diff --git a/packages/ui-next/src/widgets/utils/introspection.ts b/packages/ui-next/src/widgets/utils/introspection.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f64dcb7c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/ui-next/src/widgets/utils/introspection.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+import type { LayoutNode, WidgetCapability } from "@/widgets/types";
+import { widgetRegistry } from "@/widgets/system";
+
+// ─── Tree introspection helpers ──────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+/**
+ * Walk the node tree depth-first and return every node whose registered widget
+ * declares the given capability.
+ */
+export function findNodesByCapability(
+  root: LayoutNode,
+  capability: WidgetCapability,
+): LayoutNode[] {
+  const results: LayoutNode[] = [];
+
+  function walk(node: LayoutNode) {
+    const def = widgetRegistry.get(node.type);
+    if (def?.metadata.capabilities?.includes(capability)) {
+      results.push(node);
+    }
+    node.children.forEach(walk);
+  }
+
+  walk(root);
+  return results;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Returns a map of capability → matching nodes for the entire subtree.
+ * Only lists capabilities that actually appear in the tree.
+ */
+export function treeCapabilityMap(
+  root: LayoutNode,
+): Partial<Record<WidgetCapability, LayoutNode[]>> {
+  const map: Partial<Record<WidgetCapability, LayoutNode[]>> = {};
+
+  function walk(node: LayoutNode) {
+    const def = widgetRegistry.get(node.type);
+    for (const cap of def?.metadata.capabilities ?? []) {
+      (map[cap] ??= []).push(node);
+    }
+    node.children.forEach(walk);
+  }
+
+  walk(root);
+  return map;
+}
+
+/** True if a node's widget declares the given capability. */
+export function nodeHasCapability(
+  node: LayoutNode,
+  capability: WidgetCapability,
+): boolean {
+  return (
+    widgetRegistry.get(node.type)?.metadata.capabilities?.includes(capability) ??
+    false
+  );
+}
diff --git a/packages/ui-next/src/widgets/widgets/sample/ImageWidget.tsx b/packages/ui-next/src/widgets/widgets/sample/ImageWidget.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2b312efc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/ui-next/src/widgets/widgets/sample/ImageWidget.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+import type { BaseWidgetProps } from "@/widgets/types";
+
+export type ImageFit = "cover" | "contain" | "fill" | "none";
+
+export interface ImageWidgetProps extends BaseWidgetProps {
+  /** Image source URL. Falls back to a random placeholder from picsum.photos. */
+  url?: string;
+  alt?: string;
+  /** CSS object-fit. Default: "cover". */
+  fit?: ImageFit;
+  /** Fixed height in px. Default: 200. */
+  height?: number;
+}
+
+const PLACEHOLDER = "https://picsum.photos/seed/polymech/800/400";
+
+export function ImageWidget({
+  url,
+  alt,
+  fit = "cover",
+  height = 200,
+  enabled = true,
+}: ImageWidgetProps) {
+  if (!enabled) return null;
+
+  return (
+    <div
+      className="panel widget-image"
+      style={{ padding: 0, overflow: "hidden" }}
+    >
+      <img
+        src={url || PLACEHOLDER}
+        alt={alt ?? ""}
+        style={{ width: "100%", height, objectFit: fit, display: "block" }}
+      />
+    </div>
+  );
+}
diff --git a/packages/ui-next/src/widgets/widgets/sample/ImageWidgetEdit.tsx b/packages/ui-next/src/widgets/widgets/sample/ImageWidgetEdit.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c876184a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/ui-next/src/widgets/widgets/sample/ImageWidgetEdit.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+/**
+ * Inline edit component for the `image` widget.
+ *
+ * Lazy-loaded via editComponent in corePlugin — never bundled into the view path.
+ * Overlays an editable URL input when the image is hovered/focused so the user
+ * can swap the image directly on the canvas.
+ */
+import { useRef, useState } from "react";
+import type { ImageWidgetProps } from "./ImageWidget";
+
+const PLACEHOLDER = "https://picsum.photos/seed/polymech/800/400";
+
+export function ImageWidgetEdit({
+  url,
+  alt,
+  fit = "cover",
+  height = 200,
+  onPropsChange,
+}: ImageWidgetProps) {
+  const [hovered, setHovered] = useState(false);
+  const inputRef = useRef<HTMLInputElement>(null);
+
+  const commit = () => {
+    const nextUrl = inputRef.current?.value ?? url ?? "";
+    onPropsChange({ url: nextUrl, alt, fit, height });
+  };
+
+  return (
+    <div
+      className="panel widget-image"
+      style={{
+        padding: 0,
+        overflow: "hidden",
+        position: "relative",
+        outline: hovered ? "2px dashed #3b82f6" : "2px dashed transparent",
+        outlineOffset: 2,
+        transition: "outline-color 0.15s ease",
+      }}
+      onMouseEnter={() => setHovered(true)}
+      onMouseLeave={() => setHovered(false)}
+    >
+      <img
+        src={url || PLACEHOLDER}
+        alt={alt ?? ""}
+        style={{ width: "100%", height, objectFit: fit, display: "block" }}
+      />
+
+      {/* URL edit overlay — visible on hover */}
+      <div
+        style={{
+          position: "absolute",
+          bottom: 0,
+          left: 0,
+          right: 0,
+          background: "rgba(15,23,42,0.85)",
+          padding: "0.4rem 0.5rem",
+          display: "flex",
+          gap: "0.4rem",
+          alignItems: "center",
+          opacity: hovered ? 1 : 0,
+          transition: "opacity 0.15s ease",
+          pointerEvents: hovered ? "auto" : "none",
+        }}
+      >
+        <span
+          style={{ fontSize: "0.65rem", color: "#94a3b8", whiteSpace: "nowrap" }}
+        >
+          URL
+        </span>
+        <input
+          ref={inputRef}
+          defaultValue={url ?? ""}
+          placeholder="https://…"
+          onBlur={commit}
+          onKeyDown={(e) => e.key === "Enter" && commit()}
+          style={{
+            flex: 1,
+            fontSize: "0.75rem",
+            padding: "0.2rem 0.4rem",
+            borderRadius: "0.25rem",
+            border: "1px solid #334155",
+            background: "#0f172a",
+            color: "#e2e8f0",
+            outline: "none",
+          }}
+        />
+      </div>
+    </div>
+  );
+}