diff --git a/EPIC_NON_HTML_PAGES.md b/EPIC_NON_HTML_PAGES.md
index d39252545f4..62abaae5a54 100644
--- a/EPIC_NON_HTML_PAGES.md
+++ b/EPIC_NON_HTML_PAGES.md
@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@ Implementation notes (branch `v3/non-html-pages-foundation`):
   as non-HTML. Both recorded in the v3 release notes as breaking changes, though
   the old outputs were almost certainly never intended or relied upon.
 
-### PR 2 — Realtime compiler: route-first resolution for non-HTML paths
+### PR 2 — Realtime compiler: route-first resolution for non-HTML paths ✅ Implemented
 
 Goal: `hyde serve` serves any registered route regardless of extension; no
 filename special cases.
@@ -178,6 +178,26 @@ filename special cases.
 - `PageRouter::getContentType()` already handles txt/xml/json; extend the map only
   if new types come up.
 
+Implementation notes (branch `v3/non-html-pages-realtime-compiler`):
+
+- The route lookup needs the booted application, but `shouldProxy()` ran before
+  booting, so the predicate was dissolved into `Router::handle()` instead of
+  booting inside it: the `/media/` prefix remains the only boot-free fast path,
+  and any other asset-like path is proxied only when no registered route matches.
+  Missing assets fall through to the 404 in `proxyStatic()`, which absorbed the
+  previous separate missing-asset branch (same response either way).
+- Perf consequence: requests for existing static files outside `media/` now boot
+  the app before being proxied, since routes must be consulted first. Such files
+  are rare (Hyde assets live under `media/`), and every non-proxied request
+  already booted.
+- Behavior fix beyond the search.json generalization: a static file whose path
+  shadowed a registered dotted route (like a `_media/9.x` file next to a
+  `9.x/index` page) was previously served instead of the page; the page now wins.
+  Conversely, a routeless file like `_media/search.json` requested as
+  `/search.json` was previously 404'd by the suffix special case and is now
+  proxied like any other asset.
+- `getContentType()` untouched — no new content types came up.
+
 ### PR 3 — `TextPage` class (the headline feature)
 
 Goal: drop `_pages/robots.txt` in, get `_site/robots.txt` out.
diff --git a/HYDEPHP_V3_PLANNING.md b/HYDEPHP_V3_PLANNING.md
index c2f8ac83280..98a0b7f7109 100644
--- a/HYDEPHP_V3_PLANNING.md
+++ b/HYDEPHP_V3_PLANNING.md
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ Having this document in code lets us know the devlopment state at any given poin
 ### Minor Changes and Cleanup
 
 - The `Redirect` page class constructor now accepts an optional `$matter` parameter, used by the framework to hide the generated documentation root redirect from navigation menus. Existing usages are unaffected.
+- The realtime compiler now resolves registered page routes before proxying static assets, replacing the hardcoded `search.json` exemption, so `hyde serve` serves any registered route regardless of its output extension. Registered pages now always win over a static file at the same path; the previous behavior of serving such a shadowing file only affected the dev server and no real setups are expected to be affected.
 
 - Removed the legacy `checkForDeprecatedRunMixCommandUsage` check and the placeholder `--run-dev`/`--run-prod` options from the `build` command, which were kept in v2 only to surface a helpful error message. ([#2461](https://github.com/hydephp/develop/pull/2461))
 - Removed the deprecated `hyde.server.dashboard` boolean config check from `DashboardController::enabled()`, which was kept in v2 for backwards compatibility but had since then been replaced with `hyde.server.dashboard.enabled`. ([#2461](https://github.com/hydephp/develop/pull/2462))
diff --git a/packages/realtime-compiler/src/Routing/Router.php b/packages/realtime-compiler/src/Routing/Router.php
index 315e6bf3eaf..4638194660b 100644
--- a/packages/realtime-compiler/src/Routing/Router.php
+++ b/packages/realtime-compiler/src/Routing/Router.php
@@ -19,9 +19,6 @@ class Router
 
     protected Request $request;
 
-    protected bool $assetPathResolved = false;
-    protected ?string $resolvedAssetPath = null;
-
     public function __construct(Request $request)
     {
         $this->request = $request;
@@ -29,7 +26,9 @@ public function __construct(Request $request)
 
     public function handle(): Response
     {
-        if ($this->shouldProxy()) {
+        // Media files are always static assets, so we proxy them
+        // directly without paying for booting the application.
+        if (str_starts_with($this->request->path, '/media/')) {
             return $this->proxyStatic();
         }
 
@@ -43,41 +42,16 @@ public function handle(): Response
             return $virtualRoutes[$this->request->path]($this->request);
         }
 
