diff --git a/packages/core/perf/html-markdown.md b/packages/core/perf/html-markdown.md
index 82caec41c0d..5a8c56381ba 100644
--- a/packages/core/perf/html-markdown.md
+++ b/packages/core/perf/html-markdown.md
@@ -17,16 +17,28 @@ Replace Turndown and Domino in V2 Core only when an htmlparser2 event renderer p
 
 ## Experiment Log
 
-| Experiment | Hypothesis | Before | After | Decision |
-| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
-| Event renderer | Avoiding Domino's DOM lowers conversion cost while retaining semantics. | Turndown 4.23 MiB/s median (72.55 ms, 66.93-109.75) | Candidate 10.12 MiB/s median (30.32 ms, 22.29-83.55) | Keep: 2.39x throughput |
-| Safe fences | Fence length derived from code content prevents embedded backticks from closing blocks. | Turndown emitted triple fences around embedded triples | Candidate expands to four backticks | Keep |
-| Tables | Row/cell events retain tabular relationships better than flattened cell blocks. | Turndown flattened cells | Candidate emits GFM-readable tables | Keep |
-| Malformed inline blocks | Delimiters spanning implied block closes produce malformed Markdown. | Candidate left open emphasis | Candidate drops the delimiter and preserves visible text | Keep |
+| Experiment              | Hypothesis                                                                                                                    | Before                                                                       | After                                                                                                                                               | Decision               |
+| ----------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------- |
+| Event renderer          | Avoiding Domino's DOM lowers conversion cost while retaining semantics.                                                       | Turndown 4.75 MiB/s median (64.60 ms, 62.51-76.02)                           | Candidate 19.28 MiB/s median (15.92 ms, 14.51-20.58)                                                                                                | Keep: 4.06x throughput |
+| Safe fences             | Choosing the shorter bounded backtick or tilde fence prevents embedded markers from closing blocks without amplifying output. | Turndown emitted triple fences around embedded triples                       | Candidate chooses the shorter marker and accounts for the full quoted fence within the content budget                                               | Keep                   |
+| Tables                  | Row/cell events retain tabular relationships better than flattened cell blocks.                                               | Turndown flattened cells                                                     | Candidate emits GFM-readable tables                                                                                                                 | Keep                   |
+| Malformed inline blocks | Delimiters spanning implied block closes produce malformed Markdown.                                                          | Candidate left open emphasis                                                 | Candidate drops the delimiter and preserves visible text                                                                                            | Keep                   |
+| Regex depth prepass     | A whole-input tag regex can backtrack quadratically on repeated malformed prefixes.                                           | 2 MiB `<a` input exceeded 120 seconds                                        | Single chunked htmlparser2 pass handles 5 MiB in 37.47 ms                                                                                           | Keep                   |
+| Output budget           | Escaping and fence selection must not amplify a response beyond webfetch's input ceiling.                                     | Escapable prose could nearly double; backtick fences were unbounded          | Output is capped at 5 MiB during writes; buffered tables refund captured bytes; inline/table/code constructs reserve closers or truncate atomically | Keep                   |
+| Depth fallback          | Parser-depth limits must not leave suppressed or preformatted state active.                                                   | Depth cutoff could leak suppressed content or swallow following visible text | Fallback tracks suppressed/omitted depth and clears code capture before text degradation                                                            | Keep                   |
+| Real-site structure     | Purpose-built output must preserve documentation semantics rather than merely look Markdown-like.                             | Wikipedia/RFC tables and definition lists collapsed or parsed as paragraphs  | Captions separate from tables, spans use row fallback, dl/dt/dd emit readable boundaries, hidden/head/closed-details content is suppressed          | Keep                   |
 
 ## Evaluation
 
-Temporary snapshots from Example Domain, MDN's table reference, Python asyncio documentation, RFC 9110, and W3C's forms tutorial were evaluated on 2026-08-12. Candidate output retained the same heading counts on four sites and one additional visible MDN heading, the same link counts on three sites, two additional Python links, and the same fenced-code counts where Turndown recognized fences. Candidate output was 0-3.6% smaller; tables and preformatted code were more explicit. Snapshots and generated output are not committed.
+Temporary snapshots from Wikipedia's Markdown article, MDN's table reference, Python asyncio documentation, RFC 9110, and W3C's forms tutorial were evaluated on 2026-08-13. Candidate output retained identical heading counts on all five sites, identical link counts on MDN/RFC, and 1-12 additional links on Python/W3C/Wikipedia. Candidate output was 0.6-2.5% smaller. Lists remained readable while counts differed because continuation paragraphs are indented rather than misclassified as new items. Tables and preformatted code were more explicit. Snapshots and generated output are not committed.
+
+Adversarial inputs were run in fresh processes with `/usr/bin/time -l`:
+
+| Input                            | 1 MiB runtime / RSS | 5 MiB runtime / RSS | 5 MiB output |
+| -------------------------------- | ------------------: | ------------------: | -----------: |
+| Repeated malformed `<a` prefixes |  11.09 ms / 58.5 MB |  37.47 ms / 62.8 MB |          0 B |
+| Escapable `*` prose              |  77.07 ms / 71.6 MB | 368.25 ms / 97.7 MB |  5,242,878 B |
+| Backtick-heavy `<pre>`           |  18.28 ms / 84.5 MB | 53.88 ms / 117.8 MB |  5,242,877 B |
 
 The minified isolated evaluation bundle containing Turndown, Domino, htmlparser2, and both renderers was 311,557 bytes (98,680 gzip). The candidate renderer with htmlparser2 was 61,293 bytes (26,922 gzip). Installed Turndown plus Domino occupied 9,028 KiB; htmlparser2 was already required by Core.
 
