diff --git a/docs/twig-templates.md b/docs/twig-templates.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d8a636dfc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/twig-templates.md
@@ -0,0 +1,134 @@
+# Twig-Templates in MetaModels
+
+Ab MetaModels 2.5 kann jedes MetaModels-Template zusätzlich als **Twig-Template** angeboten
+werden. Existiert für ein Template eine Twig-Variante, hat sie **Vorrang** vor dem klassischen
+`.html5`-PHP-Template – analog zu Contao Core. Fehlt die Twig-Variante, wird unverändert das
+`.html5` gerendert (voller Rückwärtskompatibilitäts-Fallback).
+
+## Funktionsweise
+
+`MetaModels\Render\Template::parse()` fragt vor dem Einbinden des Legacy-`.html5` den
+`MetaModels\Render\TwigTemplateSurrogate` ab. Dieser prüft im gemanagten Contao-Twig-Loader
+(`contao.twig.filesystem_loader`), ob ein passendes Twig-Template existiert, und rendert es via
+`twig`. Der Twig-Context wird über Contaos `ContextFactory::fromData()` aus den Template-Daten
+gebaut – dieselben Variablen wie im `.html5` stehen zur Verfügung.
+
+Das entspricht 1:1 Contaos eigenem Surrogat-Mechanismus
+(`\Contao\Template::renderTwigSurrogateIfExists()`).
+
+### Namensschema
+
+Aus dem Legacy-Namen wird der Twig-Identifier gebildet:
+
+```
+@Contao/metamodels/<gruppe>/<leaf>.html.twig
+```
+
+* **Gruppe** kommt aus dem Render-Kontext: `attribute`, `filter` oder `item`.
+* **Leaf** ist der Template-Name ohne das konventionelle Legacy-Präfix.
+
+| Legacy `.html5`        | Gruppe      | Twig-Identifier                     |
+|------------------------|-------------|-------------------------------------|
+| `mm_attr_text`         | `attribute` | `metamodels/attribute/text`         |
+| `mm_filter_default`    | `filter`    | `metamodels/filter/default`         |
+| `mm_filteritem_...`    | `filter`    | `metamodels/filter/...`             |
+| `mm_default`           | `item`      | `metamodels/item/default`           |
+
+Für eigene Templates gilt dieselbe Regel: `mm_attr_text_fancy` wird zu
+`metamodels/attribute/text_fancy` — das Präfix entfällt, der Rest wird zum Leaf.
+
+### Textformat
+
+Neben der sichtbaren Ausgabe (`html5`) kann auch das Format `text` (Suchindex, Sortierung,
+Gruppen-Header) auf Twig laufen. Die Templates dafür tragen ein zusätzliches `.text` im
+Namen:
+
+| Legacy            | Twig-Datei                | Twig-Identifier                  |
+|-------------------|---------------------------|----------------------------------|
+| `mm_attr_text.html5` | `attribute/text.html.twig`      | `metamodels/attribute/text`      |
+| `mm_attr_text.text`  | `attribute/text.text.html.twig` | `metamodels/attribute/text.text` |
+
+Die doppelte Endung ist **kein Schönheitsfehler, sondern zwingend**. Contao bildet den
+Identifier, indem es das abschließende `.html.twig` bzw. `.twig` abschneidet, und verbietet
+gemischte Typen unter einem Identifier. Ein `text.text.twig` neben `text.html.twig` hätte
+also denselben Identifier `…/text`, aber einen anderen Typ — der `ContaoFilesystemLoader`
+bricht dann den Aufbau der **gesamten** Hierarchie mit einer `OutOfBoundsException` ab:
+
+```
+The "metamodels/item/prerendered" template has incompatible types,
+got "html.twig/html5" in "…/prerendered.html.twig" and "text.twig" in "…/prerendered.text.twig".
+```
+
+Das legt Backend **und** Frontend komplett lahm, nicht nur das betroffene Template. Mit
+`.text.html.twig` bleibt die echte Endung `html.twig`, und die Textvariante bekommt den
+eigenen Identifier `…/text.text`. Dieselbe Benennung nutzt bereits
+`email_metamodels_notelist.text.html.twig` im Paket `notelist`.
+
+Ein projekteigenes `templates/mm_attr_text.text` behält weiterhin Vorrang vor dem
+mitgelieferten Twig-Template — genauso wie im Format `html5`.
+
+### Frontend und Backend
+
+Der Vorrang gilt in **beiden** Scopes. Die Backend-Listen rendern Attribute ebenfalls mit
+`html5` (siehe `ItemRendererListener`), daher wirken Attribut-Twig-Templates auch dort.
+**Standardtemplates müssen deshalb backend-tauglich bleiben** (schlanke `div`/`span`-Wrapper,
+wie die bisherigen `.html5`). Für abweichende Backend-Darstellung empfiehlt sich ein eigenes
+Render-Setting mit eigener Template-Auswahl.
+
+## Twig-Templates in einem Paket bereitstellen
+
+Der Contao-Twig-Loader behandelt den Legacy-Ordner `Resources/contao/templates` **flach**
+(Unterordner werden verworfen, der Identifier wäre nur der Dateiname). Damit die
+`metamodels/<gruppe>/<leaf>`-Struktur erhalten bleibt, müssen die Templates – genau wie in
+Contaos eigenen Bundles – unter einem **Namespace-Root** liegen: ein Ordner `twig/` mit einer
+leeren Marker-Datei **`.twig-root`**.
+
+```
+src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/
+└── twig/
+    ├── .twig-root                              (leere Marker-Datei, einmal pro Paket)
+    └── metamodels/
+        ├── attribute/
+        │   └── text.html.twig
+        ├── filter/
+        │   └── default.html.twig
+        └── item/
+            └── default.html.twig
+```
+
+(In Paketen mit moderner Struktur entsprechend unter `contao/templates/twig/…`.)
+
+Es ist **kein PHP-Code** nötig – die Dateien werden vom Loader automatisch unter `@Contao`
+erfasst.
+
+## Template Studio, Themes und Overrides
+
+Weil die Templates im gemanagten `@Contao`-Namespace liegen (Untergruppe `metamodels/`), sind
+sie ohne Zusatzaufwand:
+
+* im **Template Studio** sichtbar und editierbar,
+* über **Theme-Ordner** und das globale Projekt-`templates/`-Verzeichnis überschreibbar.
+
+Ein höher priorisiertes `.html5` in der gemanagten Hierarchie (z. B. ein Projekt-Override am
+neuen Pfad `templates/metamodels/<gruppe>/<leaf>.html5`) behält gegenüber einem Paket-Twig-Template
+den Vorrang – ebenfalls wie in Contao.
+
+### Legacy-Flach-Override (Übergangslösung, remove in 3.0)
+
+Zusätzlich behält ein Override am **flachen** Legacy-Namen im Projekt-`templates/`-Ordner (oder in
+einem Theme-Ordner) – z. B. `templates/metamodel_prerendered.html5` – weiterhin Vorrang vor einem
+Paket-Twig-Template. `Template::hasLegacyTemplateOverride()` erkennt solche Overrides (Pfad unterhalb
+`%kernel.project_dir%/templates`, per DI injiziert) und überspringt dann den Twig-Surrogaten. So
+funktionieren bestehende Anpassungen nach dem Upgrade unverändert weiter.
+
+**Diese Rücksichtnahme ist bewusst als `@deprecated` markiert und entfällt in 3.0** gemeinsam mit den
+`.html5`-Templates – Overrides sollten nach `templates/metamodels/<gruppe>/…` umgezogen werden.
+
+## Rollout-Stand
+
+* **MetaModels Core:** Mechanismus implementiert (`Template`, `TemplateFactory`,
+  `TwigTemplateSurrogate`, DI) inkl. Legacy-Flach-Override-Vorrang (Übergangslösung). Als erste
+  Core-Twig-Templates ausgeliefert: `item/prerendered`, `item/unrendered`, `item/prerendered_debug`
+  sowie `filter/default`, `filter/checkbox`, `filter/radiobuttons`, `filter/linklist`,
+  `filter/datepicker`. `FrontendFilter` rendert die Filter-Widgets über die MetaModels-Engine.
+* **Attribute-Templates:** werden schrittweise paketweise als Twig-Varianten nachgezogen.
diff --git a/src/Attribute/Base.php b/src/Attribute/Base.php
index 1323b29cd..935368fb5 100644
--- a/src/Attribute/Base.php
+++ b/src/Attribute/Base.php
@@ -639,7 +639,7 @@ public function parseValue($arrRowData, $strOutputFormat = 'text', $objSettings
         if ($objSettings && ($strTemplate = (string) $objSettings->get('template'))) {
             $templateFactory = System::getContainer()->get('metamodels.template_factory');
             assert($templateFactory instanceof TemplateFactory);
-            $objTemplate = $templateFactory->createTemplate($strTemplate);
+            $objTemplate = $templateFactory->createTemplate($strTemplate, 'attribute');
 
