You are a constitutional council ranking individual git commits for ownership allocation.

Compare these two commits. Decide which contributed more lasting value to the project.

Judge substance, not spectacle:
- Prefer correct, lasting design and real bugfixes over churn, formatting, renames, or generated noise.
- Prefer clarity and necessity over sheer line count. A small precise change can beat a large diffuse one.
- Do not favor a side merely because its patch is longer or noisier.
- Weight what the change does for the project, not the contributor's name.

Return ONLY a JSON object: {"winner": "A" or "B", "ratio": "N:M", "explanation": "..."}
The explanation must cite concrete differences in the patches (1-3 sentences).

Side A — contributor: tommy-mor
Side A — commit message:
[07715165] nice

Side A — unified diff (full patch):
diff --git a/server/src/api/ui_html.rs b/server/src/api/ui_html.rs
index c3c62a76f424010d77a6090c84dd0b82098f573e..da2536112faea313352624cf2ce0ddd0ab3377c1 100644
--- a/server/src/api/ui_html.rs
+++ b/server/src/api/ui_html.rs
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ use axum::{
 use std::collections::HashMap;
 
 use crate::{
-    html::{demo_counter_panel, js_string_literal, ranking_panel, JsBuilder},
+    html::{js_string_literal, ranking_panel, JsBuilder},
     parser::parse_reddit_url,
     parser_render::parser_panel_morph,
     state::AppState,
@@ -35,13 +35,6 @@ pub async fn post_ui_html(
     };
 
     match action {
-        HtmlUiAction::BumpDemoCounter => {
-            let count = state.bump_demo_counter().await;
-            let panel = demo_counter_panel(count, state.event_log.path().to_string_lossy().as_ref());
-            JsBuilder::new()
-                .morph_selector("#demo-counter-panel", panel)
-                .into_response()
-        }
         HtmlUiAction::RecordVote {
             a,
             b,
@@ -54,8 +47,8 @@ pub async fn post_ui_html(
             {
                 return ui_js_warn(&e).into_response();
             }
-            let mut group = state.group.write().await;
-            let panel = ranking_panel(&mut group);
+            let group = state.group.read().await;
+            let panel = ranking_panel(&group);
             JsBuilder::new()
                 .morph_selector("#ranking-panel", panel)
                 .into_response()
@@ -87,20 +80,6 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(matches!(err, HtmlUiParseError::MissingRpc));
     }
 
-    #[test]
-    fn bump_action_deserializes() {
-        let template = serde_json::json!({ "action": "bump_demo_counter" });
-        let mut form = HashMap::new();
-        form.insert(
-            UI_RPC_FIELD.to_string(),
-            serde_json::to_string(&template).unwrap(),
-        );
-        assert_eq!(
-            parse_html_ui_from_form(&form).unwrap(),
-            HtmlUiAction::BumpDemoCounter
-        );
-    }
-
     #[test]
     fn record_vote_action_deserializes() {
         let template = serde_json::json!({
diff --git a/server/src/events.rs b/server/src/events.rs
index b969242534e184d4f0a689543a479670b08a18df..eff80aef0257f706d2341f666e63d6a3d921bf6e 100644
--- a/server/src/events.rs
+++ b/server/src/events.rs
@@ -5,8 +5,6 @@ use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 pub enum Event {
     /// Page view recorded (path → counter in views.json).
     ViewRecorded { path: String, ts: i64 },
-    /// Demo counter bump from `POST /ui` (persisted in the single JSONL log).
-    DemoCounterBumped { ts: i64, value: u64 },
     /// Pairwise comparison vote (replayed into [`crate::reducer::GroupState`] on boot).
     VoteRecorded {
         ts: i64,
diff --git a/server/src/html/mod.rs b/server/src/html/mod.rs
index 5b1d0b5a887d89e7e80796aa7a6c8ed5baaf2782..d69ed962b5c8625bc83c933b1825f2cc1d0868e2 100644
--- a/server/src/html/mod.rs
+++ b/server/src/html/mod.rs
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ use crate::{
     form_template::template_json_compact,
     parser_action::ParserAction,
     parser_render::parser_panel,
-    ranking::ranked_items,
+    ranking::ranked_items_cached,
     reducer::GroupState,
     state::AppState,
     ui_action::UI_RPC_FIELD,
@@ -199,10 +199,8 @@ fn layout(title: &str, body: Markup, views: u64, theme: &str, theme_next: &str)
     }
 }
 
-pub fn ranking_panel(group: &mut GroupState) -> Markup {
-    const MAX_ITERS: usize = 10_000;
-    const TOL: f64 = 1e-8;
-    let items = ranked_items(group, MAX_ITERS, TOL);
+pub fn ranking_panel(group: &GroupState) -> Markup {
+    let items = ranked_items_cached(group);
     html! {
         section id="ranking-panel" class="demo-panel" {
             h2 { "Ranking" }
@@ -260,35 +258,6 @@ pub fn vote_panel() -> Markup {
 }
 
 
-pub fn demo_counter_panel(count: u64, event_log_path: &str) -> Markup {
-    let rpc = template_json_compact(&serde_json::json!({ "action": "bump_demo_counter" }))
-        .expect("rpc json");
-    html! {
-        section id="demo-counter-panel" class="demo-panel" {
-            h1 { "sorter2" }
-            p class="muted" {
-                "Pairwise ranking scaffold — votes persist to JSONL and replay on boot."
-            }
-            p class="demo-count" {
-                strong { "Counter: " }
-                span id="demo-count-value" { (count) }
-            }
-            p class="muted small" {
-                "Event log: " code { (event_log_path) }
-            }
-            form method="post" action="/ui" id="demo-bump-form" {
-                input type="hidden" name=(UI_RPC_FIELD) value=(rpc);
-                button type="submit" class="btn-primary" { "Bump (POST /ui → eval JS)" }
-            }
-            p class="muted small" {
-                "Uses hidden "
-                code { "__rpc__" }
-                " JSON + Idiomorph morph — no full page reload."
-            }
-        }
-    }
-}
-
 pub async fn home(
     State(state): State<AppState>,
     jar: CookieJar,
@@ -297,16 +266,15 @@ pub async fn home(
     let path = uri.path().to_string();
     state.views.increment(path.clone());
     let views = state.views.get_views(&path);
-    let count = *state.demo_counter.read().await;
     let theme = theme_from_jar(&jar);
     let theme_next = theme_next_from_uri(&uri);
-    let mut group = state.group.write().await;
+    let group = state.group.read().await;
     let empty_action = ParserAction::suggest(String::new(), None);
     let body = html! {
+        h1 { "sorter2" }
         (parser_panel("", &empty_action))
         (vote_panel())
-        (ranking_panel(&mut group))
-        (demo_counter_panel(count, state.event_log.path().to_string_lossy().as_ref()))
+        (ranking_panel(&group))
     };
     layout("sorter2", body, views, theme, &theme_next)
 }
diff --git a/server/src/lib.rs b/server/src/lib.rs
index 6716c5b282e7980a7a0f03d63ad8b25eda61cc55..fa423640d598f4ba97a5885d228e78d7b97f7a22 100644
--- a/server/src/lib.rs
+++ b/server/src/lib.rs
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ pub mod parser_render;
 pub mod path_types;
 pub mod ranking;
 pub mod reducer;
+pub mod settlement;
 pub mod state;
 pub mod ui_action;
 pub mod views;
diff --git a/server/src/ranking.rs b/server/src/ranking.rs
index 89d3280126a8d8f841721ce8cb63ff735d68752a..2d706762792ba9239bb3f1c2e4974a2fde908013 100644
--- a/server/src/ranking.rs
+++ b/server/src/ranking.rs
@@ -91,6 +91,11 @@ pub fn compute_group_ranking(group: &mut GroupState, max_iters: usize, tol: f64)
 
