diff --git a/.changeset/hydration-inline-metadata.md b/.changeset/hydration-inline-metadata.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3826e82
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/hydration-inline-metadata.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@tanstack/redact': patch
+---
+
+Adopt server-rendered metadata that remains in the document body during hydration. This prevents React Router's production module-preload links from triggering body replacement and preserves the existing interactive DOM.
diff --git a/benchmarks/results/hydration-inline-metadata/README.md b/benchmarks/results/hydration-inline-metadata/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..191a09f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/results/hydration-inline-metadata/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+# Inline metadata hydration fix
+
+Release base: `0c7274e17a3fade8396169bc6ed024903cd1252d` (0.2.2).
+
+Before this fix, the document-hydration regression fails with `expected <script> but found LINK`. The before/ directory preserves the original production React Router reproduction on main 89f2bfc. The after/ results use the final local build on the release base and React Router 8.5.0. Native React and Redact both pass development and production, including original server DOM identity, state, form actions, navigation and history. The fixture points the Vite plugin's packageRoots option at the local package; no framework source is patched.
+
+The metadata scan adopts nodes left in their original host location and preserves main's rollback-aware claim tracking. Shared scanning and small recovery cleanups offset the size of the fallback.
+
+Validation on Node 24.22.0: 2,002 tests passed, 91 skipped. Types, build verification, existing source/dist size limits and all 36 compatibility size comparisons pass with the explicitly approved exception below.
+
+| Published client bundle | Minified delta | Gzip delta | Brotli delta |
+|---|---:|---:|---:|
+| Full, React 19 | -212 | -26 | +16 |
+| Full, React 18 | -212 | -17 | -18 |
+| Default, React 19 | -212 | -31 | -35 |
+| Default, React 18 | -212 | -34 | -27 |
+
+All values are bytes relative to the release base, with matching React protocol/version settings. The complete measurements are in react-compatibility-size.txt. The user approved the 16-byte full React 19 Brotli cost. Its allowance is restricted to that exact base, profile, entry, runtime and metric; regression tests keep other comparisons at zero growth. No gzip or fixed source/dist budget was raised.
+
+Reproduction: run `pnpm test:ci` and `pnpm test:compatibility:size` using the Node version in .nvmrc. The latter builds its own baseline from origin/main; use REACT_SIZE_BASE_REF=0c7274e17a3fade8396169bc6ed024903cd1252d after main moves.
diff --git a/benchmarks/results/hydration-inline-metadata/after/router-framework-react-development.json b/benchmarks/results/hydration-inline-metadata/after/router-framework-react-development.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8f1b3b4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/results/hydration-inline-metadata/after/router-framework-react-development.json
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+{
+  "name": "router-framework",
+  "runtime": "react",
+  "mode": "development",
+  "bundler": null,
+  "node": "v24.22.0",
+  "configSha256": "640a2e8b1960c8587b8ca96be25e14f23b37ab28be9963bea7494e5f05a9a681",
+  "passed": true,
+  "checks": [
+    "SSR HTML",
+    "server DOM adoption",
+    "browser runtime identity",
+    "interactive state",
+    "server form action",
+    "client navigation and history",
+    "no uncaught browser errors"
+  ],
+  "browser": "156.0.8078.4",
+  "started": "2026-10-28T15:21:01.124Z",
+  "browserErrors": [],
+  "consoleErrors": [],
+  "hydration": {
+    "captured": true,
+    "same": true,
+    "originalConnected": true,
+    "original": "<button id=\"counter\">Count <!-- -->0</button>",
+    "current": "<button id=\"counter\">Count <!-- -->0</button>"
+  },
+  "identity": {
+    "version": "19.3.1",
+    "elementKeys": [
+      "$$typeof",
+      "type",
+      "key",
+      "props",
+      "_owner",
+      "_store"
+    ]
+  },
+  "finished": "2026-10-28T15:21:02.645Z"
