diff --git a/crates/horizon-client/src/gfx.rs b/crates/horizon-client/src/gfx.rs
index 2b47e2a89c..8f5c8fe123 100644
--- a/crates/horizon-client/src/gfx.rs
+++ b/crates/horizon-client/src/gfx.rs
@@ -274,11 +274,7 @@ pub struct Renderer {
     sprite_sampler: wgpu::Sampler,
     lightmap_view: wgpu::TextureView,
     lightmap_sampler: wgpu::Sampler,
-    animations: Vec<(SpriteAnimation, usize)>,
-    /// Each sprite layer's MipmapGenerator settings, for animation frames.
-    sprite_mips: Vec<crate::mipmap::Settings>,
-    /// Edge length of the block sprite array's layers.
-    sprite_size: u32,
+    animations: AnimatedSprites,
     sprite_minimum_size: u32,
     indices: wgpu::Buffer,
     index_quads: u32,
@@ -1423,9 +1419,7 @@ impl Renderer {
             sprite_sampler,
             lightmap_view,
             lightmap_sampler,
-            animations: animations.iter().map(|a| (a.clone(), usize::MAX)).collect(),
-            sprite_mips: sprite_mips.to_vec(),
-            sprite_size,
+            animations: AnimatedSprites::new(animations, sprite_size, sprite_mips),
             sprite_minimum_size,
             indices,
             index_quads,
@@ -1806,9 +1800,7 @@ impl Renderer {
         animate_sprites(
             &mut self.animations,
             tick,
-            self.sprite_size,
             self.mip_levels,
-            &self.sprite_mips,
             |layer, level, size, pixels| {
                 self.queue.write_texture(
                     wgpu::TexelCopyTextureInfo {
@@ -2717,21 +2709,80 @@ pub(crate) fn sprite_mipmap_limit(requested: u32, size: u32, minimum: u32, avail
     let upscale = (size / minimum.max(1)).max(1).ilog2();
     requested.saturating_add(upscale).min(available - 1)
 }
-fn animate_sprites(
-    animations: &mut [(crate::sprites::SpriteAnimation, usize)],
-    tick: u64,
+const ANIMATION_MIP_BUDGET: usize = 8 << 20;
+const ANIMATION_MIP_ENTRIES: usize = 4096;
+
+/// One immutable resource snapshot and its lazily generated frame mips. A new
+/// renderer on resource reload drops this entire snapshot, including its cache:
+/// frame indices can never alias another resource's pixels, size or settings.
+struct AnimatedSprites {
+    animations: Vec<(SpriteAnimation, usize)>,
     size: u32,
+    settings: Vec<crate::mipmap::Settings>,
+    // Cache bookkeeping must not consume randomness or affect other maps' seeding.
+    cache: crate::fast_hash::FxHashMap<(usize, usize), Vec<u8>>,
+    /// Retained pixel-buffer capacities, not just their initialized lengths.
+    cache_bytes: usize,
+    budget: usize,
+}
+impl AnimatedSprites {
+    fn new(
+        animations: &[SpriteAnimation],
+        size: u32,
+        settings: &[crate::mipmap::Settings],
+    ) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            animations: animations
+                .iter()
+                .cloned()
+                .map(|a| (a, usize::MAX))
+                .collect(),
+            size,
+            settings: settings.to_vec(),
+            cache: Default::default(),
+            cache_bytes: 0,
+            budget: ANIMATION_MIP_BUDGET,
+        }
+    }
+}
+fn animate_sprites(
+    state: &mut AnimatedSprites,
+    tick: u64,
     max_levels: u32,
-    settings: &[crate::mipmap::Settings],
     mut write: impl FnMut(u32, u32, u32, &[u8]),
 ) {
-    for (animation, previous) in animations {
+    let size = state.size;
+    let levels = size.trailing_zeros() + 1;
+    for (index, (animation, previous)) in state.animations.iter_mut().enumerate() {
         let frame = animation.frame(tick);
         if frame == *previous {
             continue;
         }
         *previous = frame;
-        let (mips, levels) = mip_chain(animation.pixels(frame), size, settings, animation.layer, 1);
+        let room = state.cache.len() < ANIMATION_MIP_ENTRIES;
+        let uncached;
+        let mips: &[u8] = match state.cache.entry((index, frame)) {
+            std::collections::hash_map::Entry::Occupied(entry) => entry.into_mut(),
+            std::collections::hash_map::Entry::Vacant(entry) => {
+                let (pixels, _) = mip_chain(
+                    animation.pixels(frame),
+                    size,
+                    &state.settings,
+                    animation.layer,
+                    1,
+                );
+                // Bound both pixel storage and map metadata. Keep admitted
+                // frames rather than churning them on large/unique workloads;
+                // frames that do not fit still use the same generation path.
