diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index d14335b..84686af 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -3,3 +3,4 @@ release/
 *.exe
 *.o
 tmp/
+waifufetch/
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 44578de..9b8cd7a 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -68,6 +68,42 @@ bash script.sh        # run a script file
 bash script.sh arg1   # pass arguments ($1, $2, ...)
 ```
 
+### Running bash scripts
+
+Any file with a `#!/usr/bin/env bash` or `#!/bin/bash` shebang is automatically detected and executed through bash-for-windows — no need to invoke `bash` explicitly.
+
+**Run by passing the path directly:**
+```powershell
+bash myscript.sh
+bash myscript          # extension is optional
+bash C:\scripts\deploy.sh production
+```
+
+**Or put the script on PATH and call it by name:**
+
+If the script is in a directory that is on your `PATH` (e.g. the bash-for-windows install directory), you can call it directly from the interactive shell or from PowerShell:
+
+```
+waifufetch
+waifu
+deploy
+```
+
+Bash-for-windows detects the shebang, runs the script through its own interpreter, and passes any arguments as `$1`, `$2`, etc.
+
+**CRLF line endings are handled automatically.** Scripts checked out on Windows often have `\r\n` line endings. Bash-for-windows strips the carriage returns before executing, so `#!/usr/bin/env bash\r` in the shebang line never causes the `env: 'bash\r': No such file or directory` error you get with WSL.
+
+**Adding a script to PATH:**
+
+The easiest place to drop scripts is the same directory bash-for-windows is installed in:
+
+```powershell
+$d = "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Programs\BashForWindows"
+Copy-Item .\myscript $d\myscript
+```
+
+That directory is already on `PATH` after running `install.ps1`, so the script is immediately callable from any shell.
+
 ### Examples
 
 ```bash
diff --git a/cmd/bash/main.go b/cmd/bash/main.go
index 9812697..a87ae69 100644
--- a/cmd/bash/main.go
+++ b/cmd/bash/main.go
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ func runFile(path string, args []string) error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("%s: %v", path, err)
 	}
 	sh := shell.New()
-	sh.SetArgs(append([]string{path}, args...))
+	sh.SetArgs(args)
 	sh.SetVar("0", path)
 	return sh.Execute(string(data))
 }
diff --git a/internal/shell/builtins.go b/internal/shell/builtins.go
index 52793ec..6d879e7 100644
--- a/internal/shell/builtins.go
+++ b/internal/shell/builtins.go
@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@ var aliases = make(map[string]string)
 
 func (s *Shell) initBuiltins() {
 	s.builtins = map[string]func([]string) error{
+		"{": s.builtinTrue,
+		"}": s.builtinTrue,
 		// Shell builtins
 		"cd":        s.builtinCd,
 		"pwd":       s.builtinPwd,
@@ -442,84 +444,111 @@ func (s *Shell) builtinPrintf(args []string) error {
 	fmtArgs := args[1:]
 
 	var result strings.Builder
+
+	// POSIX: if more arguments than format specifiers, re-apply the format
+	// until all args are consumed.  Track consumed count per pass to detect
+	// a format with no specifiers (avoid infinite loop).
