diff --git a/packages/browser/package.json b/packages/browser/package.json
index acb0628169..31655d55c6 100644
--- a/packages/browser/package.json
+++ b/packages/browser/package.json
@@ -50,7 +50,8 @@
         "dist/*",
         "react/dist/**",
         "react/package.json",
-        "react/surveys/package.json"
+        "react/surveys/package.json",
+        "react/slim/package.json"
     ],
     "dependencies": {
         "@posthog/core": "workspace:*",
diff --git a/packages/browser/react/slim/package.json b/packages/browser/react/slim/package.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..29d6dbf5a6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/browser/react/slim/package.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+    "name": "@posthog/react-slim",
+    "private": true,
+    "main": "../dist/umd/slim/index.js",
+    "module": "../dist/esm/slim/index.js",
+    "types": "../dist/types/slim/index.d.ts"
+}
diff --git a/packages/react/package.json b/packages/react/package.json
index a04c8fd481..95186d2969 100644
--- a/packages/react/package.json
+++ b/packages/react/package.json
@@ -27,7 +27,8 @@
     "files": [
         "dist",
         "src",
-        "surveys"
+        "surveys",
+        "slim"
     ],
     "peerDependencies": {
         "@types/react": ">=16.8.0",
diff --git a/packages/react/rollup.config.mjs b/packages/react/rollup.config.mjs
index 34711cca77..29dcbb969b 100644
--- a/packages/react/rollup.config.mjs
+++ b/packages/react/rollup.config.mjs
@@ -64,6 +64,47 @@ const buildTypes = {
     plugins: [resolve(), dts()],
 }
 
+/**
+ * Configuration for the slim build (no posthog-js runtime dependency)
+ */
+const buildSlimEsm = {
+    external: ['posthog-js', 'react'],
+    input: 'src/slim.ts',
+    output: {
+        file: 'dist/esm/slim/index.js',
+        format: 'esm',
+        sourcemap: true,
+    },
+    plugins,
+}
+
+const buildSlimUmd = {
+    external: ['posthog-js', 'react'],
+    input: 'src/slim.ts',
+    output: {
+        file: 'dist/umd/slim/index.js',
+        name: 'PosthogReactSlim',
+        format: 'umd',
+        sourcemap: true,
+        esModule: false,
+        globals: {
+            react: 'React',
+            'posthog-js': 'posthog',
+        },
+    },
+    plugins,
+}
+
+const buildSlimTypes = {
+    external: ['posthog-js', 'react'],
+    input: 'src/slim.ts',
+    output: {
+        file: 'dist/types/slim/index.d.ts',
+        format: 'es',
+    },
+    plugins: [resolve(), dts()],
+}
+
 const buildSurveysEsm = {
     external: ['posthog-js', 'react'],
     input: 'src/surveys/index.ts',
@@ -108,9 +149,20 @@ const buildSurveysTypes = {
                 { src: 'dist/*', dest: '../browser/react/dist' },
                 { src: 'src/*', dest: '../browser/react/src' },
                 { src: 'surveys', dest: '../browser/react' },
+                { src: 'slim', dest: '../browser/react' },
             ],
         }),
     ],
 }
 