 pub fn ranked_items(group: &mut GroupState, max_iters: usize, tol: f64) -> Vec<RankedItem> {
     compute_group_ranking(group, max_iters, tol);
+    ranked_items_cached(group)
+}
+
+/// Read cached scores without recomputing (HTTP fast path).
+pub fn ranked_items_cached(group: &GroupState) -> Vec<RankedItem> {
     let mut items: Vec<RankedItem> = group
         .idx_to_item
         .iter()
@@ -105,7 +110,12 @@ pub fn ranked_items(group: &mut GroupState, max_iters: usize, tol: f64) -> Vec<R
     items
 }
 
-fn compute_scores_from_edges(n: usize, edges: impl Iterator<Item = ((usize, usize), f64)>, max_iters: usize, tol: f64) -> Vec<f64> {
+pub fn compute_scores_from_edges(
+    n: usize,
+    edges: impl Iterator<Item = ((usize, usize), f64)>,
+    max_iters: usize,
+    tol: f64,
+) -> Vec<f64> {
     if n == 0 {
         return vec![];
     }
diff --git a/server/src/settlement.rs b/server/src/settlement.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1f722ceaea62cda22c28ab71551f259fbf049b81
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/src/settlement.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,114 @@
+use std::sync::Arc;
+
+use tokio::sync::{mpsc, oneshot, RwLock};
+
+use crate::{
+    event_log::EventLog,
+    events::Event,
+    ranking::compute_scores_from_edges,
+    reducer::{GroupState, VoteData},
+};
+
+const MAX_ITERS: usize = 10_000;
+const TOL: f64 = 1e-8;
+
+pub struct SettlementCommand {
+    pub vote: VoteData,
+    pub event: Event,
+    pub reply: oneshot::Sender<Result<(), String>>,
+}
+
+#[derive(Clone)]
+pub struct SettlementClient {
+    tx: mpsc::Sender<SettlementCommand>,
+}
+
+impl SettlementClient {
+    pub fn spawn(group: Arc<RwLock<GroupState>>, event_log: Arc<EventLog>) -> Self {
+        let (tx, rx) = mpsc::channel(64);
+        tokio::spawn(settlement_worker(rx, group, event_log));
+        Self { tx }
+    }
+
+    pub async fn record_vote(&self, vote: VoteData, event: Event) -> Result<(), String> {
+        let (reply, rx) = oneshot::channel();
+        self.tx
+            .send(SettlementCommand {
+                vote,
+                event,
+                reply,
+            })
+            .await
+            .map_err(|_| "settlement worker stopped".to_string())?;
+        rx.await
+            .map_err(|_| "settlement worker stopped".to_string())?
+    }
+}
+
+async fn settlement_worker(
+    mut rx: mpsc::Receiver<SettlementCommand>,
+    group: Arc<RwLock<GroupState>>,
+    event_log: Arc<EventLog>,
+) {
+    while let Some(first) = rx.recv().await {
+        let mut batch = vec![first];
+        while let Ok(more) = rx.try_recv() {
+            batch.push(more);
+        }
+
+        let mut disk_err: Option<String> = None;
+        for cmd in &batch {
+            if let Err(e) = event_log.append(&cmd.event).await {
+                disk_err = Some(e.to_string());
+                break;
+            }
+        }
+
+        if let Some(err) = disk_err {
+            for cmd in batch {
+                let _ = cmd.reply.send(Err(err.clone()));
+            }
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        let (edges, n) = {
+            let mut w = group.write().await;
+            for cmd in &batch {
+                w.apply_vote(cmd.vote.clone());
+            }
+            (w.edges.clone(), w.idx_to_item.len())
+        };
+
+        let new_scores = compute_scores_from_edges(
+            n,
+            edges.iter().map(|(&k, &v)| (k, v)),
+            MAX_ITERS,
+            TOL,
+        );
+
+        {
+            let mut w = group.write().await;
+            w.cached_scores = new_scores;
+            w.dirty = false;
+        }
+
+        for cmd in batch {
+            let _ = cmd.reply.send(Ok(()));
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// Compute ranking cache from current in-memory edges (startup replay only).
+pub fn warm_ranking_cache(group: &mut GroupState) {
+    if !group.dirty {
+        return;
+    }
+    let n = group.idx_to_item.len();
+    group.cached_scores = compute_scores_from_edges(
+        n,
+        group.edges.iter().map(|(&k, &v)| (k, v)),
+        MAX_ITERS,
+        TOL,
+    );
+    group.dirty = false;
+}
diff --git a/server/src/state.rs b/server/src/state.rs
index 8ec9902e2ecc31cf8208f7ad6365891dc5537eed..1922541a4064c2de1df2d993a461cae783320e05 100644
--- a/server/src/state.rs
+++ b/server/src/state.rs
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ use crate::{
     event_log::EventLog,
     events::Event,
     reducer::{GroupState, VoteData},
+    settlement::{warm_ranking_cache, SettlementClient},
     views::ViewStore,
 };
 
@@ -38,8 +39,8 @@ pub struct AppState {
     pub cfg: Arc<AppConfig>,
     pub event_log: Arc<EventLog>,
     pub views: ViewStore,
-    pub demo_counter: Arc<RwLock<u64>>,
     pub group: Arc<RwLock<GroupState>>,
+    settlement: SettlementClient,
 }
 
 impl AppState {
@@ -48,14 +49,10 @@ impl AppState {
         let views_path = format!("{}/views.json", cfg.data_dir);
         let views = ViewStore::new(&views_path);
 
