diff --git a/lib/public/modules/sticky-notes-fmt.js b/lib/public/modules/sticky-notes-fmt.js
index 20df067..b524690 100644
--- a/lib/public/modules/sticky-notes-fmt.js
+++ b/lib/public/modules/sticky-notes-fmt.js
@@ -7,13 +7,41 @@
 // sticky-notes.js (it is browser-ESM with DOM deps). This module mirrors its exact
 // implementation so that the regression tests call the real production logic pattern.
 // Any change to fmt() in sticky-notes.js must be reflected here.
-export function fmt(s) {
-  var escaped = s
+
+// The URL auto-link regex used in fmt(), exported for direct inspection in tests.
+// Excludes whitespace, HTML special chars, and quote chars from URL matches so that
+// a crafted URL like http://x.com"onmouseover="alert(1) cannot break out of the href.
+export var AUTO_LINK_RE = /(https?:\/\/[^\s<>"']+)/g;
+
+function escapeHtmlBasic(s) {
+  return s
     .replace(/&/g, "&amp;")
     .replace(/</g, "&lt;")
-    .replace(/>/g, "&gt;");
-  return escaped
-    .replace(/(https?:\/\/[^\s<>"']+)/g, '<a href="$1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$1</a>')
+    .replace(/>/g, "&gt;")
+    .replace(/"/g, "&quot;")
+    .replace(/'/g, "&#39;");
+}
+
+export function fmt(s) {
+  // Split on raw URLs first (before any HTML escaping), so quote chars in the
+  // surrounding text still act as natural URL terminators in AUTO_LINK_RE.
+  // Non-URL segments are HTML-escaped; URL segments are escaped then wrapped in
+  // an anchor (the href value is also escaped so &, <, > inside URLs are safe).
+  AUTO_LINK_RE.lastIndex = 0;
+  var parts = s.split(AUTO_LINK_RE);
+  // split() with a capturing group produces: [text, url, text, url, ...]
+  var out = "";
+  for (var i = 0; i < parts.length; i++) {
+    if (i % 2 === 0) {
+      // Non-URL segment — HTML-escape fully.
+      out += escapeHtmlBasic(parts[i]);
+    } else {
+      // URL segment — escape for safe embedding in href and link text.
+      var safeUrl = escapeHtmlBasic(parts[i]);
+      out += '<a href="' + safeUrl + '" target="_blank" rel="noopener">' + safeUrl + "</a>";
+    }
+  }
+  return out
     .replace(/\*\*(.+?)\*\*/g, "<strong>$1</strong>")
     .replace(/(?<!\*)\*(?!\*)(.+?)(?<!\*)\*(?!\*)/g, "<em>$1</em>")
     .replace(/`([^`]+)`/g, "<code>$1</code>")
@@ -22,6 +50,3 @@ export function fmt(s) {
     .replace(/^- \[ \]/gm, '<span class="sn-check">☐</span>')
     .replace(/\n/g, "<br>");
 }
-
-// The URL auto-link regex used in fmt(), exported for direct inspection in tests.
-export var AUTO_LINK_RE = /(https?:\/\/[^\s<>"']+)/g;
diff --git a/lib/public/modules/sticky-notes.js b/lib/public/modules/sticky-notes.js
index cabeb99..d0dc136 100644
--- a/lib/public/modules/sticky-notes.js
+++ b/lib/public/modules/sticky-notes.js
@@ -150,13 +150,31 @@ function renderMiniMarkdown(text) {
   var title = lines[0];
   var body = lines.slice(1).join("\n");
 
-  function fmt(s) {
-    var escaped = s
+  var AUTO_LINK_RE = /(https?:\/\/[^\s<>"']+)/g;
+  function escHtml(s) {
+    return s
       .replace(/&/g, "&amp;")
       .replace(/</g, "&lt;")
-      .replace(/>/g, "&gt;");
-    return escaped
-      .replace(/(https?:\/\/[^\s<>"']+)/g, '<a href="$1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$1</a>')
+      .replace(/>/g, "&gt;")
+      .replace(/"/g, "&quot;")
+      .replace(/'/g, "&#39;");
+  }
+  function fmt(s) {
+    // Split on raw URLs first so quote chars still terminate URL matches even
+    // after HTML-escaping. Non-URL segments are fully escaped; URL segments are
+    // escaped and wrapped in an anchor.