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/benchmarks/results/hydration-inline-metadata/after/router-framework-react-production.json b/benchmarks/results/hydration-inline-metadata/after/router-framework-react-production.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8df6b3c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/results/hydration-inline-metadata/after/router-framework-react-production.json
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+{
+  "name": "router-framework",
+  "runtime": "react",
+  "mode": "production",
+  "bundler": null,
+  "node": "v24.22.0",
+  "configSha256": "640a2e8b1960c8587b8ca96be25e14f23b37ab28be9963bea7494e5f05a9a681",
+  "passed": true,
+  "checks": [
+    "production build",
+    "SSR HTML",
+    "server DOM adoption",
+    "browser runtime identity",
+    "interactive state",
+    "server form action",
+    "client navigation and history",
+    "no uncaught browser errors"
+  ],
+  "browser": "156.0.8078.4",
+  "started": "2026-10-28T15:21:02.645Z",
+  "browserErrors": [],
+  "consoleErrors": [],
+  "hydration": {
+    "captured": true,
+    "same": true,
+    "originalConnected": true,
+    "original": "<button id=\"counter\">Count <!-- -->0</button>",
+    "current": "<button id=\"counter\">Count <!-- -->0</button>"
+  },
+  "identity": {
+    "version": "19.3.1",
+    "elementKeys": [
+      "$$typeof",
+      "type",
+      "key",
+      "ref",
+      "props"
+    ]
+  },
+  "finished": "2026-10-28T15:21:04.116Z"
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/benchmarks/results/hydration-inline-metadata/after/router-framework-redact-development.json b/benchmarks/results/hydration-inline-metadata/after/router-framework-redact-development.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cf1771c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/results/hydration-inline-metadata/after/router-framework-redact-development.json
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+{
+  "name": "router-framework",
+  "runtime": "redact",
+  "mode": "development",
+  "bundler": null,
+  "node": "v24.22.0",
+  "configSha256": "640a2e8b1960c8587b8ca96be25e14f23b37ab28be9963bea7494e5f05a9a681",
+  "passed": true,
+  "checks": [
+    "SSR HTML",
+    "server DOM adoption",
+    "browser runtime identity",
+    "interactive state",
+    "server form action",
+    "client navigation and history",
+    "no uncaught browser errors"
+  ],
+  "browser": "156.0.8078.4",
+  "started": "2026-10-28T15:21:04.117Z",
+  "browserErrors": [],
+  "consoleErrors": [],
+  "hydration": {
+    "captured": true,
+    "same": true,
+    "originalConnected": true,
+    "original": "<button id=\"counter\">Count <!-- -->0</button>",
+    "current": "<button id=\"counter\">Count <!-- -->0</button>"
+  },
+  "identity": {
+    "version": "19.2.3",
+    "elementKeys": [
+      "$$typeof",
+      "type",
+      "key",
+      "ref",
+      "props"
+    ]
+  },
+  "finished": "2026-10-28T15:21:05.550Z"
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/benchmarks/results/hydration-inline-metadata/after/router-framework-redact-production.json b/benchmarks/results/hydration-inline-metadata/after/router-framework-redact-production.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..862c5d3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/results/hydration-inline-metadata/after/router-framework-redact-production.json
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+{
+  "name": "router-framework",
+  "runtime": "redact",
+  "mode": "production",
+  "bundler": null,
+  "node": "v24.22.0",
+  "configSha256": "640a2e8b1960c8587b8ca96be25e14f23b37ab28be9963bea7494e5f05a9a681",
+  "passed": true,
+  "checks": [
+    "production build",
+    "SSR HTML",
+    "server DOM adoption",
+    "browser runtime identity",
+    "interactive state",
+    "server form action",
+    "client navigation and history",
+    "no uncaught browser errors"
+  ],
+  "browser": "156.0.8078.4",
+  "started": "2026-10-28T15:21:05.551Z",
+  "browserErrors": [],
+  "consoleErrors": [],
+  "hydration": {
+    "captured": true,
+    "same": true,
+    "originalConnected": true,
+    "original": "<button id=\"counter\">Count <!-- -->0</button>",
+    "current": "<button id=\"counter\">Count <!-- -->0</button>"
+  },
+  "identity": {
+    "version": "19.2.3",
+    "elementKeys": [
+      "$$typeof",
+      "type",
+      "key",
+      "ref",
+      "props"
+    ]
+  },
+  "finished": "2026-10-28T15:21:07.236Z"