-        let mut demo_counter: u64 = 0;
         let mut group = GroupState::new();
         if let Ok((events, _)) = event_log.load_all().await {
             for ev in events {
                 match ev {
-                    Event::DemoCounterBumped { value, .. } => {
-                        demo_counter = demo_counter.max(value);
-                    }
                     Event::VoteRecorded {
                         ts,
                         a,
@@ -74,30 +71,20 @@ impl AppState {
             }
         }
 
+        warm_ranking_cache(&mut group);
+
+        let group = Arc::new(RwLock::new(group));
+        let settlement = SettlementClient::spawn(group.clone(), event_log.clone());
+
         Self {
             cfg: Arc::new(cfg),
             event_log,
             views,
-            demo_counter: Arc::new(RwLock::new(demo_counter)),
-            group: Arc::new(RwLock::new(group)),
+            group,
+            settlement,
         }
     }
 
-    pub async fn bump_demo_counter(&self) -> u64 {
-        let mut guard = self.demo_counter.write().await;
-        *guard += 1;
-        let value = *guard;
-        drop(guard);
-
-        let ts = crate::html::now_ms();
-        let _ = self
-            .event_log
-            .append(&Event::DemoCounterBumped { ts, value })
-            .await;
-
-        value
-    }
-
     pub async fn record_vote(
         &self,
         a: &str,
@@ -109,23 +96,14 @@ impl AppState {
         let vote = VoteData::from_recorded(ts, a, b, ratio_left, ratio_right)
             .ok_or_else(|| "invalid vote: need two distinct non-empty items".to_string())?;
 
-        {
-            let mut group = self.group.write().await;
-            group.apply_vote(vote.clone());
-        }
-
-        let _ = self
-            .event_log
-            .append(&Event::VoteRecorded {
-                ts,
-                a: vote.a.as_str().to_string(),
-                b: vote.b.as_str().to_string(),
-                ratio_left: vote.ratio_left,
-                ratio_right: vote.ratio_right,
-            })
-            .await
-            .map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
+        let event = Event::VoteRecorded {
+            ts,
+            a: vote.a.as_str().to_string(),
+            b: vote.b.as_str().to_string(),
+            ratio_left: vote.ratio_left,
+            ratio_right: vote.ratio_right,
+        };
 
-        Ok(())
+        self.settlement.record_vote(vote, event).await
     }
 }
diff --git a/server/src/ui_action.rs b/server/src/ui_action.rs
index 1d488e1ad1d8fd81bd9d016d69255adfe9b22fc8..5d94c84113607b3bcd8d31d03ef5b8e1b87b67a7 100644
--- a/server/src/ui_action.rs
+++ b/server/src/ui_action.rs
@@ -12,8 +12,6 @@ pub const UI_RPC_FIELD: &str = "__rpc__";
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize, PartialEq, Eq)]
 #[serde(tag = "action", rename_all = "snake_case")]
 pub enum HtmlUiAction {
-    /// Demo: morph `#demo-counter-panel` after bumping the persisted counter.
-    BumpDemoCounter,
     /// Record a pairwise vote and morph `#ranking-panel`.
     RecordVote {
         a: String,
@@ -52,18 +50,6 @@ pub fn parse_html_ui_from_form(
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
 
-    #[test]
-    fn bump_demo_counter_round_trip() {
-        let template = serde_json::json!({ "action": "bump_demo_counter" });
-        let mut form = HashMap::new();
-        form.insert(
-            UI_RPC_FIELD.to_string(),
-            serde_json::to_string(&template).unwrap(),
-        );
-        let a = parse_html_ui_from_form(&form).unwrap();
-        assert_eq!(a, HtmlUiAction::BumpDemoCounter);
-    }
-
     #[test]
     fn record_vote_round_trip_with_form_holes() {
         let template = serde_json::json!({
diff --git a/server/tests/integration_health.rs b/server/tests/integration_health.rs
index 8a58bc14aac68c779e7ce4ffa57d27b3220e9953..1d816e008b9bf629967e3b3c786c41afefc284e3 100644
--- a/server/tests/integration_health.rs
+++ b/server/tests/integration_health.rs
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ async fn healthz_ok() {
 }
 
 #[tokio::test]
-async fn home_has_demo_panel() {
+async fn home_has_main_panels() {
     let (addr, _tmp) = start_test_server().await;
     let client = reqwest::Client::new();
     let html = client
diff --git a/server/tests/integration_ui.rs b/server/tests/integration_ui.rs
index bee79407dec120699a083f1a75adf9291e207fc7..7ede46d681fefbe25b1d98fc33520a185515eb1c 100644
--- a/server/tests/integration_ui.rs
+++ b/server/tests/integration_ui.rs
@@ -25,33 +25,6 @@ async fn start_test_server() -> (SocketAddr, TempDir) {
     (addr, tmp)
 }
 
-#[tokio::test]
-async fn post_ui_bump_returns_javascript_morph() {
-    let (addr, tmp) = start_test_server().await;
-    let rpc = serde_json::json!({ "action": "bump_demo_counter" }).to_string();
-    let mut form = HashMap::new();
-    form.insert(UI_RPC_FIELD.to_string(), rpc);
-
-    let client = reqwest::Client::new();
-    let body = client
-        .post(format!("http://{addr}/ui"))
-        .form(&form)
-        .send()
-        .await
-        .unwrap()
-        .text()
-        .await
-        .unwrap();
-
-    assert!(body.contains("Idiomorph.morph"));
-    assert!(body.contains("demo-counter-panel"));
-    assert!(body.contains("Counter:"));
-
-    let log_path = tmp.path().join("events.jsonl");
-    let log = std::fs::read_to_string(log_path).unwrap();
-    assert!(log.contains("demo_counter_bumped"));
-}
-
 #[tokio::test]
 async fn post_ui_record_vote_morphs_ranking_and_persists() {
     let (addr, tmp) = start_test_server().await;
@@ -90,8 +63,8 @@ async fn post_ui_record_vote_morphs_ranking_and_persists() {
         port: 0,
     };
     let state = create_app_state(cfg).await;
-    let mut group = state.group.write().await;
-    let ranked = sorter2_server::ranking::ranked_items(&mut group, 10_000, 1e-8);
+    let group = state.group.read().await;
+    let ranked = sorter2_server::ranking::ranked_items_cached(&group);
     assert_eq!(ranked.len(), 2);
     assert_eq!(ranked[0].item.as_str(), "alpha");
 }
diff --git a/test/smoke.clj b/test/smoke.clj
index b332324743b58baf3fe96d7477353749f137feae..11887c48282088e140d823a88ba616f6325835b3 100644
--- a/test/smoke.clj
+++ b/test/smoke.clj
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
             false))))))
 
