diff --git a/apps/docs/content/docs/cli/caddy/add.mdx b/apps/docs/content/docs/cli/caddy/add.mdx
index d41f2894..4e609bc3 100644
--- a/apps/docs/content/docs/cli/caddy/add.mdx
+++ b/apps/docs/content/docs/cli/caddy/add.mdx
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ---
 title: stack caddy add
-description: Link this project's generated Caddy site(s) into the global proxy
+description: "Link this project's generated Caddy site(s) into the global proxy"
 icon: Terminal
 ---
 
diff --git a/apps/docs/content/docs/cli/caddy/remove.mdx b/apps/docs/content/docs/cli/caddy/remove.mdx
index 23457b38..e6a40b93 100644
--- a/apps/docs/content/docs/cli/caddy/remove.mdx
+++ b/apps/docs/content/docs/cli/caddy/remove.mdx
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ---
 title: stack caddy remove
-description: Unlink this project's Caddy site(s) from the global proxy
+description: "Unlink this project's Caddy site(s) from the global proxy"
 icon: Terminal
 ---
 
diff --git a/apps/docs/content/docs/cli/config/get.mdx b/apps/docs/content/docs/cli/config/get.mdx
index 1c7d9fec..90accfae 100644
--- a/apps/docs/content/docs/cli/config/get.mdx
+++ b/apps/docs/content/docs/cli/config/get.mdx
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ---
 title: stack config get
-description: Get a configuration value by dot-path
+description: "Get a configuration value by dot-path"
 icon: Terminal
 ---
 
diff --git a/apps/docs/content/docs/cli/config/set.mdx b/apps/docs/content/docs/cli/config/set.mdx
index fe9248e3..3cfda835 100644
--- a/apps/docs/content/docs/cli/config/set.mdx
+++ b/apps/docs/content/docs/cli/config/set.mdx
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ---
 title: stack config set
-description: Set a configuration value by dot-path
+description: "Set a configuration value by dot-path"
 icon: Terminal
 ---
 
diff --git a/apps/docs/content/docs/cli/debug/index.mdx b/apps/docs/content/docs/cli/debug/index.mdx
index 5ded9b83..f116ca74 100644
--- a/apps/docs/content/docs/cli/debug/index.mdx
+++ b/apps/docs/content/docs/cli/debug/index.mdx
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ---
 title: stack debug
-description: Run stackpanel from source via 'go run'
+description: "Run stackpanel from source via 'go run'"
 icon: Terminal
 ---
 
diff --git a/apps/docs/content/docs/cli/setup.mdx b/apps/docs/content/docs/cli/setup.mdx
index 82b6ccdf..2097d3a3 100644
--- a/apps/docs/content/docs/cli/setup.mdx
+++ b/apps/docs/content/docs/cli/setup.mdx
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ---
 title: stack setup
-description: Reconcile the project - report, confirm, apply
+description: "Reconcile the project: report, confirm, apply"
 icon: Terminal
 ---
 
diff --git a/apps/docs/content/docs/reference/caddy.mdx b/apps/docs/content/docs/reference/caddy.mdx
index 3962fbbf..77c0f2b8 100644
--- a/apps/docs/content/docs/reference/caddy.mdx
+++ b/apps/docs/content/docs/reference/caddy.mdx
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ Stable port for Caddy. If null, computed from project-name.
 
 Top-level domain for virtual hosts.
 
