diff --git a/src/lib/utils/highlightText.ts b/src/lib/utils/highlightText.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d033033
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/utils/highlightText.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+/**
+ * Wraps matching text in <mark> tags for highlighting.
+ * Returns HTML string to be used with {@html} in Svelte.
+ *
+ * @param text - The text to search within
+ * @param query - The search query to highlight
+ * @returns HTML string with matches wrapped in <mark> tags
+ */
+export function highlightText(text: string, query: string): string {
+	// Don't highlight if query is too short
+	if (!query || query.length < 2) return escapeHtml(text);
+
+	// Escape HTML in the original text first
+	const escaped = escapeHtml(text);
+
+	// Escape regex special characters in query
+	const escapedQuery = query.replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, '\\$&');
+	const regex = new RegExp(`(${escapedQuery})`, 'gi');
+
+	// Wrap matches in <mark> with bold styling (no background per CONTEXT.md)
+	return escaped.replace(regex, '<mark class="font-bold bg-transparent">$1</mark>');
+}
+
+/**
+ * Escapes HTML special characters to prevent XSS.
+ */
+function escapeHtml(text: string): string {
+	const map: Record<string, string> = {
+		'&': '&amp;',
+		'<': '&lt;',
+		'>': '&gt;',
+		'"': '&quot;',
+		"'": '&#039;'
+	};
+	return text.replace(/[&<>"']/g, (char) => map[char]);
+}