diff --git a/extensions/zalouser/src/channel.test.ts b/extensions/zalouser/src/channel.test.ts
index 6fa838a9690..47097e3d99b 100644
--- a/extensions/zalouser/src/channel.test.ts
+++ b/extensions/zalouser/src/channel.test.ts
@@ -110,6 +110,17 @@ describe("zalouser outbound", () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe("zalouser outbound chunking", () => {
+  it("chunks outbound text without requiring Zalouser runtime initialization", () => {
+    const chunker = zalouserPlugin.outbound?.chunker;
+    if (!chunker) {
+      throw new Error("zalouser outbound.chunker unavailable");
+    }
+
+    expect(chunker("alpha beta", 5)).toEqual(["alpha", "beta"]);
+  });
+});
+
 describe("zalouser channel policies", () => {
   beforeEach(() => {
     mockSendReaction.mockClear();
diff --git a/extensions/zalouser/src/channel.ts b/extensions/zalouser/src/channel.ts
index f4ce1ac0474..efe5367dc80 100644
--- a/extensions/zalouser/src/channel.ts
+++ b/extensions/zalouser/src/channel.ts
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import type {
 } from "../runtime-api.js";
 import {
   DEFAULT_ACCOUNT_ID,
+  chunkTextForOutbound,
   isDangerousNameMatchingEnabled,
   isNumericTargetId,
   normalizeAccountId,
@@ -509,7 +510,7 @@ export const zalouserPlugin: ChannelPlugin<ResolvedZalouserAccount, ZalouserProb
     },
     outbound: {
       deliveryMode: "direct",
-      chunker: (text, limit) => getZalouserRuntime().channel.text.chunkMarkdownText(text, limit),
+      chunker: chunkTextForOutbound,
       chunkerMode: "markdown",
       sendPayload: async (ctx) =>
         await sendPayloadWithChunkedTextAndMedia({