diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index f672c5d..c9d1920 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
 /target
 /*.log
 /*.gif
+/AGENTS.md
diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 565b009..8284a52 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -32,6 +32,12 @@ dependencies = [
  "libc",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "anes"
+version = "0.1.6"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "4b46cbb362ab8752921c97e041f5e366ee6297bd428a31275b9fcf1e380f7299"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "anstream"
 version = "0.6.21"
@@ -321,6 +327,12 @@ dependencies = [
  "thiserror 2.0.18",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "cast"
+version = "0.3.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "37b2a672a2cb129a2e41c10b1224bb368f9f37a2b16b612598138befd7b37eb5"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "castaway"
 version = "0.2.4"
@@ -367,6 +379,33 @@ dependencies = [
  "windows-link",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "ciborium"
+version = "0.2.2"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "42e69ffd6f0917f5c029256a24d0161db17cea3997d185db0d35926308770f0e"
+dependencies = [
+ "ciborium-io",
+ "ciborium-ll",
+ "serde",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "ciborium-io"
+version = "0.2.2"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "05afea1e0a06c9be33d539b876f1ce3692f4afea2cb41f740e7743225ed1c757"
+
+[[package]]
+name = "ciborium-ll"
+version = "0.2.2"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "57663b653d948a338bfb3eeba9bb2fd5fcfaecb9e199e87e1eda4d9e8b240fd9"
+dependencies = [
+ "ciborium-io",
+ "half",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "clap"
 version = "4.5.57"
@@ -527,6 +566,61 @@ dependencies = [
  "cfg-if",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "criterion"
+version = "0.5.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "f2b12d017a929603d80db1831cd3a24082f8137ce19c69e6447f54f5fc8d692f"
+dependencies = [
+ "anes",
+ "cast",
+ "ciborium",
+ "clap",
+ "criterion-plot",
+ "is-terminal",
+ "itertools 0.10.5",
+ "num-traits",
+ "once_cell",
+ "oorandom",
+ "plotters",
+ "rayon",
+ "regex",
+ "serde",
+ "serde_derive",
+ "serde_json",
+ "tinytemplate",
+ "walkdir",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "criterion-plot"
+version = "0.5.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "6b50826342786a51a89e2da3a28f1c32b06e387201bc2d19791f622c673706b1"
+dependencies = [
+ "cast",
+ "itertools 0.10.5",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "crossbeam-deque"
+version = "0.8.6"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "9dd111b7b7f7d55b72c0a6ae361660ee5853c9af73f70c3c2ef6858b950e2e51"
+dependencies = [
+ "crossbeam-epoch",
+ "crossbeam-utils",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "crossbeam-epoch"
+version = "0.9.18"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "5b82ac4a3c2ca9c3460964f020e1402edd5753411d7737aa39c3714ad1b5420e"
+dependencies = [
+ "crossbeam-utils",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "crossbeam-utils"
 version = "0.8.21"
@@ -561,6 +655,12 @@ dependencies = [
  "winapi",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "crunchy"
+version = "0.2.4"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "460fbee9c2c2f33933d720630a6a0bac33ba7053db5344fac858d4b8952d77d5"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "crypto-bigint"
 version = "0.5.5"
@@ -1328,6 +1428,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "clap",
  "clap_mangen",
  "cli-clipboard",
+ "criterion",
  "crossterm",
  "directories",
  "edit",
@@ -2110,6 +2211,17 @@ dependencies = [
  "subtle",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "half"
+version = "2.7.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "6ea2d84b969582b4b1864a92dc5d27cd2b77b622a8d79306834f1be5ba20d84b"
+dependencies = [
+ "cfg-if",
+ "crunchy",
+ "zerocopy",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "hash32"
 version = "0.3.1"
@@ -2161,6 +2273,12 @@ version = "0.5.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "2304e00983f87ffb38b55b444b5e3b60a884b5d30c0fca7d82fe33449bbe55ea"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "hermit-abi"
+version = "0.5.2"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "fc0fef456e4baa96da950455cd02c081ca953b141298e41db3fc7e36b1da849c"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "hex"
 version = "0.4.3"
@@ -2510,6 +2628,17 @@ dependencies = [
  "serde",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "is-terminal"