+    AUTO_LINK_RE.lastIndex = 0;
+    var parts = s.split(AUTO_LINK_RE);
+    var out = "";
+    for (var i = 0; i < parts.length; i++) {
+      if (i % 2 === 0) {
+        out += escHtml(parts[i]);
+      } else {
+        var safeUrl = escHtml(parts[i]);
+        out += '<a href="' + safeUrl + '" target="_blank" rel="noopener">' + safeUrl + "</a>";
+      }
+    }
+    return out
       .replace(/\*\*(.+?)\*\*/g, "<strong>$1</strong>")
       .replace(/(?<!\*)\*(?!\*)(.+?)(?<!\*)\*(?!\*)/g, "<em>$1</em>")
       .replace(/`([^`]+)`/g, "<code>$1</code>")
diff --git a/test/boot-smoke-lr-1a5f.test.js b/test/boot-smoke-lr-1a5f.test.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c72b7f3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/boot-smoke-lr-1a5f.test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,222 @@
+// boot-smoke-lr-1a5f.test.js
+//
+// Daemon boot smoke test (lr-1a5f).
+//
+// What this test proves (server-side only):
+//   1. The daemon starts and its HTTP server responds on /info (boot success).
+//   2. The frontend HTML is served with HTTP 200 (static asset pipeline works).
+//   3. A WebSocket upgrade to the project endpoint succeeds (server-side WS
+//      handler wired up, auth gate passes, relay code loaded without errors).
+//
+// What this test does NOT prove:
+//   - That browser-side ESM (lib/public/*.js) loads without errors.
+//     Browser ESM imports are NOT loaded by the daemon; they are served as
+//     static assets. Broken browser imports (the lr-8657 failure class) are
+//     caught by the static import-resolution check (lr-5e24), not here.
+//   - That the full UI renders correctly (integration/E2E territory).
+//
+// The test FAILS if any of the three server-side checks fail.
+// The test is isolated: uses an ephemeral port + a tmpdir home, never touches
+// the real ~/.clagentic directory.
+
+"use strict";
+
+var test = require("node:test");
+var assert = require("node:assert/strict");
+var fs = require("fs");
+var path = require("path");
+var os = require("os");
+var net = require("net");
+var http = require("http");
+var { spawn } = require("child_process");
+var WebSocket = require("ws");
+
+// ── constants ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+var DAEMON_SCRIPT = path.resolve(__dirname, "..", "lib", "daemon.js");
+var TEST_TIMEOUT_MS = 45000;
+var DAEMON_READY_MS = 20000;
+var WS_CONNECT_MS  = 10000;
+
+// ── helpers ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+function findFreePort() {
+  return new Promise(function (resolve, reject) {
+    var srv = net.createServer();
+    srv.listen(0, "127.0.0.1", function () {
+      var p = srv.address().port;
+      srv.close(function () { resolve(p); });
+    });
+    srv.on("error", reject);
+  });
+}
+
+function waitForServer(port, timeoutMs) {
+  var start = Date.now();
+  return new Promise(function (resolve, reject) {
+    function attempt() {
+      if (Date.now() - start > timeoutMs) {
+        reject(new Error("daemon did not respond on /info within " + timeoutMs + " ms"));
+        return;
+      }
+      var req = http.get("http://127.0.0.1:" + port + "/info", function (res) {
+        res.resume();
+        if (res.statusCode === 200) { resolve(); }
+        else { setTimeout(attempt, 250); }
+      });
+      req.on("error", function () { setTimeout(attempt, 250); });
+      req.setTimeout(500, function () { req.destroy(); });
+    }
+    attempt();
+  });
+}
+
+function httpGet(url) {
+  return new Promise(function (resolve, reject) {
+    var req = http.get(url, function (res) {
+      var body = "";
+      res.setEncoding("utf8");
+      res.on("data", function (c) { body += c; });
+      res.on("end", function () { resolve({ status: res.statusCode, body: body }); });
+    });
+    req.on("error", reject);
+    req.setTimeout(5000, function () { req.destroy(new Error("httpGet timeout")); });
+  });
+}
+
+function killAndWait(proc) {
+  return new Promise(function (resolve) {
+    if (proc.exitCode !== null) { resolve(); return; }
+    proc.once("exit", resolve);
+    try { proc.kill("SIGTERM"); } catch (_) {}
+    setTimeout(function () {
+      try { proc.kill("SIGKILL"); } catch (_) {}
+      resolve();
+    }, 4000);
+  });
+}
+
+// ── test ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+test("boot smoke: daemon starts, HTTP 200, WS connects (lr-1a5f)", { timeout: TEST_TIMEOUT_MS }, function (t, done) {
+  var tmpHome    = null;
+  var daemonProc = null;
+  var daemonLog  = [];
+
+  // t.after: reliable cleanup even if the outer timeout fires.
