diff --git a/packages/docs/src/App.tsx b/packages/docs/src/App.tsx
index b31e7dc..ce30f6f 100644
--- a/packages/docs/src/App.tsx
+++ b/packages/docs/src/App.tsx
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import {
   basicRoutingDemoRoute,
   blogRoutingDemoRoute,
   dataGridDemoRoute,
+  cancelNavigationDemoRoute,
   asyncLookupDemoRoute,
 } from "./router/routes";
 import Home from "./pages/Home";
@@ -24,6 +25,7 @@ import DemosIndex from "./pages/DemosIndex";
 import BasicRoutingDemo from "./pages/BasicRoutingDemo";
 import BlogRoutingDemo from "./pages/BlogRoutingDemo";
 import DataGridDemo from "./pages/DataGridDemo";
+import CancelNavigationDemo from "./pages/CancelNavigationDemo";
 import AsyncLookupDemo from "./pages/AsyncLookupDemo";
 import NotFound from "./pages/NotFound";
 
@@ -67,6 +69,9 @@ export const App = () => (
         <Route on={dataGridDemoRoute}>
           <DataGridDemo />
         </Route>
+        <Route on={cancelNavigationDemoRoute}>
+          <CancelNavigationDemo />
+        </Route>
         <Route on={asyncLookupDemoRoute}>
           <AsyncLookupDemo />
         </Route>
diff --git a/packages/docs/src/demos/CancelNavigationApp.tsx b/packages/docs/src/demos/CancelNavigationApp.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..82ec88e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/docs/src/demos/CancelNavigationApp.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+import { ReactNode, useState } from "react";
+import { Route, useLink } from "jarl-react";
+import { DefaultParams, RouteAtom } from "jarl-atoms";
+import { cancelNavigationDemoRoute, cancelNavigationOtherRoute } from "../router/routes";
+
+/** A nav link that confirms before leaving while `dirty` is true, discarding the click if declined. */
+const GuardedLink = <T extends DefaultParams>({
+  route,
+  to,
+  dirty,
+  children,
+}: {
+  route: RouteAtom<T>;
+  to: T;
+  dirty: boolean;
+  children: ReactNode;
+}) => {
+  const { href, active, onClick } = useLink(route, to, { exact: true });
+  return (
+    <a
+      href={href}
+      data-active={active || undefined}
+      onClick={(event) => {
+        event.preventDefault();
+        if (dirty && !window.confirm("You have unsaved changes. Leave without saving?")) return;
+        onClick();
+      }}
+    >
+      {children}
+    </a>
+  );
+};
+
+const Editor = ({ dirty, setDirty }: { dirty: boolean; setDirty: (dirty: boolean) => void }) => {
+  const [text, setText] = useState("");
+  return (
+    <div>
+      <h3>Editor</h3>
+      <textarea
+        rows={3}
+        value={text}
+        onChange={(event) => {
+          setText(event.target.value);
+          setDirty(true);
+        }}
+      />
+      <p>{dirty ? "Unsaved changes." : "Nothing to save."}</p>
+      <button type="button" disabled={!dirty} onClick={() => setDirty(false)}>
+        Save
+      </button>
+    </div>
+  );
+};
+
+const Other = () => (
+  <div>
+    <h3>Other page</h3>
+    <p>Reached from the editor - navigating away while it&apos;s dirty asks for confirmation first.</p>
+  </div>
+);
+
+/**
+ * Demo of blocking in-app navigation while a form has unsaved edits. Built on `useLink` directly
+ * rather than `Link`, since the guard needs to intercept the click before the route atom is
+ * written - `dirty` state itself is plain component state, not a route concern.
+ */
+export const CancelNavigationApp = () => {
+  const [dirty, setDirty] = useState(false);
+  return (
+    <>
+      <nav>
+        <GuardedLink route={cancelNavigationDemoRoute} to={{}} dirty={dirty}>
+          Editor
+        </GuardedLink>
+        <GuardedLink route={cancelNavigationOtherRoute} to={{}} dirty={dirty}>
+          Other
+        </GuardedLink>
+      </nav>
+      <Route on={cancelNavigationDemoRoute} exact>
+        <Editor dirty={dirty} setDirty={setDirty} />
+      </Route>
+      <Route on={cancelNavigationOtherRoute} exact>
+        <Other />
+      </Route>
+    </>
+  );
+};
+
+export default CancelNavigationApp;
diff --git a/packages/docs/src/pages/CancelNavigationDemo.tsx b/packages/docs/src/pages/CancelNavigationDemo.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8538b4c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/docs/src/pages/CancelNavigationDemo.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+import { CancelNavigationApp } from "../demos/CancelNavigationApp";
+import DemoPage from "../lib/DemoPage";
+import demoSource from "../demos/CancelNavigationApp.tsx?raw";
+
+export const CancelNavigationDemo = () => (
+  <DemoPage
+    title="Live demo: cancel navigation on dirty edits"
+    sourcePath="packages/docs/src/demos/CancelNavigationApp.tsx"
+    source={demoSource}
+  >
+    <CancelNavigationApp />
+  </DemoPage>
+);
+
+export default CancelNavigationDemo;
diff --git a/packages/docs/src/pages/DemosIndex.tsx b/packages/docs/src/pages/DemosIndex.tsx
index 9b16b80..a84a242 100644
--- a/packages/docs/src/pages/DemosIndex.tsx
+++ b/packages/docs/src/pages/DemosIndex.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,12 @@
 import { Link } from "jarl-react";
 import LinkList from "../lib/LinkList";
-import { asyncLookupDemoRoute, basicRoutingDemoRoute, blogRoutingDemoRoute, dataGridDemoRoute } from "../router/routes";
+import {
+  asyncLookupDemoRoute,
+  basicRoutingDemoRoute,
+  blogRoutingDemoRoute,
+  cancelNavigationDemoRoute,
+  dataGridDemoRoute,
+} from "../router/routes";
 
