diff --git a/.changeset/eight-poems-learn.md b/.changeset/eight-poems-learn.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..62d9e4224d54
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/eight-poems-learn.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@sveltejs/kit': minor
+---
+
+feat: server and client `init` hook
diff --git a/documentation/docs/30-advanced/20-hooks.md b/documentation/docs/30-advanced/20-hooks.md
index 6decc1cbf463..9663d724fc18 100644
--- a/documentation/docs/30-advanced/20-hooks.md
+++ b/documentation/docs/30-advanced/20-hooks.md
@@ -237,6 +237,25 @@ During development, if an error occurs because of a syntax error in your Svelte
 
 > [!NOTE] Make sure that `handleError` _never_ throws an error
 
+### init
+
+This function runs once, when the server is created or the app starts in the browser, and is a useful place to do asynchronous work such as initializing a database connection.
+
+> [!NOTE] If your environment supports top-level await, the `init` function is really no different from writing your initialisation logic at the top level of the module, but some environments — most notably, Safari — don't.
+
+```js
+/// file: src/hooks.server.js
+import * as db from '$lib/server/database';
+
+/** @type {import('@sveltejs/kit').ServerInit} */
+export async function init() {
+	await db.connect();
+}
+```
+
+> [!NOTE]
+> In the browser, asynchronous work in `init` will delay hydration, so be mindful of what you put in there.
+
 ## Universal hooks
 
 The following can be added to `src/hooks.js`. Universal hooks run on both server and client (not to be confused with shared hooks, which are environment-specific).
diff --git a/packages/kit/src/core/sync/write_client_manifest.js b/packages/kit/src/core/sync/write_client_manifest.js
index 1b97ed02e4c1..fe6127de934c 100644
--- a/packages/kit/src/core/sync/write_client_manifest.js
+++ b/packages/kit/src/core/sync/write_client_manifest.js
@@ -151,6 +151,7 @@ export function write_client_manifest(kit, manifest_data, output, metadata) {
 				handleError: ${
 					client_hooks_file ? 'client_hooks.handleError || ' : ''
 				}(({ error }) => { console.error(error) }),
+				${client_hooks_file ? 'init: client_hooks.init,' : ''}
 
 				reroute: ${universal_hooks_file ? 'universal_hooks.reroute || ' : ''}(() => {})
 			};
diff --git a/packages/kit/src/exports/public.d.ts b/packages/kit/src/exports/public.d.ts
index 84a3f041c322..be184575530f 100644
--- a/packages/kit/src/exports/public.d.ts
+++ b/packages/kit/src/exports/public.d.ts
@@ -724,6 +724,16 @@ export type HandleFetch = (input: {
 	fetch: typeof fetch;
 }) => MaybePromise<Response>;
 
+/**
+ * The [`init`](https://svelte.dev/docs/kit/hooks#Shared-hooks-init) will be invoked before the server responds to its first request
+ */
+export type ServerInit = () => MaybePromise<void>;
+
+/**
+ * The [`init`](https://svelte.dev/docs/kit/hooks#Shared-hooks-init) will be invoked once the app starts in the browser
+ */
+export type ClientInit = () => MaybePromise<void>;
+
 /**
  * The [`reroute`](https://svelte.dev/docs/kit/hooks#Universal-hooks-reroute) hook allows you to modify the URL before it is used to determine which route to render.
  * @since 2.3.0
diff --git a/packages/kit/src/runtime/client/client.js b/packages/kit/src/runtime/client/client.js
index bec38c9122fa..820e0567c0fa 100644
--- a/packages/kit/src/runtime/client/client.js
+++ b/packages/kit/src/runtime/client/client.js
@@ -266,6 +266,9 @@ export async function start(_app, _target, hydrate) {
 	}
 
 	app = _app;
+
+	await _app.hooks.init?.();
+
 	routes = parse(_app);
 	container = __SVELTEKIT_EMBEDDED__ ? _target : document.documentElement;
 	target = _target;
diff --git a/packages/kit/src/runtime/server/index.js b/packages/kit/src/runtime/server/index.js
index 36cbd04be16f..5aa10ac560f5 100644
--- a/packages/kit/src/runtime/server/index.js
+++ b/packages/kit/src/runtime/server/index.js
@@ -15,6 +15,9 @@ const prerender_env_handler = {
 	}
 };
 
