diff --git a/src/browser/Frame.zig b/src/browser/Frame.zig
index 1f081ded..b23a85aa 100644
--- a/src/browser/Frame.zig
+++ b/src/browser/Frame.zig
@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ const AbstractRange = @import("webapi/AbstractRange.zig");
 const MutationObserver = @import("webapi/MutationObserver.zig");
 const IntersectionObserver = @import("webapi/IntersectionObserver.zig");
 const Worker = @import("webapi/Worker.zig");
+const CSSStyleSheet = @import("webapi/css/CSSStyleSheet.zig");
 const CustomElementDefinition = @import("webapi/CustomElementDefinition.zig");
 const PageTransitionEvent = @import("webapi/event/PageTransitionEvent.zig");
 const SubmitEvent = @import("webapi/event/SubmitEvent.zig");
@@ -1679,6 +1680,94 @@ pub fn queueLoad(self: *Frame, html: *Element.Html) !void {
     }
 }
 
+// Hard cap on a single external stylesheet body. CSS rule storage is per-
+// arena so a hostile sheet could otherwise inflate page memory; 2 MiB is
+// well above anything seen on real sites (Tailwind's `preflight + utilities`
+// build is ~400 KiB gzipped, ~3 MiB raw — at which point a site should be
+// splitting by route anyway).
+const MAX_STYLESHEET_BYTES: usize = 2 * 1024 * 1024;
+
+// Synchronously fetch and parse an external `<link rel=stylesheet>`. Opt-in
+// behind `session.load_external_stylesheets` — scrapers/crawlers that don't
+// need accurate visibility checks still get the cheap no-fetch path via
+// `Link.linkAddedCallback`. Mirrors `ScriptManager.addFromElement`'s use of
+// `syncRequest`: stylesheets are render-blocking in real browsers, so a
+// synchronous fetch from inside the parser callback matches expected
+// document-load ordering without manual `_pending_loads` bookkeeping.
+pub fn loadExternalStylesheet(self: *Frame, link: *Element.Html.Link) !void {
+    if (self.isGoingAway()) return;
+
+    const element = link.asElement();
+    const href = element.getAttributeSafe(comptime .wrap("href")) orelse return;
+    if (href.len == 0) return;
+
+    const arena = try self.getArena(.medium, "Frame.loadExternalStylesheet");
+    defer self._session.releaseArena(arena);
+
+    const resolved = URL.resolve(arena, self.base(), href, .{ .encoding = self.charset }) catch |err| {
+        log.warn(.browser, "external stylesheet resolve", .{ .err = err, .href = href });
+        try self.fireLinkEvent(link, comptime .wrap("error"));
+        return;
+    };
+
+    const session = self._session;
+    // HttpClient takes ownership of `headers` via the request struct (see
+    // HttpClient.zig:411 — must NOT pair with a local `defer deinit`).
+    var headers = try session.browser.http_client.newHeaders();
+    try headers.add("Accept: text/css,*/*;q=0.1");
+
+    var response = session.browser.http_client.syncRequest(arena, .{
+        .url = resolved,
+        .method = .GET,
+        .frame_id = self._frame_id,
+        .loader_id = self._loader_id,
+        .headers = headers,
+        .cookie_jar = &session.cookie_jar,
+        .cookie_origin = self.url,
+        .resource_type = .stylesheet,
+        .notification = session.notification,
+    }) catch |err| {
+        log.warn(.browser, "external stylesheet fetch", .{ .err = err, .url = resolved });
+        try self.fireLinkEvent(link, comptime .wrap("error"));
+        return;
+    };
+    defer response.deinit(arena);
+
+    if (response.status < 200 or response.status >= 300) {
+        log.info(.browser, "external stylesheet status", .{ .status = response.status, .url = resolved });
+        try self.fireLinkEvent(link, comptime .wrap("error"));
+        return;
+    }
+
+    if (response.body.items.len > MAX_STYLESHEET_BYTES) {
+        log.warn(.browser, "external stylesheet too large", .{
+            .bytes = response.body.items.len,
+            .max = MAX_STYLESHEET_BYTES,
+            .url = resolved,
+        });
+        try self.fireLinkEvent(link, comptime .wrap("error"));
+        return;
+    }
+
+    const sheet = try CSSStyleSheet.initWithOwner(element, self);
+    sheet._href = try self.arena.dupe(u8, resolved);
+    sheet.replaceSync(response.body.items, self) catch |err| {
+        log.warn(.browser, "external stylesheet parse", .{ .err = err, .url = resolved });
+        try self.fireLinkEvent(link, comptime .wrap("error"));
+        return;
+    };
+
+    const sheets = try self.document.getStyleSheets(self);
+    try sheets.add(sheet, self);
+
+    try self.fireLinkEvent(link, comptime .wrap("load"));
+}
+
+fn fireLinkEvent(self: *Frame, link: *Element.Html.Link, name: String) !void {
+    const event = try Event.initTrusted(name, .{}, self._page);
+    try self._event_manager.dispatch(link._proto.asEventTarget(), event);
+}
+
 fn dispatchLoad(self: *Frame) !void {
     const has_dom_load_listener = self._event_manager.has_dom_load_listener;
 
