diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 8b00f44..0f7d518 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -82,6 +82,8 @@ External URLs must use `http://` or `https://`. Uploaded files and remote URLs c
 
 When adding an external URL, the admin form can fetch title, description, duration, thumbnail metadata, and readable provider view counts through oEmbed, page metadata, and JSON-LD. The save action repeats the metadata lookup as a fallback, so blank titles can be filled from supported external pages even if the browser autofill was not used.
 
+Descriptions support Markdown, sanitized HTML, and rich pasted HTML from provider pages such as YouTube. Public pages render formatting while catalogue cards and social metadata use safe plain-text excerpts.
+
 If no thumbnail image is uploaded, the add/edit forms can auto-grab one from the first supported source. YouTube and Dailymotion use direct thumbnail URLs; Vimeo, Wistia, TikTok, SoundCloud, and Spotify use oEmbed when available. Local uploaded videos can generate a first-frame thumbnail when `ffmpeg` is installed on the server. Uploaded M4A files also use `ffmpeg` to create a black-frame H.264 MP4 playback source while keeping the original M4A source.
 
 ### Live Homepage Option
diff --git a/admin/add.php b/admin/add.php
index 4a39b31..1d27402 100644
--- a/admin/add.php
+++ b/admin/add.php
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ $msg   = '';
 
 if ($_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] === 'POST') {
     $title       = trim($_POST['title'] ?? '');
-    $description = trim($_POST['description'] ?? '');
+    $description = media_prepare_description_for_storage($_POST['description'] ?? '');
     $duration    = (int)($_POST['duration'] ?? 0);
     $sort_order  = (int)($_POST['sort_order'] ?? 0);
     $published   = isset($_POST['published']) ? 1 : 0;
@@ -40,7 +40,9 @@ if ($_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] === 'POST') {
         $metadata = media_external_metadata($url);
         $source_metadata[$url] = $metadata;
         if ($title === '' && $metadata['title'] !== '') $title = $metadata['title'];
-        if ($description === '' && $metadata['description'] !== '') $description = $metadata['description'];
+        if ($description === '' && $metadata['description'] !== '') {
+            $description = media_prepare_description_for_storage($metadata['description']);
+        }
         if ($duration <= 0 && (int)$metadata['duration'] > 0) $duration = (int)$metadata['duration'];
         if ((int)$metadata['view_count'] > $initial_external_view_count) {
             $initial_external_view_count = (int)$metadata['view_count'];
@@ -291,8 +293,8 @@ render_head('Add Video — Admin', '
               <span class="hint">Leave blank when pasting a supported external URL, then use Fetch Info.</span>
             </div>
             <div class="form-group span2">
-              <label class="form-label" for="description">Description</label>
-              <textarea class="form-textarea" id="description" name="description" rows="3"><?= h($_POST['description'] ?? '') ?></textarea>
+              <label class="form-label" id="description-label" for="description">Description</label>
+              <?php render_description_editor($_POST['description'] ?? ''); ?>
             </div>
             <div class="form-group">
               <label class="form-label" for="duration">Duration (seconds)</label>
@@ -401,6 +403,7 @@ render_head('Add Video — Admin', '
   <?php render_footer(); ?>
 </main>
 
+<?php render_description_editor_script(); ?>
 <script>
 function toggleSourceRow(row) {
   var select = row.querySelector('.source-type-select');
@@ -430,7 +433,10 @@ function fillFromMetadata(row, metadata, force) {
   var label = row.querySelector('input[name="source_label[]"]');
 
   if (metadata.title && title && (force || !title.value.trim())) title.value = metadata.title;
-  if (metadata.description && description && (force || !description.value.trim())) description.value = metadata.description;
+  if (metadata.description && description && (force || !description.value.trim())) {
+    if (window.setDescriptionEditorValue) window.setDescriptionEditorValue(metadata.description);
+    else description.value = metadata.description;
+  }
   if (metadata.duration && duration && (force || !parseInt(duration.value || '0', 10))) duration.value = metadata.duration;
   if (label && !label.value.trim()) label.value = providerLabel(metadata.provider) || metadata.title || 'External';
 }
diff --git a/admin/edit.php b/admin/edit.php
index cc46afa..3f786ce 100644
--- a/admin/edit.php
+++ b/admin/edit.php
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ if ($_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] === 'POST') {
 
     if ($action === 'save') {
         $title       = trim($_POST['title'] ?? '');
-        $description = trim($_POST['description'] ?? '');
+        $description = media_prepare_description_for_storage($_POST['description'] ?? '');
         $duration    = (int)($_POST['duration'] ?? 0);
         $sort_order  = (int)($_POST['sort_order'] ?? 0);
         $view_count  = max(0, (int)($_POST['view_count'] ?? $video['view_count']));
@@ -335,8 +335,8 @@ render_head('Edit Video — Admin', '
                      value="<?= h($video['title']) ?>" required>
             </div>
             <div class="form-group span2">
-              <label class="form-label" for="description">Description</label>
-              <textarea class="form-textarea" id="description" name="description" rows="3"><?= h($video['description']) ?></textarea>
+              <label class="form-label" id="description-label" for="description">Description</label>
+              <?php render_description_editor($video['description']); ?>
             </div>
             <div class="form-group">
               <label class="form-label">Slug (auto-generated)</label>
@@ -508,6 +508,7 @@ render_head('Edit Video — Admin', '
   <?php render_footer(); ?>
 </main>
 