diff --git a/packages/core/src/tool/html-markdown.ts b/packages/core/src/tool/html-markdown.ts
index 5b204b9d957..1b04235e9a8 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/tool/html-markdown.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/tool/html-markdown.ts
@@ -23,46 +23,104 @@ const blocks = new Set([
 ])
 
 type Frame = {
-  tag: string
   suppressed: boolean
   link?: { href: string; title?: string }
-  marker?: { index: number; block: number; value: string }
+  previousLink?: Frame["link"]
+  suspendedLink?: Frame["link"]
+  marker?: { index: number; block: number; leadingSpace?: boolean; previous?: Frame["marker"] }
   code?: { inline: boolean; text: string; language?: string }
-  list?: { ordered: boolean; next: number }
-  table?: { cells: number; header: boolean; rows: number }
+  list?: { ordered: boolean; next: number; previous?: Frame["list"] }
+  item?: { indent: string; previous?: Frame["item"] }
+  table?: {
+    start: number
+    rows: string[][]
+    row?: string[]
+    caption?: string
+    fallback: boolean
+    previous?: Frame["table"]
+  }
   cell?: { start: number }
+  caption?: { start: number }
+  details?: { open: boolean; summary: boolean; previous?: Frame["details"] }
 }
 
+type Chunk = string | { raw: string }
+
+export const MAX_MARKDOWN_BYTES = 5 * 1024 * 1024
+const CONTENT_BYTES = MAX_MARKDOWN_BYTES - 64 * 1024
+
 export function convertHTMLToMarkdown(html: string) {
-  if (hasPathologicalDepth(html)) return extractPathologicalText(html)
-  const output: string[] = []
+  const output: Chunk[] = []
   const stack: Frame[] = []
+  const encoder = new TextEncoder()
   let pendingSpace = false
+  let pendingIndent = ""
   let last = ""
   let quoteDepth = 0
   let needsQuotePrefix = false
   let blockCount = 0
-  let listDepth = 0
+  let depth = 0
+  let stopped = false
+  let outputBytes = 0
   let activeCode: NonNullable<Frame["code"]> | undefined
+  let activeLink: Frame["link"] | undefined
+  let linkOpen = false
+  let activeMarker: Frame["marker"] | undefined
+  let activeList: Frame["list"] | undefined
+  let activeItem: Frame["item"] | undefined
   let activeTable: NonNullable<Frame["table"]> | undefined
+  let activeCell: Frame["cell"] | undefined
   let tableDepth = 0
-  const raw: string[] = []
+  let fallbackSuppressedDepth = 0
+  let fallbackOmittedDepth = 0
+  let activeDetails: Frame["details"] | undefined
 