 	argIdx := 0
-	i := 0
-	for i < len(format) {
-		if format[i] == '%' && i+1 < len(format) {
-			i++
-			// Optional width/precision
-			specStart := i
-			for i < len(format) && (format[i] == '-' || format[i] == '0' || (format[i] >= '1' && format[i] <= '9') || format[i] == '.') {
+	for {
+		consumed := 0
+		i := 0
+		for i < len(format) {
+			if format[i] == '%' && i+1 < len(format) {
+				i++
+				// Optional width/precision flags
+				specStart := i
+				for i < len(format) && (format[i] == '-' || format[i] == '0' || (format[i] >= '1' && format[i] <= '9') || format[i] == '.') {
+					i++
+				}
+				spec := format[specStart:i]
+				if i >= len(format) {
+					break
+				}
+				arg := ""
+				if argIdx < len(fmtArgs) {
+					arg = fmtArgs[argIdx]
+					argIdx++
+					consumed++
+				}
+				switch format[i] {
+				case 's':
+					if spec != "" {
+						result.WriteString(fmt.Sprintf("%-"+spec+"s", arg)) //nolint
+					} else {
+						result.WriteString(arg)
+					}
+				case 'd':
+					n := toInt(arg)
+					if spec != "" {
+						result.WriteString(fmt.Sprintf("%"+spec+"d", n))
+					} else {
+						result.WriteString(strconv.Itoa(n))
+					}
+				case 'f':
+					f, _ := strconv.ParseFloat(arg, 64)
+					if spec != "" {
+						result.WriteString(fmt.Sprintf("%"+spec+"f", f))
+					} else {
+						result.WriteString(fmt.Sprintf("%f", f))
+					}
+				case 'x':
+					n := toInt(arg)
+					result.WriteString(fmt.Sprintf("%x", n))
+				case 'o':
+					n := toInt(arg)
+					result.WriteString(fmt.Sprintf("%o", n))
+				case '%':
+					result.WriteByte('%')
+					if consumed > 0 {
+						consumed-- // %% consumes no arg
+					}
+				default:
+					result.WriteByte('%')
+					result.WriteByte(format[i])
+					if consumed > 0 {
+						consumed--
+					}
+				}
+				i++
+			} else if format[i] == '\\' && i+1 < len(format) {
+				i++
+				switch format[i] {
+				case 'n':
+					result.WriteByte('\n')
+				case 't':
+					result.WriteByte('\t')
+				case 'r':
+					result.WriteByte('\r')
+				case '\\':
+					result.WriteByte('\\')
+				case 'a':
+					result.WriteByte('\a')
+				case 'b':
+					result.WriteByte('\b')
+				case 'e', 'E':
+					result.WriteByte(0x1b) // ESC
+				case '0', '1', '2', '3', '4', '5', '6', '7':
+					// Octal escape \NNN (up to 3 octal digits)
+					oct := int(format[i] - '0')
+					for k := 0; k < 2 && i+1 < len(format) && format[i+1] >= '0' && format[i+1] <= '7'; k++ {
+						i++
+						oct = oct*8 + int(format[i]-'0')
+					}
+					result.WriteByte(byte(oct))
+				default:
+					result.WriteByte('\\')
+					result.WriteByte(format[i])
+				}
+				i++
+			} else {
+				result.WriteByte(format[i])
 				i++
 			}
-			spec := format[specStart:i]
-			if i >= len(format) {
-				break
-			}
-			arg := ""
-			if argIdx < len(fmtArgs) {
-				arg = fmtArgs[argIdx]
-				argIdx++
-			}
-			switch format[i] {
-			case 's':
-				if spec != "" {
-					result.WriteString(fmt.Sprintf("%-"+spec+"s", arg)) //nolint
-				} else {
-					result.WriteString(arg)
-				}
-			case 'd':
-				n := toInt(arg)
-				if spec != "" {
-					result.WriteString(fmt.Sprintf("%"+spec+"d", n))
-				} else {
-					result.WriteString(strconv.Itoa(n))
-				}
-			case 'f':
-				f, _ := strconv.ParseFloat(arg, 64)
-				if spec != "" {
-					result.WriteString(fmt.Sprintf("%"+spec+"f", f))
-				} else {
-					result.WriteString(fmt.Sprintf("%f", f))
-				}
-			case 'x':
-				n := toInt(arg)
-				result.WriteString(fmt.Sprintf("%x", n))
-			case 'o':
-				n := toInt(arg)
-				result.WriteString(fmt.Sprintf("%o", n))
-			case '%':
-				result.WriteByte('%')
-				argIdx-- // no arg consumed
-			default:
-				result.WriteByte('%')
-				result.WriteByte(format[i])
-				argIdx--
-			}
-			i++
-		} else if format[i] == '\\' && i+1 < len(format) {
-			i++
-			switch format[i] {
-			case 'n':
-				result.WriteByte('\n')
-			case 't':
-				result.WriteByte('\t')
-			case 'r':
-				result.WriteByte('\r')
-			case '\\':
-				result.WriteByte('\\')
-			case 'a':
-				result.WriteByte('\a')
-			case 'b':
-				result.WriteByte('\b')
-			default:
-				result.WriteByte('\\')
-				result.WriteByte(format[i])
-			}
-			i++
-		} else {
-			result.WriteByte(format[i])
-			i++
+		}
+		// Stop looping if all args consumed, no args given, or format has
+		// no specifiers (consumed==0 means infinite loop risk).
