diff --git a/apps/wordcraft-web/Cargo.toml b/apps/wordcraft-web/Cargo.toml
index 4a2a9d014e..1d6d8cc344 100644
--- a/apps/wordcraft-web/Cargo.toml
+++ b/apps/wordcraft-web/Cargo.toml
@@ -29,4 +29,4 @@ rfd = { workspace = true }
 wasm-bindgen = "0.2"
 wasm-bindgen-futures = "0.4"
 js-sys = "0.3"
-web-sys = { version = "0.3", features = ["Window", "Document", "Element", "HtmlElement", "HtmlCanvasElement", "HtmlAnchorElement", "HtmlIFrameElement", "Blob", "BlobPropertyBag", "Url", "Location", "CssStyleDeclaration", "Event", "EventTarget", "BeforeUnloadEvent", "ClipboardEvent", "DataTransfer", "FileList", "File", "DomStringList", "IdbFactory", "IdbOpenDbRequest", "IdbRequest", "IdbDatabase", "IdbObjectStore", "IdbTransaction", "IdbTransactionMode", "MediaQueryList", "Storage", "MessageEvent", "UrlSearchParams"] }
+web-sys = { version = "0.3", features = ["Window", "Document", "Element", "HtmlElement", "HtmlCanvasElement", "HtmlAnchorElement", "HtmlIFrameElement", "Blob", "BlobPropertyBag", "Url", "Location", "CssStyleDeclaration", "Event", "EventTarget", "BeforeUnloadEvent", "ClipboardEvent", "DataTransfer", "FileList", "File", "DomStringList", "IdbFactory", "IdbOpenDbRequest", "IdbRequest", "IdbDatabase", "IdbObjectStore", "IdbTransaction", "IdbTransactionMode", "MediaQueryList", "Storage", "MessageEvent", "UrlSearchParams", "CustomEvent", "CustomEventInit"] }
diff --git a/apps/wordcraft-web/src/host.rs b/apps/wordcraft-web/src/host.rs
index 9307e0ed15..2f0fab64b1 100644
--- a/apps/wordcraft-web/src/host.rs
+++ b/apps/wordcraft-web/src/host.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,11 @@
-//! The `postMessage` bridge to a same-origin parent page (`?host=parent`), for pages that embed
-//! WordCraft in an `<iframe>` and keep its files (a Nextcloud app, a personal file server). The
-//! same messages as GridCraft's and PdfCraft's bridges; each is a plain object with a `type`:
+//! Host modes: a page that runs WordCraft (as an `<iframe>`, or in its own document) opens
+//! documents in it and stores what it saves instead of the browser downloading. The same
+//! messages as GridCraft's and PdfCraft's bridges.
+//!
+//! ## `?host=parent` — an `<iframe>` (such as a Nextcloud app)
+//!
+//! The framing page and WordCraft talk over `postMessage` between same-origin windows. Messages
+//! are plain objects with a `type`:
 //!
 //! - `wordcraft:ready` (to the parent): `{ version }`, sent once the app is running and
 //!   listening; send a file now.
@@ -20,8 +25,21 @@
 //! - `wordcraft:dirty` (to the parent): `{ dirty }` whenever unsaved changes appear or go away.
 //! - `wordcraft:failed` (to the parent): `{ error }` when the app couldn't start.
 //!
-//! Only the parent window on the page's own origin is heard or answered. In host mode the parent
-//! guards leaving the page, and `?author=` names the user for comments and tracked changes.
+//! Only the parent window on the page's own origin is heard or answered.
+//!
+//! ## `data-host="page"` — the page's own document
+//!
+//! A page that loads the module into its own document (its own `<canvas id="wordcraft_canvas"
+//! data-host="page">`, no iframe) gets the same behaviour over DOM `CustomEvent`s on the canvas
+//! instead of `postMessage`: the same four events outward (`ready`, `save`, `dirty`, `failed`,
+//! with the message fields as the event's `detail`), and the page dispatches `wordcraft:open` on
+//! the canvas with `detail: { name, bytes }` to open a document. Events don't bubble, so two
+//! editors on one page can't hear each other, and the canvas is the only target WordCraft
+//! listens on.
+//!
+//! In both host modes the host sends the document to edit, so no sample opens, saves are handed
+//! to the host rather than downloaded, the host guards leaving the page, and `?author=` names the
+//! user for comments and tracked changes.
 
 use std::cell::Cell;
 use std::rc::Rc;
@@ -34,17 +52,61 @@ use wordcraft_ui_egui::{Inbox, Services, WordApp};
 /// The longest user name taken from `?author=`.
 const MAX_AUTHOR_CHARS: usize = 200;
 