diff --git a/src/browser/HttpClient.zig b/src/browser/HttpClient.zig
index 6f2d19b7..04b5661a 100644
--- a/src/browser/HttpClient.zig
+++ b/src/browser/HttpClient.zig
@@ -910,6 +910,7 @@ pub const Request = struct {
         xhr,
         script,
         fetch,
+        stylesheet,
 
         // Allowed Values: Document, Stylesheet, Image, Media, Font, Script,
         // TextTrack, XHR, Fetch, Prefetch, EventSource, WebSocket, Manifest,
@@ -921,6 +922,7 @@ pub const Request = struct {
                 .xhr => "XHR",
                 .script => "Script",
                 .fetch => "Fetch",
+                .stylesheet => "Stylesheet",
             };
         }
     };
diff --git a/src/browser/Session.zig b/src/browser/Session.zig
index d044d0ef..70ec5d3e 100644
--- a/src/browser/Session.zig
+++ b/src/browser/Session.zig
@@ -95,9 +95,9 @@ worker_loading_enabled: bool = true,
 // false to preserve the current rendering-free fast path: drivers that
 // don't need accurate visibility checks pay nothing. Set from the
 // `--enable-external-stylesheets` CLI flag at session init; the
-// LP.configureLoading CDP method can flip it per-session. Currently
-// unread — the fetch path lands in a follow-up that depends on the
-// network refactor in #2303.
+// LP.configureLoading CDP method can flip it per-session. When true,
+// `Link.linkAddedCallback` routes to `Frame.loadExternalStylesheet`
+// (synchronous fetch + parse + register on `document.styleSheets`).
 load_external_stylesheets: bool = false,
 