-export default [buildEsm, buildUmd, buildTypes, buildSurveysEsm, buildSurveysUmd, buildSurveysTypes]
+export default [
+    buildEsm,
+    buildUmd,
+    buildTypes,
+    buildSlimEsm,
+    buildSlimUmd,
+    buildSlimTypes,
+    buildSurveysEsm,
+    buildSurveysUmd,
+    buildSurveysTypes,
+]
diff --git a/packages/react/slim/package.json b/packages/react/slim/package.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..29d6dbf5a6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/react/slim/package.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+    "name": "@posthog/react-slim",
+    "private": true,
+    "main": "../dist/umd/slim/index.js",
+    "module": "../dist/esm/slim/index.js",
+    "types": "../dist/types/slim/index.d.ts"
+}
diff --git a/packages/react/src/__tests__/slim-bundle.test.ts b/packages/react/src/__tests__/slim-bundle.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..872fafbba7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/react/src/__tests__/slim-bundle.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+import { readFileSync } from 'fs'
+import { resolve } from 'path'
+
+/**
+ * Guard against the slim bundle accidentally pulling in a runtime posthog-js
+ * dependency. The slim entrypoint's whole purpose is to avoid shipping the
+ * posthog-js runtime so consumers can bring their own client instance.
+ *
+ * Today this works because every shared module (hooks, components, helpers)
+ * only reaches PostHogContext.ts — never the full PostHogProvider.tsx — and
+ * PostHogProvider.tsx's posthog-js import is type-only. But if someone
+ * accidentally adds a runtime import, Rollup's `external` config means
+ * `posthog-js` would appear as a bare import/require in the output instead of
+ * being bundled, making it easy to grep for.
+ */
+describe('slim bundle', () => {
+    const distRoot = resolve(__dirname, '../../dist')
+
+    it('ESM slim bundle has no runtime posthog-js imports', () => {
+        const content = readFileSync(resolve(distRoot, 'esm/slim/index.js'), 'utf-8')
+        const matches = content.match(/['"]posthog-js['"]/g)
+        expect(matches).toBeNull()
+    })
+
+    it('UMD slim bundle has no runtime posthog-js imports', () => {
+        const content = readFileSync(resolve(distRoot, 'umd/slim/index.js'), 'utf-8')
+        const matches = content.match(/['"]posthog-js['"]/g)
+        expect(matches).toBeNull()
+    })
+})
diff --git a/packages/react/src/components/__tests__/PostHogErrorBoundary.test.tsx b/packages/react/src/components/__tests__/PostHogErrorBoundary.test.tsx
index e4acb342c2..e7368fc0a8 100644
--- a/packages/react/src/components/__tests__/PostHogErrorBoundary.test.tsx
+++ b/packages/react/src/components/__tests__/PostHogErrorBoundary.test.tsx
@@ -4,8 +4,17 @@ import * as React from 'react'
 import { render } from '@testing-library/react'
 import { __POSTHOG_ERROR_MESSAGES, PostHogErrorBoundary } from '../PostHogErrorBoundary'
 import posthog from 'posthog-js'
+import { setDefaultPostHogInstance } from '../../context/posthog-default'
 
 describe('PostHogErrorBoundary component', () => {
+    beforeEach(() => {
+        setDefaultPostHogInstance(posthog)
+    })
+
+    afterEach(() => {
+        setDefaultPostHogInstance(undefined)
+    })
+
     mockFunction(console, 'error')
     mockFunction(console, 'warn')
     mockFunction(posthog, 'captureException')
@@ -60,6 +69,14 @@ describe('PostHogErrorBoundary component', () => {
 })
 
 describe('captureException processing', () => {
+    beforeEach(() => {
+        setDefaultPostHogInstance(posthog)
+    })
+
+    afterEach(() => {
+        setDefaultPostHogInstance(undefined)
+    })
+
     mockFunction(console, 'error')
     mockFunction(console, 'warn')
     mockFunction(posthog, 'capture')
diff --git a/packages/react/src/context/PostHogContext.ts b/packages/react/src/context/PostHogContext.ts
index d34a761eb2..ca4739769b 100644
--- a/packages/react/src/context/PostHogContext.ts
+++ b/packages/react/src/context/PostHogContext.ts
@@ -1,9 +1,17 @@
-import posthogJs, { BootstrapConfig } from 'posthog-js'
+import type { PostHog } from 'posthog-js'
+import type { BootstrapConfig } from 'posthog-js'
 import { createContext } from 'react'
+import { getDefaultPostHogInstance } from './posthog-default'
 