+/// How a host page is reached. The modes behave the same; they differ only in how an event goes
+/// out ([`Transport::send`]) and how an open request comes in ([`Bridge::listen`]).
+#[derive(Clone)]
+enum Transport {
+    /// `?host=parent`: `postMessage` between same-origin windows.
+    Parent { window: web_sys::Window, 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. In parent mode this is a `postMessage` whose object carries a
+    /// `type` field; in page mode a `CustomEvent` of that name on the canvas, whose `detail`
+    /// holds the fields and which never bubbles (two editors on one page must not hear each
+    /// other). `transfer` hands an `ArrayBuffer` to the parent instead of copying it (parent
+    /// mode only; the page's document already shares the buffer's bytes).
+    fn send(&self, event: &str, fields: &[(&str, JsValue)], transfer: Option<&js_sys::ArrayBuffer>) -> Result<(), String> {
+        match self {
+            Transport::Parent { parent, origin, .. } => {
+                let mut message_fields = Vec::with_capacity(fields.len() + 1);
+                message_fields.push(("type", JsValue::from_str(event)));
+                message_fields.extend_from_slice(fields);
+                let message = message(&message_fields).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();
+                // The builder methods (`bubbles(..)`, `detail(..)`) are deprecated in web-sys
+                // 0.3.106 and fail clippy -D warnings; use the setters.
+                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"))?;
+                // A listener calling `preventDefault` would be the bool; not a send failure.
+                canvas.dispatch_event(&custom).map_err(|e| js_error(&e, "couldn't dispatch the event"))?;
+                Ok(())
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 #[derive(Clone)]
 pub struct Bridge {
-    window: web_sys::Window,
-    parent: web_sys::Window,
-    origin: String,
+    transport: Transport,
 }
 
 impl Bridge {
-    /// `None` when the page isn't framed (there is no parent to talk to), or when the parent is
-    /// on another origin: messages only go to this origin, so the browser would drop every save
-    /// without an error while the document showed as saved.
+    /// The parent bridge for `?host=parent`. `None` when the page isn't framed (there is no
+    /// parent to talk to), so opening that URL directly stays the normal app with downloads, or
+    /// when the parent is on another origin: messages only go to this origin, so the browser
+    /// would drop every save without an error while the document showed as saved.
     pub fn new() -> Option<Self> {
         let window = web_sys::window()?;
         let parent = window.parent().ok().flatten()?;
@@ -60,16 +122,22 @@ impl Bridge {
         if parent.location().origin().ok()? != origin {
             return None;
         }
-        Some(Self { window, parent, origin })
+        Some(Self { transport: Transport::Parent { window, parent, origin } })
     }
 
-    /// Hand saved and exported files to the parent instead of downloading them, report unsaved
+    /// The page bridge for `data-host="page"`: the host page runs WordCraft in its own document
+    /// and hears the editor's DOM `CustomEvent`s on this canvas.
+    pub fn for_page(canvas: &web_sys::HtmlCanvasElement) -> Self {
+        Self { transport: Transport::Page { canvas: canvas.clone() } }
+    }
+
+    /// Hand saved and exported files to the host instead of downloading them, report unsaved
     /// changes to it, and hear the files it sends.
     pub fn connect(&self, services: &mut Services, inbox: Inbox, ctx: egui::Context) {
         self.listen(inbox, ctx);
         let bridge = self.clone();
         services.host_save = Some(Box::new(move |name: &str, bytes: &[u8], save_as: bool| bridge.post_save(name, bytes, save_as)));
-        // Anything else that would download goes to the parent too.
+        // Anything else that would download goes to the host too.
         let bridge = self.clone();
         services.download = Some(Box::new(move |name: &str, bytes: &[u8]| bridge.post_save(name, bytes, false)));
         // The browser's save picker is never used, so no save finishes later.
@@ -77,7 +145,7 @@ impl Bridge {
         let bridge = self.clone();
         let reported: Rc<Cell<Option<bool>>> = Rc::default();
         services.on_dirty = Some(Box::new(move |dirty: bool| {
-            if reported.get() != Some(dirty) && bridge.send(&[("type", "wordcraft:dirty".into()), ("dirty", dirty.into())]) {
+            if reported.get() != Some(dirty) && bridge.transport.send("wordcraft:dirty", &[("dirty", dirty.into())], None).is_ok() {
                 reported.set(Some(dirty));
             }
         }));
@@ -92,58 +160,71 @@ impl Bridge {
     }
 
     pub fn post_ready(&self) {
-        self.send(&[("type", "wordcraft:ready".into()), ("version", env!("CARGO_PKG_VERSION").into())]);
+        let _ = self.transport.send("wordcraft:ready", &[("version", env!("CARGO_PKG_VERSION").into())], None);
     }
 
