diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 282a153..30a8348 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -67,6 +67,25 @@ Both demo Blueprints explicitly request PHP `intl` support because editor-time C
 
 Developer-facing CI/runtime coverage details are listed in the development section below.
 
+## Footprint & Performance
+
+Borges is a static-output block: formatted bibliography HTML, JSON-LD, and COinS are baked into post content at save time, so **published pages add zero database queries and zero server-side formatting** — the citeproc engine and metadata lookups run only while you edit. All figures below are hand-verified; re-derivation commands live in [`docs/current-metrics.md`](docs/current-metrics.md).
+
+| Metric | Value |
+|---|---|
+| First-party PHP (main plugin file) | ~1,880 LOC (single file) |
+| JS source (`src/`) | ~8,850 LOC |
+| Frontend runtime shipped to visitors | `view.js` ~1.4 KB + `style-index.css` ~2.9 KB, enqueued only when the block is present |
+| Installed footprint | ~2.1 MB (`vendor/` ~1.0 MB incl. citeproc-php and curated CSL styles, translations 724 KB, assets 328 KB) |
+| Distributed ZIP (compressed) | ~0.9–1 MB |
+| **Added DB queries per page** | **0** — regardless of block or citation count |
+| Autoloaded options / registered settings / cron / custom tables / custom post types | none |
+| `render_callback` on the frontend | none (static `save()` only) |
+
+The only per-visitor cost is the small `view.js`/`style-index.css` pair, loaded solely on pages that contain a bibliography. Deactivating the plugin leaves the rendered bibliographies intact as static HTML.
+
+Editor-time PMID and formatting results are cached in the object cache and in short-lived, non-autoloaded `_transient_bbb_*` transients — written only while editing, never on a visitor request. (DOI imports are deduped in a browser-session cache, not stored server-side.)
+
 ## Recent Release Highlights
 