             $this->prepareTemplate($objTemplate, $arrRowData, $objSettings);
 
@@ -657,7 +657,8 @@ public function parseValue($arrRowData, $strOutputFormat = 'text', $objSettings
                 // FIXME: this throws when no parent has been set - need to catch!
                 $objSettingsFallback = $this->getDefaultRenderSettings()->setParent($objSettings->getParent());
 
-                $objTemplate = $templateFactory->createTemplate((string) $objSettingsFallback->get('template'));
+                $objTemplate =
+                    $templateFactory->createTemplate((string) $objSettingsFallback->get('template'), 'attribute');
                 $this->prepareTemplate($objTemplate, $arrRowData, $objSettingsFallback);
 
                 $arrResult['text'] = $objTemplate->parse('text', true);
diff --git a/src/CoreBundle/Controller/ListControllerTrait.php b/src/CoreBundle/Controller/ListControllerTrait.php
index 9c7af525d..61eece917 100644
--- a/src/CoreBundle/Controller/ListControllerTrait.php
+++ b/src/CoreBundle/Controller/ListControllerTrait.php
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@
 use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\Response;
 use Symfony\Component\Routing\RouterInterface;
 use Symfony\Contracts\Translation\TranslatorInterface;
+use Twig\Markup;
 
 /**
  * Helper trait for lists (CE and MOD).
@@ -410,8 +411,9 @@ private function renderBackendWildcard(string $href, string $name, Model $model)
 
         /** @psalm-suppress UndefinedMagicPropertyFetch */
         $headline = StringUtil::deserialize($model->headline);
+        // Mark the info text as safe HTML so the (auto-escaping) Twig be_wildcard template does not escape it.
         /** @psalm-suppress UndefinedMagicPropertyAssignment */
-        $template->wildcard = $this->getWildcardInfoText($model, $href, $name);
+        $template->wildcard = new Markup($this->getWildcardInfoText($model, $href, $name), 'UTF-8');
         /** @psalm-suppress UndefinedMagicPropertyAssignment */
         $template->title = (\is_array($headline) ? $headline['value'] : $headline);
         /** @psalm-suppress UndefinedMagicPropertyAssignment */
diff --git a/src/CoreBundle/Resources/config/services.yml b/src/CoreBundle/Resources/config/services.yml
index 89f6770f1..f8a0f2d39 100644
--- a/src/CoreBundle/Resources/config/services.yml
+++ b/src/CoreBundle/Resources/config/services.yml
@@ -80,11 +80,20 @@ services:
           - "%kernel.project_dir%"
           - "@translator"
 
+    metamodels.render.twig_surrogate:
+        class: MetaModels\Render\TwigTemplateSurrogate
+        arguments:
+          - "@twig"
+          - "@contao.twig.filesystem_loader"
+          - "@contao.twig.interop.context_factory"
+
     metamodels.template_factory:
         class: MetaModels\Render\TemplateFactory
         arguments:
           - "@=service('contao.framework').getAdapter('Contao\\\\TemplateLoader')"
           - "@cca.dc-general.scope-matcher"
+          - "@metamodels.render.twig_surrogate"
+          - "%kernel.project_dir%"
         public: true
 
     metamodels.contao_input:
@@ -136,6 +145,7 @@ services:
             - '@database_connection'
             - '@MetaModels\Filter\FilterUrlBuilder'
             - '@translator'
+            - '@metamodels.template_factory'
         public: true
 