-    /// The app couldn't start (no WebGPU or WebGL2, for example): let the parent say so.
+    /// The app couldn't start (no WebGPU or WebGL2, for example): let the host say so.
     pub fn post_failed(&self, error: &str) {
-        self.send(&[("type", "wordcraft:failed".into()), ("error", error.into())]);
+        let _ = self.transport.send("wordcraft:failed", &[("error", error.into())], None);
     }
 
     fn post_save(&self, path: &str, bytes: &[u8], save_as: bool) -> Result<(), String> {
         let name = std::path::Path::new(path).file_name().map(|n| n.to_string_lossy().to_string()).unwrap_or_else(|| path.to_string());
+        // `wordcraft:save` carries the bytes as an `ArrayBuffer`; the parent bridge transfers it.
         let buffer = js_sys::Uint8Array::from(bytes).buffer();
-        let message = message(&[
-            ("type", "wordcraft:save".into()),
-            ("name", name.as_str().into()),
-            ("saveAs", save_as.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:?}")))
+        let fields: [(&str, JsValue); 3] = [("name", name.as_str().into()), ("saveAs", save_as.into()), ("bytes", buffer.clone().into())];
+        self.transport.send("wordcraft:save", &fields, Some(&buffer))
     }
 
-    /// Hear `wordcraft:open` from the parent and queue the file like a dropped one.
+    /// Hear `wordcraft:open` — from the same-origin parent (a `message` on the window) or from
+    /// the host document (a `wordcraft:open` event on the canvas) — and queue the file like a
+    /// dropped one.
     fn listen(&self, inbox: Inbox, ctx: egui::Context) {
-        let parent = self.parent.clone();
-        let origin = self.origin.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 { window, parent, origin } => {
+                let parent = parent.clone();
+                let origin = origin.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;
+                    }
+                    let data = event.data();
+                    if string(&data, "type").as_deref() != Some("wordcraft:open") {
+                        return;
+                    }
+                    deliver_open(&inbox, &ctx, &data);
+                });
+                if 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();
+                }
             }
-            let data = event.data();
-            if string(&data, "type").as_deref() != Some("wordcraft:open") {
-                return;
+            Transport::Page { canvas } => {
+                let on_open = Closure::<dyn FnMut(web_sys::Event)>::new(move |event: web_sys::Event| {
+                    // A plain `Event` of the same name carries no detail; only a `CustomEvent`.
+                    let Some(open) = event.dyn_ref::<web_sys::CustomEvent>() else { return };
+                    deliver_open(&inbox, &ctx, &open.detail());
+                });
+                if canvas.add_event_listener_with_callback("wordcraft:open", on_open.as_ref().unchecked_ref()).is_ok() {
+                    // The listener lives as long as the page.
+                    on_open.forget();
+                }
             }
-            let name = string(&data, "name").filter(|n| !n.trim().is_empty()).unwrap_or_else(|| "Document.docx".to_string());
-            let Some(bytes) = bytes(&data) else { return };
-            inbox.lock().unwrap_or_else(|e| e.into_inner()).push((name, bytes));
-            ctx.request_repaint();
-        });
-        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();
         }
     }
-
-    /// Post a message to the parent; false if it couldn't be sent.
-    fn send(&self, fields: &[(&str, JsValue)]) -> bool {
-        message(fields).is_some_and(|m| self.parent.post_message(&m, &self.origin).is_ok())
-    }
 }
 
