();
+                    let origin = origin.clone();
+                    let incoming = self.incoming.clone();
+                    let on_message = Closure::<dyn Fn(web_sys::MessageEvent)>::new(move |event: web_sys::MessageEvent| {
+                        if event.origin() != origin || !event.source().is_some_and(|s| js_sys::Object::is(&s, &parent)) {
+                            return;
+                        }
+                        deliver(&incoming, &ctx, &event.data(), None);
+                    });
+                    if web_sys::window().is_some_and(|w| w.add_event_listener_with_callback("message", on_message.as_ref().unchecked_ref()).is_ok()) {
+                        // the listener lives as long as the page
+                        on_message.forget();
+                    }
                 }
-                let data = event.data();
-                // moved, not cloned: an accepted photo can be hundreds of MB
-                let (bytes, oversize) = match bytes(&data) {
-                    Some(Ok(b)) => (Some(b), None),
-                    Some(Err(len)) => (None, Some(len)),
-                    None => (None, None),
-                };
-                let raw = Raw {
-                    kind: string(&data, "type"),
-                    name: string(&data, "name"),
-                    bytes,
-                    id: string(&data, "id"),
-                    params: string(&data, "params"),
-                    oversize,
-                };
-                if let Some(m) = Incoming::parse(raw) {
-                    incoming.borrow_mut().push(m);
-                    ctx.request_repaint();
+                Transport::Page { canvas } => {
+                    // non-bubbling events: the page dispatches on the canvas, the canvas listens
+                    for kind in ["lightcraft:open", "lightcraft:cmd"] {
+                        let incoming = self.incoming.clone();
+                        let ctx = ctx.clone();
+                        let event_type = kind.to_string();
+                        // `Fn`, not `FnMut`: a page event is dispatched synchronously, and a host
+                        // that answers one event with another would re-enter an `FnMut` listener.
+                        let on_custom = Closure::<dyn Fn(web_sys::Event)>::new(move |event: web_sys::Event| {
+                            let Some(custom) = event.dyn_ref::<web_sys::CustomEvent>() else { return };
+                            deliver(&incoming, &ctx, &custom.detail(), Some(event_type.as_str()));
+                        });
+                        if canvas.add_event_listener_with_callback(kind, on_custom.as_ref().unchecked_ref()).is_ok() {
+                            // the listener lives as long as the page
+                            on_custom.forget();
+                        }
+                    }
                 }
-            });
-            if self.window.add_event_listener_with_callback("message", on_message.as_ref().unchecked_ref()).is_ok() {
-                // the listener lives as long as the page
-                on_message.forget();
             }
         }
 
@@ -241,17 +369,24 @@ mod bridge {
 
         /// Post a message; false if it couldn't be sent.
         pub fn post(&self, m: &Outgoing) -> bool {
-            message(&m.fields().iter().map(|(k, v)| (*k, field(v))).collect::<Vec<_>>())
-                .is_some_and(|m| self.parent.post_message(&m, &self.origin).is_ok())
+            let fields = m.fields();
+            // every message names its type first (tested natively); the rest go to the transport
+            let Some((_, Field::Str(event))) = fields.first() else { return false };
+            let event = event.clone();
+            let rest: Vec<(&str, JsValue)> = fields.into_iter().skip(1).map(|(k, v)| (k, field(&v))).collect();
+            self.transport.send(&event, &rest, None).is_ok()
         }
 
         /// Tell the parent whether closing now would lose something, when that changed.
+        /// The new state is recorded before the send: page mode dispatches synchronously, and a
+        /// host that reports another state from that event wins. A failed send is forgotten
+        /// only when nothing else recorded one, so the next frame retries it.
         pub fn report_dirty(&self, dirty: bool) {
-            let mut report = self.dirty.borrow_mut();
-            if let Some(m) = report.change(dirty)
-                && self.post(&m)
+            let (message, previous) = self.dirty.borrow_mut().prepare(dirty);
+            if let Some(m) = message
+                && !self.post(&m)
             {
-                report.sent(dirty);
+                self.dirty.borrow_mut().restore_if_unchanged(dirty, previous);
             }
         }
 