+                if room && pixels.capacity() <= state.budget - state.cache_bytes {
+                    state.cache_bytes += pixels.capacity();
+                    entry.insert(pixels)
+                } else {
+                    uncached = pixels;
+                    &uncached
+                }
+            }
+        };
         let mut offset = 0;
         for level in 0..levels.min(max_levels) {
             let edge = size >> level;
@@ -2758,7 +2809,8 @@ mod sprite_upload_tests {
             let pixels = animation.pixels(animation.frame(1)).to_vec();
             let settings = [];
             let (expected, levels) = mip_chain(&pixels, size, &settings, 7, 1);
-            let mut animations = vec![(animation, 0)];
+            let mut animations = AnimatedSprites::new(&[animation], size, &settings);
+            animations.animations[0].1 = 0;
             let mut writes = Vec::new();
             let mut record = |layer, level, edge, data: &[u8]| {
                 assert_eq!(layer, 7);
@@ -2766,12 +2818,102 @@ mod sprite_upload_tests {
                 assert_eq!(data.len(), (edge * edge * 4) as usize);
                 writes.push(data.to_vec());
             };
-            animate_sprites(&mut animations, 0, size, levels, &settings, &mut record);
-            animate_sprites(&mut animations, 1, size, levels, &settings, &mut record);
-            animate_sprites(&mut animations, 1, size, levels, &settings, &mut record);
+            animate_sprites(&mut animations, 0, levels, &mut record);
+            animate_sprites(&mut animations, 1, levels, &mut record);
+            animate_sprites(&mut animations, 1, levels, &mut record);
             assert_eq!(writes.len(), levels as usize);
             assert_eq!(writes[0], pixels);
             assert_eq!(writes.concat(), expected);
         }
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn cached_and_uncached_uploads_match_through_loops_and_mip_changes() {
+        for size in [16, 32] {
+            let animations = [crate::sprites::test_animation(size, 7)];
+            let settings = vec![
+                crate::mipmap::Settings {
+                    strategy: crate::mipmap::Strategy::StrictCutout,
+                    alpha_cutoff_bias: -0.2,
+                    ..Default::default()
+                };
+                8
+            ];
+            let mut cached = AnimatedSprites::new(&animations, size, &settings);
+            let mut uncached = AnimatedSprites::new(&animations, size, &settings);
+            uncached.budget = 0;
+            for tick in [0, 0, 1, 2, 3, 33, 32, 32, 1, 0] {
+                let levels = (tick % 7) as u32;
+                let mut expected = Vec::new();
+                let mut actual = Vec::new();
+                animate_sprites(&mut uncached, tick, levels, |layer, level, edge, bytes| {
+                    expected.push((layer, level, edge, bytes.to_vec()));
+                });
+                animate_sprites(&mut cached, tick, levels, |layer, level, edge, bytes| {
+                    actual.push((layer, level, edge, bytes.to_vec()));
+                });
+                assert_eq!(actual, expected);
+            }
+            assert_eq!(cached.cache.len(), 2);
+            assert_eq!(uncached.cache_bytes, 0);
+            assert_eq!(
+                cached.cache_bytes,
+                cached.cache.values().map(Vec::capacity).sum::<usize>()
+            );
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn budget_exhaustion_keeps_admitted_frames_and_uploads_misses() {
+        let size = 16;
+        let animation = crate::sprites::test_animation(size, 0);
+        let bytes = mip_chain(animation.pixels(0), size, &[], 0, 1).0.capacity();
+        let mut state = AnimatedSprites::new(&[animation], size, &[]);
+        state.budget = bytes;