-export type PostHog = typeof posthogJs
+export type { PostHog }
 
+// The getter defers evaluation so that the full bundle's setDefaultPostHogInstance()
+// call (which runs after module evaluation) has already executed by the time React
+// accesses the default value. In the slim bundle no default is set, so client will
+// be undefined — users must always provide a <PostHogProvider client={…}>.
 export const PostHogContext = createContext<{ client: PostHog; bootstrap?: BootstrapConfig }>({
-    client: posthogJs,
+    get client() {
+        return getDefaultPostHogInstance() as PostHog
+    },
     bootstrap: undefined,
 })
diff --git a/packages/react/src/context/PostHogProvider.tsx b/packages/react/src/context/PostHogProvider.tsx
index c49a6f0e57..744f76d31a 100644
--- a/packages/react/src/context/PostHogProvider.tsx
+++ b/packages/react/src/context/PostHogProvider.tsx
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 /* eslint-disable no-console */
-import posthogJs, { PostHogConfig } from 'posthog-js'
+import type { PostHogConfig } from 'posthog-js'
 
 import React, { useEffect, useMemo, useRef } from 'react'
 import { PostHog, PostHogContext } from './PostHogContext'
+import { getDefaultPostHogInstance } from './posthog-default'
 import { isDeepEqual } from '../utils/object-utils'
 
 interface PreviousInitialization {
@@ -60,15 +61,20 @@ export function PostHogProvider({ children, client, apiKey, options }: WithOptio
             return client
         }
 
+        // Indirection so the slim bundle can omit the posthog-js runtime import.
+        // Always defined here: the full entrypoint (index.ts) calls
+        // setDefaultPostHogInstance(posthogJs) before any component renders.
+        const defaultInstance = getDefaultPostHogInstance() as PostHog
+
         if (apiKey) {
             // return the global client, we'll initialize it in the useEffect
-            return posthogJs
+            return defaultInstance
         }
 
         console.warn(
             '[PostHog.js] No `apiKey` or `client` were provided to `PostHogProvider`. Using default global `window.posthog` instance. You must initialize it manually. This is not recommended behavior.'
         )
-        return posthogJs
+        return defaultInstance
         // eslint-disable-next-line react-hooks/exhaustive-deps
     }, [client, apiKey, JSON.stringify(options)]) // Stringify options to be a stable reference
 
@@ -79,16 +85,18 @@ export function PostHogProvider({ children, client, apiKey, options }: WithOptio
             // if the user has passed their own client, assume they will also handle calling init().
             return
         }
+        // See comment in useMemo above for why this indirection exists.
+        const defaultInstance = getDefaultPostHogInstance() as PostHog
         const previousInitialization = previousInitializationRef.current
 
         if (!previousInitialization) {
             // If it's the first time running this, but it has been loaded elsewhere, warn the user about it.
-            if (posthogJs.__loaded) {
+            if (defaultInstance.__loaded) {
                 console.warn('[PostHog.js] `posthog` was already loaded elsewhere. This may cause issues.')
             }
 
             // Init global client
-            posthogJs.init(apiKey, options)
+            defaultInstance.init(apiKey, options)
 
             // Keep track of whether the client was already initialized
             // This is used to prevent double initialization when running under React.StrictMode, and to know when options change
@@ -111,10 +119,10 @@ export function PostHogProvider({ children, client, apiKey, options }: WithOptio
                 )
             }
 
-            // Changing options is better supported because we can just call `posthogJs.set_config(options)`
+            // Changing options is better supported because we can just call `defaultInstance.set_config(options)`
             // and they'll be good to go with their new config. The SDK will know how to handle the changes.
             if (options && !isDeepEqual(options, previousInitialization.options)) {
-                posthogJs.set_config(options)
+                defaultInstance.set_config(options)
             }
 