+<?php render_description_editor_script(); ?>
 <script>
 function toggleSourceRow(row) {
   var select = row.querySelector('.source-type-select');
diff --git a/admin/youtube_import.php b/admin/youtube_import.php
index 716a296..b5bc948 100644
--- a/admin/youtube_import.php
+++ b/admin/youtube_import.php
@@ -251,7 +251,7 @@ function yt_video_record(string $id, string $title, string $description = '', st
     return [
         'id' => $id,
         'title' => $title,
-        'description' => trim($description),
+        'description' => media_prepare_description_for_storage($description),
         'duration' => yt_duration_seconds($duration_text),
         'duration_text' => trim($duration_text),
         'thumbnail_url' => $thumbnail_url ?: 'https://i.ytimg.com/vi/' . rawurlencode($id) . '/hqdefault.jpg',
diff --git a/catalogue.php b/catalogue.php
index 6fa6142..23b6d91 100644
--- a/catalogue.php
+++ b/catalogue.php
@@ -161,7 +161,7 @@ render_head('Videos — TyClifford.com', '
     <?php foreach ($paged['videos'] as $v):
       $vslug   = $v['slug'];
       $vtitle  = $v['title'];
-      $vdesc   = $v['description'];
+      $vdesc   = media_description_plain_text($v['description']);
       $vthumb  = $v['thumbnail'];
       $vdur    = (int)$v['duration'];
       $created = substr($v['created_at'], 0, 10);
diff --git a/cli/admin.php b/cli/admin.php
index c532ce5..1d73268 100755
--- a/cli/admin.php
+++ b/cli/admin.php
@@ -27,6 +27,10 @@ function cli_main(array $argv): int {
         $command = 'help';
     }
 
+    if (cli_command_requires_database_write($command)) {
+        cli_assert_database_writable();
+    }
+
     return match ($command) {
         'help' => cli_help(),
         'site:status', 'status' => cli_site_status(),
@@ -51,6 +55,7 @@ function cli_main(array $argv): int {
         'maintenance:external-views' => cli_maintenance_external_views($parsed),
         'maintenance:all' => cli_maintenance_all($parsed),
         'db:path' => cli_db_path(),
+        'db:doctor' => cli_db_doctor(),
         'db:backup' => cli_db_backup($parsed),
         'db:vacuum' => cli_db_vacuum(),
         default => cli_unknown($command),
@@ -157,6 +162,7 @@ Maintenance:
 
 Database:
   db:path
+  db:doctor
   db:backup [--output=/path/to/media.db]
   db:vacuum
 
@@ -164,6 +170,46 @@ HELP;
     return 0;
 }
 
+function cli_command_requires_database_write(string $command): bool {
+    return in_array($command, [
+        'settings:set',
+        'admin:password',
+        'password:set',
+        'video:add',
+        'video:update',
+        'video:publish',
+        'video:unpublish',
+        'video:toggle',
+        'video:delete',
+        'source:add',
+        'source:update',
+        'source:delete',
+        'maintenance:catalogue-order',
+        'maintenance:youtube-timestamps',
+        'maintenance:external-views',
+        'maintenance:all',
+        'db:vacuum',
+    ], true);
+}
+
+function cli_assert_database_writable(): void {
+    $paths = cli_database_writable_checks();
+    $problems = [];
+
+    foreach ($paths as $check) {
+        if (!$check['ok']) $problems[] = $check['message'];
+    }
+
+    if ($problems) {
+        $details = implode(PHP_EOL . '  - ', $problems);
+        throw new RuntimeException(
+            "Database is not writable by the current CLI user (" . cli_current_user_label() . ")." .
+            PHP_EOL . "  - " . $details .
+            PHP_EOL . "Run db:doctor for details, then make the data directory and media.db writable by this user."
+        );
+    }
+}
+
 function cli_unknown(string $command): int {
     fwrite(STDERR, "Unknown command: {$command}" . PHP_EOL . PHP_EOL);
     cli_help();
@@ -768,6 +814,66 @@ function cli_db_path(): int {
     return 0;
 }
 