 (deftest http-smoke-against-running-server
-  (testing "build, start, healthz, home contains RPC demo"
+  (testing "build, start, healthz, home contains main panels"
     (let [root (repo-root)
           data-dir (.getAbsolutePath (doto (io/file (System/getProperty "java.io.tmpdir")
                                                    (str "sorter2-smoke-" (System/currentTimeMillis)))


Side B — contributor: tommy-mor
Side B — commit message:
[08565bea] Tokenize prose refs for garden URL links (#147)

* Tokenize prose refs for garden URL links

Co-authored-by: tommy <thmorriss@gmail.com>

* Stop prose URLs at line boundaries

Co-authored-by: tommy <thmorriss@gmail.com>

* Require braced DSL item bodies

Co-authored-by: tommy <thmorriss@gmail.com>

---------

Co-authored-by: Cursor Agent <cursoragent@cursor.com>

Side B — unified diff (full patch):
diff --git a/server/src/dsl.rs b/server/src/dsl.rs
index 4203c2f59dd8825d7a91513c4023f3ccd37f1efc..b3c785674560a0b42a7f4c3aa13d80cd350f485b 100644
--- a/server/src/dsl.rs
+++ b/server/src/dsl.rs
@@ -1,7 +1,5 @@
 use std::collections::HashMap;
 
-use rand::Rng;
-
 /// Parsed DSL document.
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq)]
 pub struct Document {
@@ -39,31 +37,57 @@ pub enum DslError {
 /// Matches the legacy Python parser behavior:
 /// - Supports toggle markers (open == close), e.g. ```...```
 /// - Supports nested markers (open != close), e.g. { ... { ... } ... }
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq)]
+pub enum BlockKind {
+    CodeFence,
+    DoubleBrace,
+    Brace,
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq)]
+struct MaskedBlock {
+    kind: BlockKind,
+}
+
 #[derive(Debug, Default, Clone)]
 pub struct BlockMasker {
     pub replacements: HashMap<String, String>,
+    blocks: HashMap<String, MaskedBlock>,
+    next_id: u32,
 }
 
 impl BlockMasker {
     pub fn new() -> Self {
         Self {
             replacements: HashMap::new(),
+            blocks: HashMap::new(),
+            next_id: 0,
         }
     }
 
-    fn new_token(&mut self) -> String {
-        let mut rng = rand::thread_rng();
-        let n: u32 = rng.gen();
-        let token = format!("__BLOCK_{:08x}__", n);
-        // Extremely unlikely collision; if it happens, regenerate.
-        if self.replacements.contains_key(&token) {
-            return self.new_token();
+    fn new_token(&mut self, haystack: &str) -> String {
+        loop {
+            let token = format!("__BLOCK_{:08x}__", self.next_id);
+            self.next_id = self.next_id.wrapping_add(1);
+            if !self.replacements.contains_key(&token) && !haystack.contains(&token) {
+                return token;
+            }
         }
-        token
     }
 
     /// Replace outermost balanced blocks with tokens.
     pub fn mask(&mut self, text: &str, open_marker: &str, close_marker: &str) -> String {
+        self.mask_kind(text, open_marker, close_marker, BlockKind::Brace)
+    }
+
+    /// Replace outermost balanced blocks with typed deterministic tokens.
+    pub fn mask_kind(
+        &mut self,
+        text: &str,
+        open_marker: &str,
+        close_marker: &str,
+        kind: BlockKind,
+    ) -> String {
         if text.is_empty() {
             return text.to_string();
         }
@@ -97,9 +121,10 @@ impl BlockMasker {
                     // Found end of outermost block
                     let s = start_idx.max(0) as usize;
                     let original_block = &text[s..i];
-                    let token = self.new_token();
+                    let token = self.new_token(text);
                     self.replacements
                         .insert(token.clone(), original_block.to_string());
+                    self.blocks.insert(token.clone(), MaskedBlock { kind });
                     result_parts.push(token);
                     current_idx = i;
                 }
@@ -176,13 +201,22 @@ impl BlockMasker {
         }
         token.to_string()
     }
+
+    pub fn block_kind(&self, token: &str) -> Option<BlockKind> {
+        self.blocks.get(token).map(|b| b.kind)
+    }
 }
 
 fn mask_all(mut masker: BlockMasker, text: &str) -> (BlockMasker, String) {
     // Mask hierarchy: Code -> Double Brace -> Single Brace.
-    let t = masker.mask(text, "```", "```");
-    let t = masker.mask(&t, "{{", "}}");
-    let t = masker.mask(&t, "{", "}");
+    let t = masker.mask_kind(text, "```", "```", BlockKind::CodeFence);
+    let t = masker.mask_kind(&t, "{{", "}}", BlockKind::DoubleBrace);
+    let t = masker.mask_kind(&t, "{", "}", BlockKind::Brace);
+    (masker, t)
+}
+
+fn mask_code_fences(mut masker: BlockMasker, text: &str) -> (BlockMasker, String) {
+    let t = masker.mask_kind(text, "```", "```", BlockKind::CodeFence);
     (masker, t)
 }
 
@@ -253,7 +287,34 @@ fn skip_ws(s: &str, mut i: usize) -> usize {
     i
 }
 
-fn parse_item_name_at(s: &str, i: usize) -> Option<(String, usize)> {
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq)]
+pub enum ProseToken {
+    Text(String),
+    ItemRef(String),
+}
+
+fn trim_prose_item_ref_end(s: &str, mut end: usize) -> usize {
+    while end > 0 {
+        let Some((idx, c)) = s[..end].char_indices().next_back() else {
+            break;
+        };
+        if matches!(
+            c,
+            '.' | ',' | ';' | ':' | '!' | '?' | ')' | ']' | '}' | '"' | '\''
+        ) {
+            end = idx;
+        } else {
+            break;
+        }
+    }
+    end
+}
+
+fn parse_item_name_at_with_mode(
+    s: &str,
+    i: usize,
+    trim_trailing_punctuation: bool,
+) -> Option<(String, usize)> {
     let bytes = s.as_bytes();
     if i >= bytes.len() {
         return None;
@@ -263,6 +324,9 @@ fn parse_item_name_at(s: &str, i: usize) -> Option<(String, usize)> {
     if s[i..].starts_with("https://") || s[i..].starts_with("http://") {
         let mut j = i;
         while j < bytes.len() {
+            if trim_trailing_punctuation && bytes[j] == b'\n' {
+                break;
+            }
             if bytes[j..].starts_with(b"__BLOCK_") || is_ws_byte(bytes[j]) {
                 break;
             }
@@ -271,6 +335,12 @@ fn parse_item_name_at(s: &str, i: usize) -> Option<(String, usize)> {
         if j <= i {
             return None;
         }
+        if trim_trailing_punctuation {
+            j = trim_prose_item_ref_end(s, j);
+            if j <= i {
+                return None;
+            }
+        }
         return Some((s[i..j].to_string(), j));
     }
 
