diff --git a/packages/core/src/compiler/compositionScoping.test.ts b/packages/core/src/compiler/compositionScoping.test.ts
index b0c25f3ec..338c1ca99 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/compiler/compositionScoping.test.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/compiler/compositionScoping.test.ts
@@ -41,15 +41,26 @@ body { margin: 0; }
     expect(wrapped).not.toContain("requestAnimationFrame");
   });
 
+  it("normalizes root timing attributes when scoping selectors", () => {
+    const scoped = scopeCssToComposition(
+      '[data-composition-id="scene"][data-start="0"] .title { opacity: 0; }',
+      "scene",
+    );
+
+    expect(scoped).toContain('[data-composition-id="scene"] .title { opacity: 0; }');
+    expect(scoped).not.toContain('[data-start="0"]');
+  });
+
   it("executes document and GSAP selectors inside the composition root", () => {
     const { document } = parseHTML(`
-      <div data-composition-id="scene"><h1 class="title">Scene</h1></div>
+      <div data-composition-id="scene" data-start="intro"><h1 class="title">Scene</h1></div>
       <div data-composition-id="other"><h1 class="title">Other</h1></div>
     `);
     const gsapTargets: string[][] = [];
     const fakeWindow = {
       document,
       __selectedTitle: "",
+      __selectedRootTitle: "",
       __timelines: {},
       gsap: {
         timeline: () => ({
@@ -64,7 +75,9 @@ body { margin: 0; }
       `
 const tl = gsap.timeline({ paused: true });
 tl.to('.title', { opacity: 1 });
+tl.to('[data-composition-id="scene"][data-start="0"] .title', { opacity: 1 });
 window.__selectedTitle = document.querySelector('.title')?.textContent || '';
+window.__selectedRootTitle = document.querySelector('[data-composition-id="scene"][data-start="0"] .title')?.textContent || '';
 window.__timelines.scene = tl;
 `,
       "scene",
@@ -73,6 +86,7 @@ window.__timelines.scene = tl;
     new Function("window", "gsap", wrapped)(fakeWindow, fakeWindow.gsap);
 
     expect(fakeWindow.__selectedTitle).toBe("Scene");
-    expect(gsapTargets).toEqual([["Scene"]]);
+    expect(fakeWindow.__selectedRootTitle).toBe("Scene");
+    expect(gsapTargets).toEqual([["Scene"], ["Scene"]]);
   });
 });
diff --git a/packages/core/src/compiler/compositionScoping.ts b/packages/core/src/compiler/compositionScoping.ts
index 6c6dd164d..817bcfe03 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/compiler/compositionScoping.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/compiler/compositionScoping.ts
@@ -138,18 +138,36 @@ function splitSelectorList(selectorText: string): string[] {
 }
 
 function scopeSelector(selector: string, scope: string, compositionId: string): string {
-  const trimmed = selector.trim();
+  const selectorWithoutRootTiming = normalizeCompositionRootSelector(
+    selector,
+    scope,
+    compositionId,
+  );
+  const trimmed = selectorWithoutRootTiming.trim();
   if (!trimmed) return selector;
   if (/^(html|body|:root|\*)$/i.test(trimmed)) return selector;
   const compositionIdPattern = new RegExp(
     `data-composition-id\\s*=\\s*(["'])${escapeRegExp(compositionId)}\\1`,
   );
-  if (compositionIdPattern.test(trimmed)) return selector;
-  const leading = selector.match(/^\s*/)?.[0] ?? "";
-  const trailing = selector.match(/\s*$/)?.[0] ?? "";
+  if (compositionIdPattern.test(trimmed)) return selectorWithoutRootTiming;
+  const leading = selectorWithoutRootTiming.match(/^\s*/)?.[0] ?? "";
+  const trailing = selectorWithoutRootTiming.match(/\s*$/)?.[0] ?? "";
   return `${leading}${scope} ${trimmed}${trailing}`;
 }
 