-Virtual hosts use the format: .. For example, with project "myapp" and tld "localhost":
+Virtual hosts use the format: \<app\>.\<project\>.\<tld\> For example, with project "myapp" and tld "localhost":
 
 Change to "lan" or "local" for custom DNS setups.
 
diff --git a/apps/docs/content/docs/reference/modules.mdx b/apps/docs/content/docs/reference/modules.mdx
index 0dc1b7d8..875e8cca 100644
--- a/apps/docs/content/docs/reference/modules.mdx
+++ b/apps/docs/content/docs/reference/modules.mdx
@@ -312,7 +312,7 @@ Flake URL (e.g., "github:author/my-module")
 
 ## `modules.<name>.healthcheckModule`
 
-Name of the doctor module that provides health checks for this module. This links to stackpanel.doctor.<name>.
+Name of the doctor module that provides health checks for this module. This links to stackpanel.doctor.\<name\>.
 
 | Property | Value |
 |----------|-------|
diff --git a/apps/docs/content/docs/reference/outputs.mdx b/apps/docs/content/docs/reference/outputs.mdx
index 3332c4b2..16b0c78e 100644
--- a/apps/docs/content/docs/reference/outputs.mdx
+++ b/apps/docs/content/docs/reference/outputs.mdx
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ Output derivations to expose.
 
 These will be available as:
 
-Example: stackpanel.outputs = \{ my-docs = pkgs.runCommand "docs" \{\} "..."; my-script = pkgs.writeShellScriptBin "foo" "..."; # Grouped packages (available via nix run .#scripts.) scripts = \{ foo = pkgs.writeShellScriptBin "foo" "..."; \}; \};
+Example: stackpanel.outputs = \{ my-docs = pkgs.runCommand "docs" \{\} "..."; my-script = pkgs.writeShellScriptBin "foo" "..."; # Grouped packages (available via nix run .#scripts.\<name\>) scripts = \{ foo = pkgs.writeShellScriptBin "foo" "..."; \}; \};
 
 | Property | Value |
 |----------|-------|
diff --git a/apps/docs/content/docs/reference/panels.mdx b/apps/docs/content/docs/reference/panels.mdx
index ab57987f..885c563c 100644
--- a/apps/docs/content/docs/reference/panels.mdx
+++ b/apps/docs/content/docs/reference/panels.mdx
@@ -187,7 +187,7 @@ Help text shown below the field
 
 ## `panels.<name>.fields.*.editPath`
 
-Dot-separated path within the app's config for writes. E.g., "go.mainPackage" tells the agent to patch apps..go.mainPackage in the data file.
+Dot-separated path within the app's config for writes. E.g., "go.mainPackage" tells the agent to patch apps.\<appId\>.go.mainPackage in the data file.
 
 | Property | Value |
 |----------|-------|
diff --git a/apps/docs/content/docs/reference/variables-backend.mdx b/apps/docs/content/docs/reference/variables-backend.mdx
index 4e072373..7f4545cb 100644
--- a/apps/docs/content/docs/reference/variables-backend.mdx
+++ b/apps/docs/content/docs/reference/variables-backend.mdx
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ Secret storage backend. This is the single source of truth that controls how sec
 
 Chamber service prefix. The full chamber service path is: \{service-prefix\}/\{env\}
 
-For example, with prefix "darkmatter/stackpanel" and a variable /dev/DATABASE_URL: chamber write darkmatter/stackpanel/dev DATABASE_URL  chamber exec darkmatter/stackpanel/dev --
+For example, with prefix "darkmatter/stackpanel" and a variable /dev/DATABASE_URL: chamber write darkmatter/stackpanel/dev DATABASE_URL \<value\> chamber exec darkmatter/stackpanel/dev -- \<command\>
 
 Defaults to "\{owner\}/\{repo\}" when project owner/repo are configured, otherwise falls back to the project name.
 