@@ -296,6 +366,12 @@ fn parse_item_name_at(s: &str, i: usize) -> Option<(String, usize)> {
         if j <= i + 2 {
             return None;
         }
+        if trim_trailing_punctuation {
+            j = trim_prose_item_ref_end(s, j);
+            if j <= i + 2 {
+                return None;
+            }
+        }
         let raw = &s[i..j];
         if !is_item_name(raw) {
             return None;
@@ -336,6 +412,46 @@ fn parse_item_name_at(s: &str, i: usize) -> Option<(String, usize)> {
     Some((format!("~/{}", name), j))
 }
 
+fn parse_item_name_at(s: &str, i: usize) -> Option<(String, usize)> {
+    parse_item_name_at_with_mode(s, i, false)
+}
+
+pub fn parse_prose_item_ref_at(s: &str, i: usize) -> Option<(String, usize)> {
+    parse_item_name_at_with_mode(s, i, true)
+}
+
+pub fn tokenize_prose_item_refs(text: &str) -> Vec<ProseToken> {
+    if text.is_empty() {
+        return Vec::new();
+    }
+    let (masker, masked) = mask_code_fences(BlockMasker::new(), text);
+    let mut tokens = Vec::new();
+    let mut text_start = 0usize;
+    let mut i = 0usize;
+
+    while i < masked.len() {
+        if let Some((raw, end)) = parse_prose_item_ref_at(&masked, i) {
+            if text_start < i {
+                tokens.push(ProseToken::Text(masker.unmask(&masked[text_start..i])));
+            }
+            tokens.push(ProseToken::ItemRef(masker.unmask(&raw)));
+            i = end;
+            text_start = i;
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        let Some((_, c)) = masked[i..].char_indices().next() else {
+            break;
+        };
+        i += c.len_utf8();
+    }
+
+    if text_start < masked.len() {
+        tokens.push(ProseToken::Text(masker.unmask(&masked[text_start..])));
+    }
+    tokens
+}
+
 fn parse_block_token_at(s: &str, i: usize) -> Option<(String, usize)> {
     let bytes = s.as_bytes();
     if i >= bytes.len() {
@@ -401,6 +517,12 @@ fn parse_block_prefixed_statement(
     tail: &str,
     masker: &BlockMasker,
 ) -> Result<Stmt, DslError> {
+    if masker.block_kind(block_token) == Some(BlockKind::CodeFence) {
+        return Err(DslError::Parse(
+            "vote explanations must use `{ ... }`; code fences belong inside body blocks"
+                .to_string(),
+        ));
+    }
     // vote: block item_ref comparison item_ref
     let s = tail.trim_start();
     if s.is_empty() {
@@ -462,6 +584,11 @@ fn parse_item_definition_statement(stripped: &str, masker: &BlockMasker) -> Resu
     }
 
     if let Some((tok, end)) = parse_block_token_at(stripped, i) {
+        if masker.block_kind(&tok) == Some(BlockKind::CodeFence) {
+            return Err(DslError::Parse(
+                "item bodies must use `{ ... }`; code fences belong inside body blocks".to_string(),
+            ));
+        }
         let body = masker.extract_body(&tok);
         let tail = stripped[end..].trim();
         if !tail.is_empty() {
@@ -572,6 +699,10 @@ pub fn parse_full(text: &str) -> Result<Document, DslError> {
 
             if let Some((tok, end)) = parse_block_token_at(stripped, 0) {
                 if stripped[end..].trim().is_empty() {
+                    if masker.block_kind(&tok) == Some(BlockKind::CodeFence) {
+                        prose_buffer.push(line);
+                        continue;
+                    }
                     pending_block = Some(tok);
                     continue;
                 }
@@ -619,6 +750,70 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(roundtrip, input);
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn blockmasker_tokens_are_deterministic_and_typed() {
+        let input = "x ```code``` y {body}";
+        let (masker, masked) = mask_all(BlockMasker::new(), input);
+        assert!(masked.contains("__BLOCK_00000000__"));
+        assert!(masked.contains("__BLOCK_00000001__"));
+        assert_eq!(
+            masker.block_kind("__BLOCK_00000000__"),
+            Some(BlockKind::CodeFence)
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            masker.block_kind("__BLOCK_00000001__"),
+            Some(BlockKind::Brace)
+        );
+        assert_eq!(masker.unmask(&masked), input);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn prose_tokenizer_finds_tilde_dash_and_raw_url_refs() {
+        let tokens =
+            tokenize_prose_item_refs("see ~/a/b then -/example.com/x and https://Example.com/A/B.");
+        assert_eq!(
+            tokens,
+            vec![
+                ProseToken::Text("see ".to_string()),
+                ProseToken::ItemRef("~/a/b".to_string()),
+                ProseToken::Text(" then ".to_string()),
+                ProseToken::ItemRef("-/example.com/x".to_string()),
+                ProseToken::Text(" and ".to_string()),
+                ProseToken::ItemRef("https://Example.com/A/B".to_string()),
+                ProseToken::Text(".".to_string()),
+            ]
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn prose_tokenizer_stops_raw_urls_at_newlines() {
+        let tokens = tokenize_prose_item_refs("https://example.com/a/b.\n-/example.com/a/b");
+        assert_eq!(
+            tokens,
+            vec![
+                ProseToken::ItemRef("https://example.com/a/b".to_string()),
+                ProseToken::Text(".\n".to_string()),
+                ProseToken::ItemRef("-/example.com/a/b".to_string()),
+            ]
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn prose_tokenizer_does_not_linkify_inside_code_fences() {
+        let tokens = tokenize_prose_item_refs(
+            "before ```json\n{\"url\":\"https://example.com\"}\n``` after ~/x",
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            tokens,
+            vec![
+                ProseToken::Text(
+                    "before ```json\n{\"url\":\"https://example.com\"}\n``` after ".to_string()
+                ),
+                ProseToken::ItemRef("~/x".to_string()),
+            ]
+        );
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn parse_item_with_body_strips_outer_braces() {
         let input = "~/rust { Systems language }";
@@ -633,8 +828,8 @@ mod tests {
     }
 