+function cli_db_doctor(): int {
+    $rows = [
+        ['Current user', cli_current_user_label()],
+        ['Database path', DB_PATH],
+        ['Data directory', dirname(DB_PATH)],
+        ['Database exists', cli_yes_no(file_exists(DB_PATH))],
+    ];
+
+    foreach (cli_database_writable_checks() as $check) {
+        $rows[] = [$check['label'], $check['ok'] ? 'ok' : $check['message']];
+    }
+
+    cli_table(['check', 'result'], $rows);
+    return 0;
+}
+
+function cli_database_writable_checks(): array {
+    $directory = dirname(DB_PATH);
+    $checks = [];
+
+    $checks[] = [
+        'label' => 'data directory',
+        'ok' => is_dir($directory) && is_writable($directory),
+        'message' => is_dir($directory)
+            ? "data directory is not writable: {$directory}"
+            : "data directory does not exist: {$directory}",
+    ];
+
+    if (file_exists(DB_PATH)) {
+        $checks[] = [
+            'label' => 'media.db',
+            'ok' => is_writable(DB_PATH),
+            'message' => "database file is not writable: " . DB_PATH,
+        ];
+    }
+
+    foreach ([DB_PATH . '-wal', DB_PATH . '-shm'] as $path) {
+        if (!file_exists($path)) continue;
+        $checks[] = [
+            'label' => basename($path),
+            'ok' => is_writable($path),
+            'message' => "SQLite sidecar file is not writable: {$path}",
+        ];
+    }
+
+    return $checks;
+}
+
+function cli_current_user_label(): string {
+    if (function_exists('posix_geteuid') && function_exists('posix_getpwuid')) {
+        $uid = posix_geteuid();
+        $info = posix_getpwuid($uid);
+        $name = is_array($info) && isset($info['name']) ? (string)$info['name'] : '';
+        return $name !== '' ? "{$name} (uid {$uid})" : "uid {$uid}";
+    }
+
+    $user = get_current_user();
+    return $user !== '' ? $user : 'unknown';
+}
+
 function cli_db_backup(array $parsed): int {
     cli_db()->exec('PRAGMA wal_checkpoint(FULL)');
 
diff --git a/data/media.db b/data/media.db
index 5b20633..6395577 100644
Binary files a/data/media.db and b/data/media.db differ
diff --git a/embed.php b/embed.php
index b37bfbb..ec1e562 100644
--- a/embed.php
+++ b/embed.php
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ foreach ($player_sources as $player_source) {
 }
 
 $meta_title = $video ? $video['title'] . ' — TyClifford.com' : 'Video Player';
-$meta_description = $video && trim($video['description'] ?? '') !== '' ? trim($video['description']) : 'TyClifford.com media player';
+$meta_description = $video && trim($video['description'] ?? '') !== '' ? media_description_plain_text($video['description']) : 'TyClifford.com media player';
 $meta_url = $video
     ? public_absolute_url('embed.php?v=' . rawurlencode($video['slug']))
     : public_absolute_url('embed.php');
diff --git a/includes/db.php b/includes/db.php
index a982a9d..90d3502 100644
--- a/includes/db.php
+++ b/includes/db.php
@@ -595,6 +595,420 @@ function media_pick_longest_text(string $current, string $candidate): string {
     return strlen($candidate) > strlen($current) ? $candidate : $current;
 }
 