+version = "0.4.17"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "3640c1c38b8e4e43584d8df18be5fc6b0aa314ce6ebf51b53313d4306cca8e46"
+dependencies = [
+ "hermit-abi",
+ "libc",
+ "windows-sys 0.61.2",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "is_terminal_polyfill"
 version = "1.70.2"
@@ -2522,6 +2651,15 @@ version = "0.3.1"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "855de4169757ca6b92b396d7a0380ef234e9a1ec2ec603c80779453ed0ab45e4"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "itertools"
+version = "0.10.5"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "b0fd2260e829bddf4cb6ea802289de2f86d6a7a690192fbe91b3f46e0f2c8473"
+dependencies = [
+ "either",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "itertools"
 version = "0.14.0"
@@ -3097,6 +3235,12 @@ version = "1.70.2"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "384b8ab6d37215f3c5301a95a4accb5d64aa607f1fcb26a11b5303878451b4fe"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "oorandom"
+version = "11.1.5"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "d6790f58c7ff633d8771f42965289203411a5e5c68388703c06e14f24770b41e"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "openssl-probe"
 version = "0.2.1"
@@ -3388,6 +3532,34 @@ version = "0.3.32"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "7edddbd0b52d732b21ad9a5fab5c704c14cd949e5e9a1ec5929a24fded1b904c"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "plotters"
+version = "0.3.7"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "5aeb6f403d7a4911efb1e33402027fc44f29b5bf6def3effcc22d7bb75f2b747"
+dependencies = [
+ "num-traits",
+ "plotters-backend",
+ "plotters-svg",
+ "wasm-bindgen",
+ "web-sys",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "plotters-backend"
+version = "0.3.7"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "df42e13c12958a16b3f7f4386b9ab1f3e7933914ecea48da7139435263a4172a"
+
+[[package]]
+name = "plotters-svg"
+version = "0.3.7"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "51bae2ac328883f7acdfea3d66a7c35751187f870bc81f94563733a154d7a670"
+dependencies = [
+ "plotters-backend",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "portable-atomic"
 version = "1.13.1"
@@ -3714,7 +3886,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "compact_str",
  "hashbrown 0.16.1",
  "indoc",
- "itertools",
+ "itertools 0.14.0",
  "kasuari",
  "lru",
  "strum",
@@ -3778,7 +3950,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "hashbrown 0.16.1",
  "indoc",
  "instability",
- "itertools",
+ "itertools 0.14.0",
  "line-clipping",
  "ratatui-core",
  "strum",
@@ -3787,6 +3959,26 @@ dependencies = [
  "unicode-width",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "rayon"
+version = "1.11.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "368f01d005bf8fd9b1206fb6fa653e6c4a81ceb1466406b81792d87c5677a58f"
+dependencies = [
+ "either",
+ "rayon-core",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "rayon-core"
+version = "1.13.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "22e18b0f0062d30d4230b2e85ff77fdfe4326feb054b9783a3460d8435c8ab91"
+dependencies = [
+ "crossbeam-deque",
+ "crossbeam-utils",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "redox_syscall"
 version = "0.5.18"
@@ -4717,6 +4909,16 @@ dependencies = [
  "zerovec",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "tinytemplate"
+version = "1.2.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "be4d6b5f19ff7664e8c98d03e2139cb510db9b0a60b55f8e8709b689d939b6bc"
+dependencies = [
+ "serde",
+ "serde_json",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "tinyvec"
 version = "1.10.0"
@@ -4983,7 +5185,7 @@ version = "2.0.1"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "16b380a1238663e5f8a691f9039c73e1cdae598a30e9855f541d29b08b53e9a5"
 dependencies = [
- "itertools",
+ "itertools 0.14.0",
  "unicode-segmentation",
  "unicode-width",
 ]
@@ -5237,6 +5439,16 @@ dependencies = [
  "pkg-config",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "web-sys"
+version = "0.3.85"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "312e32e551d92129218ea9a2452120f4aabc03529ef03e4d0d82fb2780608598"
+dependencies = [
+ "js-sys",
+ "wasm-bindgen",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "web-time"
 version = "1.1.0"
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 9dc4fc8..f296ad0 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ members = ["crates/hyperrat", "crates/ratatui-toaster"]
 [features]
 default = ["keyring/linux-native"]
 persist-token = ["keyring/sync-secret-service"]
+benches = []
 