+		if argIdx >= len(fmtArgs) || consumed == 0 {
+			break
 		}
 	}
 	fmt.Fprint(s.Stdout, result.String())
diff --git a/internal/shell/control.go b/internal/shell/control.go
index 7518173..fd6e80b 100644
--- a/internal/shell/control.go
+++ b/internal/shell/control.go
@@ -21,17 +21,40 @@ func (s *Shell) executeIf(block string) error {
 	phase := "if_cond"
 	var curCond []string
 	var curBody []string
+	depth := 0 // nesting depth of if/for/while/until/case inside the body
+
+	addToBody := func(s string) {
+		switch phase {
+		case "body":
+			curBody = append(curBody, s)
+		case "else":
+			elseBody = append(elseBody, s)
+		}
+	}
 
 	for _, stmt := range stmts {
 		w := firstWord(stmt)
 		rest := afterWord(stmt)
 
+		// When depth > 0, we're inside a nested block; all keywords are body content.
+		if depth > 0 {
+			switch w {
+			case "if", "for", "while", "until", "case":
+				depth++
+			case "fi", "done", "esac":
+				depth--
+			}
+			addToBody(stmt)
+			continue
+		}
+
+		// depth == 0: structural keywords for the outer if
 		switch {
 		case w == "if" && phase == "if_cond":
 			if rest != "" {
 				curCond = append(curCond, rest)
 			}
-		case w == "then":
+		case w == "then" && (phase == "if_cond" || phase == "elif_cond"):
 			if rest != "" {
 				curBody = append(curBody, rest)
 			}
@@ -67,8 +90,17 @@ func (s *Shell) executeIf(block string) error {
 				curCond = append(curCond, stmt)
 			case "body":
 				curBody = append(curBody, stmt)
+				// Track depth for nested blocks starting in body
+				switch w {
+				case "if", "for", "while", "until", "case":
+					depth++
+				}
 			case "else":
 				elseBody = append(elseBody, stmt)
+				switch w {
+				case "if", "for", "while", "until", "case":
+					depth++
+				}
 			}
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/internal/shell/exec.go b/internal/shell/exec.go
index 17eb639..3756a94 100644
--- a/internal/shell/exec.go
+++ b/internal/shell/exec.go
@@ -58,6 +58,12 @@ func splitPipe(input string) []string {
 		case c == '"' && !inSingle && parenDepth == 0:
 			inDouble = !inDouble
 			current.WriteByte(c)
+		// Process substitution <(...): don't split | inside.
+		case c == '<' && !inSingle && !inDouble && i+1 < len(input) && input[i+1] == '(':
+			parenDepth++
+			current.WriteByte('<')
+			current.WriteByte('(')
+			i++
 		case c == '$' && !inSingle && !inDouble && i+1 < len(input) && input[i+1] == '(':
 			pendingDollar = true
 			current.WriteByte(c)
@@ -154,6 +160,15 @@ func (s *Shell) executeCommand(input string) error {
 		return nil
 	}
 
+	// { cmd; cmd; } command group
+	if strings.HasPrefix(input, "{") {
+		end := strings.LastIndex(input, "}")
+		if end > 0 {
+			inner := strings.TrimSpace(input[1:end])
+			return s.Execute(inner)
+		}
+	}
+
 	// Detect array assignment NAME=(...) or NAME+=(...)