+function media_description_contains_html(string $value): bool {
+    return (bool)preg_match('/<\/?[a-z][a-z0-9:-]*(?:\s[^>]*)?>/i', $value);
+}
+
+function media_pick_longest_description(string $current, string $candidate): string {
+    $candidate = trim($candidate);
+    if ($candidate === '') return $current;
+    $current_length = strlen(media_description_plain_text($current));
+    $candidate_length = strlen(media_description_plain_text($candidate));
+    return $candidate_length > $current_length ? $candidate : $current;
+}
+
+function media_prepare_description_for_storage(string $value): string {
+    $value = trim($value);
+    if ($value === '') return '';
+    return media_description_contains_html($value) ? media_sanitize_html($value) : $value;
+}
+
+function media_description_plain_text(string $value): string {
+    $value = trim($value);
+    if ($value === '') return '';
+    $html = media_description_html($value);
+    $text = html_entity_decode(strip_tags($html), ENT_QUOTES | ENT_HTML5, 'UTF-8');
+    $text = preg_replace('/[ \t]+/', ' ', $text);
+    $text = preg_replace('/\s*\n\s*/', ' ', (string)$text);
+    return trim((string)$text);
+}
+
+function media_description_html(string $value): string {
+    $value = trim($value);
+    if ($value === '') return '';
+    $html = media_description_contains_html($value)
+        ? $value
+        : media_markdown_to_html($value);
+    return media_sanitize_html($html);
+}
+
+function media_markdown_to_html(string $markdown): string {
+    $markdown = str_replace(["\r\n", "\r"], "\n", trim($markdown));
+    if ($markdown === '') return '';
+
+    $lines = explode("\n", $markdown);
+    $html = [];
+    $paragraph = [];
+    $blockquote = [];
+    $list_type = '';
+    $in_code = false;
+    $code_lines = [];
+
+    $flush_paragraph = function () use (&$html, &$paragraph): void {
+        if (!$paragraph) return;
+        $parts = array_map('media_markdown_inline', $paragraph);
+        $html[] = '<p>' . implode('<br>', $parts) . '</p>';
+        $paragraph = [];
+    };
+    $flush_blockquote = function () use (&$html, &$blockquote): void {
+        if (!$blockquote) return;
+        $parts = array_map('media_markdown_inline', $blockquote);
+        $html[] = '<blockquote><p>' . implode('<br>', $parts) . '</p></blockquote>';
+        $blockquote = [];
+    };
+    $close_list = function () use (&$html, &$list_type): void {
+        if ($list_type === '') return;
+        $html[] = '</' . $list_type . '>';
+        $list_type = '';
+    };
+
+    foreach ($lines as $line) {
+        if (preg_match('/^\s*```/', $line)) {
+            if ($in_code) {
+                $html[] = '<pre><code>' . h(implode("\n", $code_lines)) . '</code></pre>';
+                $code_lines = [];
+                $in_code = false;
+            } else {
+                $flush_paragraph();
+                $flush_blockquote();
+                $close_list();
+                $in_code = true;
+                $code_lines = [];
+            }
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        if ($in_code) {
+            $code_lines[] = $line;
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        if (trim($line) === '') {
+            $flush_paragraph();
+            $flush_blockquote();
+            $close_list();
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        if (preg_match('/^(#{1,6})\s+(.+)$/', $line, $match)) {
+            $flush_paragraph();
+            $flush_blockquote();
+            $close_list();
+            $level = strlen($match[1]);
+            $html[] = '<h' . $level . '>' . media_markdown_inline($match[2]) . '</h' . $level . '>';
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        if (preg_match('/^>\s?(.*)$/', $line, $match)) {
+            $flush_paragraph();
+            $close_list();
+            $blockquote[] = $match[1];
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        if (preg_match('/^\s*[-*+]\s+(.+)$/', $line, $match)) {
+            $flush_paragraph();
+            $flush_blockquote();
+            if ($list_type !== 'ul') {
+                $close_list();
+                $html[] = '<ul>';
+                $list_type = 'ul';
+            }
+            $html[] = '<li>' . media_markdown_inline($match[1]) . '</li>';
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        if (preg_match('/^\s*\d+[.)]\s+(.+)$/', $line, $match)) {
+            $flush_paragraph();
+            $flush_blockquote();
+            if ($list_type !== 'ol') {
+                $close_list();
+                $html[] = '<ol>';
+                $list_type = 'ol';
+            }
+            $html[] = '<li>' . media_markdown_inline($match[1]) . '</li>';
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        $close_list();
+        $flush_blockquote();
+        $paragraph[] = $line;
+    }
+
+    if ($in_code) $html[] = '<pre><code>' . h(implode("\n", $code_lines)) . '</code></pre>';
+    $flush_paragraph();
+    $flush_blockquote();
+    $close_list();
+
+    return implode("\n", $html);
+}
+
+function media_markdown_inline(string $text): string {