@@ -269,16 +404,36 @@ mod bridge {
         }
 
         fn transfer(&self, name: &str, buffer: js_sys::ArrayBuffer) -> Result<(), String> {
-            let message = message(&[("type", "lightcraft:save".into()), ("name", name.into()), ("bytes", buffer.clone().into())])
-                .ok_or_else(|| "couldn't build the message".to_string())?;
-            self.parent
-                .post_message_with_transfer(&message, &self.origin, &js_sys::Array::of1(&buffer))
-                .map_err(|e| e.as_string().unwrap_or_else(|| format!("{e:?}")))?;
+            self.transport.send("lightcraft:save", &[("name", name.into()), ("bytes", buffer.clone().into())], Some(&buffer))?;
             log::info!("handed {name} to the page");
             Ok(())
         }
     }
 
+    /// A message from the host (the `data` of a window message, or the `detail` of a page-mode
+    /// `CustomEvent`), read with the same field code both transports share, and pushed for the
+    /// next frame.
+    fn deliver(incoming: &Rc<RefCell<Vec<Incoming>>>, ctx: &egui::Context, data: &JsValue, event_type: Option<&str>) {
+        // moved, not cloned: an accepted photo can be hundreds of MB
+        let (bytes, oversize) = match bytes(data) {
+            Some(Ok(b)) => (Some(b), None),
+            Some(Err(len)) => (None, Some(len)),
+            None => (None, None),
+        };
+        let raw = Raw {
+            kind: super::incoming_kind(event_type, string(data, "type")),
+            name: string(data, "name"),
+            bytes,
+            id: string(data, "id"),
+            params: string(data, "params"),
+            oversize,
+        };
+        if let Some(m) = Incoming::parse(raw) {
+            incoming.borrow_mut().push(m);
+            ctx.request_repaint();
+        }
+    }
+
     fn field(v: &Field) -> JsValue {
         match v {
             Field::Str(s) => s.as_str().into(),
@@ -313,6 +468,11 @@ mod bridge {
         let len = u64::from(array.byte_length());
         Some(if open_size_error(len).is_some() { Err(len) } else { Ok(array.to_vec()) })
     }
+
+    /// A `JsValue` error as a string, after `what` went wrong.
+    fn js_error(e: &JsValue, what: &str) -> String {
+        format!("{what}: {}", e.as_string().unwrap_or_else(|| format!("{e:?}")))
+    }
 }
 
 #[cfg(test)]
@@ -390,6 +550,33 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(d.change(false), Some(Outgoing::Dirty(false)));
     }
 