diff --git a/apps/stackpanel-go/internal/docgen/cli.go b/apps/stackpanel-go/internal/docgen/cli.go
index 8a120f12..b1bcf05b 100644
--- a/apps/stackpanel-go/internal/docgen/cli.go
+++ b/apps/stackpanel-go/internal/docgen/cli.go
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ import (
 // Cobra command data.
 type CLICommandView struct {
 	Title            string
-	Description      string
+	Description      string // YAML-escaped, frontmatter only
 	Long             string
 	Usage            string
 	Aliases          []string
@@ -140,11 +140,21 @@ func GenerateCLIDocs(rootCmd *cobra.Command, outputDir string) error {
 // escapeMDX escapes characters that MDX would interpret as JSX ({, }, <, >).
 // Content inside fenced code blocks and inline code spans is left untouched
 // since MDX treats those as literal text. Already-escaped sequences (preceded
-// by backslash) are also preserved to avoid double-escaping.
+// by backslash) are also preserved to avoid double-escaping. Leading YAML
+// frontmatter is copied verbatim: it is parsed as YAML, not MDX, and `\{` or
+// `\<` inside a double-quoted YAML string is an invalid escape sequence.
 func escapeMDX(text string) string {
 	var result strings.Builder
 	result.Grow(len(text))
 
+	if rest, ok := strings.CutPrefix(text, "---\n"); ok {
+		if end := strings.Index(rest, "\n---\n"); end != -1 {
+			frontmatterLen := len("---\n") + end + len("\n---\n")
+			result.WriteString(text[:frontmatterLen])
+			text = text[frontmatterLen:]
+		}
+	}
+
 	lines := strings.Split(text, "\n")
 	inFencedBlock := false
 
@@ -275,7 +285,7 @@ func generateCommandDocs(
 	// Create view
 	view := CLICommandView{
 		Title:            fmt.Sprintf("%s %s", cliName, pathPrefix),
-		Description:      cmd.Short,
+		Description:      escapeYAMLString(cmd.Short),
 		Long:             long,
 		Usage:            usage,
 		Aliases:          cmd.Aliases,
diff --git a/apps/stackpanel-go/internal/docgen/convert.go b/apps/stackpanel-go/internal/docgen/convert.go
index 57c2fe51..06495159 100644
--- a/apps/stackpanel-go/internal/docgen/convert.go
+++ b/apps/stackpanel-go/internal/docgen/convert.go
@@ -51,6 +51,14 @@ func mdNodeText(n ast.Node, source []byte) string {
 					buf.Write(t.Segment.Value(source))
 				}
 			}
+		case *ast.RawHTML:
+			// Keep inline HTML as literal text. Option descriptions are written
+			// for renderers with HTML disabled (nixos-render-docs), so `<name>`
+			// is a placeholder, not a tag. escapeMDX escapes it on write.
+			for i := 0; i < v.Segments.Len(); i++ {
+				seg := v.Segments.At(i)
+				buf.Write(seg.Value(source))
+			}
 		default:
 			// Recurse for other inline nodes (emphasis, strong, links, etc.)
 			buf.WriteString(mdNodeText(c, source))
@@ -314,16 +322,16 @@ func concatenateDocsToMdx(docs []ParsedDoc) string {
 func escapeYAMLString(s string) string {
 	needsQuotes := strings.ContainsAny(s, `:{}[]&*#?|-<>=!%@\'"`)
 	if needsQuotes {
-		escaped := strings.ReplaceAll(s, `"`, `\"`)
+		escaped := strings.NewReplacer(`\`, `\\`, `"`, `\"`).Replace(s)
 		return `"` + escaped + `"`
 	}
 	return s
 }
 
-// formatDescription sanitizes an option description that may contain docbook/XML
-// remnants from nixosOptionsDoc. Parses as markdown via goldmark and extracts
-// clean text, which transparently drops any inline HTML tags while preserving
-// code blocks and list structure.
+// formatDescription flattens an option description from nixosOptionsDoc
+// (CommonMark) into text for a reference page by parsing it with goldmark.
+// Angle-bracket placeholders such as `<name>` survive as literal text (see
+// mdNodeText); the page-level escapeMDX pass makes them safe for MDX.
 func formatDescription(desc string) string {
 	if desc == "" {
 		return "_No description provided._"
diff --git a/apps/stackpanel-go/internal/docgen/docgen_test.go b/apps/stackpanel-go/internal/docgen/docgen_test.go
index 0d7f8b67..f44298fb 100644
--- a/apps/stackpanel-go/internal/docgen/docgen_test.go
+++ b/apps/stackpanel-go/internal/docgen/docgen_test.go
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import (
 	"testing"
 