+/// The file an open message or event carries, pushed onto the inbox for the next frame, like a
+/// dropped file.
+fn deliver_open(inbox: &Inbox, ctx: &egui::Context, data: &JsValue) {
+    let name = string(data, "name").filter(|n| !n.trim().is_empty()).unwrap_or_else(|| "Document.docx".to_string());
+    let Some(bytes) = bytes(data) else { return };
+    inbox.lock().unwrap_or_else(|e| e.into_inner()).push((name, bytes));
+    ctx.request_repaint();
+}
+
+/// A message object or `CustomEvent` detail with the given fields, or `None` if one couldn't be
+/// built (a field that isn't a valid property name, say).
 fn message(fields: &[(&str, JsValue)]) -> Option<js_sys::Object> {
     let m = js_sys::Object::new();
     for (key, value) in fields {
@@ -167,3 +248,8 @@ fn bytes(data: &JsValue) -> Option<Vec<u8>> {
         None
     }
 }
+
+/// 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:?}")))
+}
diff --git a/apps/wordcraft-web/src/hostmode.rs b/apps/wordcraft-web/src/hostmode.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b167d01943
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/wordcraft-web/src/hostmode.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+//! Pure host-mode rules, shared by the bridge ([`crate::host`]) and testable without a browser
+//! (like [`crate::prefs`]): what opts a page into hosting WordCraft in its own document.
+
+/// Does this `data-host` value ask for page host mode? Only the exact value `page` counts;
+/// anything else is ignored, so the page host mode stays opt-in. `?host=parent`, the parent
+/// bridge's URL opt-in, is answered before this is asked.
+pub fn page_host_requested(data_host: Option<&str>) -> bool {
+    data_host == Some("page")
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn only_the_exact_page_value_opts_in() {
+        assert!(page_host_requested(Some("page")));
+        for off in [None, Some(""), Some("Page"), Some("PAGE"), Some(" page"), Some("page "), Some("parent")] {
+            assert!(!page_host_requested(off), "{off:?} must keep the page host mode off");
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/apps/wordcraft-web/src/main.rs b/apps/wordcraft-web/src/main.rs
index d9592222d5..a236c6a41c 100644
--- a/apps/wordcraft-web/src/main.rs
+++ b/apps/wordcraft-web/src/main.rs
@@ -9,10 +9,14 @@
 //! Preferences (theme, interface size, editing options…) are kept in `localStorage` (`prefs`).
 //! URL flags: `?webgl` forces WebGL2; `?sample` opens the sample document.
 //! `?host=parent` (inside an `<iframe>`) talks to a same-origin parent page instead: it sends the
-//! document to open and stores what WordCraft saves (`host`), and `&author=` names the user for
-//! comments and tracked changes.
+//! document to open and stores what WordCraft saves (`host`). A page can also host WordCraft in
+//! its own document (no iframe) with `data-host="page"` on the canvas, talking over DOM
+//! `CustomEvent`s on the canvas. `&author=` names the user for comments and tracked changes in
+//! either host mode.
 #![deny(clippy::unwrap_used, clippy::expect_used, clippy::panic, clippy::unimplemented, clippy::todo, clippy::unreachable)]
 
+#[cfg(any(target_arch = "wasm32", test))]
+mod hostmode;
 #[cfg(any(target_arch = "wasm32", test))]
 mod prefs;
 #[cfg(any(target_arch = "wasm32", test))]
diff --git a/apps/wordcraft-web/src/web.rs b/apps/wordcraft-web/src/web.rs
index b3e9a4d8c5..427aed818e 100644
--- a/apps/wordcraft-web/src/web.rs
+++ b/apps/wordcraft-web/src/web.rs
@@ -28,9 +28,18 @@ pub fn start() {
             log::error!("missing <canvas id=\"{CANVAS_ID}\">");
             return;
         };
-        // `?host=parent`: a same-origin page framing WordCraft opens documents in it and stores
-        // what it saves (`host`). That page guards leaving it, so this one doesn't.
-        let bridge = if query_param("host").as_deref() == Some("parent") { crate::host::Bridge::new() } else { None };
+        // Host modes: `?host=parent`, a same-origin page framing WordCraft, opens documents in
+        // it and stores what it saves (`host`); unframed there is no parent, so that URL on its
+        // own stays the normal app with downloads. `data-host="page"` on the canvas opts a page
+        // in instead: it runs WordCraft in its own document and talks over DOM `CustomEvent`s
+        // on the canvas (`host`). The host guards leaving the page, so this one doesn't.
+        let bridge = if query_param("host").as_deref() == Some("parent") {
+            crate::host::Bridge::new()
+        } else if crate::hostmode::page_host_requested(canvas.get_attribute("data-host").as_deref()) {
+            Some(crate::host::Bridge::for_page(&canvas))
+        } else {
+            None
+        };
         let app_bridge = bridge.clone();
         let dirty = Rc::new(Cell::new(false));
         let saves = AsyncSaves::default();
diff --git a/packaging/web/README.md b/packaging/web/README.md
index 7868b95078..e7c223a562 100644
--- a/packaging/web/README.md
+++ b/packaging/web/README.md
@@ -73,6 +73,82 @@ Local test: `python3 -m http.server 8765` inside the folder, then open http://lo
   downloads) are blocked.
 - Don't send `X-Frame-Options: DENY` or a `frame-ancestors` CSP that excludes the embedding page.
 