     #[test]
-    fn parse_item_with_fenced_json_body_preserves_braces() {
-        let input = "~/item/in/url ```json\n{\"test\": true}\n```";
+    fn parse_item_with_braced_fenced_json_body_preserves_braces() {
+        let input = "~/item/in/url {\n```json\n{\"test\": true}\n```\n}";
         let doc = parse_full(input).unwrap();
         assert_eq!(
             doc.statements,
@@ -645,6 +840,51 @@ mod tests {
         );
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn parse_rejects_singleton_fenced_json_item_body() {
+        let input = "~/item/in/url ```json\n{\"test\": true}\n```";
+        let err = parse_full(input).unwrap_err().to_string();
+        assert!(
+            err.contains("item bodies must use"),
+            "unexpected error: {err}"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parse_keeps_standalone_code_fence_as_prose() {
+        let input = "```json\n{\"test\": true}\n```";
+        let doc = parse_full(input).unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(
+            doc.statements,
+            vec![Stmt::Prose {
+                text: input.to_string(),
+            }]
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parse_rejects_code_fence_vote_explanation() {
+        let input = "```json\n{\"why\": true}\n```\n~/a 2:1 ~/b";
+        let err = parse_full(input).unwrap_err().to_string();
+        assert!(
+            err.contains("vote explanations must start"),
+            "unexpected error: {err}"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parse_raw_url_item_with_braced_fenced_json_body() {
+        let input = "https://example.com/itembody/slug {\n```json\n{\"test\": true}\n```\n}";
+        let doc = parse_full(input).unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(
+            doc.statements,
+            vec![Stmt::Item {
+                title: "https://example.com/itembody/slug".to_string(),
+                body: Some("```json\n{\"test\": true}\n```".to_string()),
+            }]
+        );
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn parse_vote_ratio_and_symbols() {
         let d1 = parse_full("{because}\n~/a 3:1 ~/b").unwrap();
diff --git a/server/src/external_resolver.rs b/server/src/external_resolver.rs
index 8481f1fbff1c4265da182a225f539f97d6829002..04bc3de32b6df1aefe197d942db67de2cbdbde4f 100644
--- a/server/src/external_resolver.rs
+++ b/server/src/external_resolver.rs
@@ -256,7 +256,7 @@ fn children_to_dsl(children: &[ResolvedChild]) -> String {
             .filter(|s| !s.trim().is_empty())
             .unwrap_or(child.title.as_str());
         if body.trim_start().starts_with("```") {
-            out.push_str(&format!("{} {}\n\n", child.url, body.trim()));
+            out.push_str(&format!("{} {{\n{}\n}}\n\n", child.url, body.trim()));
         } else {
             out.push_str(&format!(
                 "{} {{\n{}\n}}\n\n",
@@ -378,7 +378,8 @@ mod tests {
             title: "#1 title".into(),
             body: Some("```json\n{\"test\": true}\n```".into()),
         }]);
-        assert!(dsl.contains("https://github.com/o/r/issues/1 ```json"));
+        assert!(dsl.contains("https://github.com/o/r/issues/1 {\n```json"));
         assert!(dsl.contains("{\"test\": true}"));
+        assert!(dsl.contains("```\n}\n"));
     }
 }
diff --git a/server/src/html/breadcrumb_path.rs b/server/src/html/breadcrumb_path.rs
index 3e949ce2cb70de3f024f46af773a93f3f8852260..e48612d7d3c4df52c161499a11865d4caca607aa 100644
--- a/server/src/html/breadcrumb_path.rs
+++ b/server/src/html/breadcrumb_path.rs
@@ -88,16 +88,12 @@ impl ExternalOntologyPath {
             .filter(|x| !x.is_empty())
             .map(|x| x.to_string())
             .collect();
-        let segments = if segments == ["."] {
-            vec![]
-        } else {
-            segments
-        };
+        let segments = if segments == ["."] { vec![] } else { segments };
         Self { item, segments }
     }
 
     pub(super) fn is_root(&self) -> bool {
-        self.segments.len() <= 1
+        self.segments.is_empty()
     }
 
     pub(super) fn segments(&self) -> &[String] {
@@ -108,3 +104,28 @@ impl ExternalOntologyPath {
         self.item.as_str()
     }
 }
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn external_root_and_host_paths_are_distinct() {
+        let root = ExternalOntologyPath::from_input("");
+        assert!(root.is_root());
+        assert!(root.segments().is_empty());
+
+        let host = ExternalOntologyPath::from_input("example.com");
+        assert!(!host.is_root());
+        assert_eq!(host.segments(), &["example.com".to_string()]);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn external_path_keeps_each_url_segment_for_breadcrumbs() {
+        let path = ExternalOntologyPath::from_input("https://example.com/a/b");
+        assert_eq!(
+            path.segments(),
+            &["example.com".to_string(), "a".to_string(), "b".to_string()]
+        );
+    }
+}
diff --git a/server/src/html/mod.rs b/server/src/html/mod.rs
index 8876a1a00a16ee3bf7a371f7a5ca27b5862b62cc..d5877eeb3632ed5d770f23a04cb4d1881209bc74 100644
--- a/server/src/html/mod.rs
+++ b/server/src/html/mod.rs
@@ -20,27 +20,30 @@ mod search;
 pub mod ui_action;
 use breadcrumb_path::{ExternalOntologyPath, OntologyPath};
 
-pub use auth::{auth_complete_page, auth_signed_in_fragment, choose_username_error_fragment, choose_username_page};
+pub use auth::{
+    auth_complete_page, auth_signed_in_fragment, choose_username_error_fragment,
+    choose_username_page,
+};
 pub use editor::{editor_check, editor_page};
 pub use forum::{
     home, room_page, room_thread_post_view, room_thread_view, thread_feed_html,
     thread_feed_html_for_room, thread_feed_region_markup, thread_post_view, thread_view, ThreadNav,
 };
 
+pub use forum::user_profile_page;
 pub(crate) use forum::{
     fragment_new_thread_slot, login_to_post_hint_markup, room_members_section_markup,
     thread_ui_collapse_redacted_post, thread_ui_expand_post_full, thread_ui_expand_redacted_post,
     user_can_post_room, user_can_view_room,
 };
+pub(crate) use garden::{encode_pin_cookie_value, vote_compare_post_success_js, GARDEN_PIN_COOKIE};
 pub use garden::{
     external_garden_index, external_ontology_path, garden_index, ontology_path,
-    room_external_garden_index, room_external_ontology_path, room_garden_index,
-    room_ontology_path, room_vote_compare_page, vote_compare_page,
+    room_external_garden_index, room_external_ontology_path, room_garden_index, room_ontology_path,
+    room_vote_compare_page, vote_compare_page,
 };
-pub(crate) use garden::{encode_pin_cookie_value, vote_compare_post_success_js, GARDEN_PIN_COOKIE};
 pub use routing::RouteContext;
 pub use search::{search_page, search_results_fragment};
-pub use forum::user_profile_page;
 pub use ui_action::{parse_html_ui_from_form, HtmlUiAction, HtmlUiParseError, UI_RPC_FIELD};
 