+    $tokens = [];
+    $text = preg_replace_callback('/`([^`\n]+)`/', function ($match) use (&$tokens): string {
+        $token = '@@MDTOKEN' . count($tokens) . '@@';
+        $tokens[$token] = '<code>' . h($match[1]) . '</code>';
+        return $token;
+    }, $text);
+
+    $html = h((string)$text);
+
+    $html = preg_replace_callback('/\[([^\]\n]+)\]\(([^)\s]+)(?:\s+&quot;[^&]*&quot;)?\)/', function ($match): string {
+        $url = html_entity_decode($match[2], ENT_QUOTES | ENT_HTML5, 'UTF-8');
+        return media_description_link_html($url, $match[1]);
+    }, $html);
+
+    $html = preg_replace('/\*\*([^*\n]+)\*\*/', '<strong>$1</strong>', (string)$html);
+    $html = preg_replace('/__([^_\n]+)__/', '<strong>$1</strong>', (string)$html);
+    $html = preg_replace('/(?<!\*)\*([^*\n]+)\*(?!\*)/', '<em>$1</em>', (string)$html);
+    $html = preg_replace('/(?<!_)_([^_\n]+)_(?!_)/', '<em>$1</em>', (string)$html);
+    $html = preg_replace('/~~([^~\n]+)~~/', '<s>$1</s>', (string)$html);
+
+    foreach ($tokens as $token => $replacement) {
+        $html = str_replace($token, $replacement, (string)$html);
+    }
+
+    return media_autolink_html_text((string)$html);
+}
+
+function media_autolink_html_text(string $html): string {
+    $parts = preg_split('/(<a\b[^>]*>.*?<\/a>|<code\b[^>]*>.*?<\/code>|<[^>]+>)/is', $html, -1, PREG_SPLIT_DELIM_CAPTURE);
+    if (!is_array($parts)) return $html;
+
+    foreach ($parts as $i => $part) {
+        if ($part === '' || str_starts_with($part, '<')) continue;
+        $parts[$i] = preg_replace_callback('~https?://[^\s<]+~i', function ($match): string {
+            $url = $match[0];
+            $trail = '';
+            while ($url !== '' && preg_match('/[.,;:!?)]$/', $url)) {
+                $trail = substr($url, -1) . $trail;
+                $url = substr($url, 0, -1);
+            }
+            return media_description_link_html($url, h($url)) . $trail;
+        }, $part);
+    }
+
+    return implode('', $parts);
+}
+
+function media_description_link_html(string $url, string $label_html): string {
+    $href = media_clean_url_attribute($url, false);
+    if ($href === '') return $label_html;
+    return '<a href="' . h($href) . '" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">' . $label_html . '</a>';
+}
+
+function media_clean_url_attribute(string $url, bool $for_src): string {
+    $url = trim(html_entity_decode($url, ENT_QUOTES | ENT_HTML5, 'UTF-8'));
+    $url = preg_replace('/[\x00-\x1F\x7F\s]+/', '', $url);
+    $url = (string)$url;
+    if ($url === '') return '';
+
+    if (str_starts_with($url, '//')) return 'https:' . $url;
+    if (str_starts_with($url, '#')) return $for_src ? '' : $url;
+    if (str_starts_with($url, '/')) return $url;
+
+    if (preg_match('/^[a-z][a-z0-9+.-]*:/i', $url, $match)) {
+        $scheme = strtolower(rtrim($match[0], ':'));
+        $allowed = $for_src ? ['http', 'https'] : ['http', 'https', 'mailto', 'tel'];
+        return in_array($scheme, $allowed, true) ? $url : '';
+    }
+
+    return preg_match('/^[^<>"\']+$/', $url) ? $url : '';
+}
+
+function media_clean_style_attribute(string $style): string {
+    $allowed = [
+        'background-color' => true,
+        'color' => true,
+        'font-size' => true,
+        'font-style' => true,
+        'font-weight' => true,
+        'letter-spacing' => true,
+        'line-height' => true,
+        'text-align' => true,
+        'text-decoration' => true,
+        'text-transform' => true,
+    ];
+    $clean = [];
+
+    foreach (explode(';', $style) as $rule) {
+        if (!str_contains($rule, ':')) continue;
+        [$property, $value] = array_map('trim', explode(':', $rule, 2));
+        $property = strtolower($property);
+        if (!isset($allowed[$property]) || $value === '') continue;
+        if (preg_match('/url\s*\(|expression\s*\(|javascript:|data:|@|[<>\\\\]/i', $value)) continue;
+        if (strlen($value) > 160) continue;
+        $clean[] = $property . ': ' . $value;
+    }
+
+    return implode('; ', $clean);
+}
+
+function media_description_allowed_tags(): array {
+    return [
+        'a' => true, 'b' => true, 'blockquote' => true, 'br' => true,
+        'code' => true, 'div' => true, 'em' => true, 'h1' => true,
+        'h2' => true, 'h3' => true, 'h4' => true, 'h5' => true,
+        'h6' => true, 'i' => true, 'img' => true, 'li' => true,
+        'ol' => true, 'p' => true, 'pre' => true, 's' => true,
+        'span' => true, 'strong' => true, 'u' => true, 'ul' => true,
+    ];
+}
+
+function media_description_drop_tags(): array {
+    return [
+        'audio' => true, 'base' => true, 'button' => true, 'canvas' => true,
+        'embed' => true, 'form' => true, 'iframe' => true, 'input' => true,
+        'link' => true, 'math' => true, 'meta' => true, 'object' => true,
+        'picture' => true, 'script' => true, 'select' => true, 'source' => true,
+        'style' => true, 'svg' => true, 'textarea' => true, 'track' => true,
+        'video' => true,
+    ];
+}
+
+function media_description_allowed_attrs(string $tag): array {
+    $attrs = ['title' => true, 'style' => true];