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/benchmarks/results/hydration-inline-metadata/before/router-framework-redact-production.json b/benchmarks/results/hydration-inline-metadata/before/router-framework-redact-production.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ee2dfb9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/results/hydration-inline-metadata/before/router-framework-redact-production.json
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+{
+  "name": "router-framework",
+  "runtime": "redact",
+  "mode": "production",
+  "bundler": null,
+  "node": "v26.3.1",
+  "configSha256": "640a2e8b1960c8587b8ca96be25e14f23b37ab28be9963bea7494e5f05a9a681",
+  "passed": false,
+  "checks": [
+    "production build",
+    "SSR HTML",
+    "browser runtime identity",
+    "interactive state",
+    "server form action",
+    "client navigation and history",
+    "no uncaught browser errors"
+  ],
+  "browser": "156.0.8078.4",
+  "started": "2026-10-28T03:56:16.778Z",
+  "browserErrors": [],
+  "consoleErrors": [],
+  "hydration": {
+    "captured": true,
+    "same": false,
+    "originalConnected": false,
+    "original": "<button id=\"counter\">Count <!-- -->0</button>",
+    "current": "<button id=\"counter\">Count 0</button>"
+  },
+  "identity": {
+    "version": "19.2.3",
+    "elementKeys": [
+      "$$typeof",
+      "type",
+      "key",
+      "ref",
+      "props"
+    ]
+  },
+  "error": "AssertionError [ERR_ASSERTION]: Server DOM was replaced during hydration\n    at file:///Users/tannerlinsley/GitHub/redact/scripts/framework-comparison/run.mjs:281:18\n    at runNextTicks (node:internal/process/task_queues:65:5)\n    at process.processImmediate (node:internal/timers:472:9)",
+  "body": "Other page\nHome",
+  "finished": "2026-10-28T03:56:18.814Z"
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/benchmarks/results/hydration-inline-metadata/react-compatibility-size.txt b/benchmarks/results/hydration-inline-metadata/react-compatibility-size.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0fbc042
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/results/hydration-inline-metadata/react-compatibility-size.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+
+> tanstack-react@0.0.0 test:compatibility:size /Users/tannerlinsley/.codex/worktrees/hydration-inline-metadata/redact
+> pnpm build && node scripts/test-react-compatibility-size.mjs
+
+
+> tanstack-react@0.0.0 build /Users/tannerlinsley/.codex/worktrees/hydration-inline-metadata/redact
+> node scripts/build.mjs && node scripts/verify-build.mjs
+
+Verified @cloudflare/vite-plugin@1.65.0, 13 owned files.
+Building @tanstack/redact: 112 entries...
+
+
+  ✓ @tanstack/redact
+
+Done.
+Build verification passed: 548 explicit module imports, 112 NodeNext declarations, 8 native import orders, 4 published feature bundles, 23 environment-sensitive modules, and 16 matching source/dist consumer bundles.
+{"consumerIifeGzip":[{"entry":"react/index","tree":"src","gzip":2927},{"entry":"react/index","tree":"dist","gzip":2927},{"entry":"dom/client","tree":"src","gzip":25253},{"entry":"dom/client","tree":"dist","gzip":25233},{"entry":"dom/index","tree":"src","gzip":23168},{"entry":"dom/index","tree":"dist","gzip":23153},{"entry":"server/index","tree":"src","gzip":9167},{"entry":"server/index","tree":"dist","gzip":9165}]}
+Verified @cloudflare/vite-plugin@1.65.0, 13 owned files.
+Building @tanstack/redact: 112 entries...
+
+
+  ✓ @tanstack/redact
+
+Done.
+Size baseline: 0c7274e17a3fade8396169bc6ed024903cd1252d
+Conflicting namespaces: "../../../../../../private/var/folders/41/xlbt3gw14jd2hqhrrg0q_0jh0000gn/T/redact-react-size-1jEPfI/client-total.js" re-exports "version" from one of the modules "../../../../../../private/var/folders/41/xlbt3gw14jd2hqhrrg0q_0jh0000gn/T/redact-react-size-1jEPfI/baseline/packages/redact/dist/react/index.js" and "../../../../../../private/var/folders/41/xlbt3gw14jd2hqhrrg0q_0jh0000gn/T/redact-react-size-1jEPfI/baseline/packages/redact/dist/dom/index.js" (will be ignored).
+Conflicting namespaces: "../../../../../../private/var/folders/41/xlbt3gw14jd2hqhrrg0q_0jh0000gn/T/redact-react-size-1jEPfI/client-total.js" re-exports "version" from one of the modules "../../../../../../private/var/folders/41/xlbt3gw14jd2hqhrrg0q_0jh0000gn/T/redact-react-size-1jEPfI/baseline/packages/redact/dist/react/index.js" and "../../../../../../private/var/folders/41/xlbt3gw14jd2hqhrrg0q_0jh0000gn/T/redact-react-size-1jEPfI/baseline/packages/redact/dist/dom/index.js" (will be ignored).