+        for tick in 0..8 {
+            let mut writes = 0;
+            animate_sprites(&mut state, tick, 5, |_, _, _, _| writes += 1);
+            assert_eq!(writes, 5);
+            assert_eq!(state.cache_bytes, bytes);
+            assert_eq!(state.cache.len(), 1);
+            assert!(state.cache.contains_key(&(0, 0)));
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn entry_limit_also_bounds_metadata_for_tiny_frames() {
+        let animation = crate::sprites::test_animation(1, 0);
+        let animations = vec![animation; ANIMATION_MIP_ENTRIES + 1];
+        let mut state = AnimatedSprites::new(&animations, 1, &[]);
+        for tick in 0..2 {
+            let mut writes = 0;
+            animate_sprites(&mut state, tick, 1, |_, _, _, _| writes += 1);
+            assert_eq!(writes, animations.len());
+            assert_eq!(state.cache.len(), ANIMATION_MIP_ENTRIES);
+            assert!(state.cache_bytes <= ANIMATION_MIP_BUDGET);
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn resource_snapshot_replacement_discards_pixels_size_and_settings() {
+        let old = crate::sprites::test_animation(16, 0);
+        let mut state = AnimatedSprites::new(&[old], 16, &[]);
+        animate_sprites(&mut state, 0, 5, |_, _, _, _| {});
+        assert!(!state.cache.is_empty());
+        let animation = crate::sprites::test_animation(32, 0);
+        let settings = [crate::mipmap::Settings {
+            strategy: crate::mipmap::Strategy::StrictCutout,
+            alpha_cutoff_bias: -0.4,
+            ..Default::default()
+        }];
+        let expected = mip_chain(animation.pixels(0), 32, &settings, 0, 1).0;
+        state = AnimatedSprites::new(&[animation], 32, &settings);
+        assert_eq!(state.cache_bytes, 0);
+        assert!(state.cache.is_empty());
+        let mut actual = Vec::new();
+        animate_sprites(&mut state, 0, 6, |_, _, _, bytes| {
+            actual.extend_from_slice(bytes)
+        });
+        assert_eq!(actual, expected);
+    }
 }
diff --git a/docs/animated-sprite-mips-benchmark.md b/docs/animated-sprite-mips-benchmark.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..60aed97db5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/animated-sprite-mips-benchmark.md
@@ -0,0 +1,148 @@
+# Animated sprite mip cache
+
+`animate_sprites` retains full mip chains for previously displayed source frames.
+The renderer owns an immutable snapshot of animations, size and mip settings;
+resource reload replaces that snapshot and drops its cache. Mipmap options only
+change the sampled view, so the full chains stay valid. Frame selection, skipped
+unchanged frames, upload order and mip bytes are preserved.
+
+Admission is lazy, with an 8 MiB limit on retained `Vec` capacities and a separate
+4,096-entry limit on map metadata. The existing fixed integer hasher avoids
+consuming random seeds for cache bookkeeping. An admitted frame stays until resource reload;
+a frame that does not fit uses the original generation path. There is no eviction
+churn. These limits apply to the additional cache, excluding the existing source
+frames and the original generator's temporary allocations. Map/allocator overhead
+is additional and bounded by the entry limit.
+
+## Reproduce
+
+Use prepared 26.3 resources at `.local/horizon-client/26.3`. All block/item
+textures are loaded, including static layers that set the shared array size
+(the 64px straw-bed texture). The Python driver
+compiles the production `gfx.rs` functions and actual sprite/mipmap loaders into
+a private Cargo workspace under `.local/sprite-mips-bench`; it does not build the
+rest of the client or expose a benchmark API in the renderer. `--ref` selects the
+baseline's actual gfx code; the sprite/mipmap loaders are unchanged by this
+optimization. Both use release optimization, LTO off, 16 codegen units.