+function normalizeCompositionRootSelector(
+  selector: string,
+  scope: string,
+  compositionId: string,
+): string {
+  const quotedCompId = escapeRegExp(compositionId);
+  const compAttr = String.raw`\[\s*data-composition-id\s*=\s*(?:"${quotedCompId}"|'${quotedCompId}')\s*\]`;
+  const timingAttr = String.raw`\s*\[\s*data-(?:start|duration)\s*=\s*(?:"[^"]*"|'[^']*')\s*\]`;
+  return selector
+    .replace(new RegExp(`${compAttr}(?:${timingAttr})+`, "g"), scope)
+    .replace(new RegExp(`(?:${timingAttr})+${compAttr}`, "g"), scope);
+}
+
 function scopeSelectorList(selectorText: string, scope: string, compositionId: string): string {
   return splitSelectorList(selectorText)
     .map((selector) => scopeSelector(selector, scope, compositionId))
@@ -213,6 +231,13 @@ export function wrapScopedCompositionScript(
 ): string {
   const compositionIdLiteral = JSON.stringify(compositionId);
   const errorLabelLiteral = JSON.stringify(errorLabel);
+  const escapedCompositionId = escapeRegExp(compositionId);
+  const rootSelectorPatternLiteral = JSON.stringify(
+    String.raw`\[\s*data-composition-id\s*=\s*(?:"${escapedCompositionId}"|'${escapedCompositionId}')\s*\]`,
+  );
+  const timingSelectorPatternLiteral = JSON.stringify(
+    String.raw`\s*\[\s*data-(?:start|duration)\s*=\s*(?:"[^"]*"|'[^']*')\s*\]`,
+  );
   return `(function(){
   var __hfCompId = ${compositionIdLiteral};
   var __hfErrorLabel = ${errorLabelLiteral};
@@ -223,6 +248,14 @@ export function wrapScopedCompositionScript(
     ? '[data-composition-id="' + __hfEscapeAttr(__hfCompId) + '"]'
     : "";
   var __hfRoot = null;
+  var __hfRootSelectorPattern = ${rootSelectorPatternLiteral};
+  var __hfTimingSelectorPattern = ${timingSelectorPatternLiteral};
+  var __hfNormalizeSelector = function(selector) {
+    if (!__hfCompId || typeof selector !== "string") return selector;
+    return selector
+      .replace(new RegExp(__hfRootSelectorPattern + '(?:' + __hfTimingSelectorPattern + ')+', 'g'), __hfRootSelector)
+      .replace(new RegExp('(?:' + __hfTimingSelectorPattern + ')+' + __hfRootSelectorPattern, 'g'), __hfRootSelector);
+  };
   var __hfFindRoot = function() {
     if (!__hfRoot && __hfRootSelector) {
       __hfRoot = window.document.querySelector(__hfRootSelector);
@@ -238,7 +271,7 @@ export function wrapScopedCompositionScript(
     if (!root || typeof selector !== "string") {
       return window.document.querySelectorAll(selector);
     }
-    return Array.prototype.filter.call(window.document.querySelectorAll(selector), function(node) {
+    return Array.prototype.filter.call(window.document.querySelectorAll(__hfNormalizeSelector(selector)), function(node) {
       return __hfContains(node);
     });
   };
diff --git a/packages/core/src/compiler/htmlBundler.test.ts b/packages/core/src/compiler/htmlBundler.test.ts
index de3646f65..197c31323 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/compiler/htmlBundler.test.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/compiler/htmlBundler.test.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 import { mkdtempSync, writeFileSync, mkdirSync } from "node:fs";
 import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
 import { join } from "node:path";
+import { parseHTML } from "linkedom";
 import { describe, it, expect } from "vitest";
 import { bundleToSingleHtml } from "./htmlBundler";
 
@@ -196,7 +197,7 @@ describe("bundleToSingleHtml", () => {
     expect(bundled).toContain("Sized content");
   });
 
-  it("preserves the sub-composition root when inlining external compositions", async () => {
+  it("flattens the sub-composition root onto the host when inlining external compositions", async () => {
     const dir = makeTempProject({
       "index.html": `<!doctype html>
 <html><head></head><body>
@@ -225,9 +226,20 @@ describe("bundleToSingleHtml", () => {
 
     const bundled = await bundleToSingleHtml(dir);
 
-    expect(bundled).toContain('id="scene-host"');
-    expect(bundled).toContain('data-composition-id="scene" data-start="0"');
-    expect(bundled).toContain('[data-composition-id="scene"][data-start="0"]');
+    const { document } = parseHTML(bundled);
+    const host = document.querySelector("#scene-host");
+
+    expect(host?.getAttribute("data-composition-id")).toBe("scene");
+    expect(host?.getAttribute("data-start")).toBe("intro");
+    expect(host?.getAttribute("data-width")).toBe("1920");
+    expect(host?.querySelector(".title")?.textContent).toBe("Scene");
+    expect(
+      Array.from(host?.children ?? []).some(
+        (child) => child.getAttribute("data-composition-id") === "scene",
+      ),
+    ).toBe(false);
+    expect(bundled).toContain('[data-composition-id="scene"] .title');
+    expect(bundled).toContain("__hfNormalizeSelector");
   });
 
