diff --git a/.changeset/measured-mutation-observer.md b/.changeset/measured-mutation-observer.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c222112
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/measured-mutation-observer.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@camp.dev/bones": patch
+---
+
+Measured bones re-measure when the boundary's children or text change while busy, not only when the boundary resizes. Streamed and htmx-style swaps mid-skeleton now update the bars instead of leaving stale ones.
diff --git a/apps/docs/content/docs/api/bones-boundary.mdx b/apps/docs/content/docs/api/bones-boundary.mdx
index 97c472f..423e535 100644
--- a/apps/docs/content/docs/api/bones-boundary.mdx
+++ b/apps/docs/content/docs/api/bones-boundary.mdx
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ A measured boundary is `display: block; position: relative` (the overlay needs a
 Three edges to know about:
 
 - Content hiding uses a non-`!important` `::slotted` rule. An author rule that sets `visibility` on a direct child of the boundary wins over it and that child stays visible. The same cascade behavior is what lets `auto.css` keep `[data-bones-auto="off"]` subtrees visible under the overlay — without `auto.css` on the page, opted-out subtrees hide with everything else.
-- Re-measurement is size-driven. Content that changes while busy without resizing the boundary (a fixed-height container whose children are swapped) keeps its previous bars until the next resize. Content that scrolls inside the boundary (an `overflow: auto` box) also leaves bars at their pre-scroll positions, because scrolling fires no resize.
+- Re-measurement is driven by size changes and by DOM changes: children added, removed, or replaced, and text edits. An attribute change that reflows content without either — a `class` swap inside a fixed-size boundary — keeps its previous bars until the next resize or DOM change. Content that scrolls inside the boundary (an `overflow: auto` box) also leaves bars at their pre-scroll positions, because scrolling fires neither. A subtree that becomes empty while showing drops the boundary to the CSS path for the rest of that showing window, even if content is added later.
 - Measurement compensates for scale transforms on the boundary or its ancestors, but not for rotation or skew. A rotated boundary draws its bars in the wrong place.
 
 ## React
diff --git a/packages/bones/src/element/overlay.ts b/packages/bones/src/element/overlay.ts
index 6fdcab4..65ee133 100644
--- a/packages/bones/src/element/overlay.ts
+++ b/packages/bones/src/element/overlay.ts
@@ -96,6 +96,7 @@ export class MeasuredOverlay {
   #host: HTMLElement;
   #container: HTMLElement | undefined;
   #observer: ResizeObserver | undefined;
+  #mutations: MutationObserver | undefined;
   #active = false;
   // The author may set data-bones-auto themselves; only remove it on
   // deactivate when this overlay put it there.
@@ -167,21 +168,42 @@ export class MeasuredOverlay {
   }
 
   #observe(): void {
-    if (typeof ResizeObserver === "undefined" || this.#observer) return;
-    this.#observer = new ResizeObserver(() => {
-      // The callback runs after layout, so re-measuring here is sound. The
-      // bars are absolutely positioned in the shadow tree and never change
-      // the host's size, so this cannot loop. Content that becomes
-      // unmeasurable while active (e.g. the subtree emptied out) falls back
-      // to the CSS path rather than leaving stale bars pinned in place.
-      if (this.#active && !this.#renderBars()) this.deactivate();
-    });
-    this.#observer.observe(this.#host);
+    if (typeof ResizeObserver !== "undefined" && !this.#observer) {
+      this.#observer = new ResizeObserver(() => this.#invalidate());
+      this.#observer.observe(this.#host);
+    }
+    // Streamed swaps replace children mid-show without resizing the host, so
+    // size alone is not enough to invalidate. This observer sees only the
+    // light tree — bar rendering happens in the shadow root, which a
+    // light-tree observer never reports — so re-rendering bars cannot
+    // re-trigger it. Attribute mutations are deliberately excluded: observing
+    // them would fire on every class or style tick of anything inside the
+    // boundary, and an attribute-driven reflow inside a fixed-size host is a
+    // documented stale case instead.
+    if (typeof MutationObserver !== "undefined" && !this.#mutations) {
+      this.#mutations = new MutationObserver(() => this.#invalidate());
+      this.#mutations.observe(this.#host, {
+        childList: true,
+        subtree: true,
+        characterData: true,
+      });
+    }
   }
 