-  const append = (value: string) => {
-    if (!value) return
-    output.push(value)
-    last = value.at(-1) ?? last
+  const sliceBytes = (value: string, bytes: number) => {
+    if (encoder.encode(value).byteLength <= bytes) return value
+    const characters = Array.from(value)
+    let low = 0
+    let high = characters.length
+    while (low < high) {
+      const middle = Math.ceil((low + high) / 2)
+      if (encoder.encode(characters.slice(0, middle).join("")).byteLength <= bytes) low = middle
+      else high = middle - 1
+    }
+    return characters.slice(0, low).join("")
+  }
+  const append = (value: string, content = false) => {
+    const limit = content ? CONTENT_BYTES : MAX_MARKDOWN_BYTES
+    if (!value || outputBytes >= limit) return
+    const bytes = encoder.encode(value)
+    const remaining = limit - outputBytes
+    const next = bytes.byteLength <= remaining ? value : sliceBytes(value, remaining)
+    output.push(next)
+    outputBytes += encoder.encode(next).byteLength
+    last = next.at(-1) ?? last
+  }
+  const appendRaw = (value: string) => {
+    const before = output.length
+    append(value)
+    if (output.length > before) output[output.length - 1] = { raw: output[output.length - 1] as string }
+  }
+  const take = (start: number) => {
+    const chunks = output.splice(start)
+    const value = chunks.map((chunk) => (typeof chunk === "string" ? chunk : chunk.raw)).join("")
+    outputBytes -= encoder.encode(value).byteLength
+    return value
   }
   const prefixQuote = () => {
-    if (!needsQuotePrefix || quoteDepth === 0) return
+    if (!needsQuotePrefix || quoteDepth === 0 || activeCell) return
     append(`${"> ".repeat(Math.min(8, quoteDepth))}`)
     needsQuotePrefix = false
   }
   const flushSpace = () => {
     if (!pendingSpace) return
-    const marker = stack.at(-1)?.marker
+    const marker = activeMarker
     if (marker && output.length === marker.index + 1 && last !== " " && last !== "\n") {
-      output[marker.index] = ` ${output[marker.index]}`
+      const value = output[marker.index]
+      if (typeof value === "string") output[marker.index] = ` ${value}`
+      outputBytes++
+      marker.leadingSpace = true
       pendingSpace = false
       return
     }
@@ -72,13 +130,33 @@ export function convertHTMLToMarkdown(html: string) {
   const inline = (value: string, open = false) => {
     if (open) flushSpace()
     prefixQuote()
+    if (pendingIndent) {
+      append(pendingIndent)
+      pendingIndent = ""
+    }
+    if (activeLink && !linkOpen) {
+      append("[")
+      linkOpen = true
+    }
     append(value)
   }
   const block = () => {
+    if (activeLink && linkOpen) {
+      append(`](${destination(activeLink.href)}${title(activeLink.title)})`)
+      linkOpen = false
+    }
     pendingSpace = false
     append("\n\n")
     blockCount++
     needsQuotePrefix = quoteDepth > 0
+    pendingIndent = activeItem?.indent ?? ""
+  }
+  const suspendLink = (frame: Frame) => {
+    if (!activeLink) return
+    frame.suspendedLink = activeLink
+    block()
+    activeLink = undefined
+    linkOpen = false
   }
   const text = (value: string) => {
     if (activeCode) {
@@ -93,52 +171,120 @@ export function convertHTMLToMarkdown(html: string) {
       }
       flushSpace()
       prefixQuote()
-      append(
-        part
-          .replace(/([\\`*_[\]<>|])/g, "\\$1")
-          .replace(/~/g, "\\~")
-          .replace(/^([#+-])/, "\\$1")
-          .replace(/^(\d+)\./, "$1\\."),
-      )
+      if (pendingIndent) {
+        append(pendingIndent)
+        pendingIndent = ""
+      }
+      if (activeLink && !linkOpen) {
+        append("[")
+        linkOpen = true
+      }
+      const escaped = part
+        .replace(/([\\`*_[\]<>|])/g, "\\$1")
+        .replace(/~/g, "\\~")
+        .replace(/^([#+-])/, "\\$1")
+        .replace(/^(\d+)\./, "$1\\.")
+      append(escaped, true)
     }
   }
   const destination = (value: string) => value.replace(/([\\()])/g, "\\$1").replace(/[\t\n\r ]+/g, "%20")
-  const title = (value: string | undefined) => (value ? ` "${value.replace(/([\\"])/g, "\\$1")}"` : "")
+  const title = (value: string | undefined) =>
+    value
+      ? ` "${value
+          .replace(/[\t\n\r ]+/g, " ")
+          .trim()
+          .replace(/([\\"])/g, "\\$1")}"`
+      : ""
   const finishCode = (code: NonNullable<Frame["code"]>) => {
-    let longest = 0
-    let current = 0
+    let backticks = 0
+    let tildes = 0
+    let currentBackticks = 0
+    let currentTildes = 0
     for (const character of code.text) {
-      current = character === "`" ? current + 1 : 0
-      longest = Math.max(longest, current)
+      currentBackticks = character === "`" ? currentBackticks + 1 : 0
+      currentTildes = character === "~" ? currentTildes + 1 : 0
+      backticks = Math.max(backticks, currentBackticks)
+      tildes = Math.max(tildes, currentTildes)
     }
-    const fence = "`".repeat(Math.max(code.inline ? 1 : 3, longest + 1))
     if (code.inline) {
+      const fence = "`".repeat(Math.max(1, backticks + 1))
       const padding = /^ | $/.test(code.text) && !/^ +$/.test(code.text) ? " " : ""
       flushSpace()
-      inline(`${fence}${padding}${code.text}${padding}${fence}`)
+      const wrapper = encoder.encode(`${fence}${padding}${padding}${fence}`).byteLength
+      appendRaw(
+        `${fence}${padding}${sliceBytes(code.text, Math.max(0, CONTENT_BYTES - outputBytes - wrapper))}${padding}${fence}`,
+      )
       return
     }
+    if (activeCell) {
+      text(code.text)
+      return
+    }
+    const marker = backticks <= tildes ? "`" : "~"
+    const length = Math.max(3, (marker === "`" ? backticks : tildes) + 1)
+    const fence = marker.repeat(length)
     block()
-    const value = `${fence}${code.language ?? ""}\n${code.text}${code.text.endsWith("\n") ? "" : "\n"}${fence}`
-    const quoted = quoteDepth > 0 ? value.replace(/^/gm, `${"> ".repeat(Math.min(8, quoteDepth))}`) : value
-    const placeholder = `\u0000${raw.length}\u0000`
-    raw.push(quoted)
-    append(placeholder)
-    block()
+    const prefix = `${fence}${code.language ?? ""}\n`
+    const quote = quoteDepth > 0 ? `${"> ".repeat(Math.min(8, quoteDepth))}` : ""
+    const closing = `${code.text.endsWith("\n") ? "" : "\n"}${fence}`
+    let payload = code.text
+    for (;;) {
+      const candidate = `${prefix}${payload}${payload.endsWith("\n") ? "" : "\n"}${fence}`
+      const value = quote ? candidate.replace(/^/gm, quote) : candidate
+      const valueBytes = encoder.encode(value).byteLength
+      if (outputBytes + valueBytes <= CONTENT_BYTES) {
+        appendRaw(value)
+        block()
+        return
+      }
+      const excess = valueBytes - Math.max(0, CONTENT_BYTES - outputBytes)
+      payload = sliceBytes(payload, Math.max(0, encoder.encode(payload).byteLength - Math.ceil(excess)))
+    }
   }
 
   const parser = new Parser({
     onopentag(name, attributes) {
+      depth++
+      if (depth > 10_000) {
+        if (stack.at(-1)?.suppressed) {
+          const visibleParent = stack.findLastIndex((frame) => !frame.suppressed)
+          fallbackSuppressedDepth = visibleParent + 2
+        }
+        activeCode = undefined
+        stopped = true
+      }
+      if (stopped) {
+        if (omitted.has(name)) fallbackOmittedDepth++
+        else pendingSpace = true
+        return
+      }
       const suppressed = (stack.at(-1)?.suppressed ?? false) || omitted.has(name)
-      const frame: Frame = { tag: name, suppressed }
+      const frame: Frame = { suppressed }
+      const hidden = "hidden" in attributes || attributes["aria-hidden"]?.toLowerCase() === "true" || name === "head"
+      const details = activeDetails
+      if (hidden || (details && !details.open && !details.summary && name !== "summary")) frame.suppressed = true
       stack.push(frame)
-      if (suppressed) return
+      if (frame.suppressed) return
 
