diff --git a/src/mark.js b/src/mark.js
index ec54b70800..184b84a77a 100644
--- a/src/mark.js
+++ b/src/mark.js
@@ -81,6 +81,20 @@ export class Mark {
     if (this.transform != null) ({facets, data} = this.transform(data, facets)), (data = arrayify(data));
     const channels = Channels(this.channels, data);
     if (this.sort != null) channelDomain(channels, facetChannels, data, this.sort); // mutates facetChannels!
+
+    // TODO design the default details channel
+    channels.details ??= {
+      value: channels.x
+        ? Array.from(channels.x.value, (x, i) => ({
+            x,
+            y: channels.y?.value[i],
+            fill: channels.fill?.value[i],
+            stroke: channels.stroke?.value[i],
+            text: channels.text?.value[i]
+          }))
+        : null,
+      filter: null
+    };
     return {data, facets, channels};
   }
   filter(index, channels, values) {
diff --git a/src/style.js b/src/style.js
index 09185365c8..db5d9c5b49 100644
--- a/src/style.js
+++ b/src/style.js
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import {geoPath, group, namespaces} from "d3";
+import {geoPath, group, local, namespaces} from "d3";
 import {create} from "./context.js";
 import {defined, nonempty} from "./defined.js";
 import {formatDefault} from "./format.js";
@@ -46,7 +46,8 @@ export function styles(
     mixBlendMode,
     paintOrder,
     pointerEvents,
-    shapeRendering
+    shapeRendering,
+    details
   },
   {
     ariaLabel: cariaLabel,
@@ -148,7 +149,8 @@ export function styles(
     stroke: {value: vstroke, scale: "auto", optional: true},
     strokeOpacity: {value: vstrokeOpacity, scale: "opacity", optional: true},
     strokeWidth: {value: vstrokeWidth, optional: true},
-    opacity: {value: vopacity, scale: "opacity", optional: true}
+    opacity: {value: vopacity, scale: "opacity", optional: true},
+    details: {value: details, optional: true}
   };
 }
 
@@ -190,7 +192,10 @@ export function applyChannelStyles(
     strokeOpacity: SO,
     strokeWidth: SW,
     opacity: O,
-    href: H
+    href: H,
+    details: D,
+    x: X,
+    y: Y
   }
 ) {
   if (AL) applyAttr(selection, "aria-label", (i) => AL[i]);
@@ -201,9 +206,20 @@ export function applyChannelStyles(
   if (SW) applyAttr(selection, "stroke-width", (i) => SW[i]);
   if (O) applyAttr(selection, "opacity", (i) => O[i]);
   if (H) applyHref(selection, (i) => H[i], target);
+  if (D) applyDetails(selection, D, X, Y);
   applyTitle(selection, T);
 }
 
+const details = local(); // TODO: this should belong to the plot context
+const geometry = local();
+function applyDetails(selection, D, X, Y) {
+  for (const node of selection) {
+    const i = node.__data__;
+    details.set(node, D[i]);
+    geometry.set(node, {x: X[i], y: Y[i]});
+  }
+}
+
 export function applyGroupedChannelStyles(
   selection,
   {target},
diff --git a/test/plots/penguin-culmen.js b/test/plots/penguin-culmen.js
index ed499087c8..c511bbdb32 100644
--- a/test/plots/penguin-culmen.js
+++ b/test/plots/penguin-culmen.js
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 import * as Plot from "@observablehq/plot";
 import * as d3 from "d3";
+import {pointers, quadtree} from "d3";
+import {create} from "d3";
 
 export default async function () {
   const penguins = await d3.csv("data/penguins.csv", d3.autoType);
@@ -14,8 +16,57 @@ export default async function () {
     },
     marks: [
       Plot.frame(),
-      Plot.dot(penguins, {facet: "exclude", x: "culmen_depth_mm", y: "culmen_length_mm", r: 2, fill: "#ddd"}),
-      Plot.dot(penguins, {x: "culmen_depth_mm", y: "culmen_length_mm"})
+      Plot.dot(penguins, {
+        facet: "exclude",
+        x: "culmen_depth_mm",
+        y: "culmen_length_mm",
+        r: 2,
+        fill: "#ddd",
+        details: false // TODO null
+      }),
+      Plot.dot(penguins, {x: "culmen_depth_mm", y: "culmen_length_mm", details: Plot.identity}),
+      new Tooltip()
     ]
   });
 }
+
+class Tooltip extends Plot.Mark {
+  render(I, S, C, {width, height, marginLeft, marginTop, marginRight, marginBottom}) {
+    const g = create("svg:g");
+    const popup = g
+      .append("svg:foreignObject")
+      .attr("width", 150)
+      .attr("height", 200)
+      .attr("x", marginLeft)
+      .attr("y", marginTop);
+    const div = popup.append("xhtml:div");
+    g.append("svg:rect")
+      .attr("x", marginLeft)
+      .attr("width", width - marginLeft - marginRight)
+      .attr("y", marginTop)
+      .attr("height", height - marginTop - marginBottom)
+      .attr("fill", "none")
+      .attr("pointer-events", "all")
+      .on("pointermove", function (event) {
+        if (!this.__quadtree) {
+          this.__quadtree = quadtree();
+          for (const node of g.node().parentNode.querySelectorAll("*")) {
+            // @1: details;
+            // @2: geometry;
+            if (node["@1"]) {
+              console.warn("adding", node["@1"], node["@2"]);
+              this.__quadtree.add([node["@2"].x, node["@2"].y, node["@1"]]);
+            }
+          }
+        }
+        const [[x, y]] = pointers(event);
+        const [, , closest] = this.__quadtree.find(x, y);
+        div.html(
+          Object.entries(closest)
+            .map(([k, v]) => [k, v].join(": "))
+            .join("<br>")
+        );
+      });
+    return g.node();
+  }
+}