diff --git a/src/search/snippet.ts b/src/search/snippet.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cc45b72
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/search/snippet.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+/**
+ * Match-centred excerpt extraction for search results.
+ */
+
+const DEFAULT_MAX_LENGTH = 160;
+const CONTEXT_BEFORE = 40;
+
+/**
+ * Extracts an excerpt of `text` centred on the earliest match offset.
+ *
+ * `matchedOffsets` are offsets into the ORIGINAL text, as produced by
+ * `scoreField`. When no offsets are supplied the excerpt falls back to a
+ * head truncation.
+ */
+export function extractSnippet(
+  text: string,
+  matchedOffsets: number[],
+  maxLength: number = DEFAULT_MAX_LENGTH
+): string {
+  if (!text) {
+    return "";
+  }
+
+  if (text.length <= maxLength) {
+    return text.trim();
+  }
+
+  let start = 0;
+  if (matchedOffsets.length > 0) {
+    const earliest = Math.min(...matchedOffsets);
+    start = Math.max(0, Math.min(earliest - CONTEXT_BEFORE, text.length - maxLength));
+  }
+
+  const end = Math.min(text.length, start + maxLength);
+  let snippet = text.slice(start, end).trim();
+
+  if (start > 0) {
+    snippet = `...${snippet}`;
+  }
+  if (end < text.length) {
+    snippet = `${snippet}...`;
+  }
+
+  return snippet;
+}
diff --git a/tests/search/snippet.test.ts b/tests/search/snippet.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..39a2d9b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/search/snippet.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+import { describe, expect, test } from "bun:test";
+import { extractSnippet } from "../../src/search/snippet.ts";
+
+const LONG_TEXT =
+  "The team met on Tuesday to review the quarterly plan. " +
+  "After a long discussion about staffing, we reached a decision on the hiring freeze. " +
+  "The remaining agenda items were deferred to the following week.";
+
+describe("extractSnippet", () => {
+  test("centres the window on the match rather than the start of the text", () => {
+    const offset = LONG_TEXT.indexOf("hiring");
+    const snippet = extractSnippet(LONG_TEXT, [offset]);
+    expect(snippet).toContain("hiring");
+    expect(snippet.startsWith("...")).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  test("adds a leading ellipsis only when the window is not at the start", () => {
+    const snippet = extractSnippet(LONG_TEXT, [0]);
+    expect(snippet.startsWith("...")).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  test("adds a trailing ellipsis when the text continues past the window", () => {
+    const snippet = extractSnippet(LONG_TEXT, [0]);
+    expect(snippet.endsWith("...")).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  test("returns short text whole with no ellipsis", () => {
+    expect(extractSnippet("Short note", [0])).toBe("Short note");
+  });
+
+  test("falls back to a head truncation when there are no offsets", () => {
+    const snippet = extractSnippet(LONG_TEXT, []);
+    expect(snippet.startsWith("The team met")).toBe(true);
+    expect(snippet.endsWith("...")).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  test("returns an empty string for empty text", () => {
+    expect(extractSnippet("", [5])).toBe("");
+  });
+
+  test("uses the earliest offset when several are supplied", () => {
+    const first = LONG_TEXT.indexOf("staffing");
+    const later = LONG_TEXT.indexOf("deferred");
+    const snippet = extractSnippet(LONG_TEXT, [later, first]);
+    expect(snippet).toContain("staffing");
+  });
+
+  test("respects a custom maxLength", () => {
+    const snippet = extractSnippet(LONG_TEXT, [0], 20);
+    expect(snippet.replace(/\.\.\.$/, "").length).toBeLessThanOrEqual(20);
+  });
+});