diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8d1735f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+name: ci
+
+on:
+  push:
+    branches: [master, v8]
+  pull_request:
+
+jobs:
+  test:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    strategy:
+      matrix:
+        node: [24, 26]
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
+        with:
+          node-version: ${{ matrix.node }}
+      - run: npm install
+      - run: npm test
diff --git a/docs/v8.md b/docs/v8.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7f4b272
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/v8.md
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+# choo v8 — branch notes
+
+This branch is the working tree for the v8 modernization effort. The v7 code
+at the repo root is untouched and stays authoritative until 8.0.0 ships;
+everything new lives under `packages/`.
+
+## Layout
+
+- `packages/core` — `@choojs/core`: the Choo class, same API as choo v7
+  (`use`/`route`/`start`/`mount`/`toString`/`emit`), ported to ESM. The
+  nano* internals are consolidated into `lib/` as attributed ports:
+  - `lib/bus.js` ← nanobus 4.5.0
+  - `lib/router.js` ← nanorouter 4.0.0 + wayfarer 7.0.1 (+ trie)
+  - `lib/cache.js` ← choo component/cache.js + nanolru 1.0.0
+  - `lib/raf.js` ← nanoraf 3.1.0, `lib/href.js` ← nanohref 3.1.0
+  - `lib/timing.js` ← nanotiming 7.3.1 (unified on global `performance`)
+  - `lib/dom.js` ← document-ready 2.0.1 + scroll-to-anchor 1.0.0
+  - `lib/query.js` — nanoquery replaced by `URLSearchParams`
+- `packages/html` — `@choojs/html`: the rendering package.
+  - `server.js` — server-side tagged template (← nanohtml 1.10.0 server,
+    transform branches removed; pure runtime)
+  - `morph.js` — ← nanomorph 5.4.3, consolidated to one module
+  - `browser.js` — **Phase 2**: runtime-only cached template tag (WeakMap
+    keyed on the template strings array, clone-based instantiation,
+    hydration that adopts server DOM). Throws until implemented.
+  - `raw.js` — mark pre-encoded strings
+
+## Status vs the modernization plan
+
+- [x] Phase 1: monorepo scaffold, ESM ports, choo v7 node test suite green
+      on `node --test` (Node ≥ 24), CI on GitHub Actions
+- [ ] Phase 2: browser renderer rewrite + hydration, `@choojs/component`
+- [ ] Phase 3: v8 wiring (`toStream`, devtools, codemod)
+- [ ] Phase 4: bankai v10 (Vite 8/Rolldown shell, SSR middleware,
+      103 Early Hints, service worker, precompression)
+- [ ] Phase 5: docs, examples, launch
+
+## Deliberate changes from v7
+
+- `choo()` still works without `new`; `Choo` is also a named export.
+- nanoquery → `URLSearchParams` (same output shape, repeated keys → arrays).
+- Assertions live in `lib/assert.js` so production builds can strip them.
+- Everything targets Node ≥ 24 and Baseline Widely Available browsers; there
+  is no compile step and no transpilation anywhere.
+
+## Attribution
+
+All ported modules are MIT-licensed work by the original choojs/nano*
+authors and contributors; per-file headers note the source package and
+version. This branch exists to carry that work forward, not to replace it.
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index f19669f..399dba4 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,78 +1,18 @@
 {
-  "name": "choo",
-  "version": "7.1.0",
-  "description": "A 4kb framework for creating sturdy frontend applications",
-  "main": "index.js",
-  "files": [
-    "index.js",
-    "index.d.ts",
-    "html/index.js",
-    "html/raw.js",
-    "html/index.d.ts",
-    "component/cache.js",
-    "component/index.js",
-    "dist",
-    "example"
+  "name": "@choojs/monorepo",
+  "private": true,
+  "version": "8.0.0-dev",
+  "description": "Monorepo for choo v8 — a 4kb framework for creating sturdy frontend applications",
+  "type": "module",
+  "workspaces": [
+    "packages/*"
   ],
-  "browser": {
-    "assert": "nanoassert"
+  "engines": {
+    "node": ">=24"
   },
   "scripts": {
-    "build": "mkdir -p dist/ && browserify index -s Choo -p bundle-collapser/plugin > dist/bundle.js && browserify index -s Choo -p tinyify > dist/bundle.min.js && cat dist/bundle.min.js | gzip --best --stdout | wc -c | pretty-bytes",
-    "deps": "dependency-check --entry ./html/index.js . && dependency-check . --extra --no-dev --entry ./html/index.js --entry ./component/index.js -i nanoassert",
-    "inspect": "browserify --full-paths index -p tinyify | discify --open",
-    "prepublishOnly": "npm run build",
-    "start": "bankai start example",
-    "test": "standard && npm run deps && npm run test:types && npm run test:node && npm run test:browser",
-    "test:types": "tsd",
-    "test:node": "node test/node.js | tap-format-spec",
-    "test:browser": "browserify test/browser.js | tape-run | tap-format-spec"
+    "test": "node --test packages/core/test/ packages/html/test/"
   },
   "repository": "choojs/choo",
-  "keywords": [
-    "client",
-    "frontend",
-    "framework",
-    "minimal",
-    "composable",
-    "tiny"
-  ],
-  "license": "MIT",
-  "dependencies": {
-    "document-ready": "^2.0.1",
-    "nanoassert": "^1.1.0",
-    "nanobus": "^4.4.0",
-    "nanocomponent": "^6.5.0",
-    "nanohref": "^3.0.0",
-    "nanohtml": "^1.1.0",
-    "nanolru": "^1.0.0",
-    "nanomorph": "^5.1.2",
-    "nanoquery": "^1.1.0",
-    "nanoraf": "^3.0.0",
-    "nanorouter": "^4.0.0",
-    "nanotiming": "^7.0.0",
-    "scroll-to-anchor": "^1.0.0"
-  },
-  "devDependencies": {
-    "@tap-format/spec": "^0.2.0",
-    "browserify": "^16.2.2",
-    "bundle-collapser": "^1.2.1",
-    "dependency-check": "^3.1.0",
-    "disc": "^1.3.3",
-    "hyperscript": "^2.0.2",
-    "pretty-bytes-cli": "^2.0.0",
-    "spok": "^0.9.1",
-    "standard": "^11.0.1",
-    "tape": "^4.6.3",
-    "tape-run": "^6.0.0",
-    "tinyify": "^2.2.0",
-    "tsd": "^0.11.0"
-  },
-  "tsd": {
-    "compilerOptions": {
-      "lib": [
-        "DOM"
-      ]
-    }
-  }
+  "license": "MIT"
 }