diff --git a/.changeset/early-dingos-care.md b/.changeset/early-dingos-care.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..998ba05c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/early-dingos-care.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@blinkk/root-cms': patch
+---
+
+feat: add quick edit modal for reference fields
diff --git a/packages/root-cms/ui/components/DocEditor/DocEditor.tsx b/packages/root-cms/ui/components/DocEditor/DocEditor.tsx
index 92771bf3..76815ac9 100644
--- a/packages/root-cms/ui/components/DocEditor/DocEditor.tsx
+++ b/packages/root-cms/ui/components/DocEditor/DocEditor.tsx
@@ -115,7 +115,9 @@ import {SelectField} from './fields/SelectField.js';
 import {StringField} from './fields/StringField.js';
 
 interface DocEditorProps {
+  className?: string;
   docId: string;
+  hideStatusBar?: boolean;
 }
 
 const COLLECTION_SCHEMA_TYPES_CONTEXT = createContext<
@@ -142,12 +144,12 @@ export function DocEditor(props: DocEditorProps) {
       value={collection?.schema?.types || {}}
     >
       <DeeplinkProvider>
-        <div className="DocEditor">
+        <div className={joinClassNames(props.className, 'DocEditor')}>
           <LoadingOverlay
             visible={loading}
             loaderProps={{color: 'gray', size: 'xl'}}
           />
-          {!loading && (
+          {!loading && !props.hideStatusBar && (
             <DocEditor.StatusBar
               {...props}
               draft={draft}
diff --git a/packages/root-cms/ui/components/DocEditor/fields/ReferenceField.tsx b/packages/root-cms/ui/components/DocEditor/fields/ReferenceField.tsx
index 333a5023..9e834441 100644
--- a/packages/root-cms/ui/components/DocEditor/fields/ReferenceField.tsx
+++ b/packages/root-cms/ui/components/DocEditor/fields/ReferenceField.tsx
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import './ReferenceField.css';
 
 import {ActionIcon, Button, Image, Loader, Tooltip} from '@mantine/core';
-import {IconTrash} from '@tabler/icons-preact';
+import {IconPencil, IconTrash} from '@tabler/icons-preact';
 import {useEffect, useState} from 'preact/hooks';
 import * as schema from '../../../../core/schema.js';
 import {useDraftDocValue} from '../../../hooks/useDraftDoc.js';
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import {parseDocId} from '../../../utils/doc.js';
 import {notifyErrors} from '../../../utils/notifications.js';
 import {getNestedValue} from '../../../utils/objects.js';
 import {useDocPickerModal} from '../../DocPickerModal/DocPickerModal.js';
+import {useReferenceFieldEditorModal} from '../../ReferenceFieldEditorModal/ReferenceFieldEditorModal.js';
 import {FieldProps} from './FieldProps.js';
 
 export interface ReferenceFieldValue {
@@ -34,6 +35,7 @@ export function ReferenceField(props: FieldProps) {
   }
 
   const docPickerModal = useDocPickerModal();
+  const referenceFieldEditorModal = useReferenceFieldEditorModal();
 
   function openDocPicker() {
     const initialCollection = refId
@@ -55,6 +57,14 @@ export function ReferenceField(props: FieldProps) {
         <div className="ReferenceField__ref">
           <ReferenceField.Preview id={refId} />
           <div className="ReferenceField__remove">
+            <Tooltip label="Quick edit">
+              <ActionIcon
+                className="ReferenceField__remove__icon"
+                onClick={() => referenceFieldEditorModal.open({docId: refId})}
+              >
+                <IconPencil size={16} />
+              </ActionIcon>
+            </Tooltip>
             <Tooltip label="Remove">
               <ActionIcon
                 className="ReferenceField__remove__icon"
diff --git a/packages/root-cms/ui/components/DocEditor/fields/ReferencesField.tsx b/packages/root-cms/ui/components/DocEditor/fields/ReferencesField.tsx
index e546a73f..2ec2dbd3 100644
--- a/packages/root-cms/ui/components/DocEditor/fields/ReferencesField.tsx
+++ b/packages/root-cms/ui/components/DocEditor/fields/ReferencesField.tsx
@@ -7,13 +7,14 @@ import {
   DropResult,
 } from '@hello-pangea/dnd';
 import {ActionIcon, Button, Tooltip} from '@mantine/core';
-import {IconGripVertical, IconTrash} from '@tabler/icons-preact';
+import {IconGripVertical, IconPencil, IconTrash} from '@tabler/icons-preact';
 import {useState} from 'preact/hooks';
 import * as schema from '../../../../core/schema.js';
 import {useDraftDoc, useDraftDocField} from '../../../hooks/useDraftDoc.js';
 import {joinClassNames} from '../../../utils/classes.js';
 import {useDocPickerModal} from '../../DocPickerModal/DocPickerModal.js';
 import {DocPreviewCard} from '../../DocPreviewCard/DocPreviewCard.js';
+import {useReferenceFieldEditorModal} from '../../ReferenceFieldEditorModal/ReferenceFieldEditorModal.js';
 import {FieldProps} from './FieldProps.js';
 import {ReferenceFieldValue} from './ReferenceField.js';
 