 	if name, appendMode, elems, ok := s.parseArrayAssign(input); ok {
 		if appendMode {
@@ -264,6 +279,20 @@ func (s *Shell) extractRedirects(tokens []string) ([]string, []redirect) {
 		case strings.HasPrefix(tok, ">") && len(tok) > 1:
 			redirects = append(redirects, redirect{1, ">", tok[1:]})
 			i++
+		// <<< here-string
+		case tok == "<<<":
+			if i+1 < len(tokens) {
+				val := tokens[i+1] + "\n"
+				tmpf, err := os.CreateTemp("", "herestr*")
+				if err == nil {
+					tmpf.WriteString(val)
+					tmpf.Close()
+					redirects = append(redirects, redirect{0, "<", tmpf.Name()})
+				}
+				i += 2
+			} else {
+				i++
+			}
 		// < (stdin) — also handle process substitution <(...)
 		case tok == "<":
 			if i+1 < len(tokens) {
@@ -311,7 +340,11 @@ func (s *Shell) withRedirects(redirects []redirect, fn func() error) error {
 		}
 	}()
 
-	for _, r := range redirects {
+	for i, r := range redirects {
+		if r.dest == "/dev/null" {
+			redirects[i].dest = os.DevNull
+			r = redirects[i]
+		}
 		switch r.mode {
 		case ">":
 			if r.dest == "&1" {
@@ -361,6 +394,20 @@ func (s *Shell) executeExternal(cmdName string, args []string) error {
 		fmt.Fprintf(s.Stderr, "%s: command not found\n", cmdName)
 		return exitCodeErr{127}
 	}
+
+	// If the file is a bash/sh script, run it through our own interpreter.
+	// This avoids the CRLF shebang problem (#!/usr/bin/env bash\r) and lets
+	// us execute scripts that have no .exe extension on Windows.
+	if data, err := os.ReadFile(path); err == nil && isShellScript(data) {
+		sh := New()
+		sh.Stdin = s.Stdin
+		sh.Stdout = s.Stdout
+		sh.Stderr = s.Stderr
+		sh.SetArgs(args)
+		sh.SetVar("0", path)
+		return sh.Execute(string(data))
+	}
+
 	cmd := exec.Command(path, args...)
 	cmd.Stdin = s.Stdin
 	cmd.Stdout = s.Stdout
@@ -374,6 +421,25 @@ func (s *Shell) executeExternal(cmdName string, args []string) error {
 	return err
 }
 
+// isShellScript returns true when data begins with a #!/…bash or #!/…sh shebang.
+func isShellScript(data []byte) bool {
+	if len(data) < 2 || data[0] != '#' || data[1] != '!' {
+		return false
+	}
+	nl := bytes.IndexByte(data, '\n')
+	if nl < 0 {
+		nl = len(data)
+	}
+	line := strings.TrimRight(string(data[:nl]), "\r")
+	for _, word := range strings.Fields(line[2:]) {
+		base := filepath.Base(word)
+		if base == "bash" || base == "sh" {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
 func (s *Shell) executeCommandBg(input string) error {
 	tokens := s.tokenize(input)
 	if len(tokens) == 0 {
diff --git a/internal/shell/expand.go b/internal/shell/expand.go
index fa22537..c60641c 100644
--- a/internal/shell/expand.go
+++ b/internal/shell/expand.go
@@ -82,7 +82,6 @@ func (s *Shell) expandWord(word string) string {
 				result.WriteByte('$')
 				break
 			}
-
 			// $'...' ANSI C string
 			if word[i] == '\'' {
 				i++ // skip opening '
@@ -232,7 +231,11 @@ func (s *Shell) expandWord(word string) string {
 				result.WriteString(s.vars["#"])
 				i++
 			case '@':
-				result.WriteString(strings.Join(s.args, "\x01"))
+				if len(s.args) == 0 {
+					result.WriteString("\x01") // empty-expansion sentinel → 0 tokens
+				} else {
+					result.WriteString(strings.Join(s.args, "\x01"))
+				}
 				i++
 			case '*':
 				result.WriteString(s.vars["*"])
@@ -278,29 +281,95 @@ func (s *Shell) evalVarExpr(expr string) string {
 		return strconv.Itoa(len(s.getVar(rest)))
 	}
 
-	// Array indexing: ${arr[@]}, ${arr[*]}, ${arr[N]}
-	if bracketIdx := strings.Index(expr, "["); bracketIdx >= 0 && strings.HasSuffix(expr, "]") {
-		// Make sure there's no operator before the bracket
-		prefix := expr[:bracketIdx]
-		hasOp := strings.ContainsAny(prefix, ":-:=:+%#")
-		if !hasOp {
-			arrName := prefix
-			idx := expr[bracketIdx+1 : len(expr)-1]
-			if idx == "@" {
-				arr := s.getArray(arrName)
-				return strings.Join(arr, "\x01")
+	// Array indexing: ${arr[@]}, ${arr[*]}, ${arr[N]}, ${arr[N]:-default}, etc.