 export const DemosIndex = () => (
   <>
@@ -34,6 +40,13 @@ export const DemosIndex = () => (
         &mdash; a table whose filter text and sort column live in <code>queryParamAtom</code>s chained off the mount
         route, so the grid&apos;s state is shareable and moves with back/forward navigation.
       </li>
+      <li>
+        <Link route={cancelNavigationDemoRoute} to={{}}>
+          Cancel navigation on dirty edits
+        </Link>{" "}
+        &mdash; a link that confirms before leaving an in-progress edit, built by wrapping <code>useLink</code>&apos;s
+        own <code>onClick</code> rather than the <code>Link</code> component.
+      </li>
       <li>
         <Link route={asyncLookupDemoRoute} to={{}}>
           Async lookup
diff --git a/packages/docs/src/router/routes.ts b/packages/docs/src/router/routes.ts
index ff232c7..b093b51 100644
--- a/packages/docs/src/router/routes.ts
+++ b/packages/docs/src/router/routes.ts
@@ -39,6 +39,12 @@ export const blogRoutingDemoRoute = staticRouteAtom("blog-routing", { parent: de
 // chained inside DataGridApp, on its own basePath-scoped root.
 export const dataGridDemoRoute = staticRouteAtom("data-grid", { parent: demosIndexRoute });
 
+// Cancel-navigation demo: the site's own mount point, with one further static child for the
+// "other" page it navigates to. Dirty-tracking and the confirm prompt live entirely inside
+// CancelNavigationApp - the router only needs the two destinations to exist.
+export const cancelNavigationDemoRoute = staticRouteAtom("cancel-navigation", { parent: demosIndexRoute });
+export const cancelNavigationOtherRoute = staticRouteAtom("other", { parent: cancelNavigationDemoRoute });
+
 // Async-lookup demo: /demos/async-lookup/:slug exists only if the demo's fake database has an
 // article at that slug, and the article it found rides along on the route's own values. Its
 // nested atoms stay module-level, unlike the blog demo's, because the server render needs them:
@@ -63,6 +69,8 @@ const exactRouteMissedAtom = notAtom(
   basicRoutingDemoPageRoute,
   blogRoutingDemoRoute,
   dataGridDemoRoute,
+  cancelNavigationDemoRoute,
+  cancelNavigationOtherRoute,
   asyncLookupDemoRoute,
   asyncArticleRoute,
 );
@@ -107,6 +115,8 @@ export const staticPaths: string[] = [
   "/demos/basic-routing/about",
   ...blogStaticPaths(),
   "/demos/data-grid",
+  "/demos/cancel-navigation",
+  "/demos/cancel-navigation/other",
   "/demos/async-lookup",
   ...articleSlugs().map((slug) => `/demos/async-lookup/${slug}`),
 ];