diff --git a/assets/controllers/editor/conversion.js b/assets/controllers/editor/conversion.js
index 3068468..0048ad9 100644
--- a/assets/controllers/editor/conversion.js
+++ b/assets/controllers/editor/conversion.js
@@ -72,13 +72,55 @@ export function deltaToMarkdown(delta, opts = {}) {
     }
   };
 
-  const escapeText = (s) =>
-    String(s)
-      .replace(/\\/g, '\\\\')
-      .replace(/([*_`[\]~])/g, '\\$1');
+  const escapeText = (s) => {
+    // Escape special markdown characters, but don't double-escape already escaped ones
+    // We process character by character to handle existing escapes properly
+    let result = '';
+    const str = String(s);
+    for (let i = 0; i < str.length; i++) {
+      const char = str[i];
+      if (char === '\\') {
+        // Check if next char is something that could be escaped
+        const next = str[i + 1];
+        if (next && '\\*_`[]~'.includes(next)) {
+          // Already escaped, keep both backslash and next char
+          result += '\\' + next;
+          i++; // skip next char
+        } else {
+          // Lone backslash, escape it
+          result += '\\\\';
+        }
+      } else if ('*_`[]~'.includes(char)) {
+        // Special char that needs escaping
+        result += '\\' + char;
+      } else {
+        result += char;
+      }
+    }
+    return result;
+  };
 
-  const escapeLinkText = (s) =>
-    String(s).replace(/\\/g, '\\\\').replace(/([\[\]])/g, '\\$1');
+  const escapeLinkText = (s) => {
+    let result = '';
+    const str = String(s);
+    for (let i = 0; i < str.length; i++) {
+      const char = str[i];
+      if (char === '\\') {
+        const next = str[i + 1];
+        if (next && '\\[]'.includes(next)) {
+          result += '\\' + next;
+          i++;
+        } else {
+          result += '\\\\';
+        }
+      } else if ('[]'.includes(char)) {
+        result += '\\' + char;
+      } else {
+        result += char;
+      }
+    }
+    return result;
+  };
 
   const escapeLinkUrl = (s) => String(s).replace(/\s/g, '%20');
 
@@ -86,7 +128,22 @@ export function deltaToMarkdown(delta, opts = {}) {
     if (!text) return '';
 
     if (attrs.code) {
-      return `\`${String(text).replace(/`/g, '\\`')}\``;
+      let codeText = '';
+      const str = String(text);
+      for (let i = 0; i < str.length; i++) {
+        const char = str[i];
+        if (char === '\\' && i + 1 < str.length && str[i + 1] === '`') {
+          codeText += '\\`';
+          i++;
+        } else if (char === '`') {
+          codeText += '\\`';
+        } else if (char === '\\') {
+          codeText += '\\\\';
+        } else {
+          codeText += char;
+        }
+      }
+      return `\`${codeText}\``;
     }
 
     let out = escapeText(text);
@@ -339,7 +396,23 @@ function inlineMarkdownToOps(text) {
 
   const pushText = (t) => { if (t) ops.push({ insert: t }); };
 
+  const unescapeText = (t) => t.replace(/\\([\\*_`[\]~])/g, '$1');
+
   while (i < text.length) {
+    // escaped character: \X
+    if (text[i] === '\\' && i + 1 < text.length) {
+      const next = text[i + 1];
+      if ('\\*_`[]~'.includes(next)) {
+        pushText(next);
+        i += 2;
+        continue;
+      }
+      // not a recognized escape, treat backslash literally
+      pushText('\\');
+      i += 1;
+      continue;
+    }
+
     // inline code: `...`
     if (text[i] === '`') {
       const end = text.indexOf('`', i + 1);
@@ -358,8 +431,8 @@ function inlineMarkdownToOps(text) {
       if (closeBracket !== -1 && text[closeBracket + 1] === '(') {
         const closeParen = text.indexOf(')', closeBracket + 2);
         if (closeParen !== -1) {
-          const label = text.slice(i + 1, closeBracket);
-          const url = text.slice(closeBracket + 2, closeParen);
+          const label = unescapeText(text.slice(i + 1, closeBracket));
+          const url = text.slice(closeBracket + 2, closeParen).replace(/%20/g, ' ');
           if (label) ops.push({ insert: label, attributes: { link: url } });
           i = closeParen + 1;
           continue;
@@ -372,7 +445,7 @@ function inlineMarkdownToOps(text) {
     if (text.startsWith('**', i)) {
       const end = text.indexOf('**', i + 2);
       if (end !== -1) {
-        const content = text.slice(i + 2, end);
+        const content = unescapeText(text.slice(i + 2, end));
         if (content) ops.push({ insert: content, attributes: { bold: true } });
         i = end + 2;
         continue;
@@ -384,7 +457,7 @@ function inlineMarkdownToOps(text) {
     if (text.startsWith('~~', i)) {
       const end = text.indexOf('~~', i + 2);
       if (end !== -1) {
-        const content = text.slice(i + 2, end);
+        const content = unescapeText(text.slice(i + 2, end));
         if (content) ops.push({ insert: content, attributes: { strike: true } });
         i = end + 2;
         continue;
@@ -396,7 +469,7 @@ function inlineMarkdownToOps(text) {
     if (text[i] === '*') {
       const end = text.indexOf('*', i + 1);
       if (end !== -1) {
-        const content = text.slice(i + 1, end);
+        const content = unescapeText(text.slice(i + 1, end));
         if (content) ops.push({ insert: content, attributes: { italic: true } });
         i = end + 1;
         continue;
@@ -414,7 +487,7 @@ function inlineMarkdownToOps(text) {
 }
 
 function nextSpecialIndex(text, start) {
-  const specials = ['`', '[', '*', '~'];
+  const specials = ['\\', '`', '[', '*', '~'];
   let min = text.length;
   for (const ch of specials) {
     const idx = text.indexOf(ch, start);