diff --git a/include/llmr/geometry/text_buffer.hpp b/include/llmr/geometry/text_buffer.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..005d54a3a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/llmr/geometry/text_buffer.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+#ifndef LLMR_GEOMETRY_TEXT_BUFFER
+#define LLMR_GEOMETRY_TEXT_BUFFER
+
+#include "buffer.hpp"
+
+namespace llmr {
+
+class TextVertexBuffer : public Buffer<
+    4 // 2 coordinates per vertex
+> {
+public:
+};
+
+
+}
+
+#endif
diff --git a/include/llmr/map/tile_data.hpp b/include/llmr/map/tile_data.hpp
index e8cbb6793..fbaa4c0f0 100644
--- a/include/llmr/map/tile_data.hpp
+++ b/include/llmr/map/tile_data.hpp
@@ -28,9 +28,11 @@ class VectorTileLayer;
 class FillVertexBuffer;
 class LineVertexBuffer;
 class PointVertexBuffer;
+class TextVertexBuffer;
 class TriangleElementsBuffer;
 class LineElementsBuffer;
 class PointElementsBuffer;
+class TextElementsBuffer;
 class PlainShader;
 
 class TileData : public std::enable_shared_from_this<TileData>,
@@ -66,6 +68,7 @@ public:
     std::shared_ptr<Bucket> createFillBucket(const VectorTileLayer& layer, const BucketDescription& bucket_desc);
     std::shared_ptr<Bucket> createLineBucket(const VectorTileLayer& layer, const BucketDescription& bucket_desc);
     std::shared_ptr<Bucket> createPointBucket(const VectorTileLayer& layer, const BucketDescription& bucket_desc);
+    std::shared_ptr<Bucket> createTextBucket(const VectorTileLayer& layer, const BucketDescription& bucket_desc);
 
     void cancel();
 
@@ -82,10 +85,12 @@ public:
     std::shared_ptr<FillVertexBuffer> fillVertexBuffer;
     std::shared_ptr<LineVertexBuffer> lineVertexBuffer;
     std::shared_ptr<PointVertexBuffer> pointVertexBuffer;
+    std::shared_ptr<TextVertexBuffer> textVertexBuffer;
 
     std::shared_ptr<TriangleElementsBuffer> triangleElementsBuffer;
     std::shared_ptr<LineElementsBuffer> lineElementsBuffer;
     std::shared_ptr<PointElementsBuffer> pointElementsBuffer;
+    std::shared_ptr<TextElementsBuffer> textElementsBuffer;
 
     // Holds the buckets of this tile.
     // They contain the location offsets in the buffers stored above
diff --git a/include/llmr/renderer/painter.hpp b/include/llmr/renderer/painter.hpp
index 0080773f2..71bb60615 100644
--- a/include/llmr/renderer/painter.hpp
+++ b/include/llmr/renderer/painter.hpp
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ class Tile;
 class FillBucket;
 class LineBucket;
 class PointBucket;
+class TextBucket;
 
 class Painter : private util::noncopyable {
 public:
@@ -38,6 +39,7 @@ public:
     void renderFill(FillBucket& bucket, const std::string& layer_name, const Tile::ID& id);
     void renderLine(LineBucket& bucket, const std::string& layer_name, const Tile::ID& id);
     void renderPoint(PointBucket& bucket, const std::string& layer_name, const Tile::ID& id);
+    void renderText(TextBucket& bucket, const std::string& layer_name, const Tile::ID& id);
 
     void resize(int width, int height);
 