   it("scopes external sub-composition styles and classic scripts", async () => {
diff --git a/packages/core/src/compiler/htmlBundler.ts b/packages/core/src/compiler/htmlBundler.ts
index 1533cdd43..89fb37092 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/compiler/htmlBundler.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/compiler/htmlBundler.ts
@@ -3,11 +3,7 @@ import { join, resolve, isAbsolute, sep } from "path";
 import { parseHTML } from "linkedom";
 import { transformSync } from "esbuild";
 import { compileHtml, type MediaDurationProber } from "./htmlCompiler";
-import {
-  rewriteAssetPaths,
-  rewriteCssAssetUrls,
-  rewriteInlineStyleAssetUrls,
-} from "./rewriteSubCompPaths";
+import { rewriteAssetPaths, rewriteCssAssetUrls } from "./rewriteSubCompPaths";
 import { scopeCssToComposition, wrapScopedCompositionScript } from "./compositionScoping";
 import { validateHyperframeHtmlContract } from "./staticGuard";
 
@@ -514,7 +510,7 @@ export async function bundleToSingleHtml(
       if (innerW && !hostEl.getAttribute("data-width")) hostEl.setAttribute("data-width", innerW);
       if (innerH && !hostEl.getAttribute("data-height")) hostEl.setAttribute("data-height", innerH);
       for (const child of [...innerRoot.querySelectorAll("style, script")]) child.remove();
-      hostEl.innerHTML = innerRoot.outerHTML || "";
+      hostEl.innerHTML = innerRoot.innerHTML || "";
     } else {
       for (const child of [...contentDoc.querySelectorAll("style, script")]) child.remove();
       hostEl.innerHTML = contentDoc.body.innerHTML || "";
@@ -578,8 +574,7 @@ export async function bundleToSingleHtml(
       if (innerW && !host.getAttribute("data-width")) host.setAttribute("data-width", innerW);
       if (innerH && !host.getAttribute("data-height")) host.setAttribute("data-height", innerH);
 
-      // Preserve the inner composition root so bundled previews match the runtime loader.
-      host.innerHTML = innerRoot.outerHTML || "";
+      host.innerHTML = innerRoot.innerHTML || "";
     } else {
       // No matching inner root — inject all template content directly
       for (const styleEl of [...innerDoc.querySelectorAll("style")]) {
diff --git a/packages/core/src/runtime/compositionLoader.test.ts b/packages/core/src/runtime/compositionLoader.test.ts
index ef716901b..6bcc2bcb0 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/runtime/compositionLoader.test.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/runtime/compositionLoader.test.ts
@@ -51,11 +51,16 @@ describe("loadExternalCompositions", () => {
     await loadExternalCompositions({ ...defaultParams });
 
     const mountedParagraph = host.querySelector("p");
-    const innerRoot = host.firstElementChild;
 
     expect(mountedParagraph).toBeTruthy();
     expect(mountedParagraph?.textContent).toBe("Hello World");
-    expect(innerRoot?.getAttribute("data-composition-id")).toBe("scene-1");
+    expect(host.getAttribute("data-width")).toBe("1920");
+    expect(host.getAttribute("data-height")).toBe("1080");
+    expect(
+      Array.from(host.children).some(
+        (child) => child.getAttribute("data-composition-id") === "scene-1",
+      ),
+    ).toBe(false);
   });
 
   it("injects styles into document head", async () => {
@@ -230,6 +235,12 @@ describe("loadExternalCompositions", () => {
     expect(injectedStyles[0]?.textContent).toContain('[data-composition-id="scene"] .title');
     expect(injectedScripts[0]?.textContent).toContain('var __hfCompId = "scene";');
     expect(injectedScripts[0]?.textContent).toContain("new Proxy(window.document");
+    expect(host.querySelector(".title")?.textContent).toBe("Scene");
+    expect(
+      Array.from(host.children).some(
+        (child) => child.getAttribute("data-composition-id") === "scene",
+      ),
+    ).toBe(false);
   });
 
