--- a/exec.go	2026-07-10 01:31:35.188129862 +0200
+++ b/exec.go	2026-07-10 01:31:35.189129894 +0200
@@ -5,14 +5,17 @@
 package gotext
 
 import (
+	"context"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
-	"heckel.io/ntfy/v2/template/gotext/fmtsort"
 	"io"
 	"reflect"
 	"runtime"
 	"strings"
+	"sync/atomic"
 	"text/template/parse"
+
+	"heckel.io/ntfy/v2/template/gotext/fmtsort"
 )
 
 // maxExecDepth specifies the maximum stack depth of templates within
@@ -32,11 +35,13 @@
 // template so that multiple executions of the same template
 // can execute in parallel.
 type state struct {
-	tmpl  *Template
-	wr    io.Writer
-	node  parse.Node // current node, for errors
-	vars  []variable // push-down stack of variable values.
-	depth int        // the height of the stack of executing templates.
+	tmpl      *Template
+	ctx       context.Context // ctx-ex: execution context; Execute uses context.Background.
+	wr        io.Writer
+	node      parse.Node   // current node, for errors
+	vars      []variable   // push-down stack of variable values.
+	depth     int          // the height of the stack of executing templates.
+	cancelled *atomic.Bool // ctx-ex: shared flag set by the context.AfterFunc watcher; nil if ctx cannot be canceled
 }
 
 // variable holds the dynamic value of a variable such as $, $x etc.
@@ -160,6 +165,14 @@
 	})
 }
 
+// cancelError is the wrapper type used internally when execution is aborted
+// because the context is done. Like writeError, it is stripped in errRecover
+// so the caller receives the original ctx.Err(). It is not an implementation
+// of error, so it cannot escape from the package as an error value.
+type cancelError struct {
+	Err error // Original context error.
+}
+
 // errRecover is the handler that turns panics into returns from the top
 // level of Parse.
 func errRecover(errp *error) {
@@ -170,6 +183,8 @@
 			panic(e)
 		case writeError:
 			*errp = err.Err // Strip the wrapper.
+		case cancelError:
+			*errp = err.Err // Strip the wrapper; return the context error.
 		case ExecError:
 			*errp = err // Keep the wrapper.
 		default:
@@ -186,11 +201,19 @@
 // A template may be executed safely in parallel, although if parallel
 // executions share a Writer the output may be interleaved.
 func (t *Template) ExecuteTemplate(wr io.Writer, name string, data any) error {
+	return t.ExecuteTemplateContext(context.Background(), wr, name, data)
+}
+
+// ExecuteTemplateContext is like [Template.ExecuteTemplate], but aborts and
+// returns ctx.Err() if ctx is canceled or its deadline is exceeded before
+// execution completes. See [Template.ExecuteContext] for the cancellation
+// semantics.
+func (t *Template) ExecuteTemplateContext(ctx context.Context, wr io.Writer, name string, data any) error {
 	tmpl := t.Lookup(name)
 	if tmpl == nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("template: no template %q associated with template %q", name, t.name)
 	}
-	return tmpl.Execute(wr, data)
+	return tmpl.ExecuteContext(ctx, wr, data)
 }
 
 // Execute applies a parsed template to the specified data object,
@@ -204,10 +227,27 @@
 // If data is a [reflect.Value], the template applies to the concrete
 // value that the reflect.Value holds, as in [fmt.Print].
 func (t *Template) Execute(wr io.Writer, data any) error {
-	return t.execute(wr, data)
+	return t.executeContext(context.Background(), wr, data)
 }
 
-func (t *Template) execute(wr io.Writer, data any) (err error) {
+// ExecuteContext is like [Template.Execute], but aborts and returns ctx.Err()
+// (either [context.Canceled] or [context.DeadlineExceeded], retrievable with
+// [errors.Is]) if ctx is canceled or its deadline is exceeded before execution
+// completes.
+//
+// Cancellation is observed between node evaluations as the template is walked,
+// so long-running renders -- including tight or nested {{range}} loops that
+// write no output -- are aborted promptly. A template blocked inside a single
+// function call is not interrupted until that call returns. Partial results may
+// already have been written to wr.
+func (t *Template) ExecuteContext(ctx context.Context, wr io.Writer, data any) error {
+	if err := ctx.Err(); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	return t.executeContext(ctx, wr, data)
+}
+
+func (t *Template) executeContext(ctx context.Context, wr io.Writer, data any) (err error) {
 	defer errRecover(&err)
 	value, ok := data.(reflect.Value)
 	if !ok {
@@ -215,9 +255,20 @@
 	}
 	state := &state{
 		tmpl: t,
+		ctx:  ctx,
 		wr:   wr,
 		vars: []variable{{"$", value}},
 	}
+	// If the context can be canceled, watch it with a single context.AfterFunc
+	// callback that flips an atomic flag; walk polls that flag per node (a cheap
+	// monomorphic atomic load) instead of calling ctx.Err() every node.
+	// Contexts that can never be canceled (Background, TODO) have a nil Done
+	// channel, so the default Execute path installs nothing and pays nothing.
+	if ctx.Done() != nil {
+		state.cancelled = new(atomic.Bool)
+		stop := context.AfterFunc(ctx, func() { state.cancelled.Store(true) })
+		defer stop()
+	}
 	if t.Tree == nil || t.Root == nil {
 		state.errorf("%q is an incomplete or empty template", t.Name())
 	}
@@ -260,6 +311,12 @@
 // generating output as they go.
 func (s *state) walk(dot reflect.Value, node parse.Node) {
 	s.at(node)
+	// Abort if the context has been canceled or its deadline has passed. The
+	// flag is set by the watcher installed in executeContext; observing it here
+	// interrupts any template shape, including loops that write no output.
+	if s.cancelled != nil && s.cancelled.Load() {
+		panic(cancelError{s.ctx.Err()})
+	}
 	switch node := node.(type) {
 	case *parse.ActionNode:
 		// Do not pop variables so they persist until next end.