+	// Find the bracket pair and evaluate the array access even when an operator
+	// (:-  :=  :+) follows the closing ].
+	if bracketIdx := strings.Index(expr, "["); bracketIdx >= 0 {
+		closeIdx := -1
+		// Find matching ] — must balance nested $((…)) parens inside the index
+		depth := 0
+		for k := bracketIdx + 1; k < len(expr); k++ {
+			if expr[k] == '(' {
+				depth++
+			} else if expr[k] == ')' {
+				depth--
+			} else if expr[k] == ']' && depth == 0 {
+				closeIdx = k
+				break
 			}
-			if idx == "*" {
-				arr := s.getArray(arrName)
-				return strings.Join(arr, " ")
+		}
+		if closeIdx > bracketIdx {
+			prefix := expr[:bracketIdx]
+			// No operator before the bracket
+			if !strings.ContainsAny(prefix, ":=+%#") {
+				arrName := prefix
+				idx := expr[bracketIdx+1 : closeIdx]
+				rest := expr[closeIdx+1:] // may be empty or ":-…" / ":+…" / ":=…"
+
+				arrVal := ""
+				isMulti := false
+				multiVal := ""
+
+				switch idx {
+				case "@":
+					arr := s.getArray(arrName)
+					if len(arr) == 0 {
+						arrVal = ""
+					} else {
+						isMulti = true
+						multiVal = strings.Join(arr, "\x01")
+					}
+				case "*":
+					arr := s.getArray(arrName)
+					arrVal = strings.Join(arr, " ")
+				default:
+					n := s.evalArith(idx)
+					arr := s.getArray(arrName)
+					if n >= 0 && n < len(arr) {
+						arrVal = arr[n]
+					}
+				}
+
+				// Apply trailing operator (:-  :=  :+) if present
+				switch {
+				case rest == "":
+					if isMulti {
+						if multiVal == "" {
+							return "\x01"
+						}
+						return multiVal
+					}
+					return arrVal
+				case strings.HasPrefix(rest, ":-"):
+					if isMulti {
+						return multiVal
+					}
+					if arrVal != "" {
+						return arrVal
+					}
+					return s.expandWord(rest[2:])
+				case strings.HasPrefix(rest, ":="):
+					if arrVal != "" {
+						return arrVal
+					}
+					expanded := s.expandWord(rest[2:])
+					s.vars[arrName] = expanded
+					return expanded
+				case strings.HasPrefix(rest, ":+"):
+					if isMulti {
+						return s.expandWord(rest[2:])
+					}
+					if arrVal != "" {
+						return s.expandWord(rest[2:])
+					}
+					return ""
+				default:
+					if isMulti {
+						return multiVal
+					}
+					return arrVal
+				}
 			}
-			// Numeric index
-			n := s.evalArith(idx)
-			arr := s.getArray(arrName)
-			if n >= 0 && n < len(arr) {
-				return arr[n]
-			}
-			return ""
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -576,6 +645,17 @@ func (s *Shell) tokenize(input string) []string {
 			inDouble = !inDouble
 			wasQuoted = true
 			current.WriteByte(c)
+		// Process substitution <(...): when '<' is immediately followed by '('
+		// (no space between), keep the entire <(cmd args...) as one token so
+		// extractRedirects can run the command and redirect stdin to its output.