 [dependencies]
 anyhow = "1.0"
@@ -61,7 +62,20 @@ lto = "fat" # Enables Link-time Optimization.
 opt-level = "z" # Prioritizes small binary size. Use `3` if you prefer speed.
 strip = true # Ensures debug symbols are removed.
 
+[profile.profiling]
+inherits = "release"
+debug = true
+strip = false
+
 
 [build-dependencies]
 anyhow = "1.0.101"
 vergen-gix = { version = "9.1.0", features = ["build", "cargo"] }
+
+[dev-dependencies]
+criterion = { version = "0.5.1", features = ["html_reports"] }
+
+[[bench]]
+name = "ui_hotspots"
+harness = false
+required-features = ["benches"]
diff --git a/benches/ui_hotspots.rs b/benches/ui_hotspots.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..640cc2d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benches/ui_hotspots.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+use criterion::{BenchmarkId, Criterion, Throughput, black_box, criterion_group, criterion_main};
+use gitv_tui::bench_support::{
+    build_issue_body_preview_for_bench, issue_body_fixture, markdown_fixture,
+    render_markdown_for_bench,
+};
+
+fn bench_issue_list_preview(c: &mut Criterion) {
+    let mut group = c.benchmark_group("issue_list_preview");
+    for repeat in [1_usize, 4, 12, 32] {
+        let body = issue_body_fixture(repeat);
+        group.throughput(Throughput::Bytes(body.len() as u64));
+        for width in [40_usize, 80, 120] {
+            group.bench_with_input(
+                BenchmarkId::new(format!("repeat_{repeat}"), width),
+                &width,
+                |b, &width| {
+                    b.iter(|| {
+                        build_issue_body_preview_for_bench(black_box(&body), black_box(width))
+                    });
+                },
+            );
+        }
+    }
+    group.finish();
+}
+
+fn bench_markdown_render(c: &mut Criterion) {
+    let mut group = c.benchmark_group("markdown_render");
+    for repeat in [1_usize, 2, 6] {
+        let markdown = markdown_fixture(repeat);
+        group.throughput(Throughput::Bytes(markdown.len() as u64));
+        for (width, indent) in [(48_usize, 2_usize), (80, 2), (100, 4)] {
+            group.bench_with_input(
+                BenchmarkId::new(format!("repeat_{repeat}_indent_{indent}"), width),
+                &width,
+                |b, &width| {
+                    b.iter(|| {
+                        render_markdown_for_bench(
+                            black_box(&markdown),
+                            black_box(width),
+                            black_box(indent),
+                        )
+                    });
+                },
+            );
+        }
+    }
+    group.finish();
+}
+
+criterion_group!(ui_hotspots, bench_issue_list_preview, bench_markdown_render);
+criterion_main!(ui_hotspots);
diff --git a/src/bench_support.rs b/src/bench_support.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f3f5b6f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/bench_support.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+use crate::ui::components::{
+    issue_conversation::render_markdown_lines, issue_list::build_issue_body_preview,
+};
+use ratatui::text::Line;
+use textwrap::Options;
+
+pub fn render_markdown_for_bench(text: &str, width: usize, indent: usize) -> Vec<Line<'static>> {
+    render_markdown_lines(text, width, indent)
+}
+
+pub fn build_issue_body_preview_for_bench(body_text: &str, width: usize) -> String {
+    build_issue_body_preview(body_text, Options::new(width))
+}
+
+pub fn issue_body_fixture(repeat: usize) -> String {
+    let paragraph = "This issue body mixes plain text, unicode like cafe and naive width tests, long URLs such as https://example.com/some/really/long/path/with/query?alpha=1&beta=2, and enough prose to trigger multi-line wrapping in the issue list preview. ";
+    paragraph.repeat(repeat)
+}
+
+pub fn markdown_fixture(repeat: usize) -> String {
+    let section = r#"# Hot Path Markdown
+
+This fixture exercises **bold text**, _emphasis_, `inline code`, [links](https://github.com/jayanaxhf/gitv), and long prose that must wrap across multiple rendered lines inside the TUI.
+
+> [!NOTE]
+> Notes should render with a title and wrapped body content.
+
+- first bullet with a very long explanation that wraps onto the next line
+- second bullet with a reference to `IssueConversation`
+
+```rust
+fn render_preview(width: usize) -> Vec<String> {
+    (0..width.min(4)).map(|n| format!("line-{n}")).collect()
+}
+```
+
+| column | value |
+| ------ | ----- |
+| width  | 80    |
+| indent | 2     |
+
+Trailing paragraph to keep textwrap and markdown layout busy.
+
+"#;
+    section.repeat(repeat)
+}
diff --git a/src/lib.rs b/src/lib.rs
index db0c450..7e3f0a5 100644
--- a/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src/lib.rs
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 pub mod app;
 pub mod auth;
+#[cfg(feature = "benches")]
+pub mod bench_support;
 pub mod bookmarks;
 pub mod errors;
 pub mod github;
diff --git a/src/ui/components/issue_list.rs b/src/ui/components/issue_list.rs
index 4ff4ed4..366d0cc 100644
--- a/src/ui/components/issue_list.rs
+++ b/src/ui/components/issue_list.rs
@@ -770,8 +770,7 @@ impl<'a> IssueList<'a> {
         let body_text = pool
             .resolve_opt_str(issue.body)
             .unwrap_or("No desc provided");
-        let mut body = wrap(body_text.trim(), options);
-        body.truncate(2);
+        let body_preview = build_issue_body_preview(body_text, options);
 
         let bookmarked = bookmarks.is_bookmarked(&self.owner, &self.repo, issue.number);
         let bookmark_symbol = if bookmarked { " b " } else { "   " };
@@ -801,15 +800,18 @@ impl<'a> IssueList<'a> {
                 "  ",
                 span!(format!("Opened by {author} at {created_at}")).dim(),
             ],
-            line![
-                "   ",
-                span!(body.join(" ").to_string()).style(Style::new().dim())
-            ],
+            line!["   ", span!(body_preview).style(Style::new().dim())],
         ];
         ListItem::new(lines)
     }
 }
 
+pub(crate) fn build_issue_body_preview(body_text: &str, options: Options<'_>) -> String {
+    let mut body = wrap(body_text.trim(), options);
+    body.truncate(2);
+    body.join(" ")
+}
+
 pub(crate) fn render_issue_close_popup(
     popup: &mut IssueClosePopupState,
     area: Rect,