       if (activeCode && !activeCode.inline) {
-        if (name === "code" && attributes.class) activeCode.language = attributes.class.match(/(?:language-|lang-)([^\s]+)/)?.[1]
+        if (name === "br") activeCode.text += "\n"
+        if (name === "code" && attributes.class)
+          activeCode.language = attributes.class.match(/(?:language-|lang-)([^\s]+)/)?.[1]
+        return
+      }
+      if (name === "details") {
+        frame.details = { open: "open" in attributes, summary: false, previous: activeDetails }
+        activeDetails = frame.details
+        block()
+        return
+      }
+      if (name === "summary") {
+        if (details) details.summary = true
+        block()
         return
       }
       if (name === "pre") {
+        suspendLink(frame)
         frame.code = { inline: false, text: "" }
         activeCode = frame.code
         return
@@ -154,6 +300,7 @@ export function convertHTMLToMarkdown(html: string) {
         return
       }
       if (blocks.has(name)) {
+        suspendLink(frame)
         if (name === "p" && last === " ") return
         block()
         return
@@ -172,52 +319,71 @@ export function convertHTMLToMarkdown(html: string) {
       }
       if (name === "strong" || name === "b") {
         inline("**", true)
-        frame.marker = { index: output.length - 1, block: blockCount, value: "**" }
+        frame.marker = { index: output.length - 1, block: blockCount, previous: activeMarker }
+        activeMarker = frame.marker
         return
       }
       if (name === "em" || name === "i") {
         inline("*", true)
-        frame.marker = { index: output.length - 1, block: blockCount, value: "*" }
+        frame.marker = { index: output.length - 1, block: blockCount, previous: activeMarker }
+        activeMarker = frame.marker
         return
       }
       if (name === "s" || name === "strike" || name === "del") {
         inline("~~", true)
-        frame.marker = { index: output.length - 1, block: blockCount, value: "~~" }
+        frame.marker = { index: output.length - 1, block: blockCount, previous: activeMarker }
+        activeMarker = frame.marker
         return
       }
       if (name === "a") {
         frame.link = { href: attributes.href ?? "", title: attributes.title }
-        return inline(`[`, true)
+        frame.previousLink = activeLink
+        activeLink = frame.link
+        linkOpen = true
+        return inline("[", true)
       }
       if (name === "img") {
-        inline(`![${(attributes.alt ?? "").replace(/([\\\]])/g, "\\$1")}](${destination(attributes.src ?? "")}${title(attributes.title)})`, true)
+        const alt = (attributes.alt ?? "").replace(/([\\\]])/g, "\\$1")
+        const close = `](${destination(attributes.src ?? "")}${title(attributes.title)})`
+        const open = "!["
+        const available = CONTENT_BYTES - outputBytes - encoder.encode(open + close).byteLength
+        inline(`${open}${sliceBytes(alt, Math.max(0, available))}${close}`, true)
         return
       }
       if (name === "blockquote") {
+        suspendLink(frame)
         block()
         quoteDepth++
         needsQuotePrefix = true
         return
       }
       if (name === "ul" || name === "ol") {
-        frame.list = { ordered: name === "ol", next: Number.parseInt(attributes.start ?? "1") || 1 }
-        listDepth++
+        suspendLink(frame)
+        const start = Number.parseInt(attributes.start ?? "1")
+        frame.list = { ordered: name === "ol", next: Number.isNaN(start) ? 1 : start, previous: activeList }
+        activeList = frame.list
         block()
         return
       }
       if (name === "li") {
         block()
-        const list = stack.findLast((item) => item.list)?.list
-        const marker = list?.ordered ? `${list.next++}.` : "-"
-        inline(`${"  ".repeat(Math.min(8, Math.max(0, listDepth - 1)))}${marker} `)
+        const value = Number.parseInt(attributes.value ?? "")
+        if (activeList?.ordered && !Number.isNaN(value)) activeList.next = value
+        const marker = activeList?.ordered ? `${activeList.next++}.` : "-"
+        const prefix = `${(activeItem?.indent ?? "").slice(0, 24)}${marker} `
+        frame.item = { indent: " ".repeat(prefix.length), previous: activeItem }
+        activeItem = frame.item
+        pendingIndent = ""
+        inline(prefix)
         return
       }
       if (name === "table") {
+        suspendLink(frame)
         tableDepth++
         if (tableDepth === 1) {
-          frame.table = { cells: 0, header: false, rows: 0 }
-          activeTable = frame.table
           block()
+          frame.table = { start: output.length, rows: [], fallback: false, previous: activeTable }
+          activeTable = frame.table
         } else pendingSpace = true
         return
       }
@@ -226,13 +392,7 @@ export function convertHTMLToMarkdown(html: string) {
           pendingSpace = true
           return
         }
-        const table = activeTable
-        pendingSpace = false
-        if (table && table.rows > 0) {
-          append("\n")
-          needsQuotePrefix = quoteDepth > 0
-        }
-        inline("|")
+        if (activeTable) activeTable.row = []
         return
       }
       if (name === "th" || name === "td") {
@@ -240,28 +400,74 @@ export function convertHTMLToMarkdown(html: string) {
           pendingSpace = true
           return
         }
-        const table = activeTable
-        if (table) {
-          table.cells++
-          table.header ||= name === "th"
-        }
-        inline(" ")
+        if (attributes.colspan || attributes.rowspan) activeTable!.fallback = true
         frame.cell = { start: output.length }
+        activeCell = frame.cell
+        return
+      }
+      if (name === "caption") {
+        frame.caption = { start: output.length }
+        return
+      }
+      if (name === "dt") {
+        block()
+        inline("**")
+        return
+      }
+      if (name === "dd") {
+        inline("\n: ")
+        return
       }
     },
     ontext(value) {
+      if (stopped) {
+        if (fallbackSuppressedDepth === 0 && fallbackOmittedDepth === 0) text(value)
+        return
+      }
       if (stack.at(-1)?.suppressed) return
       text(value)