-        // A path with a file extension that matches neither a static file nor a page (like a
-        // missing stylesheet or source map) is a missing asset, and not a missing web page,
-        // so we send a normal 404 response instead of the pretty page not found error.
+        // A path with a file extension that isn't a web page is a static asset request,
+        // unless a page route is registered for the path (like `docs/search.json`),
+        // as pages take precedence over the on-disk files the proxy serves.
         if ($this->hasAssetLikeExtension() && ! PageRouter::hasRoute($this->request)) {
-            return $this->notFound();
+            return $this->proxyStatic();
         }
 
         return PageRouter::handle($this->request);
     }
 
-    /**
-     * If the request is not for a web page, we assume it's
-     * a static asset, which we instead want to proxy.
-     */
-    protected function shouldProxy(): bool
-    {
-        // Always proxy media files. This condition is just to improve performance
-        // without having to check the file extension.
-        if (str_starts_with($this->request->path, '/media/')) {
-            return true;
-        }
-
-        if (! $this->hasAssetLikeExtension()) {
-            return false;
-        }
-
-        // Don't proxy the search.json file, as it's generated on the fly.
-        if (str_ends_with($this->request->path, 'search.json')) {
-            return false;
-        }
-
-        // Dotted page routes (like documentation version folders) are proxied only when a matching asset exists.
-        return $this->resolveAssetPath() !== null;
-    }
-
     /**
      * Does the request path have an extension that isn't a web page?
      *
@@ -90,16 +64,6 @@ protected function hasAssetLikeExtension(): bool
         return $extension !== null && $extension !== 'html';
     }
 
-    protected function resolveAssetPath(): ?string
-    {
-        if (! $this->assetPathResolved) {
-            $this->resolvedAssetPath = AssetFileLocator::find($this->request->path);
-            $this->assetPathResolved = true;
-        }
-
-        return $this->resolvedAssetPath;
-    }
-
     /**
      * Override the configured site URL so compiled pages reference the local
      * server instead of the production URL. Without this, assets such as
@@ -182,7 +146,7 @@ protected function getConfiguredServerHost(string $scheme): string
      */
     protected function proxyStatic(): Response
     {
-        $path = $this->resolveAssetPath();
+        $path = AssetFileLocator::find($this->request->path);
 
         if ($path === null) {
             return $this->notFound();
diff --git a/packages/realtime-compiler/tests/RealtimeCompilerTest.php b/packages/realtime-compiler/tests/RealtimeCompilerTest.php
index 31f18636046..662b957ed45 100644
--- a/packages/realtime-compiler/tests/RealtimeCompilerTest.php
+++ b/packages/realtime-compiler/tests/RealtimeCompilerTest.php
@@ -216,6 +216,65 @@ public function testErrorThrownWhileCompilingExistingDottedPageIsNotSentAsA404()
         }
     }
 
+    public function testServesRegisteredPageRouteEvenWhenMatchingAssetExists()
+    {
+        $this->mockCompilerRoute('9.x');
+
+        Filesystem::ensureDirectoryExists('_pages/9.x');
+        Filesystem::put('_pages/9.x/index.md', '# Hello World!');
+        Filesystem::put('_media/9.x', 'static decoy');
+
+        try {
+            $kernel = new HttpKernel();
+            $response = $kernel->handle(new Request());
+
+            $this->assertSame(200, $response->statusCode);
+            $this->assertStringContainsString('Hello World!', $response->body);
+            $this->assertStringNotContainsString('static decoy', $response->body);
+        } finally {
+            Filesystem::deleteDirectory('_pages/9.x');
+            Filesystem::unlink('_media/9.x');
+        }
+    }
+
+    public function testDocsSearchJsonRouteWinsOverMatchingAssetFile()
+    {
+        $this->mockCompilerRoute('docs/search.json');
+
+        Filesystem::put('_docs/index.md', '# Hello World!');
+        Filesystem::ensureDirectoryExists('_media/docs');
+        Filesystem::put('_media/docs/search.json', '"static decoy"');
+
+        try {
+            $kernel = new HttpKernel();
+            $response = $kernel->handle(new Request());
+
+            $this->assertSame(200, $response->statusCode);
+            $this->assertNotSame('"static decoy"', $response->body);
+            $this->assertIsArray(json_decode($response->body, true));
+        } finally {
+            Filesystem::unlink('_docs/index.md');
+            Filesystem::deleteDirectory('_media/docs');
+        }
+    }
+
+    public function testProxiesRootLevelAssetWhenNoRouteMatchesThePath()
+    {
+        $this->mockCompilerRoute('data.json');
+
+        Filesystem::put('_media/data.json', '{"static": true}');
+
+        try {
+            $kernel = new HttpKernel();
+            $response = $kernel->handle(new Request());
+
+            $this->assertSame(200, $response->statusCode);
+            $this->assertSame('{"static": true}', $response->body);
+        } finally {
+            Filesystem::unlink('_media/data.json');
+        }
+    }
+
     public function testTrailingSlashesAreNormalizedFromRoute()
     {
         $this->mockCompilerRoute('foo/');