     metamodels.controller.abstract.add_all:
diff --git a/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/ce_metamodel_list.html.twig b/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/ce_metamodel_list.html.twig
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3b7ee82dd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/ce_metamodel_list.html.twig
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+{% extends searchable|default(false) ? '@Contao/block_searchable.html.twig' : '@Contao/block_unsearchable.html.twig' %}
+{% block content %}
+{{ items|raw }}
+{{ pagination|raw }}
+{% endblock %}
diff --git a/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/mm_actionbutton.html.twig b/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/mm_actionbutton.html.twig
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..88411e519
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/mm_actionbutton.html.twig
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+{% if action.html|default('') %}{{ action.html|raw }}{% else %}<a href="{{ action.href|default('') }}"{% if action.class|default('') %} class="{{ action.class }}"{% endif %}{% if action.title|default('') %} title="{{ action.title }}"{% endif %} {{ action.attribute|default('')|raw }}>{{ action.label|raw }}</a>{% endif %}
diff --git a/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/mm_clearall_default.html.twig b/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/mm_clearall_default.html.twig
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5e6c6620c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/mm_clearall_default.html.twig
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+<!-- indexer::stop -->
+<div class="block clearall {{ class|default('') }}"{{ cssID|default('')|raw }}{% if style|default('') %} style="{{ style }}"{% endif %}>
+    <a title="{{ 'clear_all'|trans([], 'metamodels_filter') }}"
+       href="{{ href|default('') }}{{ metamodel_fef_urlfragment|default('') ? '#' ~ metamodel_fef_urlfragment : '' }}">{{ 'clear_all'|trans([], 'metamodels_filter') }}</a>
+</div>
+<!-- indexer::continue -->
diff --git a/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/mm_filter_default.html.twig b/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/mm_filter_default.html.twig
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0aac1fbd1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/mm_filter_default.html.twig
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+<!-- indexer::stop -->
+<section class="{{ class|default('') }} block"{{ cssID|default('')|raw }}{% if style|default('') %} style="{{ style }}"{% endif %}>
+    {% if headline|default('') %}
+        <{{ hl }}>{{ headline|raw }}</{{ hl }}>
+    {% endif %}
+    <form{% if action|default('') %} action="{{ action }}"{% endif %} method="post">
+        <input name="REQUEST_TOKEN" type="hidden" value="{{ requestToken|default('') }}"/>
+        <input type="hidden" name="FORM_SUBMIT" value="{{ formid|default('') }}">
+        <div class="formbody">
+            {% for filter in filters|default([]) %}
+                <div class="widget {{ filter.class|default('') }}"{{ filter.cssID|default('')|raw }}>
+                    {{ filter.value|raw }}
+                </div>
+            {% endfor %}
+            {% if submit|default('') %}
+                <div class="submit_container">
+                    <input type="submit" class="submit" value="{{ submit }}">
+                </div>
+            {% endif %}
+        </div>
+    </form>
+</section>
+<!-- indexer::continue -->
diff --git a/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/mm_pagination.html.twig b/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/mm_pagination.html.twig
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ff9b489ae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/mm_pagination.html.twig
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+{% set fragment = paginationFragment|default('') ? '#' ~ paginationFragment : '' %}
+<!-- indexer::stop -->
+<nav class="pagination block" aria-label="{{ 'MSC.pagination'|trans([], 'contao_default') }}">
+    <p>{{ ('MSC.totalPages'|trans([], 'contao_default'))|format(page, totalPages) }}</p>
+    <ul>
+        {% if hasFirst|default(false) %}
+            <li class="first"><a href="{{ first }}{{ fragment }}" class="first" title="{{ 'MSC.goToPage'|trans({'%s': 1}, 'contao_default') }}">{{ 'MSC.first'|trans([], 'contao_default') }}</a></li>
+        {% endif %}
+        {% if hasPrevious|default(false) %}
+            <li class="previous"><a href="{{ previous }}{{ fragment }}" class="previous" title="{{ 'MSC.goToPage'|trans({'%s': page - 1}, 'contao_default') }}">{{ 'MSC.previous'|trans([], 'contao_default') }}</a></li>
+        {% endif %}
+        {% for entry in pages|default([]) %}
+            {% if entry.href is null %}
+                <li><strong class="active">{{ entry.page }}</strong></li>
+            {% else %}
+                <li><a href="{{ entry.href }}{{ fragment }}" class="link" title="{{ 'MSC.goToPage'|trans({'%s': entry.page}, 'contao_default') }}">{{ entry.page }}</a></li>
+            {% endif %}
+        {% endfor %}
+        {% if hasNext|default(false) %}
+            <li class="next"><a href="{{ next }}{{ fragment }}" class="next" title="{{ 'MSC.goToPage'|trans({'%s': page + 1}, 'contao_default') }}">{{ 'MSC.next'|trans([], 'contao_default') }}</a></li>
+        {% endif %}
+        {% if hasLast|default(false) %}
+            <li class="last"><a href="{{ last }}{{ fragment }}" class="last" title="{{ 'MSC.goToPage'|trans({'%s': totalPages}, 'contao_default') }}">{{ 'MSC.last'|trans([], 'contao_default') }}</a></li>
+        {% endif %}
+    </ul>
+</nav>
+<!-- indexer::continue -->
diff --git a/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/twig/.twig-root b/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/twig/.twig-root
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e69de29bb
diff --git a/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/twig/metamodels/filter/checkbox.html.twig b/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/twig/metamodels/filter/checkbox.html.twig
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..55d0afb37
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/twig/metamodels/filter/checkbox.html.twig
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+{% extends "@Contao/metamodels/filter/default.html.twig" %}
+{% block formlabel %}
+    {% if not hide_label|default(false) %}
+        {{ legend|default('')|raw }}
+    {% endif %}
+{% endblock %}
+{% block formfield %}
+    {% if options|default([]) is iterable and options|length %}
+        <fieldset id="ctrl_{{ urlparam }}" class="checkbox_container">
+            {% for option in options %}
+                {% set cls = (loop.first ? 'first ' : '') ~ (loop.last ? 'last ' : '') ~ (loop.index0 % 2 == 1 ? 'even' : 'odd') ~ (option.class|default('') ? ' ' ~ option.class : '') %}
+                <span class="{{ cls }}"><input type="checkbox" name="{{ urlparam }}[]" id="opt_{{ urlparam }}_{{ loop.index0 }}" class="checkbox{% if submit|default(false) %} submitonchange{% endif %}" value="{{ option.key|default('') ? option.key : '--none--' }}"{% if option.active|default(false) %} checked="checked"{% endif %} /> <label id="lbl_{{ urlparam }}_{{ loop.index0 }}" for="opt_{{ urlparam }}_{{ loop.index0 }}">{{ option.value|raw }}</label></span>
+            {% endfor %}
+        </fieldset>
+    {% endif %}
+{% endblock %}
diff --git a/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/twig/metamodels/filter/datepicker.html.twig b/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/twig/metamodels/filter/datepicker.html.twig
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..bd06caa19
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/twig/metamodels/filter/datepicker.html.twig
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+{% extends "@Contao/metamodels/filter/default.html.twig" %}
+{% block formlabel %}
+    {% if not hide_label|default(false) %}
+        {{ label|default('')|raw }}
+    {% endif %}
+{% endblock %}
+{% block formfield %}
+    {% set minKey = raw.optionsMin.key|default(null) %}
+    {% set maxKey = raw.optionsMax.key|default(null) %}
+    {% set dateMin = minKey is not null ? minKey|date('Y-m-d') : '' %}
+    {% set dateMax = maxKey is not null ? maxKey|date('Y-m-d') : '' %}
+    {% set placeholderMin = raw.optionsMin.value|default('') %}
+    {% set placeholderMax = raw.optionsMax.value|default('') %}
+    {% set values = raw.value|default([]) %}
+    {% if raw.eval.fromField|default(false) %}
+        <input type="date" name="{{ urlparam }}[]" id="ctrl_{{ urlparam }}_0" class="text {{ class|default('') }}" value="{{ values[0]|default('') }}" placeholder="{{ placeholderMin }}" title="{{ raw.eval.labelFrom }}: {{ placeholderMin }}" min="{{ dateMin }}" max="{{ dateMax }}">
+    {% endif %}
+    {% set toIndex = (raw.eval.size|default(0) == 2) ? 1 : 0 %}
+    {% if raw.eval.toField|default(false) %}
+        <input type="date" name="{{ urlparam }}[]" id="ctrl_{{ urlparam }}_{{ toIndex }}" class="text {{ class|default('') }}" value="{{ values[toIndex]|default('') }}" placeholder="{{ placeholderMax }}" title="{{ raw.eval.labelTo }}: {{ placeholderMax }}" min="{{ dateMin }}" max="{{ dateMax }}">
+    {% endif %}
+{% endblock %}
diff --git a/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/twig/metamodels/filter/default.html.twig b/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/twig/metamodels/filter/default.html.twig
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..810d281d0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/twig/metamodels/filter/default.html.twig
