diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 8d64877..099f647 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -58,13 +58,54 @@ jobs:
         run: cargo hack clippy --feature-powerset -- -D warnings
 
       - name: Test
-        run: cargo hack test --feature-powerset
+        # `bundled` must stay enabled for every combination: it is what compiles
+        # and statically links the C++ ada sources. Without it (and with no
+        # external ada provided via ADA_LIB_DIR/ADA_LIB_NAME) the test binaries
+        # fail to link with `undefined symbol: ada_*`. `--features bundled` forces
+        # it into each powerset entry while still exercising the other features.
+        run: cargo hack test --feature-powerset --features bundled
 
       - name: Check Documentation
         env:
           RUSTDOCFLAGS: '-D warnings'
         run: cargo hack doc --feature-powerset
 
+  external-ada:
+    name: External ada (non-bundled)
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v7
+
+      - uses: Swatinem/rust-cache@v2
+        with:
+          shared-key: external-ada
+          save-if: ${{ github.ref_name == 'main' }}
+
+      - run: rustup show
+
+      # Exercise the non-bundled linking path: instead of compiling the bundled
+      # C++ sources, build ada once as a standalone shared library and link the
+      # crate against it via ADA_LIB_DIR / ADA_LIB_NAME. This mirrors how a host
+      # build system (Bazel, CMake, a distro package) would provide ada. The
+      # shared library records its own libstdc++ dependency (DT_NEEDED), so the
+      # final Rust binary needs no extra C++ runtime link flags.
+      - name: Build standalone libada.so
+        run: |
+          c++ -std=c++20 -O2 -DADA_INCLUDE_URL_PATTERN=0 -Ideps -fPIC -shared \
+            deps/ada.cpp -o "$RUNNER_TEMP/libada.so"
+
+      # `bundled` is intentionally disabled (default-features off). `std` is
+      # re-enabled because dropping default features also drops it. The serde
+      # combination is run separately to cover the extra feature on this path.
+      - name: Test against external ada
+        env:
+          ADA_LIB_DIR: ${{ runner.temp }}
+          ADA_LIB_NAME: ada
+          LD_LIBRARY_PATH: ${{ runner.temp }}
+        run: |
+          cargo test --no-default-features --features std
+          cargo test --no-default-features --features serde
+
   sanitizers:
     name: AddressSanitizer + LeakSanitizer
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 78d85d3..dbb517a 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -49,7 +49,11 @@ path = "bench/wpt.rs"
 harness = false
 
 [features]
-default = ["std"]
+default = ["bundled", "std"]
+# compile and statically link the bundled C++ `ada` sources. Enabled by
+# default; disable (`default-features = false`) to link an externally provided
+# ada instead (see `ADA_LIB_DIR` / `ADA_LIB_NAME` in build.rs).
+bundled = []
 # pass `cpp_set_stdlib("c++")` to `cc`
 libcpp = []
 # enables serde serialization/deserialization support
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 2b5e2ba..eaa21ff 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -23,6 +23,44 @@ Enabling this feature and `std` would provide you both `Serialize` and `Deserial
 **libcpp:** Build `ada-url` with `libc++`. This feature is disabled by default.
 Enabling this feature without `libc++` installed would cause compile error.
 
+**bundled:** Compile and statically link the bundled C++ `ada` sources. This
+feature is **enabled by default**. See "Linking against an external ada" below
+for how to disable it.
+
+### Linking against an external ada
+
+By default (the `bundled` feature) the build script compiles the bundled C++
+`ada` sources and links them statically. If ada is already provided by your
+host build system (e.g. Bazel, CMake, or a distribution package), compiling the
+bundled copy would produce a second, duplicate copy of ada in the final binary.
+
+Disable the `bundled` feature to skip the bundled build and link against an
+external ada instead:
+
+```toml
+# Cargo.toml — re-enable `std` since disabling default features also drops it
+ada-url = { version = "3", default-features = false, features = ["std"] }
+```
+
+When `bundled` is disabled, these optional environment variables configure how
+the external ada is linked:
+
+| Variable      | Description                                                                                        |
+| ------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
+| `ADA_LIB_DIR` | Optional directory added to the linker search path (`cargo:rustc-link-search=native`).             |
+| `ADA_LIB_NAME`| Optional library to link, passed verbatim to `cargo:rustc-link-lib` (e.g. `ada` or `static=ada`).  |
+
+If neither is provided, no link directive is emitted, leaving it to the host
+build system to provide the ada symbols at final link time. The external ada
+must expose the same C ABI (`ada_*`) and be ABI-compatible with this crate's
+version.
+
+```sh
+# Link against a system-installed libada in /usr/local/lib
+ADA_LIB_DIR=/usr/local/lib ADA_LIB_NAME=ada \
+  cargo build --no-default-features --features std
+```
+
 ### Performance
 
 Ada is fast. The benchmark below shows **3.49 times** faster URL parsing compared to `url`
diff --git a/build.rs b/build.rs
index 746695e..88309ac 100644
--- a/build.rs
+++ b/build.rs
@@ -88,6 +88,42 @@ fn ndk_major_version(ndk_dir: &Path) -> u32 {
 }
 
 fn main() {
+    // By default the bundled C++ `ada` sources are compiled and linked
+    // statically (the `bundled` feature, enabled by default). Disabling the
+    // `bundled` feature (e.g. `default-features = false`) skips that compile and
+    // instead links against an externally provided ada library. This is useful
+    // when ada is already provided by the host build system (e.g. Bazel, CMake,
+    // or a distro package), where compiling the bundled copy would otherwise
+    // produce a second, duplicate copy of ada in the final binary.
+    //
+    // When the `bundled` feature is disabled, these optional environment
+    // variables configure how the external ada is linked:
+    //
+    //   ADA_LIB_DIR   directory added to the link search path.
+    //   ADA_LIB_NAME  library to link, passed verbatim to `cargo:rustc-link-lib`
+    //                 (e.g. `ada` or `static=ada`).
+    //
+    // If neither is provided, no link directive is emitted, leaving it to the
+    // host build system to provide the ada symbols at final link time. The
+    // external ada must expose the same C ABI (`ada_*`) and be ABI-compatible
+    // with this crate's version.
+    println!("cargo:rerun-if-env-changed=ADA_LIB_DIR");
+    println!("cargo:rerun-if-env-changed=ADA_LIB_NAME");
+    if !cfg!(feature = "bundled") {
+        if let Some(dir) = env::var_os("ADA_LIB_DIR") {
+            println!(
+                "cargo:rustc-link-search=native={}",
+                Path::new(&dir).display()
+            );
+        }
+        if let Ok(name) = env::var("ADA_LIB_NAME")
+            && !name.is_empty()
+        {
+            println!("cargo:rustc-link-lib={name}");
+        }
+        return;
+    }
+
     let target_str = env::var("TARGET").unwrap();
     let target: Vec<String> = target_str.split('-').map(|s| s.into()).collect();
     assert!(target.len() >= 2, "Failed to parse TARGET {}", target_str);