 /// Public profile URL path for a stored username (no `@`).
@@ -107,8 +110,8 @@ pub struct ThemeForm {
 pub async fn post_theme(Form(form): Form<ThemeForm>) -> impl IntoResponse {
     let theme = normalize_theme(&form.theme);
     let next = sanitize_theme_next(form.next.as_deref());
-    let loc = HeaderValue::try_from(next.as_str())
-        .unwrap_or_else(|_| HeaderValue::from_static("/"));
+    let loc =
+        HeaderValue::try_from(next.as_str()).unwrap_or_else(|_| HeaderValue::from_static("/"));
     Response::builder()
         .status(StatusCode::SEE_OTHER)
         .header(header::LOCATION, loc)
@@ -179,7 +182,9 @@ pub(crate) struct JsQueryBuilder {
 
 impl JsBuilder {
     pub(crate) fn new() -> Self {
-        Self { snippets: Vec::new() }
+        Self {
+            snippets: Vec::new(),
+        }
     }
 
     pub(crate) fn morph_selector(self, selector: &str, markup: Markup) -> Self {
@@ -195,7 +200,12 @@ impl JsBuilder {
         self.qs(selector).morph_inner(markup)
     }
 
-    pub(crate) fn morph_expr(mut self, expr: &str, markup: Markup, morph_style: Option<&str>) -> Self {
+    pub(crate) fn morph_expr(
+        mut self,
+        expr: &str,
+        markup: Markup,
+        morph_style: Option<&str>,
+    ) -> Self {
         let html = js_string_literal(&markup.into_string());
         let opts = morph_style
             .map(|style| format!(", {{morphStyle: {}}}", js_string_literal(style)))
@@ -217,7 +227,11 @@ impl JsBuilder {
         self.qs(&format!("#{id}"))
     }
 
-    pub(crate) fn if_current_path_matches(mut self, path: &str, f: impl FnOnce(JsBuilder) -> JsBuilder) -> Self {
+    pub(crate) fn if_current_path_matches(
+        mut self,
+        path: &str,
+        f: impl FnOnce(JsBuilder) -> JsBuilder,
+    ) -> Self {
         let inner = f(JsBuilder::new()).build();
         self.snippets.push(format!(
             "var __slugHere = window.location.pathname + window.location.search; var __slugPath = {path}; if (__slugHere === __slugPath || __slugHere.indexOf(__slugPath + '?') === 0) {{ {inner} }}",
@@ -226,7 +240,11 @@ impl JsBuilder {
         self
     }
 
-    pub(crate) fn if_current_path_not_matches(mut self, path: &str, f: impl FnOnce(JsBuilder) -> JsBuilder) -> Self {
+    pub(crate) fn if_current_path_not_matches(
+        mut self,
+        path: &str,
+        f: impl FnOnce(JsBuilder) -> JsBuilder,
+    ) -> Self {
         let inner = f(JsBuilder::new()).build();
         self.snippets.push(format!(
             "var __slugHere = window.location.pathname + window.location.search; var __slugPath = {path}; if (!(__slugHere === __slugPath || __slugHere.indexOf(__slugPath + '?') === 0)) {{ {inner} }}",
@@ -301,7 +319,17 @@ pub(super) fn layout(
     garden_room_wire: Option<&str>,
     garden_path_prefix: Option<&str>,
 ) -> Markup {
-    layout_embed_controls(title, view, body, views, theme, theme_next, garden_room_wire, garden_path_prefix, true)
+    layout_embed_controls(
+        title,
+        view,
+        body,
+        views,
+        theme,
+        theme_next,
+        garden_room_wire,
+        garden_path_prefix,
+        true,
+    )
 }
 
 /// Minimal document shell: no bottom controls, no garden HUD data attributes (`data-garden-room` /
@@ -315,15 +343,7 @@ pub(super) fn layout_full_bleed_chromeless(
     theme_next: &str,
 ) -> Markup {
     layout_embed_controls(
-        title,
-        view,
-        body,
-        views,
-        theme,
-        theme_next,
-        None,
-        None,
-        false,
+        title, view, body, views, theme, theme_next, None, None, false,
     )
 }
 
@@ -545,7 +565,58 @@ fn item_body_title_snippet(body: &str) -> Option<String> {
     Some(format!("{truncated}{ellipsis}"))
 }
 