@@ -44,6 +45,7 @@ export function ReferencesField(props: FieldProps) {
   });
 
   const docPickerModal = useDocPickerModal();
+  const referenceFieldEditorModal = useReferenceFieldEditorModal();
 
   function openDocPickerModal() {
     docPickerModal.open({
@@ -127,6 +129,15 @@ export function ReferencesField(props: FieldProps) {
                           statusBadges
                         />
                         <div className="ReferencesField__card__controls">
+                          <Tooltip label="Quick edit">
+                            <ActionIcon
+                              onClick={() =>
+                                referenceFieldEditorModal.open({docId: refId})
+                              }
+                            >
+                              <IconPencil size={16} />
+                            </ActionIcon>
+                          </Tooltip>
                           <Tooltip label="Remove">
                             <ActionIcon
                               className="ReferencesField__card__controls__remove"
diff --git a/packages/root-cms/ui/components/ReferenceFieldEditorModal/ReferenceFieldEditorModal.css b/packages/root-cms/ui/components/ReferenceFieldEditorModal/ReferenceFieldEditorModal.css
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..79836b88
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/root-cms/ui/components/ReferenceFieldEditorModal/ReferenceFieldEditorModal.css
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+.ReferenceFieldEditorModalWrap .mantine-Modal-modal {
+  padding: 0;
+}
+
+.ReferenceFieldEditorModalWrap .mantine-Modal-header {
+  padding: 12px 20px;
+  margin-bottom: 0;
+}
+
+.mantine-Modal-body {
+  display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+}
+
+.ReferenceFieldEditorModal {
+  display: contents;
+}
+
+.ReferenceFieldEditorModal__DocEditor {
+  flex: 1;
+  overflow: auto;
+  padding: 0 20px 40px;
+  padding-bottom: 80px;
+}
+
+.ReferenceFieldEditorModal__footer {
+  flex-shrink: 0;
+  display: flex;
+  justify-content: flex-end;
+  gap: 12px;
+  border-top: 1px solid var(--color-border);
+  padding: 12px 20px;
+}
+
+.ReferenceFieldEditorModal__footer__start {
+  flex: 1;
+}
diff --git a/packages/root-cms/ui/components/ReferenceFieldEditorModal/ReferenceFieldEditorModal.tsx b/packages/root-cms/ui/components/ReferenceFieldEditorModal/ReferenceFieldEditorModal.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3bf10b1c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/root-cms/ui/components/ReferenceFieldEditorModal/ReferenceFieldEditorModal.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+import './ReferenceFieldEditorModal.css';
+
+import {ActionIcon, Button, Tooltip} from '@mantine/core';
+import {ContextModalProps, useModals} from '@mantine/modals';
+import {IconArrowUpRight} from '@tabler/icons-preact';
+import {DraftDocProvider, useDraftDoc} from '../../hooks/useDraftDoc.js';
+import {useModalTheme} from '../../hooks/useModalTheme.js';
+import {DocEditor} from '../DocEditor/DocEditor.js';
+
+const MODAL_ID = 'ReferenceFieldEditorModal';
+
+export interface ReferenceFieldEditorModalProps {
+  [key: string]: unknown;
+  docId: string;
+}
+
+export function useReferenceFieldEditorModal() {
+  const modals = useModals();
+  const modalTheme = useModalTheme();
+  return {
+    open: (props: ReferenceFieldEditorModalProps) => {
+      modals.openContextModal<ReferenceFieldEditorModalProps>(MODAL_ID, {
+        ...modalTheme,
+        className: 'ReferenceFieldEditorModalWrap',
+        innerProps: props,
+        title: `Edit ${props.docId}`,
+        size: 'xl',
+        overflow: 'inside',
+        closeOnClickOutside: false,
+        closeOnEscape: false,
+      });
+    },
+  };
+}
+
+/**
+ * Modal for quickly editing a referenced doc and persisting changes on save.
+ */
+export function ReferenceFieldEditorModal(
+  modalProps: ContextModalProps<ReferenceFieldEditorModalProps>
+) {
+  const {id, context, innerProps} = modalProps;
+  const docId = innerProps.docId;
+  return (
+    <div className="ReferenceFieldEditorModal">
+      <DraftDocProvider docId={docId} autoSave={false} flushOnStop={false}>
+        <DocEditor
+          className="ReferenceFieldEditorModal__DocEditor"
+          docId={innerProps.docId}
+          hideStatusBar
+        />
+        <ReferenceFieldEditorModal.Footer
+          docId={docId}
+          onCancel={() => context.closeModal(id)}
+        />
+      </DraftDocProvider>
+    </div>
+  );
+}
+
+ReferenceFieldEditorModal.Footer = (props: {
+  docId: string;
+  onCancel: () => void;
+}) => {
+  const draft = useDraftDoc();
+
+  return (
+    <div className="ReferenceFieldEditorModal__footer">
+      <div className="ReferenceFieldEditorModal__footer__start">
+        <Button
+          component="a"
+          variant="default"
+          size="xs"
+          rightIcon={<IconArrowUpRight size={16} />}
+          href={`/cms/content/${props.docId}`}
+          target="_blank"
+        >
+          Open {props.docId}
+        </Button>
+      </div>
+      <Button variant="default" size="xs" onClick={props.onCancel}>
+        Cancel
+      </Button>
+      <Button
+        color="dark"
+        size="xs"
+        onClick={async () => {
+          await draft.controller.flush();
+          props.onCancel();
+        }}
+      >
+        Save
+      </Button>
+    </div>
+  );
+};
+
+ReferenceFieldEditorModal.id = MODAL_ID;
diff --git a/packages/root-cms/ui/hooks/useDraftDoc.tsx b/packages/root-cms/ui/hooks/useDraftDoc.tsx
index e9720c4f..880f0d4e 100644
--- a/packages/root-cms/ui/hooks/useDraftDoc.tsx
+++ b/packages/root-cms/ui/hooks/useDraftDoc.tsx
@@ -68,6 +68,10 @@ export class DraftDocController extends EventListener {
   private autolockApplied = false;
   /** When true, prevents any writes to the DB (e.g. user lacks edit access). */
   readOnly = false;
+  /** When false, draft changes are only written by explicitly calling flush(). */
+  autoSave = true;
+  /** When false, pending updates are discarded when stop()/dispose() is called. */
+  flushOnStop = true;
   started = false;
 