+    /// A failed send is retried. A report that lands during the send (page mode dispatches
+    /// synchronously) is the one that stays.
+    #[test]
+    fn a_failed_dirty_send_is_retried_unless_a_later_report_landed() {
+        let mut d = DirtyReport::default();
+        let (message, previous) = d.prepare(true);
+        assert_eq!(message, Some(Outgoing::Dirty(true)));
+        d.restore_if_unchanged(true, previous);
+        assert_eq!(d.change(true), Some(Outgoing::Dirty(true)));
+
+        let (message, previous) = d.prepare(true);
+        assert!(message.is_some());
+        let (later, _) = d.prepare(false);
+        assert_eq!(later, Some(Outgoing::Dirty(false)));
+        d.restore_if_unchanged(true, previous);
+        assert_eq!(d.change(false), None);
+    }
+
+    /// A canvas event is named for its type; the detail does not have to repeat it.
+    #[test]
+    fn a_page_event_is_named_for_its_type() {
+        assert_eq!(incoming_kind(Some("lightcraft:open"), None).as_deref(), Some("lightcraft:open"));
+        assert_eq!(incoming_kind(Some("lightcraft:cmd"), Some("lightcraft:open".into())).as_deref(), Some("lightcraft:cmd"));
+        assert_eq!(incoming_kind(None, Some("lightcraft:open".into())).as_deref(), Some("lightcraft:open"));
+        assert_eq!(incoming_kind(None, None), None);
+    }
+
     /// A sandboxed iframe or a `data:` page has the opaque origin `"null"`, which any other such
     /// window shares: no bridge there, so the origin check keeps meaning something.
     #[test]
@@ -407,4 +594,39 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(save_name("IMG_0001.jpg"), "IMG_0001.jpg");
         assert_eq!(save_name("lightcraft-library-backup-2026-10-19.zip"), "lightcraft-library-backup-2026-10-19.zip");
     }
+
+    /// Page mode is opt-in by the exact attribute value, parent mode by the query, and parent
+    /// mode wins when a page asks for both.
+    #[test]
+    fn page_mode_is_opt_in_and_parent_mode_wins_when_both_are_set() {
+        assert_eq!(transport_for(Some("page"), ""), Some(Mode::Page));
+        assert_eq!(transport_for(Some("page"), "?host=parent"), Some(Mode::Parent), "parent mode wins");
+        // only the exact value opts in; anything else falls back to the query, or to standalone
+        for not_page in ["Page", " page", "page ", "parent", "host"] {
+            assert_eq!(transport_for(Some(not_page), "?host=parent"), Some(Mode::Parent), "{not_page:?}");
+            assert_eq!(transport_for(Some(not_page), ""), None, "{not_page:?}");
+        }
+        assert_eq!(transport_for(None, ""), None);
+        assert_eq!(transport_for(None, "?store=idb"), None);
+        assert_eq!(transport_for(None, "?host="), None);
+        assert_eq!(transport_for(None, "?host=Parent"), None);
+        assert_eq!(transport_for(None, "?xhost=parent"), None);
+    }
+
+    /// The query is read the way the URL options always read it: the first `host` parameter wins,
+    /// and only a value of exactly `parent` counts.
+    #[test]
+    fn the_query_asks_for_the_parent_bridge() {
+        assert!(host_parent_requested("?host=parent"));
+        assert!(host_parent_requested("host=parent"));
+        assert!(host_parent_requested("?host=parent&store=idb"));
+        assert!(host_parent_requested("?store=idb&host=parent"));
+        assert!(!host_parent_requested(""));
+        assert!(!host_parent_requested("?"));
+        assert!(!host_parent_requested("?host"));
+        assert!(!host_parent_requested("?host="));
+        assert!(host_parent_requested("?host=parent&host=id"), "the first host parameter wins");
+        assert!(!host_parent_requested("?host=id&host=parent"));
+        assert!(!host_parent_requested("?hosts=parent"));
+    }
 }
diff --git a/apps/lightcraft-web/src/lib.rs b/apps/lightcraft-web/src/lib.rs
index 45941addd3..631e09f634 100644
--- a/apps/lightcraft-web/src/lib.rs
+++ b/apps/lightcraft-web/src/lib.rs
@@ -15,7 +15,9 @@
 //! the library in browser storage); `?store=idb` forces the IndexedDB backend, `?store=memory` disables
 //! persistence and `?workers=0` renders on the main thread.
 //! `?host=parent` speaks to a same-origin page framing LightCraft (see [`host`]): it hands
-//! photos in, receives what would be downloaded and hears about unsaved changes.
+//! photos in, receives what would be downloaded and hears about unsaved changes. A page can also
+//! host LightCraft in its own document, no iframe: `data-host="page"` on the canvas opts in, and
+//! the same messages travel as DOM `CustomEvent`s on the canvas.
 #![forbid(unsafe_code)]
 #![deny(clippy::unwrap_used, clippy::expect_used, clippy::panic, clippy::unimplemented, clippy::todo, clippy::unreachable)]
 
diff --git a/apps/lightcraft-web/src/web.rs b/apps/lightcraft-web/src/web.rs
index e8b70acdc5..5b946c7d14 100644
--- a/apps/lightcraft-web/src/web.rs
+++ b/apps/lightcraft-web/src/web.rs
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 //! `<canvas id="lightcraft_canvas">`, wires the file picker and drag-and-drop, and turns exports
 //! into downloads.
 
-use std::cell::Cell;
+use std::cell::{Cell, RefCell};
 use std::rc::Rc;
 use std::sync::Arc;
 
@@ -76,8 +76,8 @@ struct Options {
     store: String,
     workers: Option<usize>,
     reset: bool,
-    /// `host=parent`: a same-origin page frames LightCraft and speaks to it (see [`crate::host`]).
-    host: bool,
+    /// The raw query string, for the host mode ([`crate::host::transport_for`]).
+    query: String,
 }
 
 impl Options {
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ impl Options {
             store: if bench { "memory".into() } else { get("store").filter(|s| s == "idb" || s == "memory").unwrap_or_else(|| "opfs".into()) },
             workers: get("workers").and_then(|v| v.parse().ok()).map(|n: usize| n.min(crate::workers::MAX_WORKERS)),
             reset: get("reset").is_some(),
-            host: get("host").as_deref() == Some("parent"),
+            query: q,
         }
     }
 }
@@ -175,6 +175,57 @@ fn download(path: &str, bytes: &[u8]) -> Result<(), String> {
     Ok(())
 }
 