             // Keep track of the possibly-new set of apiKey and options
diff --git a/packages/react/src/context/PostHogProviderSlim.tsx b/packages/react/src/context/PostHogProviderSlim.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ecd3bcfdef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/react/src/context/PostHogProviderSlim.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+import React, { useMemo } from 'react'
+import type { PostHog } from 'posthog-js'
+import { PostHogContext } from './PostHogContext'
+
+/**
+ * Slim PostHogProvider for use with @posthog/react/slim.
+ *
+ * Only accepts a pre-initialized `client` instance. Does not support
+ * `apiKey`/`options` props since the slim bundle has no posthog-js runtime.
+ */
+export function PostHogProvider({ client, children }: { client: PostHog; children?: React.ReactNode }) {
+    const value = useMemo(() => ({ client, bootstrap: client.config?.bootstrap }), [client])
+    return <PostHogContext.Provider value={value}>{children}</PostHogContext.Provider>
+}
diff --git a/packages/react/src/context/__tests__/PostHogContext.test.tsx b/packages/react/src/context/__tests__/PostHogContext.test.tsx
index 9d37f08673..e398ff4051 100644
--- a/packages/react/src/context/__tests__/PostHogContext.test.tsx
+++ b/packages/react/src/context/__tests__/PostHogContext.test.tsx
@@ -1,16 +1,39 @@
 import * as React from 'react'
 import { render } from '@testing-library/react'
-import { PostHogProvider, PostHog } from '..'
+import { PostHogProvider, PostHog, PostHogContext } from '..'
+import posthogJs from 'posthog-js'
+import { setDefaultPostHogInstance } from '../posthog-default'
+
+jest.mock('posthog-js', () => ({
+    __esModule: true,
+    default: {
+        init: jest.fn(),
+        __loaded: false,
+    },
+}))
 
 describe('PostHogContext component', () => {
     const posthog = {} as unknown as PostHog
 
+    beforeEach(() => {
+        setDefaultPostHogInstance(posthogJs)
+    })
+
+    afterEach(() => {
+        setDefaultPostHogInstance(undefined)
+    })
+
     it('should return a client instance from the context if available', () => {
-        render(
+        function ClientConsumer() {
+            const { client } = React.useContext(PostHogContext)
+            return <div data-testid="client">{client === posthog ? 'match' : 'mismatch'}</div>
+        }
+        const { getByTestId } = render(
             <PostHogProvider client={posthog}>
-                <div>Hello</div>
+                <ClientConsumer />
             </PostHogProvider>
         )
+        expect(getByTestId('client').textContent).toBe('match')
     })
 
     it("should not throw error if a client instance can't be found in the context", () => {
diff --git a/packages/react/src/context/__tests__/PostHogProvider.test.tsx b/packages/react/src/context/__tests__/PostHogProvider.test.tsx
index 4c597dbe5f..639ebe9f6e 100644
--- a/packages/react/src/context/__tests__/PostHogProvider.test.tsx
+++ b/packages/react/src/context/__tests__/PostHogProvider.test.tsx
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import * as React from 'react'
 import { render, act } from '@testing-library/react'
 import { PostHogProvider, PostHog } from '..'
 import posthogJs from 'posthog-js'
+import { setDefaultPostHogInstance } from '../posthog-default'
 
 // Mock posthog-js
 jest.mock('posthog-js', () => ({
@@ -14,6 +15,14 @@ jest.mock('posthog-js', () => ({
 }))
 