+  t.after(function () {
+    var p = daemonProc && daemonProc.exitCode === null
+      ? killAndWait(daemonProc).catch(function (e) { t.diagnostic("t.after daemon kill: " + e.message); })
+      : Promise.resolve();
+    return p.then(function () {
+      if (tmpHome) {
+        try { fs.rmSync(tmpHome, { recursive: true, force: true }); }
+        catch (e) { t.diagnostic("t.after tmpdir cleanup failed: " + e.message + " (leaked: " + tmpHome + ")"); }
+      }
+    });
+  });
+
+  findFreePort().then(function (port) {
+    // ── 1. Isolated home + minimal config ────────────────────────────────────
+    tmpHome = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "clagentic-smoke-"));
+    var projectDir = path.join(tmpHome, "smoke-project");
+    fs.mkdirSync(projectDir, { recursive: true });
+
+    var configFile = path.join(tmpHome, "daemon.json");
+    fs.writeFileSync(configFile, JSON.stringify({
+      port:            port,
+      host:            "127.0.0.1",
+      tls:             false,
+      pinHash:         null,
+      mode:            "single",
+      setupCompleted:  true,
+      debug:           false,
+      projects: [{ path: projectDir, slug: "smoke-project", addedAt: Date.now() }],
+    }, null, 2), { mode: 0o600 });
+
+    // ── 2. Spawn daemon ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+    daemonProc = spawn(process.execPath, [DAEMON_SCRIPT], {
+      env: Object.assign({}, process.env, {
+        CLAGENTIC_HOME:   tmpHome,
+        CLAGENTIC_CONFIG: configFile,
+      }),
+      stdio: ["ignore", "pipe", "pipe"],
+    });
+    daemonProc.stdout.on("data", function (d) { daemonLog.push(d.toString()); });
+    daemonProc.stderr.on("data", function (d) { daemonLog.push("[err] " + d.toString()); });
+    daemonProc.once("exit", function (code) {
+      if (code !== 0 && code !== null) {
+        t.diagnostic("daemon exited with code " + code);
+        t.diagnostic("daemon log:\n" + daemonLog.slice(-30).join(""));
+      }
+    });
+
+    // ── 3. Check 1 — HTTP /info responds ─────────────────────────────────────
+    return waitForServer(port, DAEMON_READY_MS).then(function () { return port; });
+
+  }).then(function (port) {
+    // ── 4. Check 2 — frontend HTML served with 200 ───────────────────────────
+    return httpGet("http://127.0.0.1:" + port + "/p/smoke-project/").then(function (res) {
+      assert.strictEqual(res.status, 200,
+        "Expected HTTP 200 for frontend page, got " + res.status);
+      assert.ok(
+        res.body.includes("<html") || res.body.includes("<!DOCTYPE"),
+        "Expected HTML response for frontend page"
+      );
+      return port;
+    });
+
+  }).then(function (port) {
+    // ── 5. Check 3 — WebSocket upgrade succeeds ───────────────────────────────
+    // Single-user mode with pinHash:null means no auth token is required.
+    return new Promise(function (resolve, reject) {
+      var wsUrl = "ws://127.0.0.1:" + port + "/p/smoke-project/ws";
+      var ws = new WebSocket(wsUrl);
+      var timer = setTimeout(function () {
+        ws.terminate();
+        reject(new Error(
+          "WebSocket did not open within " + WS_CONNECT_MS + " ms. " +
+          "Check that the daemon booted cleanly and the WS handler is registered. " +
+          "WS URL: " + wsUrl
+        ));
+      }, WS_CONNECT_MS);
+
+      ws.once("open", function () {
+        clearTimeout(timer);
+        ws.close();
+        resolve(port);
+      });
+      ws.once("error", function (err) {
+        clearTimeout(timer);
+        reject(new Error("WebSocket error: " + err.message + " — URL: " + wsUrl));
+      });
+    });
+
+  }).then(function () {
+    t.diagnostic("boot smoke passed: /info OK, frontend HTTP 200, WS connected");
+
+    // ── 6. Cleanup ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+    var p = daemonProc ? killAndWait(daemonProc) : Promise.resolve();
+    return p.then(function () {
+      if (tmpHome) {
+        try { fs.rmSync(tmpHome, { recursive: true, force: true }); }
+        catch (e) { t.diagnostic("cleanup: tmpdir removal failed: " + e.message); }
+        tmpHome = null;
+      }
+      done();
+    });
+
+  }).catch(function (err) {
+    var p = daemonProc ? killAndWait(daemonProc).catch(function (e) {
+      t.diagnostic("error-path daemon kill: " + e.message);
+    }) : Promise.resolve();
+    p.then(function () {
+      if (tmpHome) {
+        try { fs.rmSync(tmpHome, { recursive: true, force: true }); }
+        catch (e) { t.diagnostic("error-path tmpdir cleanup failed: " + e.message + " (leaked: " + tmpHome + ")"); }
+        tmpHome = null;
+      }
+      done(err);
+    });
+  });
+});