diff --git a/include/llmr/renderer/shader-text.hpp b/include/llmr/renderer/shader-text.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..cd8e65bee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/llmr/renderer/shader-text.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+#ifndef LLMR_RENDERER_SHADER_TEXT
+#define LLMR_RENDERER_SHADER_TEXT
+
+#include "shader.hpp"
+
+namespace llmr {
+
+class TextShader : public Shader {
+public:
+    TextShader();
+
+    void bind(char *offset);
+
+    void setColor(float r, float g, float b, float a);
+    void setColor(const std::array<float, 4>& color);
+
+private:
+    int32_t a_pos = -1;
+
+    std::array<float, 4> color = {{}};
+    int32_t u_color = -1;
+};
+
+}
+
+#endif
diff --git a/include/llmr/renderer/text_bucket.hpp b/include/llmr/renderer/text_bucket.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..60b0668a1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/llmr/renderer/text_bucket.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+#ifndef LLMR_RENDERER_TEXTBUCKET
+#define LLMR_RENDERER_TEXTBUCKET
+
+#include "bucket.hpp"
+#include <llmr/style/bucket_description.hpp>
+#include <llmr/geometry/vao.hpp>
+#include <llmr/geometry/elements_buffer.hpp>
+#include <memory>
+#include <vector>
+
+namespace llmr {
+
+class Style;
+class TextVertexBuffer;
+class TriangleElementsBuffer;
+class TextShader;
+struct Coordinate;
+struct pbf;
+
+class TextBucket : public Bucket {
+    typedef ElementGroup triangle_group_type;
+public:
+    TextBucket(const std::shared_ptr<TextVertexBuffer>& vertexBuffer,
+               const std::shared_ptr<TriangleElementsBuffer>& triangleElementsBuffer,
+               const BucketDescription& bucket_desc);
+
+    virtual void render(Painter& painter, const std::string& layer_name, const Tile::ID& id);
+
+    void addGeometry(pbf& data);
+
+    bool empty() const;
+
+    void drawGlyphs(TextShader& shader);
+
+public:
+    const BucketGeometryDescription geometry;
+
+private:
+
+    std::shared_ptr<TextVertexBuffer> vertexBuffer;
+    std::shared_ptr<TriangleElementsBuffer> triangleElementsBuffer;
+
+    const size_t vertex_start;
+    const size_t triangle_elements_start;
+
+    std::vector<triangle_group_type> triangleGroups;
+};
+
+}
+
+#endif
diff --git a/include/llmr/shader/shaders.hpp b/include/llmr/shader/shaders.hpp
index 6312cc694..5cd4f493e 100644
--- a/include/llmr/shader/shaders.hpp
+++ b/include/llmr/shader/shaders.hpp
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ enum {
     PATTERN_SHADER,
     PLAIN_SHADER,
     POINT_SHADER,
+    TEXT_SHADER,
     SHADER_COUNT
 };
 
diff --git a/src/map/tile_data.cpp b/src/map/tile_data.cpp
index 16c1e461f..d06a0becc 100644
--- a/src/map/tile_data.cpp
+++ b/src/map/tile_data.cpp
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 #include <llmr/renderer/fill_bucket.hpp>
 #include <llmr/renderer/line_bucket.hpp>
 #include <llmr/renderer/point_bucket.hpp>
+#include <llmr/renderer/text_bucket.hpp>
 #include <llmr/util/pbf.hpp>
 #include <llmr/util/string.hpp>
 
@@ -194,3 +195,9 @@ std::shared_ptr<Bucket> TileData::createPointBucket(const VectorTileLayer& layer
     addBucketFeatures(bucket, layer, bucket_desc);
     return state == State::obsolete ? nullptr : bucket;
 }
+
+std::shared_ptr<Bucket> TileData::createTextBucket(const VectorTileLayer& layer, const BucketDescription& bucket_desc) {
+    std::shared_ptr<TextBucket> bucket = std::make_shared<TextBucket>(textVertexBuffer, triangleElementsBuffer, bucket_desc);
+    addBucketFeatures(bucket, layer, bucket_desc);
+    return state == State::obsolete ? nullptr : bucket;
+}
diff --git a/src/renderer/painter.cpp b/src/renderer/painter.cpp
index a9094fdfb..ed7cc506e 100644
--- a/src/renderer/painter.cpp
+++ b/src/renderer/painter.cpp
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 #include <llmr/renderer/fill_bucket.hpp>
 #include <llmr/renderer/line_bucket.hpp>
 #include <llmr/renderer/point_bucket.hpp>
+#include <llmr/renderer/text_bucket.hpp>
 
 #include <llmr/map/transform.hpp>
 #include <llmr/map/settings.hpp>
@@ -451,6 +452,10 @@ void Painter::renderPoint(PointBucket& bucket, const std::string& layer_name, co
     bucket.drawPoints(*pointShader);
 }
 