+		// The standalone '<' redirect operator always has a space after it and
+		// therefore becomes its own token before this case is reached.
+		case c == '<' && !inSingle && !inDouble && parenDepth == 0 &&
+			i+1 < len(input) && input[i+1] == '(':
+			current.WriteByte('<')
+			current.WriteByte('(')
+			parenDepth++
+			i++ // skip '('; outer loop will add 1 more → 2 chars consumed
 		case c == '$' && !inSingle && i+1 < len(input) && (input[i+1] == '(' || input[i+1] == '{'):
 			// Mark that the next ( opens a substitution — don't increment depth here
 			if input[i+1] == '(' {
@@ -633,8 +713,17 @@ doneTokenizing:
 			tok = tok[2:]
 		}
 		expanded := s.expandWord(tok)
-		// Handle multi-word expansion from $@ and ${arr[@]}
+		// Handle multi-word expansion from $@ and ${arr[@]}.
+		// Exception: process substitution tokens (<(...)) must stay as one
+		// token so extractRedirects can recognise them.  Inside a process
+		// substitution the \x01 separators are argument boundaries for the
+		// inner command, so join them with spaces instead of splitting.
 		if strings.Contains(expanded, "\x01") {
+			if strings.HasPrefix(expanded, "<(") {
+				expanded = strings.ReplaceAll(expanded, "\x01", " ")
+				result = append(result, expanded)
+				continue
+			}
 			parts := strings.Split(expanded, "\x01")
 			for _, p := range parts {
 				if p != "" {
diff --git a/internal/shell/shell.go b/internal/shell/shell.go
index 647e78f..aec5490 100644
--- a/internal/shell/shell.go
+++ b/internal/shell/shell.go
@@ -119,6 +119,8 @@ func (s *Shell) SetVar(name, value string) {
 }
 
 // Execute runs commands from the given input string.
+func PreprocessForTest(input string) string { return preprocessHeredocs(input) }
+func ParseBlocksForTest(input string) []string { return parseBlocks(input) }
 func (s *Shell) Execute(input string) error {
 	// Normalize CRLF to LF
 	input = strings.ReplaceAll(input, "\r\n", "\n")
@@ -206,9 +208,9 @@ func parseBlocks(input string) []string {
 				funcKwDepth = 0
 				for _, p := range splitStatements(stmt[braceIdx+1:]) {
 					switch firstWord(p) {
-					case "if", "for", "while", "until", "case":
+					case "if", "for", "while", "until", "case", "{":
 						funcKwDepth++
-					case "fi", "done", "esac":
+					case "fi", "done", "esac", "}":
 						funcKwDepth--
 					}
 				}
@@ -226,7 +228,7 @@ func parseBlocks(input string) []string {
 			}
 
 			switch w {
-			case "if", "for", "while", "until", "case":
+			case "if", "for", "while", "until", "case", "{":
 				kwDepth++
 			}
 			kwDepth += embeddedKwDepth(stmt)
@@ -255,9 +257,9 @@ func parseBlocks(input string) []string {
 				continue
 			}
 			switch w {
-			case "if", "for", "while", "until", "case":
+			case "if", "for", "while", "until", "case", "{":
 				funcKwDepth++
-			case "fi", "done", "esac":
+			case "fi", "done", "esac", "}":
 				funcKwDepth--
 			}
 			funcKwDepth += embeddedKwDepth(stmt)
@@ -273,6 +275,7 @@ func parseBlocks(input string) []string {
 // embeddedKwDepth returns the net depth change from keywords that appear
 // after do/then/else/elif within a single statement (excluding the first word,
 // which is handled separately by the caller).