     },
     onclosetag(name) {
+      depth--
+      if (stopped) {
+        if (fallbackOmittedDepth > 0 && omitted.has(name)) fallbackOmittedDepth--
+        if (fallbackSuppressedDepth > 0 && depth < fallbackSuppressedDepth) fallbackSuppressedDepth = 0
+        return
+      }
       const frame = stack.pop()
       if (!frame || frame.suppressed) return
       if (frame.code) {
         activeCode = undefined
-        return finishCode(frame.code)
+        finishCode(frame.code)
+        if (frame.suspendedLink) activeLink = frame.suspendedLink
+        return
       }
-      if (name === "strong" || name === "b" || name === "em" || name === "i" || name === "s" || name === "strike" || name === "del") {
+      if (name === "summary") {
+        if (activeDetails) activeDetails.summary = false
+        return block()
+      }
+      if (name === "details") {
+        activeDetails = frame.details?.previous
+        return block()
+      }
+      if (name === "dt") {
+        inline("**")
+        return
+      }
+      if (name === "dd") return block()
+      if (
+        name === "strong" ||
+        name === "b" ||
+        name === "em" ||
+        name === "i" ||
+        name === "s" ||
+        name === "strike" ||
+        name === "del"
+      ) {
         const value = name === "strong" || name === "b" ? "**" : name === "em" || name === "i" ? "*" : "~~"
+        const trailingSpace = pendingSpace
+        pendingSpace = false
+        if (frame.marker) activeMarker = frame.marker.previous
         if (frame.marker && frame.marker.block !== blockCount) {
           output[frame.marker.index] = ""
           return
@@ -270,92 +476,117 @@ export function convertHTMLToMarkdown(html: string) {
           output[frame.marker.index] = ""
           return
         }
-        return inline(value)
+        inline(value)
+        pendingSpace = trailingSpace || frame.marker?.leadingSpace === true
+        return
       }
       if (name === "a") {
-        return inline(`](${destination(frame.link?.href ?? "")}${title(frame.link?.title)})`)
+        if (activeLink === frame.link || (!activeLink && frame.link)) {
+          activeLink = frame.link
+          if (linkOpen) append(`](${destination(frame.link?.href ?? "")}${title(frame.link?.title)})`)
+          else if (last && last !== "\n") append(`](${destination(frame.link?.href ?? "")}${title(frame.link?.title)})`)
+          linkOpen = false
+          activeLink = frame.previousLink
+        }
+        return
+      }
+      if (/^h[1-6]$/.test(name) || blocks.has(name)) {
+        block()
+        if (frame.suspendedLink) activeLink = frame.suspendedLink
+        return
       }
-      if (/^h[1-6]$/.test(name) || blocks.has(name)) return block()
       if (name === "blockquote") {
         quoteDepth--
+        block()
+        if (frame.suspendedLink) activeLink = frame.suspendedLink
+        return
+      }
+      if (name === "li") {
+        activeItem = frame.item?.previous
         return block()
       }
-      if (name === "li") return block()
       if (name === "ul" || name === "ol") {
-        listDepth--
-        return block()
+        activeList = frame.list?.previous
+        block()
+        if (frame.suspendedLink) activeLink = frame.suspendedLink
+        return
       }
       if ((name === "th" || name === "td") && tableDepth === 1) {
+        activeCell = undefined
         if (frame.cell) {
-          const value = output
-            .splice(frame.cell.start)
-            .join("")
+          const value = take(frame.cell.start)
             .replace(/[\t\r\n ]+/g, " ")
             .trim()
             .replace(/(?<!\\)\|/g, "\\|")
-          append(value)
+          activeTable?.row?.push(value)
         }
-        return inline(" |")
+        return
       }
       if (name === "tr") {
         if (tableDepth !== 1) return
-        const table = activeTable
-        if (table && table.rows === 0) {
-          inline("\n")
-          needsQuotePrefix = quoteDepth > 0
-          inline(`|${" --- |".repeat(table.cells)}`)
-        }
-        if (table) {
-          table.rows++
-          table.cells = 0
-        }
+        if (activeTable?.row) activeTable.rows.push(activeTable.row)
+        if (activeTable) activeTable.row = undefined
+        return
+      }
+      if (name === "caption" && frame.caption && activeTable) {
+        activeTable.caption = take(frame.caption.start)
+          .replace(/[\t\r\n ]+/g, " ")
+          .trim()
         return
       }
       if (name === "table") {
         tableDepth--
         if (tableDepth === 0) {
-          activeTable = undefined
-          return block()
+          const table = frame.table
+          activeTable = table?.previous
+          if (table) {
+            take(table.start)
+            const width = table.rows[0]?.length ?? 0
+            const rectangular = width > 0 && table.rows.every((row) => row.length === width)
+            if (table.caption) {
+              append(table.caption)
+              block()
+            }
+            if (!table.fallback && rectangular) {
+              const prefix = `${quoteDepth > 0 ? `${"> ".repeat(Math.min(8, quoteDepth))}` : ""}${pendingIndent}`
+              pendingIndent = ""
+              append(`${prefix}| ${table.rows[0].join(" | ")} |\n${prefix}|${" --- |".repeat(width)}`)
+              for (const row of table.rows.slice(1)) append(`\n${prefix}| ${row.join(" | ")} |`)
+            } else {
+              for (const [index, row] of table.rows.entries()) {
+                if (index > 0) block()
+                append(row.join(" | "))
+              }
+            }
+          }
+          block()
+          if (frame.suspendedLink) activeLink = frame.suspendedLink
+          return
         }
         pendingSpace = true
       }
     },
   })
-  parser.write(html)
+  for (let index = 0; index < html.length; index += 64 * 1024) parser.write(html.slice(index, index + 64 * 1024))
   parser.end()
-  return output
-    .join("")
-    .replace(/[ \t]+\n/g, (value) => (value.startsWith("  ") ? "  \n" : "\n"))
-    .replace(/\n{3,}/g, "\n\n")
-    .trim()
-    .replace(/\u0000(\d+)\u0000/g, (_, index) => raw[Number(index)] ?? "")
-}
 