+Conflicting namespaces: "../../../../../../private/var/folders/41/xlbt3gw14jd2hqhrrg0q_0jh0000gn/T/redact-react-size-1jEPfI/client-total.js" re-exports "version" from one of the modules "packages/redact/dist/react/index.js" and "packages/redact/dist/dom/index.js" (will be ignored).
+Conflicting namespaces: "../../../../../../private/var/folders/41/xlbt3gw14jd2hqhrrg0q_0jh0000gn/T/redact-react-size-1jEPfI/client-total.js" re-exports "version" from one of the modules "packages/redact/dist/react/index.js" and "packages/redact/dist/dom/index.js" (will be ignored).
+Conflicting namespaces: "../../../../../../private/var/folders/41/xlbt3gw14jd2hqhrrg0q_0jh0000gn/T/redact-react-size-1jEPfI/client-total.js" re-exports "version" from one of the modules "../../../../../../private/var/folders/41/xlbt3gw14jd2hqhrrg0q_0jh0000gn/T/redact-react-size-1jEPfI/baseline/packages/redact/dist/react/index.js" and "../../../../../../private/var/folders/41/xlbt3gw14jd2hqhrrg0q_0jh0000gn/T/redact-react-size-1jEPfI/baseline/packages/redact/dist/dom/index.js" (will be ignored).
+Conflicting namespaces: "../../../../../../private/var/folders/41/xlbt3gw14jd2hqhrrg0q_0jh0000gn/T/redact-react-size-1jEPfI/client-total.js" re-exports "version" from one of the modules "../../../../../../private/var/folders/41/xlbt3gw14jd2hqhrrg0q_0jh0000gn/T/redact-react-size-1jEPfI/baseline/packages/redact/dist/react/index.js" and "../../../../../../private/var/folders/41/xlbt3gw14jd2hqhrrg0q_0jh0000gn/T/redact-react-size-1jEPfI/baseline/packages/redact/dist/dom/index.js" (will be ignored).
+Conflicting namespaces: "../../../../../../private/var/folders/41/xlbt3gw14jd2hqhrrg0q_0jh0000gn/T/redact-react-size-1jEPfI/client-total.js" re-exports "version" from one of the modules "packages/redact/dist/react/index.js" and "packages/redact/dist/dom/index.js" (will be ignored).
+Conflicting namespaces: "../../../../../../private/var/folders/41/xlbt3gw14jd2hqhrrg0q_0jh0000gn/T/redact-react-size-1jEPfI/client-total.js" re-exports "version" from one of the modules "packages/redact/dist/react/index.js" and "packages/redact/dist/dom/index.js" (will be ignored).
+Conflicting namespaces: "../../../../../../private/var/folders/41/xlbt3gw14jd2hqhrrg0q_0jh0000gn/T/redact-react-size-1jEPfI/client-total.js" re-exports "version" from one of the modules "../../../../../../private/var/folders/41/xlbt3gw14jd2hqhrrg0q_0jh0000gn/T/redact-react-size-1jEPfI/baseline/packages/redact/dist/react/index.js" and "../../../../../../private/var/folders/41/xlbt3gw14jd2hqhrrg0q_0jh0000gn/T/redact-react-size-1jEPfI/baseline/packages/redact/dist/dom/index.js" (will be ignored).
+Conflicting namespaces: "../../../../../../private/var/folders/41/xlbt3gw14jd2hqhrrg0q_0jh0000gn/T/redact-react-size-1jEPfI/client-total.js" re-exports "version" from one of the modules "../../../../../../private/var/folders/41/xlbt3gw14jd2hqhrrg0q_0jh0000gn/T/redact-react-size-1jEPfI/baseline/packages/redact/dist/react/index.js" and "../../../../../../private/var/folders/41/xlbt3gw14jd2hqhrrg0q_0jh0000gn/T/redact-react-size-1jEPfI/baseline/packages/redact/dist/dom/index.js" (will be ignored).
+Conflicting namespaces: "../../../../../../private/var/folders/41/xlbt3gw14jd2hqhrrg0q_0jh0000gn/T/redact-react-size-1jEPfI/client-total.js" re-exports "version" from one of the modules "packages/redact/dist/react/index.js" and "packages/redact/dist/dom/index.js" (will be ignored).
