diff --git a/index.js b/index.js
index e560c9a..f2a5abb 100644
--- a/index.js
+++ b/index.js
@@ -138,6 +138,14 @@ let lastPersistAt = 0;
 // Absolute path to the project root (same directory as this file)
 const PROJECT_DIR = path.resolve(__dirname);
 
+/**
+ * Sanitize a string for safe embedding inside a Telegram Markdown code span.
+ * Strips backticks (which would break the span) and truncates to maxLen chars.
+ */
+function sanitizeCmdOutput(str, maxLen = 200) {
+  return str.replace(/`/g, "'").slice(0, maxLen);
+}
+
 /**
  * Run a shell command and resolve with { ok, out, err }.
  * Never throws — callers decide what to do with failures.
@@ -1233,8 +1241,8 @@ bot.command('deploy', async (ctx) => {
   // ── Step 1: git pull ──────────────────────────────────────────
   const gitResult = await runCmd('git', ['pull', 'origin', 'main'], PROJECT_DIR, 30000);
   const gitLine = gitResult.ok
-    ? `✅ *git pull:* \`${gitResult.out.split('\n')[0].slice(0, 200)}\``
-    : `⚠️ *git pull failed:* \`${gitResult.err.slice(0, 200)}\``;
+    ? `✅ *git pull:* \`${sanitizeCmdOutput(gitResult.out.split('\n')[0])}\``
+    : `⚠️ *git pull failed:* \`${sanitizeCmdOutput(gitResult.err)}\``;
 
   await edit(
     `🚀 *Deployment in progress* — ${ts()}\n\n`
@@ -1245,16 +1253,27 @@ bot.command('deploy', async (ctx) => {
   const npmResult = await runCmd('npm', ['ci', '--omit=dev'], PROJECT_DIR, 180000);
   const npmLine = npmResult.ok
     ? `✅ *npm ci:* OK`
-    : `⚠️ *npm ci:* \`${npmResult.err.slice(0, 200)}\``;
+    : `⚠️ *npm ci:* \`${sanitizeCmdOutput(npmResult.err)}\``;
 
   const allOk = gitResult.ok && npmResult.ok;
-  const summary = allOk ? '✅ All steps succeeded' : '⚠️ Some steps had warnings — check below';
+
+  // ── Abort if any step failed — never restart into broken code ─
+  if (!allOk) {
+    await edit(
+      `🚀 *Deployment summary* — ${ts()}\n\n`
+      + `${gitLine}\n`
+      + `${npmLine}\n\n`
+      + `⚠️ One or more steps failed — restart *aborted* to avoid loading broken code.\n`
+      + `③ Restart *skipped*.`,
+    );
+    return;
+  }
 
   await edit(
     `🚀 *Deployment summary* — ${ts()}\n\n`
     + `${gitLine}\n`
     + `${npmLine}\n\n`
-    + `${summary}\n\n`
+    + `✅ All steps succeeded\n\n`
     + `③ Restarting bot now…`,
   );
 
@@ -2507,7 +2526,7 @@ bot.on('text', async (ctx) => {
     if (
       text &&
       !text.startsWith('/') &&
-      /^[A-Za-z0-9_.\\-]{3,30}$/.test(text) &&
+      /^[A-Za-z0-9_.-]{3,30}$/.test(text) &&
       !user.runewagerUsername
     ) {
       const normalized = normalizeRunewagerUsername(text);