diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 602a0a0..75c3112 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
       "devDependencies": {
         "@eslint/js": "10.0.1",
         "@testing-library/react": "16.3.2",
+        "@types/node": "24.10.9",
         "@types/react": "19.2.17",
         "@types/react-dom": "19.2.3",
         "@vitest/coverage-v8": "4.1.10",
@@ -2026,6 +2027,16 @@
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT"
     },
+    "node_modules/@types/node": {
+      "version": "24.10.9",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@types/node/-/node-24.10.9.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-ne4A0IpG3+2ETuREInjPNhUGis1SFjv1d5asp8MzEAGtOZeTeHVDOYqOgqfhvseqg/iXty2hjBf1zAOb7RNiNw==",
+      "dev": true,
+      "license": "MIT",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "undici-types": "~7.16.0"
+      }
+    },
     "node_modules/@types/react": {
       "version": "19.2.17",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@types/react/-/react-19.2.17.tgz",
@@ -4854,6 +4865,13 @@
         "node": ">=20.18.1"
       }
     },
+    "node_modules/undici-types": {
+      "version": "7.16.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/undici-types/-/undici-types-7.16.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-Zz+aZWSj8LE6zoxD+xrjh4VfkIG8Ya6LvYkZqtUQGJPZjYl53ypCaUwWqo7eI0x66KBGeRo+mlBEkMSeSZ38Nw==",
+      "dev": true,
+      "license": "MIT"
+    },
     "node_modules/update-browserslist-db": {
       "version": "1.3.2",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/update-browserslist-db/-/update-browserslist-db-1.3.2.tgz",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 0f93437..c34572b 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@
   "devDependencies": {
     "@eslint/js": "10.0.1",
     "@testing-library/react": "16.3.2",
+    "@types/node": "24.10.9",
     "@types/react": "19.2.17",
     "@types/react-dom": "19.2.3",
     "@vitest/coverage-v8": "4.1.10",
diff --git a/test/ssr.test.tsx b/test/ssr.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b562ce3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/ssr.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+// @vitest-environment node
+//
+// The rest of the suite runs in jsdom, so nothing here verified the
+// README's claim that the component "works out of the box in React Server
+// Components environments ... and touches the DOM only inside effects".
+// This file runs with no DOM at all.
+import { existsSync, readFileSync } from 'node:fs';
+import { resolve } from 'node:path';
+
+import { renderToString } from 'react-dom/server';
+
+import ImageEditor from '../src';
+
+it('has no DOM in this environment', () => {
+  // Guards the guard: if jsdom leaked in, the test below proves nothing.
+  expect(typeof document).toBe('undefined');
+  expect(typeof window).toBe('undefined');
+});
+
+it('renders to a string on the server without touching the DOM', () => {
+  const html = renderToString(
+    <ImageEditor image="https://example.com/photo.jpg" editorId="ssr" />
+  );
+
+  expect(html).toContain('id="ssr"');
+});
+
+it('renders on the server with every prop set', () => {
+  // Effects never run on the server, so a prop that reaches the DOM during
+  // render rather than in an effect would throw here.
+  expect(() =>
+    renderToString(
+      <ImageEditor
+        image="https://example.com/photo.jpg"
+        options={{ theme: 'dark', locale: 'fr', projectId: 1234 }}
+        scriptUrl="https://cdn.example.com/embed.js"
+        minHeight="80vh"
+        style={{ borderRadius: 8 }}
+        onLoad={() => {}}
+        onSave={() => {}}
+        onCancel={() => {}}
+        onLoadError={() => {}}
+        onError={() => {}}
+      />
+    )
+  ).not.toThrow();
+});
+
+// The 'use client' banner comes from tsup config, which nothing else
+// checks — a bundler or config change could silently drop it and every
+// existing test would still pass. dist/ exists in every CI job, because
+// `npm ci` runs the `prepare` script and that builds; the skip is only for
+// a local run before anyone has built.
+const dist = (file: string) => resolve(__dirname, '..', 'dist', file);
+const built = existsSync(dist('index.mjs'));
+
+it.skipIf(!built)('ships the "use client" directive in both builds', () => {
+  for (const file of ['index.js', 'index.mjs']) {
+    expect(readFileSync(dist(file), 'utf8').startsWith("'use client';")).toBe(
+      true
+    );
+  }
+});
diff --git a/tsconfig.json b/tsconfig.json
index 0bc2c11..9ed99bf 100644
--- a/tsconfig.json
+++ b/tsconfig.json
@@ -19,6 +19,6 @@
     "forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true,
     "noEmit": true,
     "resolveJsonModule": true,
-    "types": ["vitest/globals"]
+    "types": ["vitest/globals", "node"]
   }
 }