+Conflicting namespaces: "../../../../../../private/var/folders/41/xlbt3gw14jd2hqhrrg0q_0jh0000gn/T/redact-react-size-1jEPfI/client-total.js" re-exports "version" from one of the modules "packages/redact/dist/react/index.js" and "packages/redact/dist/dom/index.js" (will be ignored).
+┌─────────┬───────────┬─────────────────────┬───────────┬──────┬──────┬────────┐
+│ (index) │ profile   │ entry               │ target    │ min  │ gzip │ brotli │
+├─────────┼───────────┼─────────────────────┼───────────┼──────┼──────┼────────┤
+│ 0       │ 'full'    │ 'react/index'       │ 'react19' │ 0    │ 0    │ 0      │
+│ 1       │ 'full'    │ 'react/index'       │ 'react18' │ 0    │ 0    │ 0      │
+│ 2       │ 'full'    │ 'react/jsx-runtime' │ 'react19' │ 0    │ 0    │ 0      │
+│ 3       │ 'full'    │ 'react/jsx-runtime' │ 'react18' │ 0    │ 0    │ 0      │
+│ 4       │ 'full'    │ 'dom/index'         │ 'react19' │ -212 │ -52  │ -16    │
+│ 5       │ 'full'    │ 'dom/index'         │ 'react18' │ -212 │ -56  │ -50    │
+│ 6       │ 'full'    │ 'dom/client'        │ 'react19' │ -212 │ -47  │ -66    │
+│ 7       │ 'full'    │ 'dom/client'        │ 'react18' │ -212 │ -43  │ -45    │
+│ 8       │ 'full'    │ 'server/index'      │ 'react19' │ 0    │ 0    │ 0      │
+│ 9       │ 'full'    │ 'server/index'      │ 'react18' │ 0    │ 0    │ 0      │
+│ 10      │ 'full'    │ 'client-total'      │ 'react19' │ -212 │ -26  │ 16     │
+│ 11      │ 'full'    │ 'client-total'      │ 'react18' │ -212 │ -17  │ -18    │
+│ 12      │ 'default' │ 'react/index'       │ 'react19' │ 0    │ 0    │ 0      │
+│ 13      │ 'default' │ 'react/index'       │ 'react18' │ 0    │ 0    │ 0      │
+│ 14      │ 'default' │ 'react/jsx-runtime' │ 'react19' │ 0    │ 0    │ 0      │
+│ 15      │ 'default' │ 'react/jsx-runtime' │ 'react18' │ 0    │ 0    │ 0      │
+│ 16      │ 'default' │ 'dom/index'         │ 'react19' │ -212 │ -37  │ -36    │
+│ 17      │ 'default' │ 'dom/index'         │ 'react18' │ -212 │ -31  │ -12    │
+│ 18      │ 'default' │ 'dom/client'        │ 'react19' │ -214 │ -19  │ -74    │
+│ 19      │ 'default' │ 'dom/client'        │ 'react18' │ -214 │ -14  │ -3     │
+│ 20      │ 'default' │ 'server/index'      │ 'react19' │ 0    │ 0    │ 0      │
+│ 21      │ 'default' │ 'server/index'      │ 'react18' │ 0    │ 0    │ 0      │
+│ 22      │ 'default' │ 'client-total'      │ 'react19' │ -212 │ -31  │ -35    │
+│ 23      │ 'default' │ 'client-total'      │ 'react18' │ -212 │ -34  │ -27    │
+│ 24      │ 'nano'    │ 'react/index'       │ 'react19' │ 0    │ 0    │ 0      │
+│ 25      │ 'nano'    │ 'react/index'       │ 'react18' │ 0    │ 0    │ 0      │
+│ 26      │ 'nano'    │ 'react/jsx-runtime' │ 'react19' │ 0    │ 0    │ 0      │
+│ 27      │ 'nano'    │ 'react/jsx-runtime' │ 'react18' │ 0    │ 0    │ 0      │
+│ 28      │ 'nano'    │ 'dom/index'         │ 'react19' │ 0    │ 0    │ 0      │
+│ 29      │ 'nano'    │ 'dom/index'         │ 'react18' │ 0    │ 0    │ 0      │
+│ 30      │ 'nano'    │ 'dom/client'        │ 'react19' │ 0    │ 0    │ 0      │
+│ 31      │ 'nano'    │ 'dom/client'        │ 'react18' │ 0    │ 0    │ 0      │
+│ 32      │ 'nano'    │ 'server/index'      │ 'react19' │ 0    │ 0    │ 0      │
+│ 33      │ 'nano'    │ 'server/index'      │ 'react18' │ 0    │ 0    │ 0      │
+│ 34      │ 'nano'    │ 'client-total'      │ 'react19' │ 0    │ 0    │ 0      │
+│ 35      │ 'nano'    │ 'client-total'      │ 'react18' │ 0    │ 0    │ 0      │
+└─────────┴───────────┴─────────────────────┴───────────┴──────┴──────┴────────┘
diff --git a/packages/redact/src/dom/features/hydration/full.ts b/packages/redact/src/dom/features/hydration/full.ts
index b5ebaba..e768033 100644
--- a/packages/redact/src/dom/features/hydration/full.ts
+++ b/packages/redact/src/dom/features/hydration/full.ts
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ function findNearestSafeHostAboveComposite(fiber: Fiber | null): Fiber | null {
     let f = fiber;
     while (f) {
         if (f.t === FiberTag.Host && f.n) {
-            if (!isSafeHostRecoveryElement(f))
+            if (DOCUMENT_SHELL_TAGS.test(f.type.toLowerCase()))
                 return null;
             const parentTag = f.p?.t as number;
             if (!host || (parentTag > FiberTag.Text && parentTag < FiberTag.Suspense)) {