 pub fn init(self: *Session, browser: *Browser, notification: *Notification) !void {
diff --git a/src/browser/tests/css/external_stylesheet.html b/src/browser/tests/css/external_stylesheet.html
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..cbd6df0d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/browser/tests/css/external_stylesheet.html
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+<!DOCTYPE html>
+<head>
+  <script src="../testing.js"></script>
+  <link id="ext" rel="stylesheet" href="/styles/visibility.css">
+</head>
+<body>
+  <div id="visible">always visible</div>
+  <div id="hidden" class="ext-hide">hidden by external rule</div>
+
+  <script id="ext_stylesheet_registered">
+  {
+    // The parser-synchronous fetch in Frame.loadExternalStylesheet runs
+    // before this script executes, so document.styleSheets reflects the
+    // fetched sheet by the time we look.
+    testing.expectEqual(1, document.styleSheets.length);
+
+    const sheet = document.styleSheets[0];
+    testing.expectEqual(testing.ORIGIN + '/styles/visibility.css', sheet.href);
+    testing.expectEqual(1, sheet.cssRules.length);
+    testing.expectEqual('.ext-hide', sheet.cssRules[0].selectorText);
+  }
+  </script>
+
+  <script id="ext_stylesheet_cascade">
+  {
+    // External rule must reach StyleManager: a `.ext-hide` element should
+    // report checkVisibility() === false, exactly as if the rule were
+    // declared inline in a `<style>` block.
+    testing.expectTrue(document.getElementById('visible').checkVisibility());
+    testing.expectFalse(document.getElementById('hidden').checkVisibility());
+  }
+  </script>
+
+  <script id="ext_stylesheet_dynamic_load_event">
+  {
+    // Dynamically-inserted <link> fires `load` after the fetch completes.
+    const link = document.createElement('link');
+    link.rel = 'stylesheet';
+    link.href = '/styles/visibility.css';
+    testing.async(async () => {
+      const fired = await new Promise(resolve => {
+        link.addEventListener('load', () => resolve(true));
+        link.addEventListener('error', () => resolve(false));
+        document.head.appendChild(link);
+      });
+      testing.expectEqual(true, fired);
+    });
+    testing.expectEqual(true, true);
+  }
+  </script>
+
+  <script id="ext_stylesheet_404_fires_error">
+  {
+    const link = document.createElement('link');
+    link.rel = 'stylesheet';
+    link.href = '/styles/404.css';
+    testing.async(async () => {
+      const evt = await new Promise(resolve => {
+        link.addEventListener('load', () => resolve('load'));
+        link.addEventListener('error', () => resolve('error'));
+        document.head.appendChild(link);
+      });
+      testing.expectEqual('error', evt);
+    });
+    testing.expectEqual(true, true);
+  }
+  </script>
+
+  <script id="ext_stylesheet_oversize_fires_error">
+  {
+    const link = document.createElement('link');
+    link.rel = 'stylesheet';
+    link.href = '/styles/oversize.css';
+    testing.async(async () => {
+      const evt = await new Promise(resolve => {
+        link.addEventListener('load', () => resolve('load'));
+        link.addEventListener('error', () => resolve('error'));
+        document.head.appendChild(link);
+      });
+      testing.expectEqual('error', evt);
+    });
+    testing.expectEqual(true, true);
+  }
+  </script>
+</body>
diff --git a/src/browser/tests/element/html/link.html b/src/browser/tests/element/html/link.html
index 9f4dd6a8..d3f2faa0 100644
--- a/src/browser/tests/element/html/link.html
+++ b/src/browser/tests/element/html/link.html
@@ -137,3 +137,19 @@
   });
 }
 </script>
+
+<script id="ext_stylesheet_disabled_default">
+{
+  // Flag defaults off — a <link rel=stylesheet> must NOT register a sheet
+  // on document.styleSheets and must NOT touch the network. The synthetic
+  // load event still fires (asserted by other tests above).
+  const before = document.styleSheets.length;
+  const link = document.createElement('link');
+  link.rel = 'stylesheet';
+  link.href = '/styles/visibility.css';
+  document.head.appendChild(link);
+  testing.onload(() => {
+    testing.expectEqual(before, document.styleSheets.length);
+  });
+}
+</script>
diff --git a/src/browser/webapi/element/html/Link.zig b/src/browser/webapi/element/html/Link.zig
index 1b83dacf..2d5bfef6 100644
--- a/src/browser/webapi/element/html/Link.zig
+++ b/src/browser/webapi/element/html/Link.zig
@@ -114,6 +114,14 @@ pub fn linkAddedCallback(self: *Link, frame: *Frame) !void {
         return;
     }
 
+    // Opt-in fetch for `rel="stylesheet"` — drives `frame.loadExternalStylesheet`,
+    // which fires the load/error event itself. Other rels (preload,
+    // modulepreload) and the disabled case keep the rendering-free stub that
+    // fires a synthetic `load` event without touching the network.
+    if (std.mem.eql(u8, rel, "stylesheet") and frame._session.load_external_stylesheets) {
+        return frame.loadExternalStylesheet(self);
+    }
+
     try frame.queueLoad(self._proto);
 }
 
@@ -143,7 +151,22 @@ pub const JsApi = struct {
     }
 };
 