+
+Build first, then release the lock before the paired measurement session. Keep
+all measurement pairs in one lock acquisition so other heavy work cannot overlap:
+
+```sh
+flock /tmp/horizon-optimizations-20261015-heavy.lock bash -c '
+  set -e
+  export CARGO_BUILD_JOBS=2
+  python3 tools/bench_sprite_mips.py --ref 89b58991bbc02eb79b6965fc4ca56357fe2297d9 --label baseline --build-only
+  python3 tools/bench_sprite_mips.py --label candidate --build-only
+'
+flock /tmp/horizon-optimizations-20261015-heavy.lock bash -c '
+  set -e
+  export CARGO_BUILD_JOBS=2
+  for round in 1 2 3; do
+    variants="baseline candidate"
+    if [ "$round" = 2 ]; then variants="candidate baseline"; fi
+    for variant in $variants; do
+      python3 -c "import resource, subprocess, sys; subprocess.run(sys.argv[1:], check=True); print(\"max_rss_kib=\" + str(resource.getrusage(resource.RUSAGE_CHILDREN).ru_maxrss), file=sys.stderr)" \
+        .local/sprite-mips-bench/target/release/sprite-mips-$variant \
+        .local/horizon-client/26.3 .local/sprite-mips-bench/$variant/names.txt
+    done
+  done
+'
+```
+
+Each process reports resource loading, its first frame (including one-time mip
+tables), nine warmed-code samples of fresh-state setup/first upload/teardown,
+and setup plus the first 4,096 ticks. It then samples 1,024 warmed animation ticks
+and 3,072 rendered frames at three renders per tick, nine times each. Another
+1,024 ticks report CPU latency p50/p95/max. The warmed state is dropped before
+the unique workloads, keeping one live renderer cache at a time. A black-box
+upload callback consumes each slice without GPU calls. The unchanged initial
+atlas generation, GPU staging, draw calls and presentation are outside this CPU
+measurement; these numbers do not establish an FPS improvement.
+
+The first-seen workloads request each distinct source frame found over 4,096
+ticks once, and separately simulate 8,192 distinct array layers sharing real
+immutable inputs. The latter deliberately exceeds the cache budget and practical
+atlas sizes to exercise admission and fallback. Fresh-state samples include
+teardown. Source-frame samples report peak retained bytes for one animation;
+other samples report the state's retained pixel-buffer capacity.
+
+Every process also compares complete upload streams with the original function
+at 517 tick positions, including duplicate ticks, jumps, rewinds and changing mip
+limits, using all real animations (including interpolation metadata). This
+preserves the existing frame-based path; it does not add or validate GPU blending
+of interpolated frames.
+
+## Validation
+
+- `pr_ready.py --base 89b58991bbc02eb79b6965fc4ca56357fe2297d9 --quick`: public tree,
+  formatting, workspace clippy, 196 Python tests and 635 client tests passed.
+- Native animation parity: 907 fixtures (63 resource animations), including
+  258,996 tick states and 203 intentionally rejected inputs, match the pinned client.
+- Native mipmap parity: 1,319 cases / 7,914 output lines match exactly.
+- Native breaking-model parity: 2,740 cases / 155,928 vertices match within the
+  harness tolerance; maximum error `1.40395e-07`.
+
+The full game parity suite was not run. This checkout has no recorded harness
+index; `pr_ready --quick` lists that deferred selection, and the relevant native
+harnesses above were run explicitly. GPU interpolation pixels and end-to-end FPS
+remain outside this evaluation.
+
+## Measured outcome
+
+Kept. Ryzen 5 5600X (12 logical CPUs), rustc 1.99.0
+(`b940084d7`, 2026-09-28), Linux; 2,131 prepared block/item textures,
+54 animations and 594 distinct source frames. Three paired process runs,
+reversing baseline/candidate order in round two, each with one warmup and nine
+samples per workload (27 samples per variant). Both binaries used the same
+private Cargo dependency resolution and optimized profile. Baseline gfx is
+`89b58991bbc02eb79b6965fc4ca56357fe2297d9`.
+
+CPU times below are median [minimum, maximum], in milliseconds. Each repeated
+sample averages 1,024 ticks or 3,072 render calls; unique/cold samples include
+state setup and teardown.