@@ -62,28 +62,6 @@ export class HydrationCursor {
         }
         return null;
     }
-    /**
-     * Position-insensitive lookup for head/html adoption. Scans forward past
-     * non-matching nodes without removing them, matching by tag AND the key
-     * attributes that identify head elements uniquely (rel/href for links,
-     * name/property for meta, src for script). Non-matching nodes stay in
-     * place so the SSR'd stylesheet/script order is preserved.
-     */
-    head(tag: string, props: Record<string, any>): ChildNode | null {
-        const target = tag.toLowerCase();
-        const keyAttrs = HEAD_KEY_ATTRS[target];
-        let scan = this.p.firstChild;
-        while (scan) {
-            if (scan.nodeType === 1 &&
-                (scan as Element).tagName.toLowerCase() === target &&
-                headAttrsMatch(scan as Element, props, keyAttrs)) {
-                claimHydrationNode(scan);
-                return scan;
-            }
-            scan = scan.nextSibling;
-        }
-        return null;
-    }
     has(): boolean {
         const position = this.n;
         const found = this.take() !== null;
@@ -91,6 +69,31 @@ export class HydrationCursor {
         return found;
     }
 }
+/**
+ * Position-insensitive lookup for head/html adoption. Scans forward past
+ * non-matching nodes without removing them, matching by tag AND the key
+ * attributes that identify head elements uniquely (rel/href for links,
+ * name/property for meta, src for script). Non-matching nodes stay in
+ * place so the SSR'd stylesheet/script order is preserved.
+ */
+function findMetadata(parent: Node | undefined, tag: string, props: Record<string, any>, fallback?: Node): ChildNode | null {
+    const keys = HEAD_KEY_ATTRS[tag] ?? [];
+    for (const location of [parent, fallback]) {
+        if (!location) continue;
+        scan: for (const el of (location as Element).children) {
+            if (el.localName !== tag || CLAIMED.has(el))
+                continue;
+            for (const key of keys) {
+                const value = props[key];
+                if (hydrationAttribute(el, attributeName(key)) !== (value == null ? null : String(value)))
+                    continue scan;
+            }
+            claimHydrationNode(el);
+            return el;
+        }
+    }
+    return null;
+}
 const PROD_HYDRATION_ERROR = 'Hydration mismatch.';
 const BOUNDARY_MARKER = /^(\$[?!E~]?)(\d*)$/;
 export interface HydrationBailoutError extends Error {
@@ -136,22 +139,6 @@ function claimHydrationNode(node: Node): void {
     CLAIMED.add(node);
     onCommitRollback(() => CLAIMED.delete(node));
 }
-function headAttrsMatch(el: Element, props: Record<string, any>, keys: ReadonlyArray<string> | undefined): boolean {
-    if (CLAIMED.has(el))
-        return false;
-    if (!keys)
-        return true;
-    for (const k of keys) {
-        const propVal = props[k];
-        const elVal = hydrationAttribute(el, attributeName(k));
-        if (propVal == null ? elVal != null : String(propVal) !== elVal)
-            return false;
-    }
-    return true;
-}
-function isSafeHostRecoveryElement(fiber: Fiber): boolean {
-    return !DOCUMENT_SHELL_TAGS.test(fiber.type.toLowerCase());
-}
 const hydrationAttribute = (el: Element, name: string): string | null => (name === 'nonce' && 'nonce' in el && el.hasAttribute(name)
     ? (el as HTMLElement).nonce ?? ''
     : el.getAttribute(name));
@@ -266,30 +253,16 @@ export function adoptHostDom(fiber: Fiber, parent: Fiber): boolean {
     if (!cursor)
         return false;
     const tag = (fiber.type as string).toLowerCase();
+    const props = fiber.v ?? {};
     const documentHeadParent = documentMetadataParent(fiber) || (cursor.p.nodeType === 9 && DOCUMENT_HEAD_TAGS.test(tag)
         ? (cursor.p as Document).head
         : null);
-    const parentEl = cursor.p as Element;
-    const parentTag = parentEl.nodeType === 1 ? (parentEl as Element).tagName.toLowerCase() : '';
+    const parentTag = (cursor.p as Element).localName;
     const isHeadish = parentTag === 'head' || parentTag === 'html' || !!documentHeadParent;
-    let candidate: ChildNode | null;
-    if (documentHeadParent) {
-        // Adopt projected metadata from the same head used for client updates.
