diff --git a/src/plugins/preload-css.js b/src/plugins/preload-css.js
index 2a8f909aa..68e7060ff 100644
--- a/src/plugins/preload-css.js
+++ b/src/plugins/preload-css.js
@@ -4,6 +4,51 @@
 const fs = require("fs")
 const path = require("path")
 
+/**
+ * Split minified CSS into top-level rule blocks, handling nested braces
+ * (e.g. @media queries containing inner rules).
+ */
+function splitCssBlocks(css) {
+  const blocks = []
+  let i = 0
+  while (i < css.length) {
+    const braceStart = css.indexOf("{", i)
+    if (braceStart === -1) {
+      if (i < css.length) blocks.push(css.slice(i))
+      break
+    }
+    let depth = 0
+    let j = braceStart
+    while (j < css.length) {
+      if (css[j] === "{") depth++
+      else if (css[j] === "}") {
+        depth--
+        if (depth === 0) {
+          blocks.push(css.slice(i, j + 1))
+          i = j + 1
+          break
+        }
+      }
+      j++
+    }
+    if (j >= css.length) {
+      blocks.push(css.slice(i))
+      break
+    }
+  }
+  return blocks
+}
+
+function isDocSearchBlock(block) {
+  if (!block.includes(".DocSearch") && !block.includes("--docsearch-"))
+    return false
+  // Keep all :root blocks — CSS variable definitions are needed for initial layout
+  if (block.includes(":root")) return false
+  // Keep DocSearch button styles in main CSS — the button is always visible
+  if (block.includes(".DocSearch-Button")) return false
+  return true
+}
+
 module.exports = function embedCssPlugin() {
   return {
     name: "embed-css",
@@ -16,7 +61,34 @@ module.exports = function embedCssPlugin() {
       )
       if (!cssFile) return
 
-      const cssContent = fs.readFileSync(path.join(cssDir, cssFile), "utf8")
+      const cssPath = path.join(cssDir, cssFile)
+      const fullCss = fs.readFileSync(cssPath, "utf8")
+
+      // --- Phase 1: Extract DocSearch CSS into a separate file ---
+      const blocks = splitCssBlocks(fullCss)
+      const mainBlocks = []
+      const docSearchBlocks = []
+
+      for (const block of blocks) {
+        if (isDocSearchBlock(block)) {
+          docSearchBlocks.push(block)
+        } else {
+          mainBlocks.push(block)
+        }
+      }
+
+      const mainCss = mainBlocks.join("")
+      const docSearchCss = docSearchBlocks.join("")
+
+      // Extract the hash from the original filename (styles.HASH.css)
+      const hash = cssFile.replace("styles.", "").replace(".css", "")
+      const docSearchFile = `docsearch.${hash}.css`
+
+      fs.writeFileSync(cssPath, mainCss)
+      fs.writeFileSync(path.join(cssDir, docSearchFile), docSearchCss)
+
+      // --- Phase 2: Embed main CSS inline + lazy-load DocSearch CSS ---
+      const lazyLoadScript = `<script>(function(){var d=false;function l(){if(d)return;d=true;var s=document.createElement("link");s.rel="stylesheet";s.href="/docs/assets/css/${docSearchFile}";document.head.appendChild(s)}document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){var b=document.querySelector(".DocSearch");if(b){b.addEventListener("mouseover",l,{once:true});b.addEventListener("focus",l,{once:true});b.addEventListener("click",l,{once:true})}})})()</script>`
 
       function walk(dir) {
         for (const entry of fs.readdirSync(dir, { withFileTypes: true })) {
@@ -34,9 +106,10 @@ module.exports = function embedCssPlugin() {
 
         if (!html.includes(cssFile)) return
 
+        // Replace the stylesheet link with inline styles + DocSearch lazy loader
         html = html.replace(
           /<link\b[^>]*\bhref="[^"]*styles\.[^"]*\.css"[^>]*>/i,
-          `<style>${cssContent}</style>`,
+          `<style>${mainCss}</style>${lazyLoadScript}`,
         )
         fs.writeFileSync(filePath, html)
       }
diff --git a/vercel.json b/vercel.json
index dc7d3aa89..cce01d1bd 100644
--- a/vercel.json
+++ b/vercel.json
@@ -1235,7 +1235,7 @@
   ],
   "headers": [
     {
-      "source": "/docs/(assets)/(.*)",
+      "source": "/docs/assets/(.*)",
       "headers": [
         {
           "key": "Vercel-CDN-Cache-Control",