+// Parser-created <link> elements are void (no closing tag) so they never
+// reach `Frame.nodeComplete`. Mirror `Image.Build.created` so static head
+// links in HTML go through `linkAddedCallback` at element-create time,
+// with attributes already populated by `populateElementAttributes`.
+pub const Build = struct {
+    pub fn created(node: *Node, frame: *Frame) !void {
+        const self = node.as(Link);
+        return self.linkAddedCallback(frame);
+    }
+};
+
 const testing = @import("../../../../testing.zig");
 test "WebApi: HTML.Link" {
     try testing.htmlRunner("element/html/link.html", .{});
 }
+
+test "WebApi: HTML.Link external stylesheet" {
+    try testing.htmlRunner("css/external_stylesheet.html", .{ .load_external_stylesheets = true });
+}
diff --git a/src/cdp/domains/fetch.zig b/src/cdp/domains/fetch.zig
index 64a1ec7e..b2831abe 100644
--- a/src/cdp/domains/fetch.zig
+++ b/src/cdp/domains/fetch.zig
@@ -209,6 +209,7 @@ pub fn requestIntercept(bc: *CDP.BrowserContext, intercept: *const Notification.
             .xhr => "XHR",
             .document => "Document",
             .fetch => "Fetch",
+            .stylesheet => "Stylesheet",
         },
         .networkId = &id.toRequestId(transfer), // matches the Network REQ-ID
     }, .{ .session_id = session_id });
@@ -453,6 +454,7 @@ pub fn requestAuthRequired(bc: *CDP.BrowserContext, intercept: *const Notificati
             .xhr => "XHR",
             .document => "Document",
             .fetch => "Fetch",
+            .stylesheet => "Stylesheet",
         },
         .authChallenge = .{
             .origin = "", // TODO get origin, could be the proxy address for example.
diff --git a/src/testing.zig b/src/testing.zig
index 3897a06a..a9ecff71 100644
--- a/src/testing.zig
+++ b/src/testing.zig
@@ -341,6 +341,7 @@ const WEB_API_TEST_ROOT = "src/browser/tests/";
 const HtmlRunnerOpts = struct {
     timeout_ms: u32 = 2000,
     inject_script: ?[]const u8 = null,
+    load_external_stylesheets: bool = false,
 };
 
 pub fn htmlRunner(comptime path: []const u8, opts: HtmlRunnerOpts) !void {
@@ -353,6 +354,9 @@ pub fn htmlRunner(comptime path: []const u8, opts: HtmlRunnerOpts) !void {
     }
     defer test_session.inject_scripts = &.{};
 
+    test_session.load_external_stylesheets = opts.load_external_stylesheets;
+    defer test_session.load_external_stylesheets = false;
+
     const root = try std.fs.path.joinZ(arena_allocator, &.{ WEB_API_TEST_ROOT, path });
     const stat = std.fs.cwd().statFile(root) catch |err| {
         std.debug.print("Failed to stat file: '{s}'", .{root});
@@ -678,6 +682,42 @@ fn testHTTPHandler(req: *std.http.Server.Request) !void {
         });
     }
 
+    if (std.mem.eql(u8, path, "/styles/visibility.css")) {
+        // Used by css/external_stylesheet.html — drives the visibility
+        // cascade through StyleManager via Frame.loadExternalStylesheet
+        // so a `.ext-hide` element is observable to checkVisibility().
+        return req.respond(".ext-hide { display: none; }", .{
+            .extra_headers = &.{
+                .{ .name = "Content-Type", .value = "text/css" },
+            },
+        });
+    }
+
+    if (std.mem.eql(u8, path, "/styles/404.css")) {
+        return req.respond("/* unused */", .{
+            .status = .not_found,
+            .extra_headers = &.{
+                .{ .name = "Content-Type", .value = "text/css" },
+            },
+        });
+    }
+
+    if (std.mem.eql(u8, path, "/styles/oversize.css")) {
+        // Body that exceeds Frame.MAX_STYLESHEET_BYTES (2 MiB) — written as a
+        // long sequence of valid declarations so the response itself parses
+        // fine and the error path is exercised by the size cap, not by a
+        // CSS parse failure.
+        const chunk = ".pad { color: #abcdef; } "; // 25 bytes
+        const repeats = (2 * 1024 * 1024 / chunk.len) + 1024;
+        var body = try std.ArrayList(u8).initCapacity(arena_allocator, chunk.len * repeats);
+        for (0..repeats) |_| body.appendSliceAssumeCapacity(chunk);
+        return req.respond(body.items, .{
+            .extra_headers = &.{
+                .{ .name = "Content-Type", .value = "text/css" },
+            },
+        });
+    }
+
     if (std.mem.eql(u8, path, "/echo_referer")) {
         // Echo the request's Referer header back as HTML so tests can assert
         // what Referer the navigation sent. Used by the cross-page Referer test.