+/// Keep egui's hidden text field content-box, so host page CSS cannot misplace typed text:
+/// eframe (0.36 web) types through a hidden `<input type="text">` it inserts as the canvas's
+/// next sibling, and a host page's global `* { box-sizing: border-box }` reaches it and leaves it
+/// no content box, so the next key lands before text just committed by an input method or a
+/// paste-like insert. Inline style beats any host stylesheet rule without `!important`, so the
+/// property is set on the element itself, in every host mode, and retried on the next animation
+/// frames while eframe hasn't inserted the field yet.
+fn fix_text_field_box_sizing() {
+    /// How many animation frames the fix may wait for eframe to insert its hidden text field.
+    const MAX_FRAMES: u32 = 120;
+
+    /// True when the field was found and set: the canvas's next sibling, or an
+    /// `input[type=text]` in the canvas's parent.
+    fn fix_once() -> bool {
+        let Some(doc) = window().and_then(|w| w.document()) else { return false };
+        let Some(canvas) = doc.get_element_by_id("lightcraft_canvas") else { return false };
+        let input = canvas.next_element_sibling().and_then(|e| e.dyn_into::<web_sys::HtmlInputElement>().ok()).or_else(|| {
+            canvas
+                .parent_element()
+                .and_then(|p| p.query_selector("input[type=text]").ok())
+                .flatten()
+                .and_then(|e| e.dyn_into::<web_sys::HtmlInputElement>().ok())
+        });
+        input.is_some_and(|i| i.style().set_property("box-sizing", "content-box").is_ok())
+    }
+
+    // the closure reschedules itself until the field is fixed or the frames run out; done, it is
+    // left parked in its slot (dropping it from inside itself would free its own state, and the
+    // slot holds the only reference) — a one-off leak, like the forgotten listeners
+    let tries = Rc::new(Cell::new(MAX_FRAMES));
+    let slot: Rc<RefCell<Option<Closure<dyn FnMut()>>>> = Rc::default();
+    let own = Rc::clone(&slot);
+    *slot.borrow_mut() = Some(Closure::new(move || {
+        if fix_once() || tries.get() <= 1 {
+            return; // done: stop rescheduling
+        }
+        tries.set(tries.get() - 1);
+        let again = own.borrow_mut().take();
+        if let Some(again) = again {
+            let _ = window().and_then(|w| w.request_animation_frame(again.as_ref().unchecked_ref()).ok());
+            // put the same closure back, now that the frame it was handed to has its own reference
+            *own.borrow_mut() = Some(again);
+        }
+    }));
+    let first = slot.borrow_mut().take();
+    if let Some(first) = first {
+        let _ = window().and_then(|w| w.request_animation_frame(first.as_ref().unchecked_ref()).ok());
+        *slot.borrow_mut() = Some(first);
+    }
+}
+
 /// Build the browser host's `Services`: library backup/restore through browser storage and a
 /// download, asynchronous file picking, downloads for writes, and PNG encoding. Desktop-only
 /// services (native pickers, reveal, model folders) stay unset.
@@ -918,10 +969,19 @@ pub fn start(chinese_font: Vec<u8>) {
     }
     let opts = Options::from_url();
     // `?host=parent`: a same-origin page framing LightCraft hands photos in, stores what would
-    // be downloaded and hears about unsaved changes (see `host`)
-    let bridge = opts.host.then(crate::host::Bridge::new).flatten();
-    if opts.host && bridge.is_none() {
-        log::warn!("lightcraft: ?host=parent, but this page is not framed or has an opaque origin; no page to speak to");
+    // be downloaded and hears about unsaved changes (see `host`). `data-host="page"` on the
+    // canvas opts a page in instead: it runs LightCraft in its own document and talks over DOM
+    // `CustomEvent`s on the canvas. `?host=parent` wins when a page asks for both.
+    let canvas = window()
+        .and_then(|w| w.document())
+        .and_then(|d| d.get_element_by_id("lightcraft_canvas"))
+        .and_then(|e| e.dyn_into::<web_sys::HtmlCanvasElement>().ok());
+    let mode = crate::host::transport_for(canvas.as_ref().and_then(|c| c.get_attribute("data-host")).as_deref(), &opts.query);
