diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 770b64f..b09b3c5 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -38,6 +38,21 @@ console.log(link('src/index.ts', { line: 12 }))
 
 Wraps `path` in an OSC 8 hyperlink pointing at it on disk, labelled with the `cwd`-relative form (plus `:<line>:<column>` if given) or with whatever `options.formatter` returns. Relative input is resolved against `options.cwd`.
 
+> [!NOTE]
+> `util.stripVTControlCharacters` corrupts these sequences on current Node releases, choking on the comma in `#L12,3` ([fixed](https://github.com/nodejs/node/pull/64319) but unreleased). Measure visible width with your own OSC 8-aware regex.
+
+#### `hyperlink(label, url, options?)`
+
+Wraps `label` in an OSC 8 hyperlink pointing at `url`, which is used as the target verbatim: no path resolution and no `file://` conversion. Use this for links that are already URLs (a docs page, an issue, a `vscode://` deep link); use `link` for file paths.
+
+```js
+import { hyperlink } from 'clickable-path'
+
+console.log(hyperlink('E1: missing config', 'https://nuxt.com/docs/errors/e1'))
+```
+
+`label` is emitted byte-for-byte, so a label that already contains colour escapes is passed through untouched. Accepts the `enabled`, `stream` and `id` options (`HyperlinkOptions`), and returns `label` alone when hyperlinks are unsupported.
+
 #### `createLinker(defaults?)`
 
 Returns a `{ link }` with `defaults` pre-applied, so you can configure a `formatter` and cwd once rather than at every call site:
diff --git a/src/index.ts b/src/index.ts
index 0b0c159..5096579 100644
--- a/src/index.ts
+++ b/src/index.ts
@@ -10,7 +10,20 @@ export type { StreamLike } from './supports.ts'
 const OSC = '\u001B]'
 const BEL = '\u0007'
 
-export interface LinkOptions {
+export interface HyperlinkOptions {
+  /** Stream whose TTY state determines whether escapes are emitted. Defaults to `process.stdout`. */
+  stream?: StreamLike
+  /** Force hyperlinks on or off, bypassing terminal detection. */
+  enabled?: boolean
+  /**
+   * OSC 8 `id` param, letting a terminal treat separate runs of cells as one
+   * hyperlink, so a label wrapped across lines highlights as a whole on hover.
+   * Must not contain `;`, `:` or `=`.
+   */
+  id?: string
+}
+
+export interface LinkOptions extends HyperlinkOptions {
   /**
    * Builds the visible label from the absolute target and any `line`/`column`,
    * e.g. as a CLI's own alias: `absolute => absolute.replace(rootDir, '~')`.
@@ -22,20 +35,10 @@ export interface LinkOptions {
   formatter?: (absolute: string, line?: number, column?: number) => string
   /** Directory used to resolve relative paths. Defaults to `process.cwd()`, read at call time. */
   cwd?: string
-  /** Stream whose TTY state determines whether escapes are emitted. Defaults to `process.stdout`. */
-  stream?: StreamLike
   /** 1-based line number, shown as `:<line>` in the default label and linked as `#L<line>`. */
   line?: number
   /** 1-based column number, shown and linked after the line as `:<column>`. */
   column?: number
-  /** Force hyperlinks on or off, bypassing terminal detection. */
-  enabled?: boolean
-  /**
-   * OSC 8 `id` param, letting a terminal treat separate runs of cells as one
-   * hyperlink, so a label wrapped across lines highlights as a whole on hover.
-   * Must not contain `;`, `:` or `=`.
-   */
-  id?: string
 }
 
 export interface Linker {
@@ -94,13 +97,25 @@ export function link(target: string, options: LinkOptions = {}): string {
   const [suffix, fragment] = position(options)
   const label = options.formatter?.(absolute, options.line, options.column) ?? relative + suffix
 
+  return hyperlink(label, url + fragment, options)
+}
+
+/**
+ * Wrap `label` in an OSC 8 hyperlink pointing at `url`, which is used as the
+ * link target verbatim: no path resolution and no `file://` conversion.
+ *
+ * The label is emitted byte-for-byte, so a label that already contains colour
+ * escapes is passed through untouched. When the terminal does not support
+ * hyperlinks the label is returned on its own.
+ */
+export function hyperlink(label: string, url: string, options: HyperlinkOptions = {}): string {
   if (!(options.enabled ?? supportsHyperlinks(options.stream))) {
     return label
   }
 
   const params = options.id === undefined ? '' : `id=${options.id}`
 
-  return `${OSC}8;${params};${url}${fragment}${BEL}${label}${OSC}8;;${BEL}`
+  return `${OSC}8;${params};${url}${BEL}${label}${OSC}8;;${BEL}`
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/test/index.test.ts b/test/index.test.ts
index b1d9fb9..4669e59 100644
--- a/test/index.test.ts
+++ b/test/index.test.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import process from 'node:process'
 import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url'
 import { stripVTControlCharacters } from 'node:util'
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
-import { createLinker, link, supportsHyperlinks } from '../src'
+import { createLinker, hyperlink, link, supportsHyperlinks } from '../src'
 
 const tty = { isTTY: true }
 const notTty = { isTTY: false }
@@ -195,6 +195,36 @@ describe('createLinker', () => {
   })
 })
 
+describe('hyperlink', () => {
+  it('should use the url as the target verbatim', () => {
+    const output = hyperlink('e1', 'https://nuxt.com/docs/errors/e1', { enabled: true })
+    expect(JSON.stringify(output)).toMatchInlineSnapshot(`""\\u001b]8;;https://nuxt.com/docs/errors/e1\\u0007e1\\u001b]8;;\\u0007""`)
+    expect(parse(output)).toEqual({ label: 'e1', url: 'https://nuxt.com/docs/errors/e1' })
+  })
+
+  it('should not resolve a url-like label against the cwd', () => {
+    expect(parse(hyperlink('open', 'vscode://file/a/b.ts:1', { enabled: true })).url).toBe('vscode://file/a/b.ts:1')
+  })
+
+  it('should return the bare label when disabled', () => {
+    expect(hyperlink('e1', 'https://nuxt.com', { enabled: false })).toBe('e1')
+  })
+
+  it('should return the bare label for a non-TTY stream', () => {
+    expect(hyperlink('e1', 'https://nuxt.com', { stream: notTty })).toBe('e1')
+  })
+
+  it('should emit an id param when given one', () => {
+    expect(JSON.stringify(hyperlink('e1', 'https://nuxt.com', { enabled: true, id: 'docs' }))).toMatchInlineSnapshot(`""\\u001b]8;id=docs;https://nuxt.com\\u0007e1\\u001b]8;;\\u0007""`)
+  })
+
+  it('should pass a pre-styled label through untouched', () => {
+    const label = `\u001B[4m${'nuxt.com'}\u001B[24m`
+    const output = hyperlink(label, 'https://nuxt.com', { enabled: true })
+    expect(parse(output).label).toBe(label)
+  })
+})
+
 describe('supportsHyperlinks', () => {
   it('should be false for a non-TTY stream', () => {
     vi.stubEnv('TERM_PROGRAM', 'iTerm.app')