+## The parent bridge (`?host=parent`)
+
+A page framing WordCraft in a **same-origin** iframe can add `?host=parent` to the iframe's URL
+(`https://example.com/wordcraft/?host=parent`) and have WordCraft hand its files over instead of
+downloading them. The two sides talk `postMessage` with plain window messages that carry a `type`:
+
+| Message | Direction | Fields |
+|---|---|---|
+| `wordcraft:ready` | app → page | `version`: the app is running and listening; send a file now |
+| `wordcraft:open` | page → app | `name`, `bytes` (an `ArrayBuffer` or `Uint8Array`): open like File › Open |
+| `wordcraft:save` | app → page | `name`, `saveAs`, `bytes` (a transferred `ArrayBuffer`): every file the app would otherwise download (Save, Save As, Export as PDF, Export Page as PNG). The page stores it and reports failures itself. `saveAs` says whether the file becomes the document's file: `false` after Save (the page's own file, written under its name) and for exports that are only copies (PDF, Markdown, plain text); `true` after Save As and for exports to a format that keeps everything (.docx, .odt, .rtf), after which the next Save carries that name with `false` |
+| `wordcraft:dirty` | app → page | `dirty`: unsaved changes appeared or went away |
+| `wordcraft:failed` | app → page | `error`: the app couldn't start (no WebGPU or WebGL2, for example) |
+
+In host mode the app opens no sample document, so the framing page should send the file to edit
+and guard leaving the page while changes are unsaved. `&author=` on the iframe's URL names the
+user for the comments and tracked changes the app creates. Opening `?host=parent` outside an
+iframe gives the normal app with downloads.
+
+## Same-document host mode (no iframe)
+
+A host application can also run WordCraft from its own document: it loads the wasm-bindgen module
+itself and gives WordCraft one of its own canvases, so there is no iframe and no `?host=parent`.
+It opts in with `data-host="page"` on that canvas — the exact value `page` — and the canvas keeps
+the id the app looks up (`id="wordcraft_canvas"`).
+
+```html
+<canvas id="wordcraft_canvas" data-host="page" style="width: 100%; height: 720px; display: block;"></canvas>
+```
+
+The page and the app then talk with DOM `CustomEvent`s on the canvas instead of `postMessage`.
+The app dispatches the same messages it would post to a parent — `wordcraft:ready`,
+`wordcraft:save`, `wordcraft:dirty`, `wordcraft:failed` — with the message fields (without the
+`type`) as the event's `detail`, and it opens a document when the page dispatches a
+`wordcraft:open` event with `detail: { name, bytes }`. Events do not bubble, so listen on the
+canvas itself (two editors on one page can't hear each other).
+
+Add the listeners before `init`: the app announces itself with `wordcraft:ready` while `init` is
+still running, and a file sent in reply would otherwise be missed.
+
+```js
+import init from "./wordcraft-web-<hash>.js"; // the wasm-bindgen glue shipped with the app
+
+const canvas = document.getElementById("wordcraft_canvas");
+
+canvas.addEventListener("wordcraft:ready", async () => {
+  // The app is listening; hand it a document now, if you have one.
+  const bytes = await documentBytes(); // an ArrayBuffer or Uint8Array
+  canvas.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent("wordcraft:open", {
+    detail: { name: "Report.docx", bytes },
+  }));
+});
+
+// Every file WordCraft would otherwise download (Save, Save As, Export as PDF) arrives here.
+canvas.addEventListener("wordcraft:save", (event) => {
+  const { name, saveAs, bytes } = event.detail; // bytes is an ArrayBuffer
+  // Store the file under `name`; `saveAs` says whether it becomes the document's file.
+  // Report your own errors.
+  storeFile(name, bytes, saveAs);
+});
+canvas.addEventListener("wordcraft:dirty", (event) => {
+  unsaved = event.detail.dirty; // warn before leaving, as you like
+});
+canvas.addEventListener("wordcraft:failed", (event) => {
+  showError(event.detail.error); // the app couldn't start
+});
+
+await init({ module_or_path: "./wordcraft-web-<hash>_bg.wasm" });
+```
+
+- Saves are not downloads in this mode: the `bytes` in `wordcraft:save` hold the saved document,
+  and the host decides where the file goes.
+- `?author=` on the page's URL still names the user for new comments and tracked changes.
+- An unframed page that uses `?host=parent` keeps the normal app with downloads; only the exact
+  `data-host` value `page` turns this mode on.
+
 ## Renderer selection and fallback flags
 
 WordCraft renders with wgpu. It uses **WebGPU** when the browser has it and falls back to