+/** @type {Promise<any>} */
+let init_promise;
+
 export class Server {
 	/** @type {import('types').SSROptions} */
 	#options;
@@ -63,7 +66,9 @@ export class Server {
 			set_read_implementation(read);
 		}
 
-		if (!this.#options.hooks) {
+		// During DEV and for some adapters this function might be called in quick succession,
+		// so we need to make sure we're not invoking this logic (most notably the init hook) multiple times
+		await (init_promise ??= (async () => {
 			try {
 				const module = await get_hooks();
 
@@ -73,6 +78,10 @@ export class Server {
 					handleFetch: module.handleFetch || (({ request, fetch }) => fetch(request)),
 					reroute: module.reroute || (() => {})
 				};
+
+				if (module.init) {
+					await module.init();
+				}
 			} catch (error) {
 				if (DEV) {
 					this.#options.hooks = {
@@ -87,7 +96,7 @@ export class Server {
 					throw error;
 				}
 			}
-		}
+		})());
 	}
 
 	/**
diff --git a/packages/kit/src/types/internal.d.ts b/packages/kit/src/types/internal.d.ts
index c9dbb51ce007..cd7b1518b86a 100644
--- a/packages/kit/src/types/internal.d.ts
+++ b/packages/kit/src/types/internal.d.ts
@@ -17,7 +17,9 @@ import {
 	RequestEvent,
 	SSRManifest,
 	Emulator,
-	Adapter
+	Adapter,
+	ServerInit,
+	ClientInit
 } from '@sveltejs/kit';
 import {
 	HttpMethod,
@@ -109,11 +111,13 @@ export interface ServerHooks {
 	handle: Handle;
 	handleError: HandleServerError;
 	reroute: Reroute;
+	init?: ServerInit;
 }
 
 export interface ClientHooks {
 	handleError: HandleClientError;
 	reroute: Reroute;
+	init?: ClientInit;
 }
 
 export interface Env {
diff --git a/packages/kit/test/apps/basics/src/hooks.client.js b/packages/kit/test/apps/basics/src/hooks.client.js
index 8e18bf084c06..3749d91b5aa3 100644
--- a/packages/kit/test/apps/basics/src/hooks.client.js
+++ b/packages/kit/test/apps/basics/src/hooks.client.js
@@ -8,3 +8,7 @@ export function handleError({ error, event, status, message }) {
 		? undefined
 		: { message: `${/** @type {Error} */ (error).message} (${status} ${message})` };
 }
+
+export function init() {
+	console.log('init hooks.client.js');
+}
diff --git a/packages/kit/test/apps/basics/src/hooks.server.js b/packages/kit/test/apps/basics/src/hooks.server.js
index b7cbbd9004eb..e485d038d995 100644
--- a/packages/kit/test/apps/basics/src/hooks.server.js
+++ b/packages/kit/test/apps/basics/src/hooks.server.js
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
-import fs from 'node:fs';
-import { sequence } from '@sveltejs/kit/hooks';
 import { error, isHttpError, redirect } from '@sveltejs/kit';
+import { sequence } from '@sveltejs/kit/hooks';
+import fs from 'node:fs';
 import { COOKIE_NAME } from './routes/cookies/shared';
+import { _set_from_init } from './routes/init-hooks/+page.server';
 