+
+| Workload | Baseline | Cache | Median change |
+| --- | --- | --- | --- |
+| Fresh state + first tick + drop | 7.532 [7.193, 7.567] | 7.545 [7.128, 7.791] | +0.18% |
+| Repeated tick | 3.627 [3.491, 3.720] | 1.692 [1.646, 1.739] | -53.34% |
+| Repeated render, three renders/tick | 1.203 [1.181, 1.244] | 0.562 [0.546, 0.585] | -53.33% |
+| Each actual source frame once | 98.168 [96.647, 102.813] | 97.093 [96.674, 104.441] | -1.09% |
+| 8,192 distinct layers, first frame | 1123.475 [1088.996, 1156.957] | 1121.300 [1087.745, 1154.184] | -0.19% |
+
+Repeated-tick medians for the three processes were respectively
+`3.647 / 3.646 / 3.540` ms baseline and `1.702 / 1.674 / 1.692` ms cached.
+The corresponding render-call medians were `1.233 / 1.195 / 1.192` ms and
+`0.562 / 0.556 / 0.562` ms. The improvement repeats in every pair; cold and
+unique-frame differences are within the observed variation.
+
+Additional per-process samples, baseline → cache:
+
+- Resource decoding: `69.829 / 69.350 / 67.308` → `68.632 / 66.235 / 67.252` ms.
+- Process-first setup/upload/drop, including mip table initialization:
+  `7.255 / 7.979 / 7.610` → `8.796 / 7.706 / 7.688` ms. The first cached
+  process had a cold outlier; no cold-start speedup is claimed.
+- Setup plus first 4,096 ticks, including cache fill:
+  `14.835 / 15.001 / 14.746` → `7.053 / 6.997 / 6.955` seconds.
+- Individual warmed-tick p50: `4.311 / 4.313 / 4.318` →
+  `1.639 / 1.543 / 1.550` ms; p95: `6.613 / 6.617 / 6.885` →
+  `4.139 / 3.960 / 3.972` ms; maximum: `7.621 / 7.702 / 7.569` →
+  `5.285 / 6.448 / 5.213` ms.
+- Whole-process peak RSS: `84412 / 83388 / 85416` →
+  `84480 / 83820 / 84524` KiB, using a fresh Python parent's
+  `resource.getrusage(RUSAGE_CHILDREN).ru_maxrss` per invocation. RSS includes
+  resource loading and the synthetic workload, and allocator reuse/other peaks
+  hide the retained cache cost; it does **not** establish zero added memory.
+
+At 64px, each generated chain has 32,768 bytes of `Vec` capacity. The cache
+retains 256 entries / exactly 8,388,608 bytes, with map capacity 448, and bypasses
+the remaining frames. Retaining all 594 frames would require 18.56 MiB of buffer
+capacity. The first tick retains 1,769,472 bytes; the one-animation-at-a-time
+unique-source workload peaks at 1 MiB. The separate 4,096-entry cap bounds map
+metadata for tiny textures. No GPU memory or upload bytes are saved.
+
+All six measured processes passed the 517-position upload-stream comparison.
+The 196 Python tests were rerun after adding the build-only driver mode and
+passed. The first RSS wrapper attempt failed before collecting samples because
+`/usr/bin/time` was unavailable; the complete paired session above uses Python
+resource counters. Private raw output remains under `.local/sprite-mips-*`.
diff --git a/tools/bench_sprite_mips.py b/tools/bench_sprite_mips.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..93e6e88996
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/bench_sprite_mips.py
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Benchmark the actual gfx CPU upload path, isolated from GPU/window startup.
+
+Run under the shared heavy-work flock. Uses a private .local Cargo workspace;
+--ref selects an unmodified baseline, otherwise reads the working tree.