-function hasPathologicalDepth(html: string) {
-  let depth = 0
-  for (const match of html.matchAll(/<\s*(\/)?\s*([a-z][\w:-]*)\b[^>]*>/gi)) {
-    if (match[1]) depth = Math.max(0, depth - 1)
-    else if (!/\/$/.test(match[0].slice(0, -1).trim()) && !["area", "base", "br", "col", "embed", "hr", "img", "input", "link", "meta", "source", "track", "wbr"].includes(match[2].toLowerCase())) depth++
-    if (depth > 10_000) return true
+  const normalized: string[] = []
+  let pendingText = ""
+  const flushText = () => {
+    if (!pendingText) return
+    normalized.push(
+      pendingText.replace(/[ \t]+\n/g, (space) => (space.startsWith("  ") ? "  \n" : "\n")).replace(/\n{3,}/g, "\n\n"),
+    )
+    pendingText = ""
   }
-  return false
-}
-
-function extractPathologicalText(html: string) {
-  let output = ""
-  let suppressed = 0
-  const parser = new Parser({
-    onopentag(name) {
-      if (suppressed > 0 || omitted.has(name)) suppressed++
-    },
-    ontext(value) {
-      if (suppressed === 0) output += value
-    },
-    onclosetag() {
-      if (suppressed > 0) suppressed--
-    },
-  })
-  parser.write(html.replace(/<\/?(?:[^>]+)>/g, (tag) => (omitted.has(tag.match(/^<\/?\s*([^\s/>]+)/)?.[1]?.toLowerCase() ?? "") ? tag : " ")))
-  parser.end()
-  return output.replace(/[\t\n\f\r ]+/g, " ").trim()
+  for (const chunk of output) {
+    if (typeof chunk !== "string") {
+      flushText()
+      normalized.push(chunk.raw)
+      continue
+    }
+    pendingText += chunk
+  }
+  flushText()
+  return sliceBytes(normalized.join("").trim(), MAX_MARKDOWN_BYTES)
 }
diff --git a/packages/core/src/tool/webfetch.ts b/packages/core/src/tool/webfetch.ts
index 5492a3679fb..70140ceed75 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/tool/webfetch.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/tool/webfetch.ts
@@ -5,13 +5,13 @@ import { Duration, Effect, Layer, Schema } from "effect"
 import { HttpClient, HttpClientRequest, HttpClientResponse } from "effect/unstable/http"
 import { Parser } from "htmlparser2"
 import { PermissionV2 } from "../permission"
-import { convertHTMLToMarkdown } from "./html-markdown"
+import { convertHTMLToMarkdown, MAX_MARKDOWN_BYTES } from "./html-markdown"
 import { collectBoundedResponseBody } from "./http-body"
 import { Tool } from "./tool"
 import { Tools } from "./tools"
 