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+{#
+    MetaModels default filter widget - Twig version of mm_filteritem_default.html5.
+#}
+{% block error %}
+    {% for error in errors|default([]) %}
+        <p class="error">{{ error }}</p>
+    {% endfor %}
+{% endblock %}
+
+{% block formlabel %}
+    {% if not hide_label|default(false) %}
+        {{ label|default('')|raw }}
+    {% endif %}
+{% endblock %}
+{% block formfield %}
+    {{ formfield|default('')|raw }}
+{% endblock %}
diff --git a/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/twig/metamodels/filter/linklist.html.twig b/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/twig/metamodels/filter/linklist.html.twig
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d562eee8a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/twig/metamodels/filter/linklist.html.twig
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+{% extends "@Contao/metamodels/filter/default.html.twig" %}
+{% block formlabel %}
+    {% if not hide_label|default(false) %}
+        {{ label|default('')|raw }}
+    {% endif %}
+{% endblock %}
+{% block formfield %}
+    {% if options|default([]) is iterable and options|length %}
+        {% set urlFragment = urlfragment|default('') ? '#' ~ urlfragment : '' %}
+        <ul>
+            {% for option in options %}
+                {% set cls = (loop.first ? 'first ' : '') ~ (loop.last ? 'last ' : '') ~ (loop.index0 % 2 == 1 ? 'even' : 'odd') ~ (option.class|default('') ? ' ' ~ option.class : '') %}
+                <li class="{{ cls }}">
+                    <a href="{{ option.href }}{{ urlFragment }}" class="{{ cls }}"
+                       data-escargot-ignore rel="nofollow"
+                       title="{{ option.value }}">{{ option.value|raw }}</a>
+                </li>
+            {% endfor %}
+        </ul>
+    {% endif %}
+{% endblock %}
diff --git a/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/twig/metamodels/filter/radiobuttons.html.twig b/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/twig/metamodels/filter/radiobuttons.html.twig
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..448412660
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/twig/metamodels/filter/radiobuttons.html.twig
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+{% extends "@Contao/metamodels/filter/default.html.twig" %}
+{% block formlabel %}
+    {% if not hide_label|default(false) %}
+        {{ legend|default('')|raw }}
+    {% endif %}
+{% endblock %}
+{% block formfield %}
+    {% if options|default([]) is iterable and options|length %}
+        <fieldset id="ctrl_{{ urlparam }}" class="radio_container">
+            {% for option in options %}
+                {% set cls = (loop.first ? 'first ' : '') ~ (loop.last ? 'last ' : '') ~ (loop.index0 % 2 == 1 ? 'even' : 'odd') ~ (option.class|default('') ? ' ' ~ option.class : '') %}
+                <span class="{{ cls }}"><input type="radio" name="{{ urlparam }}" id="opt_{{ urlparam }}_{{ loop.index0 }}" class="radio{% if submit|default(false) %} submitonchange{% endif %}" value="{{ option.key }}"{% if option.active|default(false) %} checked="checked"{% endif %} /> <label id="lbl_{{ urlparam }}_{{ loop.index0 }}" for="opt_{{ urlparam }}_{{ loop.index0 }}">{{ option.value|raw }}</label></span>
+            {% endfor %}
+        </fieldset>
+    {% endif %}
+{% endblock %}
diff --git a/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/twig/metamodels/item/prerendered.html.twig b/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/twig/metamodels/item/prerendered.html.twig
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c44a55ef6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/twig/metamodels/item/prerendered.html.twig
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+{#
+    MetaModels prerendered item list - Twig version of metamodel_prerendered.html5.
+#}
+{% if data|default([])|length %}
+    <div class="layout_full">
+        {% for item in data %}
+            {% block item %}
+                {% set html5vals = item.html5|default({}) %}
+                {% set textvals = item.text|default({}) %}
+                <div class="item {{ item.class }}">
+                    {% for field, name in item.attributes %}
+                        {% set value = html5vals[field] is defined ? html5vals[field] : (textvals[field] is defined ? textvals[field] : null) %}
+                        {% if value is not null %}
+                            <div class="field {{ field }}">
+                                {% if not view.get('hideLabels') %}
+                                    <div class="label">{{ 'field_label'|trans({'%field_label%': name}, 'metamodels_list') }}</div>
+                                {% endif %}
+                                <div class="value"> {{ value|raw }}</div>
+                            </div>
+                        {% endif %}
+                    {% endfor %}
+                    {% block actions %}
+                        <div class="actions">
+                            {% for action in item.actions %}
+                                {{ include('@Contao/mm_actionbutton.html.twig', {action: action}) }}
+                            {% endfor %}
+                        </div>
+                    {% endblock %}
+                </div>
+            {% endblock %}
+        {% endfor %}
+    </div>
+{% else %}
+    {% block noItem %}
+        <p class="info">{{ noItemsMsg|default('')|raw }}</p>
+    {% endblock %}
+{% endif %}
diff --git a/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/twig/metamodels/item/prerendered_debug.html.twig b/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/twig/metamodels/item/prerendered_debug.html.twig
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2215a7d90
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/twig/metamodels/item/prerendered_debug.html.twig
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+{#
+    MetaModels prerendered debug list - Twig version of metamodel_prerendered_debug.html5.
+#}
+{% if app.debug %}
+    {{ dump(data) }}
+{% endif %}
+{% if data|default([])|length %}
+    {% for item in data %}
+        {# Include here your output, e.g. item.html5['attribute_name'] or item.text['attribute_name']. #}
+    {% endfor %}
+{% else %}
+    {% block noItem %}
+        <p class="info">{{ noItemsMsg|default('')|raw }}</p>
+    {% endblock %}
+{% endif %}
diff --git a/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/twig/metamodels/item/unrendered.html.twig b/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/twig/metamodels/item/unrendered.html.twig
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..66565df21
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/CoreBundle/Resources/contao/templates/twig/metamodels/item/unrendered.html.twig
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+{#
+    MetaModels unrendered item list - Twig version of metamodel_unrendered.html5.
+#}
+{% if items.getCount() %}
+    <div class="layout_full">
+        {% for item in items.parseAll('html5', view) %}
+            {% block item %}
+                {% set html5vals = item.html5|default({}) %}
+                {% set textvals = item.text|default({}) %}
+                <div class="item {{ item.class }}">
+                    {% for field, attr in items.getItem().getMetaModel().getAttributes() %}
+                        {% set value = html5vals[field] is defined ? html5vals[field] : (textvals[field] is defined ? textvals[field] : null) %}
+                        {% if value is not null %}
+                            <div class="field {{ field }}">
+                                {% if not view.get('hideLabels') %}
+                                    <div class="label">{{ 'field_label'|trans({'%field_label%': attr.getName()}, 'metamodels_list') }}</div>
+                                {% endif %}
+                                <div class="value"> {{ value|raw }}</div>
+                            </div>
+                        {% endif %}
+                    {% endfor %}
+                    {% block actions %}
+                        <div class="actions">
+                            {% for action in item.actions %}
+                                {{ include('@Contao/mm_actionbutton.html.twig', {action: action}) }}
+                            {% endfor %}
+                        </div>
+                    {% endblock %}
+                </div>
+            {% endblock %}
+        {% endfor %}
+    </div>
+{% else %}
+    {% block noItem %}
+        <p class="info">{{ noItemsMsg|default('')|raw }}</p>
+    {% endblock %}
+{% endif %}
diff --git a/src/FrontendIntegration/FrontendFilter.php b/src/FrontendIntegration/FrontendFilter.php
index 06150aafc..98b3ffa7d 100644
--- a/src/FrontendIntegration/FrontendFilter.php
+++ b/src/FrontendIntegration/FrontendFilter.php
@@ -34,7 +34,6 @@
 use Contao\CoreBundle\Csrf\ContaoCsrfTokenManager;
 use Contao\CoreBundle\Exception\PageNotFoundException;
 use Contao\CoreBundle\Exception\RedirectResponseException;
-use Contao\FrontendTemplate;
 use Contao\Input;
 use Contao\System;
 use Doctrine\DBAL\Connection;
@@ -43,6 +42,7 @@
 use MetaModels\Filter\FilterUrlBuilder;
 use MetaModels\FrontendIntegration\Content\FilterClearAll as ContentElementFilterClearAll;
 use MetaModels\FrontendIntegration\Module\FilterClearAll as ModuleFilterClearAll;
+use MetaModels\Render\TemplateFactory;
 use RuntimeException;
 use Symfony\Component\EventDispatcher\EventDispatcherInterface;
 use Symfony\Contracts\Translation\TranslatorInterface;
@@ -92,17 +92,26 @@ class FrontendFilter
      */
     private TranslatorInterface $translator;
 
