diff --git a/examples/multiline-fn.ilo b/examples/multiline-fn.ilo
index 3e858c88..7be89f33 100644
--- a/examples/multiline-fn.ilo
+++ b/examples/multiline-fn.ilo
@@ -10,6 +10,6 @@ nums>L n
   [1,2,3]
 
 -- run: greet "world"
--- out: ~hello "world"
+-- out: ~hello world
 -- run: nums
 -- out: [1, 2, 3]
diff --git a/examples/rsrt.ilo b/examples/rsrt.ilo
index 86516cc0..96fcec93 100644
--- a/examples/rsrt.ilo
+++ b/examples/rsrt.ilo
@@ -10,4 +10,4 @@ top-words ws:L t>L t;rsrt ws
 -- run: top-nums [3,1,4,1,5,9,2,6]
 -- out: [9, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 1]
 -- run: top-words ["banana","apple","cherry"]
--- out: ["cherry", "banana", "apple"]
+-- out: [cherry, banana, apple]
diff --git a/examples/sort-by-key.ilo b/examples/sort-by-key.ilo
index a4db3404..e72188e6 100644
--- a/examples/sort-by-key.ilo
+++ b/examples/sort-by-key.ilo
@@ -17,6 +17,6 @@ by-len-desc ws:L t>L t;rev (srt wlen ws)
 -- run: by-dist [-3,1,-5,2]
 -- out: [1, 2, -3, -5]
 -- run: by-len ["banana","fig","apple","kiwi"]
--- out: ["fig", "kiwi", "apple", "banana"]
+-- out: [fig, kiwi, apple, banana]
 -- run: by-len-desc ["banana","fig","apple","kiwi"]
--- out: ["banana", "apple", "kiwi", "fig"]
+-- out: [banana, apple, kiwi, fig]
diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index 5816df2a..83836077 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -3269,22 +3269,29 @@ print(f"__NS__={{_per}}")
 }
 
 fn parse_cli_arg(s: &str) -> interpreter::Value {
-    // Bracketed list: [1,2,3] or []
+    // Bracketed list: [1,2,3], ["apple","ant"], [] — split top-level commas,
+    // honoring quoted strings so commas inside strings don't split.
     if s.starts_with('[') && s.ends_with(']') {
         let inner = s[1..s.len() - 1].trim();
         if inner.is_empty() {
             return interpreter::Value::List(vec![]);
         }
-        let items = inner
-            .split(',')
+        let items = split_top_level_commas(inner)
+            .into_iter()
             .map(|part| parse_cli_arg(part.trim()))
             .collect();
         return interpreter::Value::List(items);
     }
+    // Quoted string: strip surrounding double quotes and treat as text.
+    // This preserves the raw contents (no escape decoding) which mirrors how
+    // the rest of the CLI passes bare text.
+    if s.len() >= 2 && s.starts_with('"') && s.ends_with('"') {
+        return interpreter::Value::Text(s[1..s.len() - 1].to_string());
+    }
     // Bare comma list: 1,2,3
     if s.contains(',') {
-        let items = s
-            .split(',')
+        let items = split_top_level_commas(s)
+            .into_iter()
             .map(|part| parse_cli_arg(part.trim()))
             .collect();
         return interpreter::Value::List(items);
@@ -3306,6 +3313,49 @@ fn parse_cli_arg(s: &str) -> interpreter::Value {
     }
 }
 
+/// Split on commas, but ignore commas inside double-quoted strings or nested
+/// brackets so list args like `["a,b","c"]` and `[[1,2],[3,4]]` parse correctly.
+fn split_top_level_commas(s: &str) -> Vec<String> {
+    let mut out = Vec::new();
+    let mut cur = String::new();
+    let mut depth = 0i32;
+    let mut in_str = false;
+    let mut prev_escape = false;
+    for ch in s.chars() {
+        if in_str {
+            cur.push(ch);
+            if prev_escape {
+                prev_escape = false;
+            } else if ch == '\\' {
+                prev_escape = true;
+            } else if ch == '"' {
+                in_str = false;
+            }
+            continue;
+        }
+        match ch {
+            '"' => {
+                in_str = true;
+                cur.push(ch);
+            }
+            '[' => {
+                depth += 1;
+                cur.push(ch);
+            }
+            ']' => {
+                depth -= 1;
+                cur.push(ch);
+            }
+            ',' if depth == 0 => {
+                out.push(std::mem::take(&mut cur));
+            }
+            _ => cur.push(ch),
+        }
+    }
+    out.push(cur);
+    out
+}
+
 /// Coerce CLI args to match a function's parameter types.
 /// - Wraps a non-list value in `[value]` when the param type is `L _`
 fn coerce_cli_args(
diff --git a/tests/regression_uniqby.rs b/tests/regression_uniqby.rs
index 85047f4e..c2e33317 100644
--- a/tests/regression_uniqby.rs
+++ b/tests/regression_uniqby.rs
@@ -98,8 +98,7 @@ fn uniqby_all_same_key_keeps_first_tree() {
 
 // ── Order preservation: first-seen wins, original order preserved ──────────
 
-const PARITY_SRC: &str =
-    "par n:n>t\n==(mod n 2) 0{ret \"even\"}\n\"odd\"\nf xs:L n>L n;uniqby par xs";
+const PARITY_SRC: &str = "par n:n>t;?=(mod n 2) 0 \"even\" \"odd\"\nf xs:L n>L n;uniqby par xs";
 
 #[test]
 fn uniqby_preserves_order_tree() {