-        candidate = new HydrationCursor(documentHeadParent).head(tag, fiber.v ?? {});
-    }
-    else if (cursor.p.nodeType === 9 && tag !== 'html') {
-        candidate = new HydrationCursor((cursor.p as Document).body).head(tag, fiber.v ?? {});
-    }
-    else if (isHeadish) {
-        // Head/html children are position-insensitive — server may emit them in
-        // a different order than the React tree (React 19 head hoisting, etc.).
-        // Scan forward without removing non-matching nodes; match on attribute
-        // signature so we don't adopt the wrong <link> and clobber its props.
-        candidate = cursor.head(tag, fiber.v ?? {});
-    }
-    else {
-        candidate = cursor.take();
-    }
+    const metadataParent = documentHeadParent || (isHeadish ? cursor.p
+        : cursor.p.nodeType === 9 && tag !== 'html' ? (cursor.p as Document).body : null);
+    // Prefer hoisted metadata, then claim its original host position.
+    const candidate = metadataParent ? findMetadata(metadataParent, tag, props, documentHeadParent ? cursor.p : undefined) : cursor.take();
     if (!candidate) {
         // Client expected a host here but the cursor is exhausted — server gave
         // fewer children than the client tree. Report the structural gap (React
@@ -301,14 +274,13 @@ export function adoptHostDom(fiber: Fiber, parent: Fiber): boolean {
             onMismatch(fiber, null);
         return false;
     }
-    if (candidate.nodeType !== 1 || (candidate as Element).tagName.toLowerCase() !== tag) {
+    if ((candidate as Element).localName?.toLowerCase() !== tag) {
         // mismatch — log and re-render fresh from this point
         onMismatch(fiber, candidate);
         return false;
     }
     fiber.n = candidate;
     // Apply props (attach events, sync IDL props). Don't re-set existing attrs.
-    const props = fiber.v ?? {};
     const isSvg = tag === 'svg' ||
         ((candidate as Element).namespaceURI === 'http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' &&
             tag !== 'foreignobject');
@@ -332,22 +304,12 @@ export function adoptHostDom(fiber: Fiber, parent: Fiber): boolean {
     }
     return true;
 }
-function getRecoveryContainer(container: Element | Document, host: Fiber | null): Element | Document {
-    if (host?.t === FiberTag.Host &&
-        host.n &&
-        findNearestSafeHostAboveComposite(host.p)) {
-        return host.n as Element;
-    }
-    return container;
-}
 export function findHostParent(fiber: Fiber): Fiber {
     let f: Fiber | null = fiber;
     while (f) {
         // A fiber explicitly holding a cursor acts as a boundary for hydration
         // (e.g. Suspense with a scoped cursor during fallback/boundary hydration).