   #unobserve(): void {
     this.#observer?.disconnect();
     this.#observer = undefined;
+    this.#mutations?.disconnect();
+    this.#mutations = undefined;
+  }
+
+  // Called after layout (ResizeObserver) or as a microtask after a DOM change
+  // (MutationObserver); re-measuring forces layout in the second case, which
+  // is fine for how rarely busy content mutates. Content that becomes
+  // unmeasurable while active (e.g. the subtree emptied out) falls back to
+  // the CSS path rather than leaving stale bars pinned in place.
+  #invalidate(): void {
+    if (this.#active && !this.#renderBars()) this.deactivate();
   }
 
   #renderBars(): boolean {
diff --git a/packages/bones/tests/browser/mutation.test.ts b/packages/bones/tests/browser/mutation.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1d85b95
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/bones/tests/browser/mutation.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+/// <reference types="vite-plus/client" />
+import { afterEach, expect, test } from "vite-plus/test";
+import "../../src/css/auto.css";
+import "../../src/element/index.ts";
+import type { BonesBoundary } from "../../src/element/index.ts";
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Mutation-driven re-measurement. The host height is pinned in every fixture,
+// so a child swap never resizes the host. ResizeObserver also guarantees one
+// callback the first time it observes a target, even with no actual size
+// change (there is no previously reported size to compare against yet) — so
+// every fixture below settles past that guaranteed first delivery before
+// mutating. After the settle, only the MutationObserver can drive a
+// re-measure: these tests fail without it (verified — see the fix report).
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  document.body.innerHTML = "";
+});
+
+function mount(inner: string): BonesBoundary {
+  document.body.insertAdjacentHTML(
+    "beforeend",
+    `<bones-boundary force precision="measured" transition="none" min-duration="0"
+       style="width: 20ch; height: 120px; font: 16px/1.5 monospace;">${inner}</bones-boundary>`,
+  );
+  return document.querySelector("bones-boundary")!;
+}
+
+function bars(el: BonesBoundary): HTMLElement[] {
+  return Array.from(el.shadowRoot!.querySelectorAll<HTMLElement>('[part~="bone"]'));
+}
+
+function fragment(html: string): DocumentFragment {
+  return document.createRange().createContextualFragment(html);
+}
+
+// Lets ResizeObserver's guaranteed first delivery (and any other pending
+// microtask/frame work) land and settle before a test's real assertion.
+function settle(): Promise<void> {
+  return new Promise((resolve) =>
+    requestAnimationFrame(() => requestAnimationFrame(() => resolve())),
+  );
+}
+
+const TWO_LINES = '<p style="margin: 0">aaaa bbbb cccc dddd eeee ffff</p>';
+const ONE_LINE = '<p style="margin: 0">short</p>';
+
+test("swapping children re-measures without a resize", async () => {
+  const el = mount(TWO_LINES);
+  expect(bars(el)).toHaveLength(2);
+  await settle();
+  el.replaceChildren(fragment(ONE_LINE));
+  await expect.poll(() => bars(el).length).toBe(1);
+  expect(el.hasAttribute("data-bones-measured")).toBe(true);
+});
+
+test("editing text re-measures", async () => {
+  const el = mount(TWO_LINES);
+  expect(bars(el)).toHaveLength(2);
+  await settle();
+  (el.querySelector("p")!.firstChild as Text).data = "short";
+  await expect.poll(() => bars(el).length).toBe(1);
+});
+
+test("an emptied subtree deactivates to the CSS path", async () => {
+  const el = mount(TWO_LINES);
+  await settle();
+  el.replaceChildren();
+  await expect.poll(() => el.hasAttribute("data-bones-measured")).toBe(false);
+  expect(bars(el)).toHaveLength(0);
+});
+
+test("bar rendering does not observe itself", async () => {
+  // Bars render into the shadow root; an observer on the host's light tree
+  // never reports them. If it did, this would loop: each re-measure replaces
+  // the bar elements, which would re-trigger the observer forever.
+  const el = mount(TWO_LINES);
+  await settle();
+  el.replaceChildren(fragment(ONE_LINE));
+  await expect.poll(() => bars(el).length).toBe(1);
+  const bar = bars(el)[0];
+  await settle();
+  expect(bars(el)[0]).toBe(bar);
+});
+
+test("a class change does not re-measure", async () => {
+  // Attribute mutations are deliberately excluded from the observer config:
+  // a class or style tick anywhere in the boundary must not touch the bars.
+  const el = mount(TWO_LINES);
+  await settle();
+  const bar = bars(el)[0];
+  el.querySelector("p")!.className = "x";
+  await settle();
+  expect(bars(el)).toHaveLength(2);
+  expect(bars(el)[0]).toBe(bar);
+});