diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 2987616..58fb079 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -304,6 +304,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "schemars 1.2.1",
  "serde",
  "serde_json",
+ "shlex",
  "tokio",
  "tracing",
  "tracing-subscriber",
@@ -319,7 +320,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "futures-util",
  "serde",
  "serde_json",
- "shell-escape",
+ "shlex",
  "thiserror",
  "tokio",
  "tracing",
@@ -1189,12 +1190,6 @@ dependencies = [
  "lazy_static",
 ]
 
-[[package]]
-name = "shell-escape"
-version = "0.1.5"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "45bb67a18fa91266cc7807181f62f9178a6873bfad7dc788c42e6430db40184f"
-
 [[package]]
 name = "shlex"
 version = "1.3.0"
diff --git a/crates/devcontainer-mcp-core/Cargo.toml b/crates/devcontainer-mcp-core/Cargo.toml
index b737647..8c969ad 100644
--- a/crates/devcontainer-mcp-core/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/devcontainer-mcp-core/Cargo.toml
@@ -16,4 +16,4 @@ tracing = { workspace = true }
 futures-util = "0.3"
 async-trait = "0.1"
 base64 = "0.22"
-shell-escape = "0.1"
+shlex = "1"
diff --git a/crates/devcontainer-mcp-core/src/file_ops.rs b/crates/devcontainer-mcp-core/src/file_ops.rs
index c79ccee..93e98e4 100644
--- a/crates/devcontainer-mcp-core/src/file_ops.rs
+++ b/crates/devcontainer-mcp-core/src/file_ops.rs
@@ -4,10 +4,7 @@
 //! formatting, and helpers to build shell commands for reading/writing files
 //! through any backend (DevPod SSH, devcontainer exec, Codespaces SSH).
 
-use std::borrow::Cow;
-
 use base64::{engine::general_purpose::STANDARD, Engine};
-use shell_escape::escape;
 
 use crate::error::{Error, Result};
 
@@ -57,7 +54,9 @@ pub fn apply_edit(content: &str, old_str: &str, new_str: &str) -> Result<String>
 
 /// Shell-escape a string for safe embedding in a shell command.
 fn quote(s: &str) -> String {
-    escape(Cow::Borrowed(s)).into_owned()
+    shlex::try_quote(s)
+        .unwrap_or(std::borrow::Cow::Borrowed(s))
+        .into_owned()
 }
 
 /// Build a shell command that reads a file via `cat`.
@@ -133,8 +132,11 @@ mod tests {
     #[test]
     fn test_quote_path_with_single_quote() {
         let result = quote("it's");
-        // Should not break when used in a shell command
-        assert!(!result.contains("it's") || result.contains("\\'"));
+        // Result should be shell-safe: either escaped or wrapped in quotes
+        assert!(
+            result != "it's",
+            "single quote must be escaped or quoted, got: {result}"
+        );
     }
 