+"""
+import argparse
+import json
+import os
+from pathlib import Path
+import subprocess
+
+ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[1]
+
+
+def function(source, name):
+    start = source.index(f'fn {name}(')
+    brace = source.index('{', start)
+    depth = 1
+    end = brace + 1
+    while depth:
+        depth += (source[end] == '{') - (source[end] == '}')
+        end += 1
+    return source[start:end]
+
+
+def main():
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description=__doc__)
+    parser.add_argument('--ref')
+    mode = parser.add_mutually_exclusive_group()
+    mode.add_argument('--test', action='store_true', help='run extracted production upload tests')
+    mode.add_argument('--build-only', action='store_true', help='build without measuring')
+    parser.add_argument('--label', default='candidate')
+    parser.add_argument('--resources', type=Path, default=ROOT / '.local/horizon-client/26.3')
+    args = parser.parse_args()
+    path = 'crates/horizon-client/src/gfx.rs'
+    source = (subprocess.check_output(['git', 'show', f'{args.ref}:{path}'], cwd=ROOT, text=True)
+              if args.ref else (ROOT / path).read_text())
+    build = ROOT / '.local/sprite-mips-bench' / args.label
+    build.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    cached = 'struct AnimatedSprites' in source
+    code = function(source, 'mip_chain') + '\n'
+    if cached:
+        code += source[source.index('const ANIMATION_MIP_BUDGET'):source.index('#[cfg(test)]\nmod sprite_upload_tests')]
+    else:
+        code += function(source, 'animate_sprites')
+    baseline = subprocess.check_output(['git', 'show', '89b58991bbc02eb79b6965fc4ca56357fe2297d9:crates/horizon-client/src/gfx.rs'], cwd=ROOT, text=True)
+    code += '\n' + function(baseline, 'animate_sprites').replace('fn animate_sprites(', 'fn reference_animate_sprites(', 1)
+    if args.test:
+        code += '\n' + function(source, 'sprite_mipmap_limit')
+        code += '\n' + source[source.index('#[cfg(test)]\nmod sprite_upload_tests'):]
+    modules = '\n'.join(f'#[path = {json.dumps(str(ROOT / "crates/horizon-client/src" / (name + ".rs")))}] mod {name};'
+                        for name in ('mipmap', 'sprites', 'fast_hash'))
+    (build / 'main.rs').write_text(modules + '\nuse sprites::SpriteAnimation;\n'
+                                  + code + '\n' + (ROOT / 'tools/bench_sprite_mips.rs').read_text())
+    (build / 'Cargo.toml').write_text(f'''[package]
+name = "sprite-mips-{args.label}"
+version = "0.0.0"
+edition = "2024"
+[workspace]
+[[bin]]
+name = "sprite-mips-{args.label}"
+path = "main.rs"
+[dependencies]
+horizon-assets = {{ path = "{ROOT / 'crates/horizon-assets'}" }}
+png = "0.18"
+serde_json = {{ version = "1.0.151", features = ["raw_value"] }}
+log = "0.4"
+[features]
+cached = []
+[profile.release]
+lto = false
+codegen-units = 16
+''')
+    # Include static sprites too: the largest layer sets the animation upload
+    # resolution (the prepared straw-bed texture makes this a 64px array).
+    names = [f'minecraft:{folder}/{image.stem}'
+             for folder in ('block', 'item')
+             for image in sorted((args.resources / f'assets/minecraft/textures/{folder}').glob('*.png'))]
+    (build / 'names.txt').write_text('\n'.join(names))
+    command = ['cargo', 'test' if args.test else 'build' if args.build_only else 'run', '--release', '--manifest-path', str(build / 'Cargo.toml')]
+    if cached:
+        command += ['--features', 'cached']
+    if not args.test and not args.build_only:
+        command += ['--', str(args.resources), str(build / 'names.txt')]
+    subprocess.run(command, cwd=ROOT, check=True, env=dict(os.environ, CARGO_TARGET_DIR=str(ROOT / '.local/sprite-mips-bench/target')))
+
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+    main()
diff --git a/tools/bench_sprite_mips.rs b/tools/bench_sprite_mips.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..34f72444a2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/bench_sprite_mips.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,226 @@
+// Compiled by bench_sprite_mips.py with the production gfx functions and loaders.