+    /**
+     * The template factory.
+     *
+     * @var TemplateFactory
+     */
+    private TemplateFactory $templateFactory;
+
     /**
      * FrontendFilter constructor.
      *
      * @param Connection|null          $connection       Database connection.
      * @param FilterUrlBuilder|null    $filterUrlBuilder The filter URL builder.
      * @param TranslatorInterface|null $translator       The translator.
+     * @param TemplateFactory|null     $templateFactory  The template factory.
      */
     public function __construct(
         ?Connection $connection = null,
         ?FilterUrlBuilder $filterUrlBuilder = null,
-        ?TranslatorInterface $translator = null
+        ?TranslatorInterface $translator = null,
+        ?TemplateFactory $templateFactory = null
     ) {
         if (null === $connection) {
             // @codingStandardsIgnoreStart
@@ -139,6 +148,18 @@ public function __construct(
             assert($translator instanceof TranslatorInterface);
         }
         $this->translator = $translator;
+
+        if (null === $templateFactory) {
+            // @codingStandardsIgnoreStart
+            @trigger_error(
+                'TemplateFactory is missing. It has to be passed in the constructor. Fallback will be dropped.',
+                E_USER_DEPRECATED
+            );
+            // @codingStandardsIgnoreEnd
+            $templateFactory = System::getContainer()->get('metamodels.template_factory');
+            assert($templateFactory instanceof TemplateFactory);
+        }
+        $this->templateFactory = $templateFactory;
     }
 