+    if ($tag === 'a') {
+        $attrs['href'] = true;
+        $attrs['rel'] = true;
+        $attrs['target'] = true;
+    }
+    if ($tag === 'img') {
+        $attrs['src'] = true;
+        $attrs['alt'] = true;
+        $attrs['width'] = true;
+        $attrs['height'] = true;
+        $attrs['loading'] = true;
+        $attrs['decoding'] = true;
+    }
+    if ($tag === 'ol') $attrs['start'] = true;
+    return $attrs;
+}
+
+function media_sanitize_html(string $html): string {
+    $html = trim($html);
+    if ($html === '') return '';
+    if (!class_exists('DOMDocument')) {
+        return nl2br(h(html_entity_decode(strip_tags($html), ENT_QUOTES | ENT_HTML5, 'UTF-8')));
+    }
+
+    $doc = new DOMDocument('1.0', 'UTF-8');
+    $previous = function_exists('libxml_use_internal_errors') ? libxml_use_internal_errors(true) : null;
+    $options = 0;
+    if (defined('LIBXML_HTML_NOIMPLIED')) $options |= LIBXML_HTML_NOIMPLIED;
+    if (defined('LIBXML_HTML_NODEFDTD')) $options |= LIBXML_HTML_NODEFDTD;
+
+    $loaded = $doc->loadHTML(
+        '<?xml encoding="UTF-8"><div id="media-description-root">' . $html . '</div>',
+        $options
+    );
+    if (function_exists('libxml_clear_errors')) libxml_clear_errors();
+    if ($previous !== null && function_exists('libxml_use_internal_errors')) libxml_use_internal_errors($previous);
+    if (!$loaded) return '';
+
+    $root = $doc->getElementById('media-description-root');
+    if (!$root) return '';
+
+    media_sanitize_dom_node($root, $doc);
+
+    $out = '';
+    foreach ($root->childNodes as $child) {
+        $out .= $doc->saveHTML($child);
+    }
+    return trim($out);
+}
+
+function media_sanitize_dom_node($node, $doc): void {
+    $allowed_tags = media_description_allowed_tags();
+    $drop_tags = media_description_drop_tags();
+
+    for ($child = $node->firstChild; $child !== null; $child = $next) {
+        $next = $child->nextSibling;
+
+        if ($child->nodeType === 8) {
+            $node->removeChild($child);
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        if ($child->nodeType !== 1) continue;
+
+        $tag = strtolower($child->nodeName);
+        if (isset($drop_tags[$tag])) {
+            $node->removeChild($child);
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        media_sanitize_dom_node($child, $doc);
+
+        if (!isset($allowed_tags[$tag])) {
+            while ($child->firstChild) {
+                $node->insertBefore($child->firstChild, $child);
+            }
+            $node->removeChild($child);
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        media_sanitize_dom_attributes($child, $tag);
+        if ($tag === 'img' && !$child->hasAttribute('src')) {
+            $node->removeChild($child);
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+function media_sanitize_dom_attributes($element, string $tag): void {
+    $allowed = media_description_allowed_attrs($tag);
+    $attrs = [];
+    if ($element->hasAttributes()) {
+        foreach ($element->attributes as $attr) $attrs[] = $attr;
+    }
+
+    foreach ($attrs as $attr) {
+        $name = strtolower($attr->nodeName);
+        $value = (string)$attr->nodeValue;
+        if (str_starts_with($name, 'on') || !isset($allowed[$name])) {
+            $element->removeAttribute($attr->nodeName);
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        if ($name === 'style') {
+            $clean = media_clean_style_attribute($value);
+            if ($clean === '') $element->removeAttribute($attr->nodeName);
+            else $element->setAttribute('style', $clean);
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        if ($name === 'href' || $name === 'src') {
+            $clean = media_clean_url_attribute($value, $name === 'src');
+            if ($clean === '') $element->removeAttribute($attr->nodeName);
+            else $element->setAttribute($name, $clean);
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        if (in_array($name, ['width', 'height', 'start'], true)) {
+            $number = max(0, min(4000, (int)$value));
+            if ($number <= 0) $element->removeAttribute($attr->nodeName);
+            else $element->setAttribute($name, (string)$number);
+            continue;
+        }
+    }
+
+    if ($tag === 'a') {
+        if ($element->hasAttribute('href')) {
+            $element->setAttribute('target', '_blank');
+            $element->setAttribute('rel', 'noopener noreferrer');
+        } else {
+            $element->removeAttribute('target');
+            $element->removeAttribute('rel');
+        }
+    }
+
+    if ($tag === 'img') {
+        if (!$element->hasAttribute('src')) return;
+        $element->setAttribute('loading', 'lazy');
+        $element->setAttribute('decoding', 'async');
+    }
+}
+
 function media_view_count_from_html(string $html): int {
     $html = html_entity_decode($html, ENT_QUOTES | ENT_HTML5, 'UTF-8');
     $variants = [$html, stripcslashes($html)];
@@ -984,14 +1398,16 @@ function media_apply_metadata_value(array &$metadata, string $key, $value): void
         return;
     }
 