   it("handles multiple compositions in parallel", async () => {
diff --git a/packages/core/src/runtime/compositionLoader.ts b/packages/core/src/runtime/compositionLoader.ts
index 71d83cb87..df484f108 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/runtime/compositionLoader.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/runtime/compositionLoader.ts
@@ -198,16 +198,13 @@ async function mountCompositionContent(params: {
     const heightRaw = innerRoot.getAttribute("data-height");
     const widthPx = params.parseDimensionPx(widthRaw);
     const heightPx = params.parseDimensionPx(heightRaw);
-    imported.style.position = "relative";
-    imported.style.width = widthPx || "100%";
-    imported.style.height = heightPx || "100%";
-    if (widthPx) imported.style.setProperty("--comp-width", widthPx);
-    if (heightPx) imported.style.setProperty("--comp-height", heightPx);
     if (widthRaw) params.host.setAttribute("data-width", widthRaw);
     if (heightRaw) params.host.setAttribute("data-height", heightRaw);
     if (widthPx && params.host instanceof HTMLElement) params.host.style.width = widthPx;
     if (heightPx && params.host instanceof HTMLElement) params.host.style.height = heightPx;
-    params.host.appendChild(imported);
+    while (imported.firstChild) {
+      params.host.appendChild(imported.firstChild);
+    }
   } else if (params.hasTemplate) {
     params.host.appendChild(document.importNode(contentNode, true));
   } else {
diff --git a/packages/producer/src/services/htmlCompiler.test.ts b/packages/producer/src/services/htmlCompiler.test.ts
index 73d2d02ee..6b62c29e7 100644
--- a/packages/producer/src/services/htmlCompiler.test.ts
+++ b/packages/producer/src/services/htmlCompiler.test.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import { describe, expect, it, mock, beforeAll } from "bun:test";
 import { mkdtempSync, writeFileSync, mkdirSync } from "node:fs";
 import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
 import { join } from "node:path";
+import { parseHTML } from "linkedom";
 import {
   collectExternalAssets,
   compileForRender,
@@ -598,7 +599,7 @@ describe("template-wrapped sub-composition media offsets", () => {
     });
   });
 
-  it("preserves the sub-composition root in compiled render HTML", async () => {
+  it("flattens the sub-composition root onto the host in compiled render HTML", async () => {
     const { projectDir, indexPath } = writeTemplateWrappedProject(
       'data-start="20" data-duration="6" data-width="640" data-height="360"',
       'data-start="1.5" data-duration="4"',
@@ -606,9 +607,20 @@ describe("template-wrapped sub-composition media offsets", () => {
 
     const compiled = await compileForRender(projectDir, indexPath, projectDir);
 
-    expect(compiled.html).toContain('id="scene-host"');
-    expect(compiled.html).toContain('data-composition-id="scene" data-start="0"');
+    const { document } = parseHTML(compiled.html);
+    const host = document.querySelector("#scene-host");
+
+    expect(host?.getAttribute("data-composition-id")).toBe("scene");
+    expect(host?.getAttribute("data-start")).toBe("20");
+    expect(host?.getAttribute("data-width")).toBe("640");
+    expect(host?.querySelector(".title")?.textContent).toBe("Scene");
+    expect(
+      Array.from(host?.children ?? []).some(
+        (child) => child.getAttribute("data-composition-id") === "scene",
+      ),
+    ).toBe(false);
     expect(compiled.html).toContain('[data-composition-id="scene"] .title');
     expect(compiled.html).toContain("new Proxy(window.document");
+    expect(compiled.html).toContain("__hfNormalizeSelector");
   });
 });
diff --git a/packages/producer/src/services/htmlCompiler.ts b/packages/producer/src/services/htmlCompiler.ts
index b3a678d24..cca2f9cbf 100644
--- a/packages/producer/src/services/htmlCompiler.ts
+++ b/packages/producer/src/services/htmlCompiler.ts
@@ -655,7 +655,7 @@ function inlineSubCompositions(
       if (innerW && !host.getAttribute("data-width")) host.setAttribute("data-width", innerW);
       if (innerH && !host.getAttribute("data-height")) host.setAttribute("data-height", innerH);
       innerRoot.querySelectorAll("style, script").forEach((el) => el.remove());
-      host.innerHTML = innerRoot.outerHTML || "";
+      host.innerHTML = innerRoot.innerHTML || "";
     } else {
       contentDoc.querySelectorAll("style, script").forEach((el) => el.remove());
       host.innerHTML = contentDoc.toString();
@@ -663,16 +663,6 @@ function inlineSubCompositions(
 
     host.removeAttribute("data-composition-src");
 
-    // Propagate data-start from the host element to the inserted inner composition
-    // node so runtime timeline nesting resolves the correct start offset.
-    const hostDataStart = host.getAttribute("data-start");
-    if (hostDataStart != null) {
-      const innerComp = host.querySelector("[data-composition-id]");
-      if (innerComp && !innerComp.getAttribute("data-start")) {
-        innerComp.setAttribute("data-start", hostDataStart);
-      }
-    }
-
     // Set explicit pixel dimensions on the host element so children using
     // width/height: 100% resolve correctly. The runtime does this
     // automatically but compiled HTML needs it inline.