     /**
@@ -326,13 +347,13 @@ protected function renderWidget($widget, $filterOptions)
     {
         $filter       = $widget;
         $templateName = ($filter['raw']['eval']['template'] ?? 'mm_filteritem_default');
-        $template     = new FrontendTemplate($templateName);
+        $template     = $this->templateFactory->createTemplate($templateName, 'filter');
 
         $template->setData($filter);
 
         /** @psalm-suppress UndefinedMagicPropertyAssignment */
         $template->submit = $filterOptions->isAutoSubmit();
-        $filter['value']  = $template->parse();
+        $filter['value']  = $template->parse('html5');
 
         return $filter;
     }
diff --git a/src/FrontendIntegration/MetaModelHybrid.php b/src/FrontendIntegration/MetaModelHybrid.php
index 2265d8308..3fab4a1bf 100644
--- a/src/FrontendIntegration/MetaModelHybrid.php
+++ b/src/FrontendIntegration/MetaModelHybrid.php
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@
 use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\Request;
 use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\RequestStack;
 use Symfony\Contracts\Translation\TranslatorInterface;
+use Twig\Markup;
 
 /**
  * Base implementation of a MetaModel Hybrid element.
@@ -266,8 +267,9 @@ public function generate()
             }
 
             $objTemplate = new BackendTemplate('be_wildcard');
+            // Mark the info text as safe HTML so the (auto-escaping) Twig be_wildcard template does not escape it.
             /** @psalm-suppress UndefinedMagicPropertyAssignment */
-            $objTemplate->wildcard = $this->wildCardName . $strInfo;
+            $objTemplate->wildcard = new Markup($this->wildCardName . $strInfo, 'UTF-8');
             /** @psalm-suppress UndefinedMagicPropertyAssignment */
             $objTemplate->title = $this->headline;
             /** @psalm-suppress UndefinedMagicPropertyAssignment */
diff --git a/src/ItemList.php b/src/ItemList.php
index 2ed42dc5e..f754f9711 100644
--- a/src/ItemList.php
+++ b/src/ItemList.php
@@ -685,7 +685,7 @@ protected function prepareView(): void
         $templateFactory = System::getContainer()->get('metamodels.template_factory');
         assert($templateFactory instanceof TemplateFactory);
 
-        $this->objTemplate = $templateFactory->createTemplate((string) $this->objView->get('template'));
+        $this->objTemplate = $templateFactory->createTemplate((string) $this->objView->get('template'), 'item');
         /** @psalm-suppress UndefinedMagicPropertyAssignment */
         $this->objTemplate->view = $this->objView;
     }
diff --git a/src/Render/Template.php b/src/Render/Template.php
index 22c6f83d6..3c81cc8b2 100644
--- a/src/Render/Template.php
+++ b/src/Render/Template.php
@@ -112,6 +112,28 @@ class Template
      */
     protected $scopeDeterminator;
 