-        if (f.hc)
-            return f;
-        if (f.t === FiberTag.Host || f.t === FiberTag.Root || f.t === FiberTag.Portal) {
+        if (f.hc || f.t === FiberTag.Host || f.t === FiberTag.Root || f.t === FiberTag.Portal) {
             return f;
         }
         f = f.p;
@@ -492,7 +454,9 @@ export function recoverHydration(root: FiberRoot, error: unknown): boolean {
         return false;
     const container = root.c as Element | Document;
     const children = root.r.v?.children ?? null;
-    const recoveryContainer = getRecoveryContainer(container, error.f);
+    const host = error.f;
+    const recoveryContainer = host?.t === FiberTag.Host && host.n && findNearestSafeHostAboveComposite(host.p)
+        ? host.n as Element : container;
     resetAfterHydrationFailure(root, container, recoveryContainer);
     if (recoveryContainer !== container) {
         releaseClaims(container);
diff --git a/scripts/compatibility-size-budget.mjs b/scripts/compatibility-size-budget.mjs
index 5038c35..34f4555 100644
--- a/scripts/compatibility-size-budget.mjs
+++ b/scripts/compatibility-size-budget.mjs
@@ -39,6 +39,10 @@ const allowances = {
 }
 
 export function compatibilitySizeAllowance(base, row, metric) {
+  // Approved inline-metadata hydration fix, measured against the 0.2.2 base.
+  if (base === '0c7274e17a3fade8396169bc6ed024903cd1252d' &&
+      row.profile === 'full' && row.entry === 'client-total' &&
+      row.target === 'react19' && metric === 'brotli') return 16
   if (base !== approvedBase) return 0
   const value = allowances[`${row.profile}:${row.entry}:${row.target}`]?.[metric]
   return typeof value === 'number' ? value : 0
diff --git a/tests/compatibility-size-budget.test.ts b/tests/compatibility-size-budget.test.ts
index 49e4ce1..1e20d08 100644
--- a/tests/compatibility-size-budget.test.ts
+++ b/tests/compatibility-size-budget.test.ts
@@ -17,3 +17,14 @@ it('keeps unapproved profiles and targets at zero growth', () => {
   expect(compatibilitySizeAllowance(base, { ...nano, target: 'react18' }, 'brotli')).toBe(11)
   expect(compatibilitySizeAllowance(base, { ...nano, entry: 'react/index' }, 'brotli')).toBe(0)
 })
+
+it('limits the inline metadata allowance to the approved 16-byte Brotli comparison', () => {
+  const base = '0c7274e17a3fade8396169bc6ed024903cd1252d'
+  const row = { profile: 'full', entry: 'client-total', target: 'react19' }
+  expect(compatibilitySizeAllowance(base, row, 'brotli')).toBe(16)
+  expect(compatibilitySizeAllowance(base, row, 'gzip')).toBe(0)
+  expect(compatibilitySizeAllowance(base, row, 'min')).toBe(0)
+  expect(compatibilitySizeAllowance(base, { ...row, target: 'react18' }, 'brotli')).toBe(0)
+  expect(compatibilitySizeAllowance(base, { ...row, profile: 'default' }, 'brotli')).toBe(0)
+  expect(compatibilitySizeAllowance('another-base', row, 'brotli')).toBe(0)
+})
diff --git a/tests/document-hydration.test.tsx b/tests/document-hydration.test.tsx
index 6d400ff..aaa87e6 100644
--- a/tests/document-hydration.test.tsx
+++ b/tests/document-hydration.test.tsx
@@ -84,6 +84,33 @@ describe('hydrateRoot(document, <html/>)', () => {
     expect(errors).toEqual([])
   })
 
+  it('adopts metadata emitted in the body without replacing following content', () => {
+    function App() {
+      return <html><head /><body>
+        <button id="counter">Count {0}</button>
+        <link rel="modulepreload" href="/entry.js" />
+        <link rel="modulepreload" href="/route.js" />
+        <script suppressHydrationWarning dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: ' ' }} />
+      </body></html>
+    }
+    const doc = buildDocumentFrom(renderToString(<App />))
+    const button = doc.querySelector('button')
+    const links = Array.from(doc.querySelectorAll('link'))
+    const script = doc.querySelector('script')
+    const errors: unknown[] = []
+    const root = hydrateRoot(doc as any, <App />, {
+      onRecoverableError: (error) => errors.push(error),
+    })
+    expect(errors).toEqual([])
+    expect(doc.querySelector('button')).toBe(button)
+    expect(Array.from(doc.querySelectorAll('link'))).toEqual(links)
+    expect(doc.querySelector('script')).toBe(script)
+    flushSync(() => root.render(<App />))
+    expect(doc.querySelector('button')).toBe(button)
+    expect(doc.querySelectorAll('link')).toHaveLength(2)
+    root.unmount()
+  })
+
   it('preserves foreign nodes after expected document body children', () => {
     function App() {
       return (