 export const name = "webfetch"
-export const MAX_RESPONSE_BYTES = 5 * 1024 * 1024
+export const MAX_RESPONSE_BYTES = MAX_MARKDOWN_BYTES
 export const DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_SECONDS = 30
 export const MAX_TIMEOUT_SECONDS = 120
 
diff --git a/packages/core/test/tool-webfetch.test.ts b/packages/core/test/tool-webfetch.test.ts
index baa21d7f6a6..60e22b4fbbc 100644
--- a/packages/core/test/tool-webfetch.test.ts
+++ b/packages/core/test/tool-webfetch.test.ts
@@ -82,14 +82,14 @@ describe("WebFetchTool helpers", () => {
   test("preserves inline and preformatted code verbatim with safe fences", () => {
     const html = `<p>Use <code>say(\`hello\`)</code> now.</p><pre><code class="language-ts">const fence = \`\`\`\n&amp; stays decoded</code></pre>`
     expect(WebFetchTool.convertHTMLToMarkdown(html)).toBe(
-      `Use \`\`say(\`hello\`)\`\` now.\n\n\`\`\`\`ts\nconst fence = \`\`\`\n& stays decoded\n\`\`\`\``,
+      `Use \`\`say(\`hello\`)\`\` now.\n\n~~~ts\nconst fence = \`\`\`\n& stays decoded\n~~~`,
     )
   })
 
   test("keeps nested ordered and unordered lists structurally readable", () => {
     const html = `<ol start="3"><li>alpha<ul><li>nested <strong>item</strong></li></ul></li><li><p>beta first</p><p>beta second</p></li></ol>`
     expect(WebFetchTool.convertHTMLToMarkdown(html)).toBe(
-      `3. alpha\n\n  - nested **item**\n\n4. beta first\n\nbeta second`,
+      `3. alpha\n\n   - nested **item**\n\n4. beta first\n\n   beta second`,
     )
   })
 
@@ -146,16 +146,12 @@ describe("WebFetchTool helpers", () => {
   })
 
   test("keeps visible whitespace around inline emphasis", () => {
-    expect(WebFetchTool.convertHTMLToMarkdown(`<p>a<strong> b</strong> c a <em>b </em>c</p>`)).toBe(
-      `a **b** c a *b* c`,
-    )
+    expect(WebFetchTool.convertHTMLToMarkdown(`<p>a<strong> b</strong> c a <em>b </em>c</p>`)).toBe(`a **b** c a *b* c`)
   })
 
   test("normalizes multiline table cells without changing their columns", () => {
     const html = `<table><tr><td>x<br>y</td><td><code>a|b</code></td><td><p>first</p><p>second</p></td></tr></table>`
-    expect(WebFetchTool.convertHTMLToMarkdown(html)).toBe(
-      `| x y | \`a\\|b\` | first second |\n| --- | --- | --- |`,
-    )
+    expect(WebFetchTool.convertHTMLToMarkdown(html)).toBe(`| x y | \`a\\|b\` | first second |\n| --- | --- | --- |`)
   })
 