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
+	"gopkg.in/yaml.v3"
 )
 
 func TestModuleFromDeclaration(t *testing.T) {
@@ -307,9 +308,9 @@ func TestFormatDescription(t *testing.T) {
 			expected: "Enable the service",
 		},
 		{
-			name:     "with xml tags",
+			name:     "tag-like text is kept literally, not stripped",
 			input:    "Enable <literal>foo</literal> service",
-			expected: "Enable foo service",
+			expected: "Enable <literal>foo</literal> service",
 		},
 		{
 			name:     "with whitespace",
@@ -875,6 +876,74 @@ Example:
 	}
 }
 
+// TestGenerateOptionsDocsEscapesPlaceholders covers stackpanel-thq.23: an option
+// description containing `<name>` must reach the written page escaped, not
+// dropped (the old output) and not bare (which breaks the MDX build).
+func TestGenerateOptionsDocsEscapesPlaceholders(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	optionsPath := filepath.Join(dir, "options.json")
+	optionsJSON := `{
+  "stackpanel.modules.<name>.healthcheckModule": {
+    "declarations": [],
+    "description": "Name of the doctor module that provides health checks for this module.\nThis links to stackpanel.doctor.<name>.\n",
+    "loc": ["stackpanel", "modules", "<name>", "healthcheckModule"],
+    "readOnly": false,
+    "type": "null or string"
+  }
+}`
+	if err := os.WriteFile(optionsPath, []byte(optionsJSON), 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	outDir := filepath.Join(dir, "reference")
+	if err := generateOptionsDocs(optionsPath, outDir, filepath.Join(dir, "internal")); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("generateOptionsDocs failed: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	content, err := os.ReadFile(filepath.Join(outDir, "modules.mdx"))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("failed to read modules.mdx: %v", err)
+	}
+	s := string(content)
+
+	if !strings.Contains(s, `This links to stackpanel.doctor.\<name\>.`) {
+		t.Errorf("expected the <name> placeholder escaped in the description, got:\n%s", s)
+	}
+	// Inline code is literal in MDX, so the heading must stay unescaped.
+	if !strings.Contains(s, "## `modules.<name>.healthcheckModule`") {
+		t.Errorf("expected the option heading unchanged, got:\n%s", s)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestGenerateCLIDocsFrontmatterIsValidYAML: a command's Short lands in the
+// page frontmatter, which the docs build parses as YAML, not MDX.
+func TestGenerateCLIDocsFrontmatterIsValidYAML(t *testing.T) {
+	outputDir := t.TempDir()
+	short := `Reconcile the project: apply {changes} under C:\work`
+	rootCmd := &cobra.Command{Use: "testcli", Short: "Test CLI"}
+	rootCmd.AddCommand(&cobra.Command{Use: "setup", Short: short})
+
+	if err := GenerateCLIDocs(rootCmd, outputDir); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("GenerateCLIDocs failed: %v", err)
+	}
+	content, err := os.ReadFile(filepath.Join(outputDir, "setup.mdx"))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("failed to read setup.mdx: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	parts := strings.SplitN(string(content), "---\n", 3)
+	if len(parts) != 3 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected a frontmatter block, got:\n%s", content)
+	}
+	var fm struct{ Description string }
+	if err := yaml.Unmarshal([]byte(parts[1]), &fm); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("frontmatter is not valid YAML: %v\n%s", err, parts[1])
+	}
+	if fm.Description != short {
+		t.Errorf("description = %q, want %q", fm.Description, short)
+	}
+}
+
 func TestIsSeparatorLine(t *testing.T) {
 	tests := []struct {
 		input    string