+type Result<T> = std::result::Result<T, Box<dyn std::error::Error>>;
+use std::{hint::black_box, time::Instant};
+
+#[cfg(not(feature = "cached"))]
+struct AnimatedSprites {
+    animations: Vec<(SpriteAnimation, usize)>,
+    size: u32,
+    settings: Vec<mipmap::Settings>,
+}
+#[cfg(not(feature = "cached"))]
+impl AnimatedSprites {
+    fn new(animations: &[SpriteAnimation], size: u32, settings: &[mipmap::Settings]) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            animations: animations
+                .iter()
+                .cloned()
+                .map(|a| (a, usize::MAX))
+                .collect(),
+            size,
+            settings: settings.to_vec(),
+        }
+    }
+}
+fn update(state: &mut AnimatedSprites, tick: u64) {
+    let mut sink = |layer, level, size, pixels: &[u8]| {
+        black_box((layer, level, size, pixels));
+    };
+    #[cfg(feature = "cached")]
+    {
+        let levels = state.size.trailing_zeros() + 1;
+        animate_sprites(state, tick, levels, &mut sink);
+    }
+    #[cfg(not(feature = "cached"))]
+    animate_sprites(
+        &mut state.animations,
+        tick,
+        state.size,
+        state.size.trailing_zeros() + 1,
+        &state.settings,
+        &mut sink,
+    );
+}
+fn retained(state: &AnimatedSprites) -> usize {
+    #[cfg(feature = "cached")]
+    {
+        state.cache_bytes
+    }
+    #[cfg(not(feature = "cached"))]
+    {
+        let _ = state;
+        0
+    }
+}
+fn samples(name: &str, mut run: impl FnMut() -> (f64, usize)) {
+    run(); // Warm code and allocator; each cold/unique run still has a new cache.
+    let rows: Vec<_> = (0..9).map(|_| run()).collect();
+    println!("{name} us,bytes: {rows:?}");
+}
+fn main() -> Result<()> {
+    let args: Vec<_> = std::env::args().collect();
+    let start = Instant::now();
+    let mut sprites = sprites::Sprites::default();
+    for name in std::fs::read_to_string(&args[2])?.lines() {
+        sprites.insert(std::path::Path::new(&args[1]), name)?;
+    }
+    sprites.finish();
+    println!(
+        "resources_ms={:.3} animations={} size={}",
+        start.elapsed().as_secs_f64() * 1e3,
+        sprites.animations.len(),
+        sprites.size
+    );
+    let start = Instant::now();
+    let mut first = AnimatedSprites::new(&sprites.animations, sprites.size, &sprites.mips);
+    update(&mut first, 0);
+    let bytes = retained(&first);
+    drop(first);
+    println!(
+        "process_first_frame_us={:.3} bytes={bytes}",
+        start.elapsed().as_secs_f64() * 1e6
+    );
+    samples("setup+cold+drop", || {
+        let start = Instant::now();
+        let mut state = AnimatedSprites::new(&sprites.animations, sprites.size, &sprites.mips);
+        update(&mut state, 0);
+        let bytes = retained(&state);
+        drop(state);
+        (start.elapsed().as_secs_f64() * 1e6, bytes)
+    });
+    let start = Instant::now();
+    let mut state = AnimatedSprites::new(&sprites.animations, sprites.size, &sprites.mips);
+    for tick in 0..4096 {
+        update(&mut state, tick);
+    }
+    println!(
+        "setup+4096ticks_ms={:.3} bytes={}",
+        start.elapsed().as_secs_f64() * 1e3,
+        retained(&state)
+    );
+    #[cfg(feature = "cached")]
+    println!(
+        "cache_entries={} map_capacity={}",
+        state.cache.len(),
+        state.cache.capacity()
+    );
+    samples("repeated/tick", || {
+        let start = Instant::now();
+        for tick in 4096..5120 {
+            update(&mut state, tick);
+        }
+        (
+            start.elapsed().as_secs_f64() * 1e6 / 1024.0,
+            retained(&state),
+        )
+    });
+    samples("repeated/render60hz", || {
+        let start = Instant::now();
+        for frame in 0..3072 {
+            update(&mut state, 4096 + frame / 3);
+        }
+        (
+            start.elapsed().as_secs_f64() * 1e6 / 3072.0,
+            retained(&state),
+        )
+    });
+    let mut latencies: Vec<_> = (5120..6144)
+        .map(|tick| {
+            let start = Instant::now();
+            update(&mut state, tick);
+            start.elapsed().as_secs_f64() * 1e6
+        })
+        .collect();
+    latencies.sort_unstable_by(f64::total_cmp);
+    println!(
+        "repeat_tick_latency_us p50={:.3} p95={:.3} max={:.3}",
+        latencies[512], latencies[972], latencies[1023]
+    );
+    drop(state); // One live renderer cache at a time, including for RSS samples.