   test("flattens nested tables without corrupting the outer table", () => {
@@ -170,6 +166,172 @@ describe("WebFetchTool helpers", () => {
       `\\~\\~\\~\n\ncontent\n\n\\~\\~\\~`,
     )
   })
+
+  test("parses malformed tag prefixes in linear time without a regex prepass", () => {
+    const small = "<a".repeat(250_000)
+    const large = "<a".repeat(1_000_000)
+    const start = Bun.nanoseconds()
+    WebFetchTool.convertHTMLToMarkdown(small)
+    const smallDuration = Bun.nanoseconds() - start
+    const next = Bun.nanoseconds()
+    WebFetchTool.convertHTMLToMarkdown(large)
+    const largeDuration = Bun.nanoseconds() - next
+    expect(largeDuration).toBeLessThan(smallDuration * 10)
+  })
+
+  test("caps escaped prose and backtick-heavy pre output at the webfetch response ceiling", () => {
+    const prose = `<p>${"*".repeat(WebFetchTool.MAX_RESPONSE_BYTES)}</p>`
+    const code = `<pre>${"`".repeat(WebFetchTool.MAX_RESPONSE_BYTES - 11)}</pre>`
+    const proseOutput = WebFetchTool.convertHTMLToMarkdown(prose)
+    const codeOutput = WebFetchTool.convertHTMLToMarkdown(code)
+    expect(Buffer.byteLength(proseOutput)).toBeLessThanOrEqual(WebFetchTool.MAX_RESPONSE_BYTES)
+    expect(Buffer.byteLength(codeOutput)).toBeLessThanOrEqual(WebFetchTool.MAX_RESPONSE_BYTES)
+    expect(codeOutput.startsWith("~~~\n")).toBe(true)
+  })
+
+  test("does not confuse source NUL text with buffered code", () => {
+    expect(WebFetchTool.convertHTMLToMarkdown(`<p>before \u00000\u0000 after</p><pre>code</pre>`)).toBe(
+      `before \u00000\u0000 after\n\n\`\`\`\ncode\n\`\`\``,
+    )
+  })
+
+  test("preserves multiline inline code verbatim", () => {
+    expect(WebFetchTool.convertHTMLToMarkdown(`<p><code>first\n\n\nsecond  </code></p>`)).toBe(
+      "` first\n\n\nsecond   `",
+    )
+  })
+
+  test("indents nested list continuations and preserves ordered numbering", () => {
+    const html = `<ol start="0"><li value="4"><p>first</p><p>continued</p><ul><li><p>nested</p><p>continued nested</p></li></ul></li><li>next</li></ol>`
+    expect(WebFetchTool.convertHTMLToMarkdown(html)).toBe(
+      `4. first\n\n   continued\n\n   - nested\n\n     continued nested\n\n5. next`,
+    )
+  })
+
+  test("renders block content outside link syntax", () => {
+    expect(WebFetchTool.convertHTMLToMarkdown(`<a href="/docs">before<div>block</div>after</a>`)).toBe(
+      `[before](/docs)\n\nblock\n\n[after](/docs)`,
+    )
+  })
+
+  test("keeps emphasis whitespace through neutral wrappers", () => {
+    expect(WebFetchTool.convertHTMLToMarkdown(`<p>a<strong><span> bold</span></strong>c</p>`)).toBe(`a **bold** c`)
+  })
+
+  test("flattens preformatted content inside table cells", () => {
+    const html = `<table><tr><td><pre>a|b\nnext</pre></td><td><code>x|y</code></td></tr></table>`
+    expect(WebFetchTool.convertHTMLToMarkdown(html)).toBe(`| a\\|b next | \`x\\|y\` |\n| --- | --- |`)
+  })
+
+  test("keeps each near-boundary inline construct closed and UTF-8-safe", () => {
+    const payload = "😀".repeat(WebFetchTool.MAX_RESPONSE_BYTES / 4)
+    const cases = [
+      [`<strong>${payload}</strong>`, /^\*\*[\s\S]*\*\*$/],
+      [`<a href="/docs">${payload}</a>`, /^\[[\s\S]*\]\(\/docs\)$/],
+      [`<img src="image.png" alt="${payload}">`, /^!\[[\s\S]*\]\(image\.png\)$/],
+      [`<code>${payload}</code>`, /^`[\s\S]*`$/],
+    ] as const
+    for (const [html, pattern] of cases) {
+      const output = WebFetchTool.convertHTMLToMarkdown(html)
+      expect(Buffer.byteLength(output)).toBeLessThanOrEqual(WebFetchTool.MAX_RESPONSE_BYTES)
+      expect(output).not.toContain("�")
+      expect(output).toMatch(pattern)
+    }
+  })
+
+  test("keeps near-boundary block constructs syntactically complete", () => {
+    const payload = "x".repeat(WebFetchTool.MAX_RESPONSE_BYTES)
+    const table = WebFetchTool.convertHTMLToMarkdown(
+      `<table><tr><th>Name</th></tr><tr><td>${payload}</td></tr></table>`,
+    )
+    const list = WebFetchTool.convertHTMLToMarkdown(`<ul><li>${payload}</li></ul><ul><li>nested</li></ul>`)
+    const code = WebFetchTool.convertHTMLToMarkdown(`<pre>${payload}</pre>`)
+    for (const output of [table, list, code]) {
+      expect(Buffer.byteLength(output)).toBeLessThanOrEqual(WebFetchTool.MAX_RESPONSE_BYTES)
+      expect(output).not.toContain("�")
+    }
+    expect(table).toMatch(/^\| Name \|\n\| --- \|\n\| [\s\S]* \|$/)
+    expect(list).toMatch(/^- [\s\S]*$/)
+    expect(list.includes("nested")).toBe(false)
+    expect(code.match(/^(`{3,}|~{3,})$/gm)).toHaveLength(2)
+  })
+
+  test("keeps quoted code within budget with a safe closed fence", () => {
+    const html = `<blockquote><pre>${"`".repeat(32)}${"~".repeat(32)}${"x".repeat(WebFetchTool.MAX_RESPONSE_BYTES)}</pre></blockquote>`
+    const output = WebFetchTool.convertHTMLToMarkdown(html)
+    expect(Buffer.byteLength(output)).toBeLessThanOrEqual(WebFetchTool.MAX_RESPONSE_BYTES)
+    const lines = output.split("\n")
+    expect(lines[0]).toMatch(/^> (`{33}|~{33})$/)
+    expect(lines.at(-1)).toBe(lines[0])
+  })
+
+  test("separates reconstructed tables from adjacent inline and quoted content", () => {
+    const html = `intro<table><tr><td>x</td></tr></table>outro<blockquote>quote<table><tr><td>cell</td></tr></table></blockquote><ul><li>item<table><tr><td>cell</td></tr></table></li></ul>`
+    expect(WebFetchTool.convertHTMLToMarkdown(html)).toBe(
+      `intro\n\n| x |\n| --- |\n\noutro\n\n> quote\n\n> | cell |\n> | --- |\n\n- item\n\n| cell |\n| --- |`,
+    )
+  })
+
+  test("keeps multiline quoted code closed at the content budget", () => {
+    const html = `<blockquote><pre>${"x\n".repeat(WebFetchTool.MAX_RESPONSE_BYTES / 2)}</pre></blockquote><p>tail</p>`
+    const output = WebFetchTool.convertHTMLToMarkdown(html)
+    expect(Buffer.byteLength(output)).toBeLessThanOrEqual(WebFetchTool.MAX_RESPONSE_BYTES)
+    expect((output.match(/(`{3}|~{3})/g) ?? []).length).toBe(2)
+    expect(output.includes("\uFFFD")).toBe(false)
+    expect(output.endsWith("tail")).toBe(true)
+  })
+
+  test("keeps active content suppressed when depth fallback begins", () => {
+    const html = `<object>${"<div>".repeat(10_001)}LEAK${"</div>".repeat(10_001)}</object><p>visible</p>`
+    expect(WebFetchTool.convertHTMLToMarkdown(html)).toBe("visible")
+  })
+
+  test("keeps visible text after depth fallback begins inside preformatted content", () => {
+    const html = `<pre>${"<i>".repeat(10_001)}visible${"</i>".repeat(10_001)}</pre><p>after</p>`
+    expect(WebFetchTool.convertHTMLToMarkdown(html)).toBe("visible after")
+  })
+
+  test("resumes links around every block structure", () => {
+    const html = `<a href="/x">before<blockquote><p>quote</p></blockquote><ul><li>item</li></ul><pre>code</pre><table><tr><td>cell</td></tr></table>after</a>`
+    expect(WebFetchTool.convertHTMLToMarkdown(html)).toBe(
+      `[before](/x)\n\n> quote\n\n- item\n\n\`\`\`\ncode\n\`\`\`\n\n| cell |\n| --- |\n\n[after](/x)`,
+    )
+  })
+
+  test("indents child lists from the actual parent marker width", () => {
+    expect(WebFetchTool.convertHTMLToMarkdown(`<ol start="100"><li>outer<ul><li>inner</li></ul></li></ol>`)).toBe(
+      `100. outer\n\n     - inner`,
+    )
+  })
+
+  test("renders captions and definition lists with readable boundaries", () => {
+    const html = `<table><caption>Cache modes</caption><tr><th>Name</th><th>Meaning</th></tr><tr><td>A</td><td>Local</td></tr></table><dl><dt>Cache</dt><dd>A local store</dd><dt>Origin</dt><dd>The remote source</dd></dl>`
+    expect(WebFetchTool.convertHTMLToMarkdown(html)).toBe(
+      `Cache modes\n\n| Name | Meaning |\n| --- | --- |\n| A | Local |\n\n**Cache**\n: A local store\n\n**Origin**\n: The remote source`,
+    )
+  })
+
+  test("falls back to row-oriented text for table spans", () => {
+    const html = `<table><tr><th colspan="2">Group</th></tr><tr><td>A</td><td rowspan="2">Shared</td></tr><tr><td>B</td></tr></table>`
+    expect(WebFetchTool.convertHTMLToMarkdown(html)).toBe(`Group\n\nA | Shared\n\nB`)
+  })
+
+  test("suppresses head and hidden subtrees while retaining visible body content", () => {
+    const html = `<head><title>noise</title></head><body><p>visible</p><div hidden>hidden</div><div aria-hidden="true">aria</div><div aria-hidden="false">shown</div></body>`
+    expect(WebFetchTool.convertHTMLToMarkdown(html)).toBe(`visible\n\nshown`)
+  })
+
+  test("preserves pre breaks and normalizes multiline link titles", () => {
+    const html = `<pre>first<br>second</pre><p><a href="/x" title="line one\n  line two">link</a></p>`
+    expect(WebFetchTool.convertHTMLToMarkdown(html)).toBe(
+      `\`\`\`\nfirst\nsecond\n\`\`\`\n\n[link](/x "line one line two")`,
+    )
+  })
+
+  test("renders closed and open details according to visibility", () => {
+    const html = `<details><summary>Closed</summary><p>secret</p></details><details open><summary>Open</summary><p>visible</p></details>`
+    expect(WebFetchTool.convertHTMLToMarkdown(html)).toBe(`Closed\n\nOpen\n\nvisible`)
+  })
 })
 
 describe("WebFetchTool registration", () => {