 describe('PostHogProvider component', () => {
+    beforeEach(() => {
+        setDefaultPostHogInstance(posthogJs)
+    })
+
+    afterEach(() => {
+        setDefaultPostHogInstance(undefined)
+    })
+
     it('should render children components', () => {
         const posthog = {} as unknown as PostHog
         const { getByText } = render(
diff --git a/packages/react/src/context/__tests__/PostHogProviderSlim.test.tsx b/packages/react/src/context/__tests__/PostHogProviderSlim.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..5bc9cf51aa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/react/src/context/__tests__/PostHogProviderSlim.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+import * as React from 'react'
+import { render } from '@testing-library/react'
+import { PostHogProvider } from '../PostHogProviderSlim'
+import { PostHogContext } from '../PostHogContext'
+import type { PostHog } from 'posthog-js'
+
+// Do NOT call setDefaultPostHogInstance — this simulates the slim bundle
+// where no default instance exists.
+
+let contextClient: PostHog | undefined
+
+function ClientConsumer() {
+    const { client } = React.useContext(PostHogContext)
+    contextClient = client
+    return <div>consumed</div>
+}
+
+describe('PostHogProvider (slim)', () => {
+    afterEach(() => {
+        contextClient = undefined
+    })
+
+    it('renders children', () => {
+        const client = { config: {} } as unknown as PostHog
+        const { getByText } = render(
+            <PostHogProvider client={client}>
+                <div>Hello</div>
+            </PostHogProvider>
+        )
+        expect(getByText('Hello')).toBeTruthy()
+    })
+
+    it('provides the exact client instance via context', () => {
+        const client = { config: {} } as unknown as PostHog
+        render(
+            <PostHogProvider client={client}>
+                <ClientConsumer />
+            </PostHogProvider>
+        )
+        expect(contextClient).toBe(client)
+    })
+
+    it('provides bootstrap from client config', () => {
+        const bootstrap = { featureFlags: { 'test-flag': true } }
+        const client = { config: { bootstrap } } as unknown as PostHog
+
+        function BootstrapConsumer() {
+            const { bootstrap: ctx } = React.useContext(PostHogContext)
+            return <div data-testid="bootstrap">{JSON.stringify(ctx)}</div>
+        }
+
+        const { getByTestId } = render(
+            <PostHogProvider client={client}>
+                <BootstrapConsumer />
+            </PostHogProvider>
+        )
+        expect(JSON.parse(getByTestId('bootstrap').textContent!)).toEqual(bootstrap)
+    })
+})
diff --git a/packages/react/src/context/posthog-default.ts b/packages/react/src/context/posthog-default.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4966cb1c48
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/react/src/context/posthog-default.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+import type { PostHog } from 'posthog-js'
+
+// Process-level singleton, mirroring the posthog-js default export which is
+// itself a module-level singleton. Safe because setDefaultPostHogInstance is
+// only called once at module evaluation time by src/index.ts.
+let defaultPostHogInstance: PostHog | undefined
+
+export function setDefaultPostHogInstance(instance: PostHog | undefined): void {
+    defaultPostHogInstance = instance
+}
+
+export function getDefaultPostHogInstance(): PostHog | undefined {
+    return defaultPostHogInstance
+}
diff --git a/packages/react/src/helpers/error-helpers.ts b/packages/react/src/helpers/error-helpers.ts
index 5122c28bd2..9c802dcbff 100644
--- a/packages/react/src/helpers/error-helpers.ts
+++ b/packages/react/src/helpers/error-helpers.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import type { ErrorInfo } from 'react'
 import { PostHog } from '../context'
-import { CaptureResult } from 'posthog-js'
+import type { CaptureResult } from 'posthog-js'
 
 export const setupReactErrorHandler = (
     client: PostHog,
diff --git a/packages/react/src/hooks/useFeatureFlagPayload.ts b/packages/react/src/hooks/useFeatureFlagPayload.ts
index b28fa75d7b..65db9ef23c 100644
--- a/packages/react/src/hooks/useFeatureFlagPayload.ts
+++ b/packages/react/src/hooks/useFeatureFlagPayload.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { JsonType } from 'posthog-js'
+import type { JsonType } from 'posthog-js'
 import { useContext, useEffect, useState } from 'react'
 import { PostHogContext } from '../context'
 
diff --git a/packages/react/src/hooks/useFeatureFlagResult.ts b/packages/react/src/hooks/useFeatureFlagResult.ts
index af952f6ff8..47acafd8d9 100644
--- a/packages/react/src/hooks/useFeatureFlagResult.ts
+++ b/packages/react/src/hooks/useFeatureFlagResult.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { FeatureFlagResult } from 'posthog-js'
+import type { FeatureFlagResult } from 'posthog-js'
 import { useContext, useEffect, useState } from 'react'
 import { PostHogContext } from '../context'
 import { isUndefined } from '../utils/type-utils'
diff --git a/packages/react/src/index.ts b/packages/react/src/index.ts
index c4c017bb0f..6a04526bdb 100644
--- a/packages/react/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/react/src/index.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,8 @@
+import posthogJs from 'posthog-js'
+import { setDefaultPostHogInstance } from './context/posthog-default'
+
+setDefaultPostHogInstance(posthogJs)
+
 export * from './context'
 export * from './hooks'
 export * from './components'
diff --git a/packages/react/src/slim.ts b/packages/react/src/slim.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..15d1d6942b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/react/src/slim.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+export { PostHogContext, type PostHog } from './context/PostHogContext'
+export { PostHogProvider } from './context/PostHogProviderSlim'
+export * from './hooks'
+export * from './components'
+export * from './helpers'