diff --git a/shared/static/scripts/sx.js b/shared/static/scripts/sx.js
index 43ac749..0085fb5 100644
--- a/shared/static/scripts/sx.js
+++ b/shared/static/scripts/sx.js
@@ -1340,9 +1340,8 @@
         s._sxProcessed = true;
 
         var text = s.textContent;
-        if (!text || !text.trim()) continue;
 
-        // data-components: load as component definitions (with localStorage caching)
+        // data-components: check before empty-text guard (may load from localStorage)
         if (s.hasAttribute("data-components")) {
           var hash = s.getAttribute("data-hash");
           if (hash) {
@@ -1395,6 +1394,8 @@
           continue;
         }
 
+        if (!text || !text.trim()) continue;
+
         // data-mount="<selector>": render into target
         var mountSel = s.getAttribute("data-mount");
         if (mountSel) {