+    let bridge = mode.and_then(|m| crate::host::Bridge::for_mode(m, canvas.as_ref()));
+    if mode == Some(crate::host::Mode::Parent) && bridge.is_none() {
+        log::warn!(
+            "lightcraft: ?host=parent, but this page is not framed, has an opaque origin, or its parent is on another origin; exports keep downloading"
+        );
     }
     wasm_bindgen_futures::spawn_local(async move {
         // one tab per library: two would each keep their own copy and overwrite each other's saves
@@ -935,11 +995,7 @@ pub fn start(chinese_font: Vec<u8>) {
             }
             return;
         }
-        let Some(canvas) = window()
-            .and_then(|w| w.document())
-            .and_then(|d| d.get_element_by_id("lightcraft_canvas"))
-            .and_then(|e| e.dyn_into::<web_sys::HtmlCanvasElement>().ok())
-        else {
+        let Some(canvas) = canvas else {
             log::error!("missing <canvas id=\"lightcraft_canvas\">");
             if let Some(b) = &bridge {
                 b.post(&Outgoing::Failed("the page has no <canvas id=\"lightcraft_canvas\">".into()));
@@ -954,6 +1010,8 @@ pub fn start(chinese_font: Vec<u8>) {
                 if let Some(el) = window().and_then(|w| w.document()).and_then(|d| d.get_element_by_id("lightcraft_loading")) {
                     el.remove();
                 }
+                // the runner just started: egui's hidden text field exists from now on
+                fix_text_field_box_sizing();
             }
             Err(e) => {
                 log::error!("LightCraft failed to start: {e:?}");
diff --git a/docs/web.md b/docs/web.md
index 3318f9e13d..d5ab1c04e7 100644
--- a/docs/web.md
+++ b/docs/web.md
@@ -178,6 +178,16 @@ are the same in every version, so serve them with `Cache-Control: no-cache` (not
   answered. A page with an opaque origin (`"null"`: a sandboxed iframe, a `data:` page), or a
   parent on another origin, gets no bridge, and exports keep downloading. The library still lives
   in the iframe's browser storage.
+- **Embedding in the page's own document (`data-host="page"`).** A page that loads LightCraft into its own
+  document, with no iframe, puts `data-host="page"` on the app's canvas. The same messages then travel as
+  non-bubbling `CustomEvent`s on the canvas: LightCraft dispatches `lightcraft:ready`, `lightcraft:failed`,
+  `lightcraft:dirty`, `lightcraft:save` and `lightcraft:response` with the message's fields as `detail`, and the page
+  dispatches `lightcraft:open` and `lightcraft:cmd` on the canvas (`detail` is the fields; the event name is the
+  type). Add the listeners before the module starts, because `lightcraft:ready` is sent as soon as the app listens.
+  Only the exact value `page` turns it on. When the page asks for both, `?host=parent` wins. In this mode the page
+  and LightCraft share one document, so any script on the page can drive the app and receive what it saves: use it
+  only on a page you control. A photo handed in is held to the same size limit as in the iframe mode and refused
+  before its bytes are copied.
 - **The page title names the open photo**: `<file name> — LightCraft`, with ` •` after the name while
   changes are not yet written to browser storage (`LightcraftApp::page_title`). eframe's web runner
   ignores the window title the desktop app sets, and a host that embeds the page reads this title to
diff --git a/docs/whats-new.md b/docs/whats-new.md
index 8a4c982b6f..113da1c74c 100644
--- a/docs/whats-new.md
+++ b/docs/whats-new.md
@@ -7,6 +7,9 @@
   protocol PdfCraft, GridCraft and DeckCraft share: it hands photos in, receives exports and backups instead of
   downloads, runs commands and hears whether closing would lose unsaved changes (issue #2270; `docs/web.md`).
   A parent on another origin, or a page with an opaque origin, keeps the normal downloads.
+- A page can also run LightCraft in its own document, with no iframe: `data-host="page"` on the canvas carries the same
+  messages as `CustomEvent`s on the canvas instead of `postMessage` (issue #2270; `docs/web.md`). `?host=parent` wins
+  when a page asks for both.
 
 ### Remove Hot Pixels
 - Detail ▸ Noise Reduction has a new box, Remove Hot Pixels (raws only), on for newly imported raws (issue #1345).