   constructor(docId: string) {
@@ -144,7 +148,9 @@ export class DraftDocController extends EventListener {
     if (this.dbUnsubscribe) {
       this.dbUnsubscribe();
     }
-    this.flush();
+    if (this.flushOnStop) {
+      this.flush();
+    }
     this.started = false;
   }
 
@@ -196,7 +202,9 @@ export class DraftDocController extends EventListener {
     this.pendingUpdates.set(key, value);
     this.store.set(key, value);
     this.setSaveState(SaveState.UPDATES_PENDING);
-    this.queueChanges();
+    if (this.autoSave) {
+      this.queueChanges();
+    }
   }
 
   /**
@@ -219,7 +227,9 @@ export class DraftDocController extends EventListener {
     }
     this.store.update(updates);
     this.setSaveState(SaveState.UPDATES_PENDING);
-    this.queueChanges();
+    if (this.autoSave) {
+      this.queueChanges();
+    }
   }
 
   /**
@@ -232,7 +242,9 @@ export class DraftDocController extends EventListener {
     this.pendingUpdates.set(key, deleteField());
     this.store.set(key, undefined);
     this.setSaveState(SaveState.UPDATES_PENDING);
-    this.queueChanges();
+    if (this.autoSave) {
+      this.queueChanges();
+    }
   }
 
   /**
@@ -392,6 +404,10 @@ export interface DraftDocProviderProps {
   docId: string;
   /** When true, prevents any writes to the DB (e.g. user lacks edit access). */
   readOnly?: boolean;
+  /** When false, changes are only persisted when `flush()` is called. */
+  autoSave?: boolean;
+  /** When false, pending updates are discarded when unmounting the provider. */
+  flushOnStop?: boolean;
   children?: ComponentChildren;
 }
 
@@ -415,6 +431,8 @@ export function DraftDocProvider(props: DraftDocProviderProps) {
 
   // Set readOnly mode on the controller based on the prop.
   controller.readOnly = props.readOnly ?? false;
+  controller.autoSave = props.autoSave ?? true;
+  controller.flushOnStop = props.flushOnStop ?? true;
 
   useEffect(() => {
     setLoading(true);
diff --git a/packages/root-cms/ui/ui.tsx b/packages/root-cms/ui/ui.tsx
index 8bc7b29a..5c6dd820 100644
--- a/packages/root-cms/ui/ui.tsx
+++ b/packages/root-cms/ui/ui.tsx
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import {ExportSheetModal} from './components/ExportSheetModal/ExportSheetModal.j
 import {LocalizationModal} from './components/LocalizationModal/LocalizationModal.js';
 import {LockPublishingModal} from './components/LockPublishingModal/LockPublishingModal.js';
 import {PublishDocModal} from './components/PublishDocModal/PublishDocModal.js';
+import {ReferenceFieldEditorModal} from './components/ReferenceFieldEditorModal/ReferenceFieldEditorModal.js';
 import {ScheduleReleaseModal} from './components/ScheduleReleaseModal/ScheduleReleaseModal.js';
 import {VersionHistoryModal} from './components/VersionHistoryModal/VersionHistoryModal.js';
 import {FirebaseContext, FirebaseContextObject} from './hooks/useFirebase.js';
@@ -127,6 +128,7 @@ function App() {
                     [LocalizationModal.id]: LocalizationModal,
                     [LockPublishingModal.id]: LockPublishingModal,
                     [PublishDocModal.id]: PublishDocModal,
+                    [ReferenceFieldEditorModal.id]: ReferenceFieldEditorModal,
                     [ScheduleReleaseModal.id]: ScheduleReleaseModal,
                     [VersionHistoryModal.id]: VersionHistoryModal,
                   }}