+    /**
+     * The Twig surrogate. When set, a matching Twig template takes precedence over the legacy PHP template.
+     *
+     * @var TwigTemplateSurrogate|null
+     */
+    protected $twigSurrogate;
+
+    /**
+     * The Twig template group ("attribute", "filter" or "item") used to build the Twig candidate name
+     * "@Contao/metamodels/&lt;group&gt;/&lt;leaf&gt;.html.twig". Empty disables the Twig surrogate.
+     *
+     * @var string
+     */
+    protected $twigGroup = '';
+
+    /**
+     * The kernel project directory, used to detect legacy template overrides in the project "templates/" folder.
+     *
+     * @var string
+     */
+    protected $projectDir = '';
+
     /**
      * Template path cache.
      *
@@ -145,13 +167,22 @@ public function __call($strMethod, $arrArgs)
      * @param string                               $strTemplate       The name of the template file.
      * @param Adapter|Adapter<TemplateLoader>|null $templateLoader    Template loader adapter.
      * @param RequestScopeDeterminator|null        $scopeDeterminator Request scope determinator.
+     * @param TwigTemplateSurrogate|null           $twigSurrogate     Twig surrogate (enables Twig precedence).
+     * @param string                               $twigGroup         Twig template group (attribute|filter|item).
+     * @param string                               $projectDir        The kernel project directory.
      */
     public function __construct(
         $strTemplate = '',
         ?Adapter $templateLoader = null,
-        ?RequestScopeDeterminator $scopeDeterminator = null
+        ?RequestScopeDeterminator $scopeDeterminator = null,
+        ?TwigTemplateSurrogate $twigSurrogate = null,
+        string $twigGroup = '',
+        string $projectDir = ''
     ) {
-        $this->strTemplate = $strTemplate;
+        $this->strTemplate   = $strTemplate;
+        $this->twigSurrogate = $twigSurrogate;
+        $this->twigGroup     = $twigGroup;
+        $this->projectDir    = $projectDir;
 
         if (null === $templateLoader) {
             // @codingStandardsIgnoreStart
@@ -418,6 +449,11 @@ public function parse($strOutputFormat, $blnFailIfNotFound = false)
         // HOOK: add custom parse filters.
         $this->callParseTemplateHook();
 
+        // A matching Twig template takes precedence over the legacy PHP template (like Contao core does).
+        if (null !== ($twigResult = $this->renderTwigSurrogate())) {
+            return $twigResult;
+        }
+
         $strBuffer = '';
 
         // Start with the template itself.
@@ -460,26 +496,98 @@ public function parse($strOutputFormat, $blnFailIfNotFound = false)
         // Reset the internal arrays.
         $this->arrBlocks = [];
 
-        // Add start and end markers in debug mode.
+        return $this->addDebugMarkers((string) $strBuffer);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Render a matching Twig template, taking precedence over the legacy PHP template, or null to fall back.
+     *
+     * @return string|null The rendered markup or null when no Twig surrogate applies.
+     */
+    protected function renderTwigSurrogate(): ?string
+    {
+        if (null === $this->twigSurrogate) {
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        // Transitional (deprecated, to be removed in 3.0 together with the ".html5" templates): a legacy override of
+        // the flat template name in the project "templates/" directory (or a theme folder) still wins over a bundle
+        // provided Twig template, so existing customisations keep working until they are migrated to
+        // "templates/metamodels/<group>/<leaf>".
+        if ($this->hasLegacyTemplateOverride()) {
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        return $this->twigSurrogate->render(
+            $this->strTemplate,
+            $this->twigGroup,
+            $this->strFormat,
+            $this->arrData
+        );
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Check whether the flat template name is overridden in the project template directory (or a theme folder).
+     *
+     * Such a legacy override keeps precedence over a bundle provided Twig template for backwards compatibility.
+     *
+     * @return bool
+     *
+     * @deprecated Deprecated since 2.5 and to be removed in 3.0 - migrate overrides to "templates/metamodels/...".
+     */
+    private function hasLegacyTemplateOverride(): bool
+    {
+        if (!\in_array($this->strFormat, ['html5', 'text'], true)) {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        if ('' === $this->projectDir) {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        $path = $this->getTemplate($this->strTemplate, $this->strFormat);
+        if (null === $path) {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        $templatesDir = (\realpath($this->projectDir . '/templates') ?: ($this->projectDir . '/templates'))
+            . \DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR;
+
+        return \str_starts_with((string) (\realpath($path) ?: $path), $templatesDir);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Wrap the buffer with template start/end markers when running in debug mode (html5 format only).
+     *
+     * @param string $strBuffer The rendered buffer.
+     *
+     * @return string The buffer, optionally wrapped with debug markers.
+     *
+     * @SuppressWarnings(PHPMD.Superglobals)
+     * @SuppressWarnings(PHPMD.CamelCaseVariableName)
+     */
+    protected function addDebugMarkers(string $strBuffer)
+    {
         $container = System::getContainer();
         if (
-            ($container instanceof ContainerInterface)
-            && true === $container->getParameter('kernel.debug')
-            && ('html5' === $this->strFormat)
+            !($container instanceof ContainerInterface)
+            || true !== $container->getParameter('kernel.debug')
+            || ('html5' !== $this->strFormat)
         ) {
-            $rootDir = $container->getParameter('kernel.project_dir');
-            assert(\is_string($rootDir));
-            $strRelPath =
-                \str_replace($rootDir . '/', '', (string) $this->getTemplate($this->strTemplate, $this->strFormat));
-            $strBuffer  = <<<EOF
+            return $strBuffer;
+        }
+
+        $rootDir = $container->getParameter('kernel.project_dir');
+        assert(\is_string($rootDir));
+        $strRelPath =
+            \str_replace($rootDir . '/', '', (string) $this->getTemplate($this->strTemplate, $this->strFormat));
+
+        return <<<EOF
 <!-- TEMPLATE START: $strRelPath -->
 $strBuffer
 <!-- TEMPLATE END: $strRelPath -->
 
 EOF;
-        }
-
-        return (string) $strBuffer;
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/src/Render/TemplateFactory.php b/src/Render/TemplateFactory.php
index 370a2849e..7d8679cd9 100644
--- a/src/Render/TemplateFactory.php
+++ b/src/Render/TemplateFactory.php
@@ -16,15 +16,27 @@
     public function __construct(
         private Adapter $templateLoader,
         private RequestScopeDeterminator $requestScopeDeterminator,
+        private TwigTemplateSurrogate $twigSurrogate,
+        private string $projectDir,
     ) {
     }
 