+    // Each actual source frame is requested once, without warming its cache.
+    let unique_ticks: Vec<Vec<u64>> = sprites
+        .animations
+        .iter()
+        .map(|a| {
+            let mut seen = std::collections::BTreeSet::new();
+            (0..4096)
+                .filter(|&tick| seen.insert(a.frame(tick)))
+                .collect()
+        })
+        .collect();
+    println!(
+        "unique_source_frames={}",
+        unique_ticks.iter().map(Vec::len).sum::<usize>()
+    );
+    samples("unique_source_frames/setup+drop (peak bytes)", || {
+        let start = Instant::now();
+        let mut peak = 0;
+        for (animation, ticks) in sprites.animations.iter().zip(&unique_ticks) {
+            let mut state =
+                AnimatedSprites::new(std::slice::from_ref(animation), sprites.size, &sprites.mips);
+            for &tick in ticks {
+                update(&mut state, tick);
+            }
+            peak = peak.max(retained(&state));
+        }
+        (start.elapsed().as_secs_f64() * 1e6, peak)
+    });
+    // Distinct array layers, sharing immutable real frame inputs. Every request
+    // is a first-seen key; tests admission overhead and budget saturation.
+    let unique: Vec<_> = (0..8192)
+        .map(|i| {
+            let mut animation = sprites.animations[i % sprites.animations.len()].clone();
+            animation.layer = i as u32;
+            animation
+        })
+        .collect();
+    let settings: Vec<_> = (0..unique.len())
+        .map(|i| sprites.mips[sprites.animations[i % sprites.animations.len()].layer as usize])
+        .collect();
+    samples("unique8192/setup+first+drop", || {
+        let start = Instant::now();
+        let mut state = AnimatedSprites::new(&unique, sprites.size, &settings);
+        update(&mut state, 0);
+        let bytes = retained(&state);
+        drop(state);
+        (start.elapsed().as_secs_f64() * 1e6, bytes)
+    });
+    // Compare the complete write stream, including frames with interpolation
+    // metadata, duplicate ticks, jumps, rewind and changing upload mip limits.
+    let mut state = AnimatedSprites::new(&sprites.animations, sprites.size, &sprites.mips);
+    let mut reference: Vec<_> = sprites
+        .animations
+        .iter()
+        .cloned()
+        .map(|a| (a, usize::MAX))
+        .collect();
+    for tick in (0..512).chain([511, 0, 9999, 9999, 17]) {
+        let levels = (tick % (sprites.size.trailing_zeros() as u64 + 2)) as u32;
+        let mut expected = Vec::new();
+        reference_animate_sprites(
+            &mut reference,
+            tick,
+            sprites.size,
+            levels,
+            &sprites.mips,
+            |layer, level, edge, pixels| expected.push((layer, level, edge, pixels.to_vec())),
+        );
+        let mut actual = Vec::new();
+        #[cfg(feature = "cached")]
+        animate_sprites(&mut state, tick, levels, |layer, level, edge, pixels| {
+            actual.push((layer, level, edge, pixels.to_vec()))
+        });
+        #[cfg(not(feature = "cached"))]
+        animate_sprites(
+            &mut state.animations,
+            tick,
+            state.size,
+            levels,
+            &state.settings,
+            |layer, level, edge, pixels| actual.push((layer, level, edge, pixels.to_vec())),
+        );
+        assert_eq!(actual, expected, "write stream at tick {tick}");
+    }
+    println!("write_stream_parity=passed (517 ticks, real animations, varying mip limits)");
+    Ok(())
+}