+void Painter::renderText(TextBucket& bucket, const std::string& layer_name, const Tile::ID& id) {
+    // noop
+}
+
 void Painter::renderDebug(const TileData::Ptr& tile_data) {
     // Disable depth test and don't count this towards the depth buffer,
     // but *don't* disable stencil test, as we want to clip the red tile border
diff --git a/src/renderer/shader-text.cpp b/src/renderer/shader-text.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3133857d6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/renderer/shader-text.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+#include <llmr/renderer/shader-text.hpp>
+#include <llmr/shader/shaders.hpp>
+#include <llmr/platform/gl.hpp>
+
+#include <cstdio>
+
+using namespace llmr;
+
+TextShader::TextShader()
+    : Shader(
+        shaders[TEXT_SHADER].vertex,
+        shaders[TEXT_SHADER].fragment
+    ) {
+    if (!valid) {
+        fprintf(stderr, "invalid text shader\n");
+        return;
+    }
+
+    a_pos = glGetAttribLocation(program, "a_pos");
+
+    u_matrix = glGetUniformLocation(program, "u_matrix");
+    u_color = glGetUniformLocation(program, "u_color");
+
+    // fprintf(stderr, "TextShader:\n");
+    // fprintf(stderr, "    - a_pos: %d\n", a_pos);
+    // fprintf(stderr, "    - u_matrix: %d\n", u_matrix);
+    // fprintf(stderr, "    - u_color: %d\n", u_color);
+}
+
+void TextShader::bind(char *offset) {
+    glEnableVertexAttribArray(a_pos);
+    glVertexAttribPointer(a_pos, 2, GL_SHORT, false, 0, offset);
+}
+
+void TextShader::setColor(const std::array<float, 4>& new_color) {
+    if (color != new_color) {
+        glUniform4fv(u_color, 1, new_color.data());
+        color = new_color;
+    }
+}
+
+void TextShader::setColor(float r, float g, float b, float a) {
+    setColor({{ r, g, b, a }});
+}
diff --git a/src/renderer/text_bucket.cpp b/src/renderer/text_bucket.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..dd646794b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/renderer/text_bucket.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+#include <llmr/renderer/text_bucket.hpp>
+#include <llmr/geometry/text_buffer.hpp>
+#include <llmr/geometry/elements_buffer.hpp>
+#include <llmr/geometry/geometry.hpp>
+
+#include <llmr/renderer/painter.hpp>
+#include <llmr/renderer/shader-text.hpp>
+#include <llmr/style/style.hpp>
+#include <llmr/map/vector_tile.hpp>
+
+#include <llmr/util/math.hpp>
+#include <llmr/platform/gl.hpp>
+
+#define BUFFER_OFFSET(i) ((char *)nullptr + (i))
+
+#include <cassert>
+
+struct geometry_too_long_exception : std::exception {};
+
+using namespace llmr;
+
+TextBucket::TextBucket(const std::shared_ptr<TextVertexBuffer>& vertexBuffer,
+                       const std::shared_ptr<TriangleElementsBuffer>& triangleElementsBuffer,
+                       const BucketDescription& bucket_desc)
+    : geometry(bucket_desc.geometry),
+      vertexBuffer(vertexBuffer),
+      triangleElementsBuffer(triangleElementsBuffer),
+      vertex_start(vertexBuffer->index()),
+      triangle_elements_start(triangleElementsBuffer->index())
+{
+}
+
+void TextBucket::addGeometry(pbf& geom) {
+    // noop
+}
+
+void TextBucket::render(Painter& painter, const std::string& layer_name, const Tile::ID& id) {
+    painter.renderText(*this, layer_name, id);
+}
+
+bool TextBucket::empty() const {
+    return triangleGroups.empty();
+}
+
+void TextBucket::drawGlyphs(TextShader& shader) {
+    // noop
+}
diff --git a/src/shader/shaders.cpp b/src/shader/shaders.cpp
index 44524f30d..f5cc884c2 100644
--- a/src/shader/shaders.cpp
+++ b/src/shader/shaders.cpp
@@ -27,5 +27,9 @@ const shader_source llmr::shaders[SHADER_COUNT] = {
    {
        "attribute vec2 a_pos;\n\nuniform mat4 u_matrix;\nuniform float u_size;\n\nvoid main() {\n    gl_Position = u_matrix * vec4(a_pos, 0, 1);\n    gl_PointSize = u_size;\n}\n",
        "#define root2 1.4142135623730951\n\nuniform sampler2D u_image;\nuniform vec2 u_tl;\nuniform vec2 u_br;\nuniform vec4 u_color;\n\nuniform vec2 pos;\nuniform float inbounds;\nuniform vec4 color;\n\nvoid main() {\n    vec2 pos = (gl_PointCoord * 2.0 - 1.0) * root2 / 2.0 + 0.5;\n\n    float inbounds = step(0.0, pos.x) * step(0.0, pos.y) *\n        (1.0 - step(1.0, pos.x)) * (1.0 - step(1.0, pos.y));\n\n    vec4 color = texture2D(u_image, mix(u_tl, u_br, pos)) * inbounds;\n\n    gl_FragColor = color * u_color;\n}\n",
+   },
+   {
+       "attribute vec2 a_pos;\n\nuniform mat4 u_matrix;\n\nvoid main() {\n    gl_Position = u_matrix * vec4(a_pos, 0, 1);\n}\n",
+       "uniform vec4 u_color;\n\nvoid main() {\n    gl_FragColor = u_color;\n}\n",
    }
 };
diff --git a/src/shader/text.fragment.glsl b/src/shader/text.fragment.glsl
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8df552c17
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/shader/text.fragment.glsl
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+uniform vec4 u_color;
+
+void main() {
+    gl_FragColor = u_color;
+}
diff --git a/src/shader/text.vertex.glsl b/src/shader/text.vertex.glsl
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..866c3cd2f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/shader/text.vertex.glsl
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+attribute vec2 a_pos;
+
+uniform mat4 u_matrix;
+
+void main() {
+    gl_Position = u_matrix * vec4(a_pos, 0, 1);
+}