-/// Replace ~/path slugs in raw text with clickable links.
+fn garden_href_for_item_ref(
+    raw_ref: &str,
+    garden_prefix: &str,
+) -> Option<(crate::path_types::ItemId, String)> {
+    let key = slug_types::canonicalize_item(raw_ref);
+    let id = crate::path_types::ItemId::parse(&key)?;
+    let href = if let Some(tail) = id.tilde_tail() {
+        if tail.is_empty() {
+            garden_prefix.trim_end_matches('/').to_string()
+        } else {
+            format!("{}/{}", garden_prefix.trim_end_matches('/'), tail)
+        }
+    } else if id.as_str().starts_with("https://") || id.as_str().starts_with("http://") {
+        let display = id.display_path();
+        let rest = display.strip_prefix("-/").unwrap_or(display.as_str());
+        let ext_prefix = format!("{}-", garden_prefix.trim_end_matches('~'));
+        format!("{}/{}", ext_prefix, rest)
+    } else {
+        return None;
+    };
+    Some((id, href))
+}
+
+fn push_item_ref_anchor(
+    out: &mut String,
+    raw_ref: &str,
+    garden_prefix: &str,
+    item_bodies: Option<&HashMap<crate::path_types::ItemId, String>>,
+) -> bool {
+    let Some((id, href)) = garden_href_for_item_ref(raw_ref, garden_prefix) else {
+        return false;
+    };
+    out.push_str(r#"<a href=""#);
+    out.push_str(&escape_html(&href));
+    out.push('"');
+    out.push_str(r#" class="pre-link""#);
+    if let Some(bodies) = item_bodies {
+        if let Some(body) = bodies.get(&id) {
+            if let Some(snippet) = item_body_title_snippet(body) {
+                out.push_str(r#" title=""#);
+                out.push_str(&escape_html(&snippet));
+                out.push('"');
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    out.push('>');
+    out.push_str(&escape_html(raw_ref));
+    out.push_str("</a>");
+    true
+}
+
+/// Replace item refs in raw prose with clickable garden links.
 ///
 /// When `item_bodies` is set, matching ontology items get a `title` attribute with a truncated
 /// body preview for native browser tooltips (forum posts, item pages).
@@ -554,53 +625,16 @@ pub(super) fn linkify_slugs_with_prefix(
     garden_prefix: &str,
     item_bodies: Option<&HashMap<crate::path_types::ItemId, String>>,
 ) -> String {
-    let escaped = escape_html(raw);
-    let mut out = String::with_capacity(escaped.len() + 64);
-    let mut i = 0;
-    let s = escaped.as_str();
-    while i < s.len() {
-        let rest = &s[i..];
-        if let Some(after_tilde) = rest.strip_prefix("~/") {
-            let path_len = after_tilde
-                .chars()
-                .take_while(|c| c.is_ascii_alphanumeric() || *c == '_' || *c == '-' || *c == '/')
-                .map(|c| c.len_utf8())
-                .sum::<usize>();
-            if path_len > 0 {
-                let path = &after_tilde[..path_len];
-                out.push_str(r#"<a href=""#);
-                out.push_str(&escape_html(garden_prefix.trim_end_matches('/')));
-                out.push('/');
-                out.push_str(path);
-                out.push('"');
-                out.push_str(r#" class="pre-link""#);
-                if let Some(bodies) = item_bodies {
-                    let tilde_ref = format!("~/{}", path);
-                    let key = slug_types::canonicalize_item(&tilde_ref);
-                    if let Some(id) = crate::path_types::ItemId::parse(&key) {
-                        if let Some(body) = bodies.get(&id) {
-                            if let Some(snippet) = item_body_title_snippet(body) {
-                                out.push_str(r#" title=""#);
-                                out.push_str(&escape_html(&snippet));
-                                out.push('"');
-                            }
-                        }
-                    }
+    let mut out = String::with_capacity(raw.len() + 64);
+    for token in crate::dsl::tokenize_prose_item_refs(raw) {
+        match token {
+            crate::dsl::ProseToken::Text(text) => out.push_str(&escape_html(&text)),
+            crate::dsl::ProseToken::ItemRef(raw_ref) => {
+                if !push_item_ref_anchor(&mut out, &raw_ref, garden_prefix, item_bodies) {
+                    out.push_str(&escape_html(&raw_ref));
                 }
-                out.push('>');
-                out.push_str("~/");
-                out.push_str(path);
-                out.push_str("</a>");
-                i += 2 + path_len;
-                continue;
             }
         }
-        if let Some((j, c)) = rest.char_indices().next() {
-            out.push(c);
-            i += j + c.len_utf8();
-        } else {
-            break;
-        }
     }
     out
 }
@@ -638,7 +672,13 @@ fn spotify_embed_src(url: &str) -> Option<EmbedFrame> {
     if !(host == "open.spotify.com" || host == "www.open.spotify.com") {
         return None;
     }
-    let path = tail.split('#').next().unwrap_or(tail).split('?').next().unwrap_or(tail);
+    let path = tail
+        .split('#')
+        .next()
+        .unwrap_or(tail)
+        .split('?')
+        .next()
+        .unwrap_or(tail);
     let mut segs: Vec<&str> = path.split('/').filter(|s| !s.is_empty()).collect();
     if segs.first().is_some_and(|s| s.starts_with("intl-")) {
         segs.remove(0);
@@ -670,8 +710,16 @@ fn youtube_embed_src(url: &str) -> Option<EmbedFrame> {
     let host = host.to_lowercase();
 
     let video_id = if host == "youtu.be" || host == "www.youtu.be" {
-        clean_media_id(tail.split(['?', '#']).next().unwrap_or(tail).trim_matches('/'))
-    } else if matches!(host.as_str(), "youtube.com" | "www.youtube.com" | "m.youtube.com" | "music.youtube.com") {
+        clean_media_id(
+            tail.split(['?', '#'])
+                .next()
+                .unwrap_or(tail)
+                .trim_matches('/'),
+        )
+    } else if matches!(
+        host.as_str(),
+        "youtube.com" | "www.youtube.com" | "m.youtube.com" | "music.youtube.com"
+    ) {
         let path = format!("/{}", tail.split('#').next().unwrap_or(tail));
         if path.starts_with("/watch") {
             clean_media_id(&query_param(url, "v")?)
@@ -745,10 +793,7 @@ pub(super) fn render_linkified_with_embeds_in_scope(
 /// CLI strings are embedded in a single-quoted JS literal; they must never need escaping.
 fn assert_cli_panel_cmd_js_single_quote_safe(s: &str) {
     assert!(
-        !s.contains('\\')
-            && !s.contains('\'')
-            && !s.contains('\n')
-            && !s.contains('\r'),
+        !s.contains('\\') && !s.contains('\'') && !s.contains('\n') && !s.contains('\r'),
         "cli_panel cmd must not contain `\\`, `'`, or newlines (got {s:?})"
     );
 }
@@ -805,15 +850,40 @@ mod linkify_title_tests {
         let mut bodies = HashMap::new();
         let key = ItemId::parse(&slug_types::canonicalize_item("~/foo/bar")).unwrap();
         bodies.insert(key, "Hello  world\nline".to_string());
-        let html = linkify_slugs_with_prefix(
-            "see ~/foo/bar ok",
-            "/r/x/~",
-            Some(&bodies),
-        );
+        let html = linkify_slugs_with_prefix("see ~/foo/bar ok", "/r/x/~", Some(&bodies));
         assert!(html.contains("title=\"Hello world line\""));
         assert!(html.contains("href=\"/r/x/~/foo/bar\""));
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn raw_url_links_to_public_external_garden_page() {
+        let html = linkify_slugs_with_prefix("see https://example.com/z.", "/~", None);
+        assert!(html
+            .contains(r#"<a href="/-/example.com/z" class="pre-link">https://example.com/z</a>."#));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn dash_ref_links_to_room_external_garden_page_with_title() {
+        let mut bodies = HashMap::new();
+        let key = ItemId::parse(&slug_types::canonicalize_item("-/example.com/z")).unwrap();
+        bodies.insert(key, "External body\npreview".to_string());
+        let html =
+            linkify_slugs_with_prefix("see -/example.com/z", "/r/9ab12cdroom/~", Some(&bodies));
+        assert!(html.contains(r#"href="/r/9ab12cdroom/-/example.com/z""#));
+        assert!(html.contains(r#"title="External body preview""#));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn code_fence_urls_are_not_linkified() {
+        let html = linkify_slugs_with_prefix(
+            "```json\n{\"url\":\"https://example.com/z\"}\n```\nthen https://example.com/a",
+            "/~",
+            None,
+        );
+        assert!(!html.contains(r#"href="/-/example.com/z""#));
+        assert!(html.contains(r#"href="/-/example.com/a""#));
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn no_title_when_body_missing_or_empty() {
         let html = linkify_slugs_with_prefix("x ~/a/b y", "/~", Some(&HashMap::new()));