-    $text = trim(html_entity_decode(strip_tags((string)$value), ENT_QUOTES | ENT_HTML5, 'UTF-8'));
-    if ($text === '') return;
-
     if ($key === 'description') {
-        $metadata['description'] = media_pick_longest_text((string)$metadata['description'], $text);
+        $description = media_prepare_description_for_storage((string)$value);
+        if ($description === '') return;
+        $metadata['description'] = media_pick_longest_description((string)$metadata['description'], $description);
         return;
     }
 
+    $text = trim(html_entity_decode(strip_tags((string)$value), ENT_QUOTES | ENT_HTML5, 'UTF-8'));
+    if ($text === '') return;
+
     if ((string)$metadata[$key] === '') $metadata[$key] = $text;
 }
 
diff --git a/includes/layout.php b/includes/layout.php
index 93f8428..84e9fcf 100644
--- a/includes/layout.php
+++ b/includes/layout.php
@@ -228,6 +228,43 @@ function render_head(string $title = 'Media — TyClifford.com', string $extra_c
     }
     .form-textarea { resize:vertical; min-height:80px; }
     .form-select option { background:var(--surface-2); }
+    .description-editor {
+      min-height:130px; line-height:1.55; overflow:auto; white-space:pre-wrap;
+    }
+    .description-editor:empty::before {
+      content:attr(data-placeholder); color:var(--text-3); pointer-events:none;
+    }
+    .description-editor :where(p, ul, ol, blockquote, pre, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6) { margin:.45rem 0; }
+    .description-editor :where(ul, ol) { padding-left:1.35rem; }
+    .description-editor a,
+    .media-description a {
+      color:var(--blue); text-decoration:none; border-bottom:1px solid rgba(0,200,255,.35);
+    }
+    .description-editor a:hover,
+    .media-description a:hover { border-color:rgba(0,200,255,.7); }
+    .media-description {
+      font-family:"Inter",sans-serif; color:var(--text-2);
+      letter-spacing:0; line-height:1.6; overflow-wrap:anywhere;
+    }
+    .media-description :where(p, ul, ol, blockquote, pre, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6) { margin:.55rem 0; }
+    .media-description :where(p:first-child, ul:first-child, ol:first-child, blockquote:first-child, pre:first-child, h1:first-child, h2:first-child, h3:first-child, h4:first-child, h5:first-child, h6:first-child) { margin-top:0; }
+    .media-description :where(p:last-child, ul:last-child, ol:last-child, blockquote:last-child, pre:last-child, h1:last-child, h2:last-child, h3:last-child, h4:last-child, h5:last-child, h6:last-child) { margin-bottom:0; }
+    .media-description :where(ul, ol) { padding-left:1.35rem; }
+    .media-description :where(h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6) { color:var(--text); line-height:1.25; font-size:.95rem; }
+    .media-description blockquote {
+      padding-left:.85rem; border-left:2px solid var(--border-2); color:var(--text-2);
+    }
+    .media-description code {
+      font-family:"Share Tech Mono",monospace; font-size:.9em;
+      background:rgba(255,255,255,.06); border:1px solid var(--border-2);
+      border-radius:4px; padding:.08rem .28rem;
+    }
+    .media-description pre {
+      overflow:auto; background:rgba(0,0,0,.24); border:1px solid var(--border);
+      border-radius:var(--r); padding:.7rem;
+    }
+    .media-description pre code { background:transparent; border:0; padding:0; }
+    .media-description img { max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:var(--r); }
 