 - **1.3.4** — Refreshes the translation template plus 19 seed PO/MO locale pairs, adds CI validation for i18n artifacts, clarifies the bundled seed versus official language-pack policy, and archives historical planning notes out of active docs.
diff --git a/docs/current-metrics.md b/docs/current-metrics.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..27cbef0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/current-metrics.md
@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+# Current metrics
+
+Hand-verified size, footprint, and runtime-overhead metrics for Borges Bibliography Builder.
+Each number carries the exact command used to re-derive it, so the figures can be re-checked
+on demand rather than trusted on faith. Re-run the relevant command and update the number **in
+the same commit** whenever the underlying quantity changes.
+
+Last verified: **2026-07-05** against `main` (commit `49f623b`).
+
+## Lines of code
+
+| Metric | Value | Re-derivation command |
+|---|---|---|
+| Main plugin file (`bibliography-builder.php`) | **1,881** | `wc -l bibliography-builder.php` |
+| All first-party PHP (excl. vendor, tests, scripts, packages, output, node_modules, generated `build/`) | **1,979** | `find . -name '*.php' -not -path './vendor/*' -not -path './node_modules/*' -not -path './tests/*' -not -path './packages/*' -not -path './scripts/*' -not -path './output/*' -not -path './build/*' -print0 \| xargs -0 wc -l \| tail -1` |
+| JS source (`src/`, excl. `*.test.js`) | **8,851** | `find ./src -name '*.js' -not -name '*.test.js' -print0 \| xargs -0 wc -l \| tail -1` |
+| Shipped frontend runtime (`build/view.js`, minified) | **1,449 bytes** | `npm run build` then `wc -c < build/view.js` |
+
+The only PHP that executes at runtime on a visitor request path is `bibliography-builder.php`
+(REST registration + block registration); the CSL formatting engine under `vendor/` runs
+**only** for editor-time REST calls. `scripts/*.php` are dev tooling and are not packaged.
+
+## Storage footprint (installed)
+
+Measured from a full release build (`npm run package:release`), which copies the shipped
+files and installs runtime Composer dependencies with `--no-dev`, then prunes tests/docs/images
+from `vendor/`.
+
+**Prerequisite:** `build/` is gitignored (produced by `npm run build`), and
+`scripts/package-release.sh` copies it, so run **`npm run build`** first on a clean checkout —
+otherwise `package:release` (and the `du -sh build` row below) fails with `cannot stat build`.
+
+| Component | Size | Re-derivation command |
+|---|---|---|
+| `vendor/` — citeproc-php engine + `seboettg/collection` + `myclabs/php-enum` + curated `citation-style-language/styles` & `/locales`, pruned | **~1.0 MB** | `du -sh output/release/borges-bibliography-builder/vendor` (after `npm run package:release`) |
+| `languages/` — seed PO/MO/JSON translations | **724 KB** | `du -sh languages` |
+| `build/` — editor + frontend assets | **328 KB** | `du -sh build` |
+| PHP + `block.json` + `readme.txt` + `LICENSE` + `THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.txt` | **~100 KB** | — |
+| **Total installed** | **~2.1 MB** | `du -sh output/release/borges-bibliography-builder` (after `npm run package:release`) |
+| Distributed ZIP (compressed) | **~0.9–1 MB** | `du -h output/release/borges-bibliography-builder.zip` |
+
+The source tree's `packages/` directory (60 KB) is **not** a separate shipped component: the
+release script (`scripts/package-release.sh`) Composer-installs those path packages into
+`vendor/citation-style-language/*` and then deletes the staged `packages/` (`rm -rf`). The
+curated CSL styles are therefore counted inside the `vendor/` figure above.
+
+Notes:
+- `vendor/seboettg/citeproc-php` is **3.2 MB** unpruned and **~536 KB** after the release
+  script strips tests/docs. The pruning is what keeps the installed footprint near 2 MB.
+- The bundled `citation-style-language/styles` is a **curated subset** (the nine styles the
+  plugin ships), not the full upstream repository (~40 MB). This is a deliberate footprint
+  control, not an accident of packaging.
+
+## Runtime / query overhead
+
+The block uses **static `save()` output with no `render_callback`** — formatted bibliography
+HTML, JSON-LD, and COinS are serialized into `post_content` at edit time. The visitor request
+path therefore adds **zero** database queries and **zero** citeproc/PHP formatting work.
+
+| Overhead on the frontend (per published page) | Value | Re-derivation |
+|---|---|---|
+| Additional database queries | **0** | Static save; nothing on the block runs on the frontend — see audit below |
+| REST calls | **0** | `POST /format` and `GET /pmid/{pmid}` fire only in the editor |
+| `render_callback` invocations | **0** | Block registers no server render |
+| Autoloaded options / registered settings | **0** | No `add_option`/`update_option`/`register_setting` |
+| Cron events | **0** | No `wp_schedule_event` |
+| Custom post types / custom tables | **0** | No `register_post_type` / `dbDelta` |
+| Enqueued frontend assets (only when block present) | `view.js` ~1.4 KB + `style-index.css` ~2.9 KB | `wc -c build/view.js build/style-index.css` |
+
+Persistence/hook audit — no persistent settings, options, cron, CPTs, or custom tables
+(expected output: **NONE**):
+
+```
+grep -rEl "add_option|update_option|register_setting|register_post_type|dbDelta|wp_schedule_event" \
+  --include='*.php' . | grep -vE 'vendor|tests|node_modules'
+```
+
+**One caveat on `wp_options`.** On every store, the plugin's editor-time cache
+(`bibliography_builder_cache_set()`) calls **both** `wp_cache_set()` and `set_transient()` —
+they are two independent `if ( function_exists() )` guards, not an object-cache-else-transient
+fallback. With a persistent object cache drop-in active, `set_transient()` also routes to the
+object cache and **no** option row is written; without one, it materializes
+**non-autoloaded, expiring** `_transient_bbb_*` rows in `wp_options`. Either way the write
+happens **only during editor REST calls** (`/format`, `/pmid`) as short-lived caches of
+upstream lookups — never on a visitor request, and never added to the autoload set. So there
+are no long-lived settings and nothing on the autoload path, but "zero rows ever touch
+`wp_options`" would be inaccurate on a site without an external object cache. (DOI imports are
+deduped separately in a browser-session JS `Map` in `src/lib/parser.js` and never reach this
+PHP cache.)
+
+The "average queries per page" figure is a flat **0 additional queries**, independent of the
+number of bibliography blocks or citations on the page — all expensive resolution (Crossref
+DOI, NCBI/PMC PMID) and CSL formatting happens at edit time and never touches a visitor.
diff --git a/readme.txt b/readme.txt
index b165682..d1ff88f 100644
--- a/readme.txt
+++ b/readme.txt
@@ -102,6 +102,21 @@ PHP 7.4+ and WordPress 6.4+. Borges Bibliography Builder is tested up to WordPre
 8. Export the whole bibliography from the sidebar: copy as plain text, or download CSL-JSON, BibTeX, BibLaTeX, or RIS.
 9. Readers can expand the per-entry Cite / Export panel on the published page to copy a citation or download it as RIS, CSL-JSON, BibTeX, or BibLaTeX.
 
+== Performance & Footprint ==
+
+Borges is a static-output block. Formatted bibliography HTML, JSON-LD, and COinS are baked into your post content when you save, so the citeproc formatting engine and the DOI/PubMed lookups run **only in the editor** — never on the front end.
+
+What this means for a published page:
+
+* **Zero added database queries** — no matter how many bibliographies or citations the page contains. Query load does not grow with your content.
+* **No `render_callback`, no REST calls, no shortcodes** on the front end. Output is static HTML from the block's `save()`.
+* **No long-lived settings** — the plugin registers no settings or autoloaded options, no custom tables, no custom post types, and no cron events. Editor-time PMID and formatting results are cached in the object cache and in short-lived, non-autoloaded transients, written only while editing. DOI imports are deduped in a browser-session cache, not stored server-side.
+* **Tiny front-end payload** — only a small view script (~1.4 KB) and stylesheet (~2.9 KB) load, and only on pages that actually contain a bibliography.
+
+Installed footprint is roughly **2.1 MB** (the bundled citeproc-php formatting engine accounts for about half; the rest is translations, editor/front-end assets, and a curated set of citation styles). The downloadable ZIP is about 0.9–1 MB compressed.
+
+Because output is static, your bibliographies remain intact as plain HTML even if the plugin is deactivated.
+
 == Known Limitations ==
 
 **OSCOLA grouped bibliography** — OSCOLA convention requires the bibliography to be divided into source-type groups (cases, legislation, books, articles, online sources). Borges currently renders a single alphabetized list regardless of style. A dismissible notice in the editor explains this when OSCOLA is selected. Grouped-bibliography support is planned for a future release.