-    public function createTemplate(string $templateName): Template
+    /**
+     * Create a template instance.
+     *
+     * @param string $templateName The legacy template name (e.g. "mm_attr_text").
+     * @param string $twigGroup    The Twig group ("attribute", "filter" or "item") enabling the Twig surrogate
+     *                             "@Contao/metamodels/&lt;group&gt;/&lt;leaf&gt;.html.twig". Empty disables it.
+     */
+    public function createTemplate(string $templateName, string $twigGroup = ''): Template
     {
         return new Template(
             $templateName,
             $this->templateLoader,
             $this->requestScopeDeterminator,
+            $this->twigSurrogate,
+            $twigGroup,
+            $this->projectDir,
         );
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/Render/TwigTemplateSurrogate.php b/src/Render/TwigTemplateSurrogate.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9d7c069aa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Render/TwigTemplateSurrogate.php
@@ -0,0 +1,133 @@
+<?php
+
+/**
+ * This file is part of MetaModels/core.
+ *
+ * (c) 2012-2025 The MetaModels team.
+ *
+ * For the full copyright and license information, please view the LICENSE
+ * file that was distributed with this source code.
+ *
+ * This project is provided in good faith and hope to be usable by anyone.
+ *
+ * @package    MetaModels/core
+ * @author     Ingolf Steinhardt <info@e-spin.de>
+ * @copyright  2012-2025 The MetaModels team.
+ * @license    https://github.com/MetaModels/core/blob/master/LICENSE LGPL-3.0-or-later
+ * @filesource
+ */
+
+declare(strict_types=1);
+
+namespace MetaModels\Render;
+
+use Contao\CoreBundle\Twig\ContaoTwigUtil;
+use Contao\CoreBundle\Twig\Interop\ContextFactory;
+use Contao\CoreBundle\Twig\Loader\ContaoFilesystemLoader;
+use Twig\Environment;
+
+/**
+ * Renders a matching Twig template as a surrogate for a legacy MetaModels PHP template.
+ *
+ * A Twig template "@Contao/metamodels/&lt;group&gt;/&lt;leaf&gt;.html.twig" takes precedence over the legacy ".html5"
+ * template (frontend and backend), mirroring Contao's own Twig surrogate.
+ *
+ * The plain text format (search index, sorting, group headers) works the same way, but its templates carry an
+ * additional ".text" in the name: "&lt;leaf&gt;.text.html.twig" surrogates the legacy "&lt;leaf&gt;.text".
+ *
+ * The doubled extension is not cosmetic. Contao derives the template identifier by stripping the trailing
+ * ".html.twig" resp. ".twig", and it refuses to mix types under one identifier: a "&lt;leaf&gt;.text.twig" beside a
+ * "&lt;leaf&gt;.html.twig" would share the identifier "&lt;leaf&gt;" but count as a different type, which makes
+ * ContaoFilesystemLoader abort the whole hierarchy with an OutOfBoundsException - the entire back end and front end
+ * would answer with HTTP 500. Keeping ".html.twig" as the real extension puts the text variant under its own
+ * identifier "&lt;leaf&gt;.text". The same naming is already in use for the notelist mail template.
+ */
+final readonly class TwigTemplateSurrogate
+{
+    /**
+     * The output formats that can be surrogated, mapped to the suffix of the Twig template name.
+     */
+    private const SUFFIX_BY_FORMAT = [
+        'html5' => '.html.twig',
+        'text'  => '.text.html.twig',
+    ];
+
+    public function __construct(
+        private Environment $twig,
+        private ContaoFilesystemLoader $loader,
+        private ContextFactory $contextFactory,
+    ) {
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Render the Twig surrogate for the given template or return null to fall back to the legacy PHP template.
+     *
+     * @param string               $templateName The legacy template name (e.g. "mm_attr_text").
+     * @param string               $group        The Twig group ("attribute", "filter" or "item").
+     * @param string               $format       The current output format.
+     * @param array<string, mixed> $data         The template data.
+     */
+    public function render(string $templateName, string $group, string $format, array $data): ?string
+    {
+        if (null === ($suffix = self::SUFFIX_BY_FORMAT[$format] ?? null)) {
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        if (null === ($identifier = $this->getIdentifier($templateName, $group))) {
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        // The ".text" of the suffix becomes part of the identifier ("<leaf>.text"), the real extension stays
+        // ".html.twig" - see the class comment on why.
+        $candidate = '@Contao/' . $identifier . $suffix;
+        if (!$this->loader->exists($candidate)) {
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        // Respect a higher priority legacy ".html5" override in the managed hierarchy (mirror Contao). The actual
+        // render below stays theme aware through the loader's internal state; only this precedence check ignores the
+        // rarely used theme layer to avoid depending on Contao internal API. The text identifier has no legacy
+        // counterpart in the hierarchy, so the check only applies to the visual format.
+        if ('html5' === $format && 'html5' === ContaoTwigUtil::getExtension($this->loader->getFirst($identifier))) {
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        return $this->twig->render($candidate, $this->contextFactory->fromData($data));
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Build the Twig template identifier ("metamodels/&lt;group&gt;/&lt;leaf&gt;") for a legacy template name.
+     *
+     * The group comes from the render context (attribute, filter or item); the leaf is the configured template name
+     * with the conventional legacy prefix removed - e.g. "mm_attr_text" in the "attribute" group becomes
+     * "metamodels/attribute/text".
+     *
+     * @param string $templateName The legacy template name.
+     * @param string $group        The Twig group.
+     *
+     * @return string|null The identifier or null when no Twig group is set.
+     */
+    private function getIdentifier(string $templateName, string $group): ?string
+    {
+        if ('' === $group || '' === $templateName) {
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        $prefixes = match ($group) {
+            'attribute' => ['mm_attr_'],
+            'filter'    => ['mm_filteritem_', 'mm_filter_', 'mm_clearall_'],
+            'item'      => ['metamodel_', 'mm_'],
+            default     => [],
+        };
+
+        $leaf = $templateName;
+        foreach ($prefixes as $prefix) {
+            if (\str_starts_with($leaf, $prefix)) {
+                $leaf = \substr($leaf, \strlen($prefix));
+                break;
+            }
+        }
+
+        return 'metamodels/' . $group . '/' . $leaf;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/tests/Render/TwigTemplateSurrogateTest.php b/tests/Render/TwigTemplateSurrogateTest.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1996a0c70
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/Render/TwigTemplateSurrogateTest.php
@@ -0,0 +1,189 @@
+<?php
+
+/**
+ * This file is part of MetaModels/core.
+ *
+ * (c) 2012-2026 The MetaModels team.
+ *
+ * For the full copyright and license information, please view the LICENSE
+ * file that was distributed with this source code.
+ *
+ * This project is provided in good faith and hope to be usable by anyone.
+ *
+ * @package    MetaModels/core
+ * @author     Ingolf Steinhardt <info@e-spin.de>
+ * @copyright  2012-2026 The MetaModels team.
+ * @license    https://github.com/MetaModels/core/blob/master/LICENSE LGPL-3.0-or-later
+ * @filesource
+ */
+
+declare(strict_types=1);
+
+namespace MetaModels\Test\Render;
+
+use Contao\CoreBundle\Routing\ScopeMatcher;
+use Contao\CoreBundle\Twig\Interop\ContextFactory;
+use Contao\CoreBundle\Twig\Loader\ContaoFilesystemLoader;
+use MetaModels\Render\TwigTemplateSurrogate;
+use PHPUnit\Framework\Attributes\CoversClass;
+use PHPUnit\Framework\Attributes\DataProvider;
+use PHPUnit\Framework\TestCase;
+use Twig\Environment;
+
+/**
+ * Tests for the Twig surrogate that renders a Twig template in place of the legacy MetaModels PHP template.
+ */
+#[CoversClass(TwigTemplateSurrogate::class)]
+final class TwigTemplateSurrogateTest extends TestCase
+{
+    /**
+     * Build a surrogate with the given (mocked) Twig environment and filesystem loader.
+     *
+     * The context factory is used with a real instance because it is final and cannot be mocked; for plain array
+     * data (as used in these tests) it returns the data unchanged.
+     */
+    private function buildSurrogate(Environment $twig, ContaoFilesystemLoader $loader): TwigTemplateSurrogate
+    {
+        return new TwigTemplateSurrogate(
+            $twig,
+            $loader,
+            new ContextFactory($this->createStub(ScopeMatcher::class))
+        );
+    }
+
+    public function testReturnsNullForUnsupportedFormat(): void
+    {
+        $twig   = $this->createMock(Environment::class);
+        $loader = $this->createMock(ContaoFilesystemLoader::class);
+        $twig->expects(self::never())->method('render');
+        $loader->expects(self::never())->method('exists');
+
+        self::assertNull($this->buildSurrogate($twig, $loader)->render('mm_attr_text', 'attribute', 'xml', []));
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The text format keeps ".html.twig" as its real extension and carries the ".text" in the identifier - a
+     * "<leaf>.text.twig" would collide with the "<leaf>.html.twig" of the same identifier and make Contao's
+     * template hierarchy fail as a whole.
+     */
+    public function testRendersTheTextVariantForTheTextFormat(): void
+    {
+        $twig   = $this->createMock(Environment::class);
+        $loader = $this->createMock(ContaoFilesystemLoader::class);
+        $loader->expects(self::once())->method('exists')
+            ->with('@Contao/metamodels/attribute/text.text.html.twig')
+            ->willReturn(true);
+        // The text identifier has no legacy counterpart, so the precedence check must not run.
+        $loader->expects(self::never())->method('getFirst');
+        $twig->expects(self::once())->method('render')
+            ->with('@Contao/metamodels/attribute/text.text.html.twig', ['foo' => 'bar'])
+            ->willReturn('plain text');
+
+        self::assertSame(
+            'plain text',
+            $this->buildSurrogate($twig, $loader)->render('mm_attr_text', 'attribute', 'text', ['foo' => 'bar'])
+        );
+    }
+
+    public function testReturnsNullWhenTheTextVariantDoesNotExist(): void
+    {
+        $twig   = $this->createMock(Environment::class);
+        $loader = $this->createMock(ContaoFilesystemLoader::class);
+        $loader->expects(self::once())->method('exists')
+            ->with('@Contao/metamodels/attribute/text.text.html.twig')
+            ->willReturn(false);
+        $twig->expects(self::never())->method('render');
+
+        self::assertNull($this->buildSurrogate($twig, $loader)->render('mm_attr_text', 'attribute', 'text', []));
+    }
+
+    public function testReturnsNullForEmptyGroup(): void
+    {
+        $twig   = $this->createMock(Environment::class);
+        $loader = $this->createMock(ContaoFilesystemLoader::class);
+        $twig->expects(self::never())->method('render');
+        $loader->expects(self::never())->method('exists');
+
+        self::assertNull($this->buildSurrogate($twig, $loader)->render('mm_attr_text', '', 'html5', []));
+    }
+
+    public function testReturnsNullWhenTwigTemplateDoesNotExist(): void
+    {
+        $twig   = $this->createMock(Environment::class);
+        $loader = $this->createMock(ContaoFilesystemLoader::class);
+        $loader->expects(self::once())->method('exists')
+            ->with('@Contao/metamodels/attribute/text.html.twig')
+            ->willReturn(false);
+        $twig->expects(self::never())->method('render');
+
+        self::assertNull($this->buildSurrogate($twig, $loader)->render('mm_attr_text', 'attribute', 'html5', []));
+    }
+
+    public function testReturnsNullWhenLegacyHtml5OverrideHasPrecedence(): void
+    {
+        $twig   = $this->createMock(Environment::class);
+        $loader = $this->createMock(ContaoFilesystemLoader::class);
+        $loader->method('exists')->willReturn(true);
+        $loader->method('getFirst')
+            ->with('metamodels/attribute/text')
+            ->willReturn('@Contao/metamodels/attribute/text.html5');
+        $twig->expects(self::never())->method('render');
+
+        self::assertNull($this->buildSurrogate($twig, $loader)->render('mm_attr_text', 'attribute', 'html5', []));
+    }
+
+    public function testRendersTwigTemplateWhenItExists(): void
+    {
+        $twig   = $this->createMock(Environment::class);
+        $loader = $this->createMock(ContaoFilesystemLoader::class);
+        $loader->method('exists')
+            ->with('@Contao/metamodels/attribute/text.html.twig')
+            ->willReturn(true);
+        $loader->method('getFirst')
+            ->with('metamodels/attribute/text')
+            ->willReturn('@Contao/metamodels/attribute/text.html.twig');
+        $twig->expects(self::once())->method('render')
+            ->with('@Contao/metamodels/attribute/text.html.twig', ['value' => 'x'])
+            ->willReturn('<rendered>');
+
+        self::assertSame(
+            '<rendered>',
+            $this->buildSurrogate($twig, $loader)->render('mm_attr_text', 'attribute', 'html5', ['value' => 'x'])
+        );
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @return array<string, array{0: string, 1: string, 2: string}>
+     */
+    public static function provideIdentifierMapping(): array
+    {
+        return [
+            'attribute strips the mm_attr_ prefix'      =>
+                ['mm_attr_text', 'attribute', '@Contao/metamodels/attribute/text.html.twig'],
+            'filter strips the mm_filteritem_ prefix'   =>
+                ['mm_filteritem_default', 'filter', '@Contao/metamodels/filter/default.html.twig'],
+            'filter strips the mm_filter_ prefix'       =>
+                ['mm_filter_default', 'filter', '@Contao/metamodels/filter/default.html.twig'],
+            'item strips the metamodel_ prefix'         =>
+                ['metamodel_prerendered', 'item', '@Contao/metamodels/item/prerendered.html.twig'],
+            'item strips the mm_ prefix'                =>
+                ['mm_default', 'item', '@Contao/metamodels/item/default.html.twig'],
+            'a name without a known prefix is kept'     =>
+                ['custom', 'attribute', '@Contao/metamodels/attribute/custom.html.twig'],
+        ];
+    }
+
+    #[DataProvider('provideIdentifierMapping')]
+    public function testBuildsTwigIdentifierFromGroupAndName(
+        string $name,
+        string $group,
+        string $expectedCandidate
+    ): void {
+        $twig   = $this->createMock(Environment::class);
+        $loader = $this->createMock(ContaoFilesystemLoader::class);
+        $twig->expects(self::never())->method('render');
+        $loader->expects(self::once())->method('exists')->with($expectedCandidate)->willReturn(false);
+
+        self::assertNull($this->buildSurrogate($twig, $loader)->render($name, $group, 'html5', []));
+    }
+}