+func EmbeddedKwDepthForTest(s string) int { return embeddedKwDepth(s) }
 func embeddedKwDepth(stmt string) int {
 	words := strings.Fields(stmt)
 	delta := 0
@@ -375,6 +378,12 @@ func parseHeredocMarkers(line string) (string, []string) {
 			out.WriteByte(c)
 			i++
 		case c == '<' && !inSingle && !inDouble && i+1 < len(line) && line[i+1] == '<':
+			// <<< here-string: not a heredoc, pass through all three < chars unchanged
+			if i+2 < len(line) && line[i+2] == '<' {
+				out.WriteString("<<<")
+				i += 3
+				break
+			}
 			// Possible heredoc
 			i += 2 // skip <<
 			stripTabs := false
@@ -429,6 +438,7 @@ func splitStatements(input string) []string {
 	inSingle := false
 	inDouble := false
 	parenDepth := 0
+	braceDepth := 0 // { } command groups — don't split ; inside them
 
 	for i := 0; i < len(input); i++ {
 		c := input[i]
@@ -445,7 +455,14 @@ func splitStatements(input string) []string {
 		case c == ')' && !inSingle && !inDouble && parenDepth > 0:
 			parenDepth--
 			current.WriteByte(c)
-		case c == ';' && !inSingle && !inDouble && parenDepth == 0:
+		// Track { } command groups but not ${...} variable expansions
+		case c == '{' && !inSingle && !inDouble && parenDepth == 0 && (i == 0 || input[i-1] != '$'):
+			braceDepth++
+			current.WriteByte(c)
+		case c == '}' && !inSingle && !inDouble && parenDepth == 0 && braceDepth > 0:
+			braceDepth--
+			current.WriteByte(c)
+		case c == ';' && !inSingle && !inDouble && parenDepth == 0 && braceDepth == 0:
 			if i+1 < len(input) && input[i+1] == ';' {
 				// Double semicolon — flush current token, then emit ";;" as a token
 				if s := strings.TrimSpace(current.String()); s != "" {
@@ -461,7 +478,7 @@ func splitStatements(input string) []string {
 				}
 				current.Reset()
 			}
-		case c == '\n' && !inSingle && !inDouble && parenDepth == 0:
+		case c == '\n' && !inSingle && !inDouble && parenDepth == 0 && braceDepth == 0:
 			if s := strings.TrimSpace(current.String()); s != "" {
 				result = append(result, s)
 			}
@@ -553,12 +570,15 @@ func (s *Shell) executeBlock(block string) error {
 	if isFuncDefStart(block) {
 		return s.defineFunction(block)
 	}
-	for _, line := range strings.Split(block, "\n") {
-		line = strings.TrimSpace(line)
-		if line == "" || strings.HasPrefix(line, "#") {
+	// Use splitStatements instead of strings.Split("\n") so that multi-line
+	// constructs (e.g. process substitutions spanning several lines) are kept
+	// together as a single logical unit rather than being broken apart.
+	for _, stmt := range splitStatements(block) {
+		stmt = strings.TrimSpace(stmt)
+		if stmt == "" || strings.HasPrefix(stmt, "#") {
 			continue
 		}
-		if err := s.executeLine(line); err != nil {
+		if err := s.executeLine(stmt); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 	}
@@ -591,20 +611,40 @@ func splitBySemicolon(line string) []string {
 	current := strings.Builder{}
 	inSingle := false
 	inDouble := false
+	parenDepth := 0    // tracks $(...) and <(...) nesting
+	pendingDollar := false
 
 	for i := 0; i < len(line); i++ {
 		c := line[i]
 		switch {
-		case c == '\'' && !inDouble:
+		case c == '\'' && !inDouble && parenDepth == 0:
 			inSingle = !inSingle
 			current.WriteByte(c)
-		case c == '"' && !inSingle:
+		case c == '"' && !inSingle && parenDepth == 0:
 			inDouble = !inDouble
 			current.WriteByte(c)
-		case c == ';' && !inSingle && !inDouble:
+		// Process substitution <(...): don't split ; | && || inside.
+		case c == '<' && !inSingle && !inDouble && i+1 < len(line) && line[i+1] == '(':
+			parenDepth++
+			current.WriteByte('<')
+			current.WriteByte('(')
+			i++
+		// Command substitution $(...): don't split ; inside.