     /* ── Notice/alert ── */
     .notice {
@@ -290,6 +327,204 @@ function render_footer(): void { ?>
 </footer>
 <?php }
 
+function render_description_editor(string $description): void {
+    $description = trim($description);
+    $is_html = media_description_contains_html($description);
+?>
+<textarea class="form-textarea description-fallback" id="description" name="description" rows="5"><?= h($description) ?></textarea>
+<div class="description-editor form-textarea"
+     id="description-editor"
+     hidden
+     contenteditable="true"
+     role="textbox"
+     aria-labelledby="description-label"
+     aria-multiline="true"
+     data-rich="<?= $is_html ? '1' : '0' ?>"
+     data-placeholder="Description"><?php if ($is_html): ?><?= media_description_html($description) ?><?php else: ?><?= h($description) ?><?php endif; ?></div>
+<?php }
+
+function render_description_editor_script(): void { ?>
+<script>
+(function() {
+  var textarea = document.getElementById('description');
+  var editor = document.getElementById('description-editor');
+  if (!textarea || !editor) return;
+
+  textarea.hidden = true;
+  editor.hidden = false;
+
+  var rich = editor.dataset.rich === '1';
+  var allowedTags = {
+    A: true, B: true, BLOCKQUOTE: true, BR: true, CODE: true, DIV: true,
+    EM: true, H1: true, H2: true, H3: true, H4: true, H5: true, H6: true,
+    I: true, IMG: true, LI: true, OL: true, P: true, PRE: true, S: true,
+    SPAN: true, STRONG: true, U: true, UL: true
+  };
+  var dropTags = {
+    AUDIO: true, BASE: true, BUTTON: true, CANVAS: true, EMBED: true,
+    FORM: true, IFRAME: true, INPUT: true, LINK: true, MATH: true,
+    META: true, OBJECT: true, PICTURE: true, SCRIPT: true, SELECT: true,
+    SOURCE: true, STYLE: true, SVG: true, TEXTAREA: true, TRACK: true,
+    VIDEO: true
+  };
+  var styleProps = [
+    'background-color', 'color', 'font-size', 'font-style', 'font-weight',
+    'letter-spacing', 'line-height', 'text-align', 'text-decoration',
+    'text-transform'
+  ];
+
+  function isSafeUrl(value, forSrc) {
+    value = (value || '').trim();
+    if (!value) return '';
+    if (value.indexOf('//') === 0) return 'https:' + value;
+    if (value.charAt(0) === '#') return forSrc ? '' : value;
+    if (value.charAt(0) === '/') return value;
+    try {
+      var parsed = new URL(value, window.location.origin);
+      var protocol = parsed.protocol.replace(':', '').toLowerCase();
+      if (forSrc) return (protocol === 'http' || protocol === 'https') ? value : '';
+      return ['http', 'https', 'mailto', 'tel'].indexOf(protocol) !== -1 ? value : '';
+    } catch (e) {
+      return /^[^<>"']+$/.test(value) ? value : '';
+    }
+  }
+
+  function cleanStyle(value) {
+    var probe = document.createElement('span');
+    probe.setAttribute('style', value || '');
+    var kept = [];
+    styleProps.forEach(function(prop) {
+      var v = probe.style.getPropertyValue(prop);
+      if (!v || /url\s*\(|expression\s*\(|javascript:|data:|@|[<>\\]/i.test(v)) return;
+      kept.push(prop + ': ' + v);
+    });
+    return kept.join('; ');
+  }
+
+  function sanitizeElement(el) {
+    Array.prototype.slice.call(el.childNodes).forEach(function(child) {
+      if (child.nodeType === Node.TEXT_NODE) return;
+      if (child.nodeType !== Node.ELEMENT_NODE) {
+        child.remove();
+        return;
+      }
+      if (dropTags[child.tagName]) {
+        child.remove();
+        return;
+      }
+      sanitizeElement(child);
+      if (!allowedTags[child.tagName]) {
+        while (child.firstChild) child.parentNode.insertBefore(child.firstChild, child);
+        child.remove();
+        return;
+      }
+
+      Array.prototype.slice.call(child.attributes).forEach(function(attr) {
+        var name = attr.name.toLowerCase();
+        var value = attr.value;
+        var keep = name === 'title' || name === 'style';
+        if (child.tagName === 'A') keep = keep || name === 'href' || name === 'target' || name === 'rel';
+        if (child.tagName === 'IMG') keep = keep || name === 'src' || name === 'alt' || name === 'width' || name === 'height';
+        if (child.tagName === 'OL') keep = keep || name === 'start';
+        if (name.indexOf('on') === 0 || !keep) {
+          child.removeAttribute(attr.name);
+          return;
+        }
+        if (name === 'style') {
+          var style = cleanStyle(value);
+          if (style) child.setAttribute('style', style);
+          else child.removeAttribute(attr.name);
+        }
+        if (name === 'href' || name === 'src') {
+          var url = isSafeUrl(value, name === 'src');
+          if (url) child.setAttribute(name, url);
+          else child.removeAttribute(attr.name);
+        }
+      });
+
+      if (child.tagName === 'A') {
+        if (child.getAttribute('href')) {
+          child.setAttribute('target', '_blank');
+          child.setAttribute('rel', 'noopener noreferrer');
+        } else {
+          child.removeAttribute('target');
+          child.removeAttribute('rel');
+        }
+      }
+      if (child.tagName === 'IMG' && child.getAttribute('src')) {
+        child.setAttribute('loading', 'lazy');
+        child.setAttribute('decoding', 'async');
+      }
+      if (child.tagName === 'IMG' && !child.getAttribute('src')) child.remove();
+    });
+  }
+
+  function sanitizeHtml(html) {
+    var template = document.createElement('template');
+    template.innerHTML = html || '';
+    sanitizeElement(template.content);
+    return template.innerHTML.trim();
+  }
+
+  function plainText() {
+    return editor.innerText.replace(/\u00a0/g, ' ').replace(/\n{3,}/g, '\n\n').trim();
+  }
+
+  function syncDescription() {
+    textarea.value = rich ? sanitizeHtml(editor.innerHTML) : plainText();
+  }
+
+  function insertHtml(html) {
+    var selection = window.getSelection();
+    if (!selection || !selection.rangeCount) {
+      editor.insertAdjacentHTML('beforeend', html);
+      return;
+    }
+    var range = selection.getRangeAt(0);
+    range.deleteContents();
+    var fragment = range.createContextualFragment(html);
+    var last = fragment.lastChild;
+    range.insertNode(fragment);
+    if (last) {
+      range.setStartAfter(last);
+      range.collapse(true);
+      selection.removeAllRanges();
+      selection.addRange(range);
+    }
+  }
+
+  window.setDescriptionEditorValue = function(value) {
+    value = value || '';
+    if (/<\/?[a-z][\s\S]*>/i.test(value)) {
+      rich = true;
+      editor.dataset.rich = '1';
+      editor.innerHTML = sanitizeHtml(value);
+    } else {
+      rich = false;
+      editor.dataset.rich = '0';
+      editor.textContent = value;
+    }
+    syncDescription();
+  };
+
+  editor.addEventListener('paste', function(event) {
+    var data = event.clipboardData || window.clipboardData;
+    var html = data ? data.getData('text/html') : '';
+    if (!html) return;
+    event.preventDefault();
+    rich = true;
+    editor.dataset.rich = '1';
+    insertHtml(sanitizeHtml(html));
+    syncDescription();
+  });
+  editor.addEventListener('input', syncDescription);
+  var form = editor.closest('form');
+  if (form) form.addEventListener('submit', syncDescription);
+  syncDescription();
+})();
+</script>
+<?php }
+
 function render_pagination(int $current, int $total, string $url_pattern): void {
     if ($total <= 1) return;
     echo '<div class="pagination">';
diff --git a/index.php b/index.php
index 2c6e175..a765c13 100644
--- a/index.php
+++ b/index.php
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ if ($home_live_first) {
 } else {
     $share_title = $video ? $video['title'] . ' — ' . $site_title : 'Media — ' . $site_title;
     $share_description = $video && trim($video['description'] ?? '') !== ''
-        ? trim($video['description'])
+        ? media_description_plain_text($video['description'])
         : setting('site_sub', 'tyclifford.com / media');
     $share_url = $video ? public_absolute_url(public_video_url($video['slug'])) : public_absolute_url(public_home_url());
     $share_image = ($video && !empty($video['thumbnail'])) ? public_absolute_url(public_media_url($video['thumbnail'])) : '';
@@ -212,6 +212,10 @@ render_head($share_title, '
   .home-mode-panel[hidden] { display:none; }
   .live-footer { justify-content:space-between; }
   .live-footer .stream-meta { max-width:60ch; line-height:1.5; letter-spacing:.06em; }
+  .stream-description {
+    flex:1 1 100%; max-width:min(72ch, 100%);
+    font-size:.8rem;
+  }
 
   /* ── Lower grid ── */
   .lower-grid { display:grid; grid-template-columns:1fr; gap:1rem; }
@@ -370,7 +374,7 @@ render_head($share_title, '
   <div class="stream-footer">
     <p class="eyebrow eyebrow-green"><?= $video ? h($video['title']) : 'Media Player' ?></p>
     <?php if ($video && $video['description']): ?>
-      <p class="stream-meta" style="font-family:Inter,sans-serif;font-size:.78rem;color:var(--text-2);letter-spacing:0;max-width:60ch;line-height:1.5"><?= h($video['description']) ?></p>
+      <div class="stream-description media-description"><?= media_description_html($video['description']) ?></div>
     <?php endif; ?>
     <?php
       $stream_meta = [];