 /**
  * Transform an error into a POJO, by copying its `name`, `message`
@@ -154,3 +155,7 @@ export async function handleFetch({ request, fetch }) {
 
 	return fetch(request);
 }
+
+export function init() {
+	_set_from_init();
+}
diff --git a/packages/kit/test/apps/basics/src/routes/init-hooks/+page.server.ts b/packages/kit/test/apps/basics/src/routes/init-hooks/+page.server.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..bccb323eaa3b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/kit/test/apps/basics/src/routes/init-hooks/+page.server.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+let did_init_run = 0;
+
+export function _set_from_init() {
+	did_init_run++;
+}
+
+export function load() {
+	return {
+		did_init_run
+	};
+}
diff --git a/packages/kit/test/apps/basics/src/routes/init-hooks/+page.svelte b/packages/kit/test/apps/basics/src/routes/init-hooks/+page.svelte
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..f421cfb32e9f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/kit/test/apps/basics/src/routes/init-hooks/+page.svelte
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+<script>
+	const { data } = $props();
+</script>
+
+<p>{data.did_init_run}</p>
+
+<a href="/init-hooks/navigate">navigate</a>
diff --git a/packages/kit/test/apps/basics/src/routes/init-hooks/navigate/+page.svelte b/packages/kit/test/apps/basics/src/routes/init-hooks/navigate/+page.svelte
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..3cb4eaa0ec04
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/kit/test/apps/basics/src/routes/init-hooks/navigate/+page.svelte
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+navigated
diff --git a/packages/kit/test/apps/basics/test/client.test.js b/packages/kit/test/apps/basics/test/client.test.js
index 56b2c96bc744..2286a6e6a234 100644
--- a/packages/kit/test/apps/basics/test/client.test.js
+++ b/packages/kit/test/apps/basics/test/client.test.js
@@ -1186,6 +1186,29 @@ test.describe('reroute', () => {
 	});
 });
 
+test.describe('init', () => {
+	test('init client hook is called once when the application start on the client', async ({
+		page
+	}) => {
+		/**
+		 * @type string[]
+		 */
+		const logs = [];
+		page.addListener('console', (message) => {
+			if (message.type() === 'log') {
+				logs.push(message.text());
+			}
+		});
+		const log_event = page.waitForEvent('console');
+		await page.goto('/init-hooks');
+		await log_event;
+		expect(logs).toStrictEqual(['init hooks.client.js']);
+		await page.getByRole('link').first().click();
+		await page.waitForLoadState('load');
+		expect(logs).toStrictEqual(['init hooks.client.js']);
+	});
+});
+
 test.describe('INP', () => {
 	test('does not block next paint', async ({ page }) => {
 		// Thanks to https://publishing-project.rivendellweb.net/measuring-performance-tasks-with-playwright/#interaction-to-next-paint-inp
diff --git a/packages/kit/test/apps/basics/test/server.test.js b/packages/kit/test/apps/basics/test/server.test.js
index ff77c55f0204..3c57fc9904c2 100644
--- a/packages/kit/test/apps/basics/test/server.test.js
+++ b/packages/kit/test/apps/basics/test/server.test.js
@@ -648,3 +648,12 @@ test.describe('reroute', () => {
 		expect(response?.status()).toBe(500);
 	});
 });
+
+test.describe('init', () => {
+	test('init server hook is called once before the load function', async ({ page }) => {
+		await page.goto('/init-hooks');
+		await expect(page.locator('p')).toHaveText('1');
+		await page.reload();
+		await expect(page.locator('p')).toHaveText('1');
+	});
+});
diff --git a/packages/kit/types/index.d.ts b/packages/kit/types/index.d.ts
index 63fdcb004bf3..748a6a864b3e 100644
--- a/packages/kit/types/index.d.ts
+++ b/packages/kit/types/index.d.ts
@@ -706,6 +706,16 @@ declare module '@sveltejs/kit' {
 		fetch: typeof fetch;
 	}) => MaybePromise<Response>;
 
+	/**
+	 * The [`init`](https://svelte.dev/docs/kit/hooks#Shared-hooks-init) will be invoked before the server responds to its first request
+	 */
+	export type ServerInit = () => MaybePromise<void>;
+
+	/**
+	 * The [`init`](https://svelte.dev/docs/kit/hooks#Shared-hooks-init) will be invoked once the app starts in the browser
+	 */
+	export type ClientInit = () => MaybePromise<void>;
+
 	/**
 	 * The [`reroute`](https://svelte.dev/docs/kit/hooks#Universal-hooks-reroute) hook allows you to modify the URL before it is used to determine which route to render.
 	 * @since 2.3.0