+		case c == '$' && !inSingle && !inDouble && i+1 < len(line) && line[i+1] == '(':
+			pendingDollar = true
+			current.WriteByte(c)
+		case c == '(' && !inSingle && !inDouble && (parenDepth > 0 || pendingDollar):
+			parenDepth++
+			pendingDollar = false
+			current.WriteByte(c)
+		case c == ')' && !inSingle && !inDouble && parenDepth > 0:
+			parenDepth--
+			current.WriteByte(c)
+		case c == ';' && !inSingle && !inDouble && parenDepth == 0:
 			parts = append(parts, current.String())
 			current.Reset()
 		default:
+			pendingDollar = false
 			current.WriteByte(c)
 		}
 	}
@@ -624,38 +664,59 @@ func (s *Shell) executeAndOrList(line string) error {
 	op := ""
 	inSingle := false
 	inDouble := false
-	dbDepth := 0 // double-bracket [[ depth
+	dbDepth   := 0 // double-bracket [[ depth
+	parenDepth := 0 // $( ) depth — don't split && || inside subshells
+	pendingDollar := false
 
 	for i := 0; i < len(line); i++ {
 		c := line[i]
 		switch {
-		case c == '\'' && !inDouble:
+		case c == '\'' && !inDouble && parenDepth == 0:
 			inSingle = !inSingle
 			current.WriteByte(c)
-		case c == '"' && !inSingle:
+		case c == '"' && !inSingle && parenDepth == 0:
 			inDouble = !inDouble
 			current.WriteByte(c)
-		case c == '[' && !inSingle && !inDouble && i+1 < len(line) && line[i+1] == '[':
+		// Process substitution <(...): don't split && || inside.
+		case c == '<' && !inSingle && !inDouble && i+1 < len(line) && line[i+1] == '(':
+			parenDepth++
+			current.WriteByte('<')
+			current.WriteByte('(')
+			i++
+		case c == '$' && !inSingle && !inDouble && i+1 < len(line) && line[i+1] == '(':
+			pendingDollar = true
+			current.WriteByte(c)
+		case c == '(' && !inSingle && !inDouble && (parenDepth > 0 || pendingDollar):
+			parenDepth++
+			pendingDollar = false
+			current.WriteByte(c)
+		case c == ')' && !inSingle && !inDouble && parenDepth > 0:
+			parenDepth--
+			current.WriteByte(c)
+		case c == '[' && !inSingle && !inDouble && parenDepth == 0 && i+1 < len(line) && line[i+1] == '[':
 			dbDepth++
 			current.WriteByte(c)
 			current.WriteByte(line[i+1])
 			i++
-		case c == ']' && !inSingle && !inDouble && i+1 < len(line) && line[i+1] == ']' && dbDepth > 0:
+		case c == ']' && !inSingle && !inDouble && parenDepth == 0 && i+1 < len(line) && line[i+1] == ']' && dbDepth > 0:
 			dbDepth--
 			current.WriteByte(c)
 			current.WriteByte(line[i+1])
 			i++
-		case c == '&' && !inSingle && !inDouble && i+1 < len(line) && line[i+1] == '&' && dbDepth == 0:
+		case c == '&' && !inSingle && !inDouble && parenDepth == 0 && i+1 < len(line) && line[i+1] == '&' && dbDepth == 0:
+			pendingDollar = false
 			tokens = append(tokens, tok{current.String(), op})
 			current.Reset()
 			op = "&&"
 			i++
-		case c == '|' && !inSingle && !inDouble && i+1 < len(line) && line[i+1] == '|' && dbDepth == 0:
+		case c == '|' && !inSingle && !inDouble && parenDepth == 0 && i+1 < len(line) && line[i+1] == '|' && dbDepth == 0:
+			pendingDollar = false
 			tokens = append(tokens, tok{current.String(), op})
 			current.Reset()
 			op = "||"
 			i++
 		default:
+			pendingDollar = false
 			current.WriteByte(c)
 		}
 	}