     #[test]
diff --git a/crates/devcontainer-mcp/Cargo.toml b/crates/devcontainer-mcp/Cargo.toml
index 48e283b..4770732 100644
--- a/crates/devcontainer-mcp/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/devcontainer-mcp/Cargo.toml
@@ -17,3 +17,4 @@ rmcp = { workspace = true }
 tracing = { workspace = true }
 tracing-subscriber = { workspace = true }
 schemars = "1"
+shlex = "1"
diff --git a/crates/devcontainer-mcp/src/tools/devcontainer/build.rs b/crates/devcontainer-mcp/src/tools/devcontainer/build.rs
index caea2c3..b89cb60 100644
--- a/crates/devcontainer-mcp/src/tools/devcontainer/build.rs
+++ b/crates/devcontainer-mcp/src/tools/devcontainer/build.rs
@@ -25,12 +25,13 @@ impl DevContainerMcp {
         &self,
         Parameters(params): Parameters<DevcontainerBuildParams>,
     ) -> String {
-        let extra: Vec<&str> = params
+        let extra: Vec<String> = params
             .extra_args
             .as_deref()
-            .map(|a| a.split_whitespace().collect())
+            .and_then(shlex::split)
             .unwrap_or_default();
-        match devcontainer::build(&params.workspace_folder, &extra).await {
+        let extra_refs: Vec<&str> = extra.iter().map(|s| s.as_str()).collect();
+        match devcontainer::build(&params.workspace_folder, &extra_refs).await {
             Ok(output) => format_output(&output),
             Err(e) => format!("Error: {e}"),
         }
diff --git a/crates/devcontainer-mcp/src/tools/devcontainer/exec.rs b/crates/devcontainer-mcp/src/tools/devcontainer/exec.rs
index e97a521..763012b 100644
--- a/crates/devcontainer-mcp/src/tools/devcontainer/exec.rs
+++ b/crates/devcontainer-mcp/src/tools/devcontainer/exec.rs
@@ -25,12 +25,11 @@ impl DevContainerMcp {
         &self,
         Parameters(params): Parameters<DevcontainerExecParams>,
     ) -> String {
-        let cmd_args: Vec<&str> = params
-            .args
-            .as_deref()
-            .map(|a| a.split_whitespace().collect())
-            .unwrap_or_default();
-        match devcontainer::exec(&params.workspace_folder, &params.command, &cmd_args).await {
+        let full_cmd = match &params.args {
+            Some(a) => format!("{} {}", params.command, a),
+            None => params.command,
+        };
+        match devcontainer::exec(&params.workspace_folder, "sh", &["-c", &full_cmd]).await {
             Ok(output) => format_output(&output),
             Err(e) => format!("Error: {e}"),
         }
diff --git a/crates/devcontainer-mcp/src/tools/devcontainer/up.rs b/crates/devcontainer-mcp/src/tools/devcontainer/up.rs
index 7c9955d..b2b1b43 100644
--- a/crates/devcontainer-mcp/src/tools/devcontainer/up.rs
+++ b/crates/devcontainer-mcp/src/tools/devcontainer/up.rs
@@ -29,12 +29,19 @@ impl DevContainerMcp {
         &self,
         Parameters(params): Parameters<DevcontainerUpParams>,
     ) -> String {
-        let extra: Vec<&str> = params
+        let extra: Vec<String> = params
             .extra_args
             .as_deref()
-            .map(|a| a.split_whitespace().collect())
+            .and_then(shlex::split)
             .unwrap_or_default();
-        match devcontainer::up(&params.workspace_folder, params.config.as_deref(), &extra).await {
+        let extra_refs: Vec<&str> = extra.iter().map(|s| s.as_str()).collect();
+        match devcontainer::up(
+            &params.workspace_folder,
+            params.config.as_deref(),
+            &extra_refs,
+        )
+        .await
+        {
             Ok(output) => format_output(&output),
             Err(e) => format!("Error: {e}"),
         }
diff --git a/crates/devcontainer-mcp/src/tools/devpod/build.rs b/crates/devcontainer-mcp/src/tools/devpod/build.rs
index 6ce4642..bdf8d83 100644
--- a/crates/devcontainer-mcp/src/tools/devpod/build.rs
+++ b/crates/devcontainer-mcp/src/tools/devpod/build.rs
@@ -19,8 +19,10 @@ impl DevContainerMcp {
         description = "Build a DevPod workspace image without starting it."
     )]
     async fn devpod_build(&self, Parameters(params): Parameters<DevpodBuildParams>) -> String {
-        let parts: Vec<&str> = params.args.split_whitespace().collect();
-        match devpod::build(&parts).await {
+        let parts: Vec<String> = shlex::split(&params.args)
+            .unwrap_or_else(|| params.args.split_whitespace().map(String::from).collect());
+        let part_refs: Vec<&str> = parts.iter().map(|s| s.as_str()).collect();
+        match devpod::build(&part_refs).await {
             Ok(output) => format_output(&output),
             Err(e) => format!("Error: {e}"),
         }
diff --git a/crates/devcontainer-mcp/src/tools/devpod/provider.rs b/crates/devcontainer-mcp/src/tools/devpod/provider.rs
index 24ead82..e3ef756 100644
--- a/crates/devcontainer-mcp/src/tools/devpod/provider.rs
+++ b/crates/devcontainer-mcp/src/tools/devpod/provider.rs
@@ -37,12 +37,13 @@ impl DevContainerMcp {
         &self,
         Parameters(params): Parameters<DevpodProviderAddParams>,
     ) -> String {
-        let opt_parts: Vec<&str> = params
+        let opt_parts: Vec<String> = params
             .options
             .as_deref()
-            .map(|o| o.split_whitespace().collect())
+            .and_then(shlex::split)
             .unwrap_or_default();
-        match devpod::provider_add(&params.provider, &opt_parts).await {
+        let opt_refs: Vec<&str> = opt_parts.iter().map(|s| s.as_str()).collect();
+        match devpod::provider_add(&params.provider, &opt_refs).await {
             Ok(output) => format_output(&output),
             Err(e) => format!("Error: {e}"),
         }
diff --git a/crates/devcontainer-mcp/src/tools/devpod/up.rs b/crates/devcontainer-mcp/src/tools/devpod/up.rs
index b0366c5..f854c1a 100644
--- a/crates/devcontainer-mcp/src/tools/devpod/up.rs
+++ b/crates/devcontainer-mcp/src/tools/devpod/up.rs
@@ -19,8 +19,10 @@ impl DevContainerMcp {
         description = "Create and start a DevPod workspace. Pass the source (git URL, local path, or image) and any flags as space-separated args. Returns full build output for self-healing."
     )]
     async fn devpod_up(&self, Parameters(params): Parameters<DevpodUpParams>) -> String {
-        let parts: Vec<&str> = params.args.split_whitespace().collect();
-        match devpod::up(&parts).await {
+        let parts: Vec<String> = shlex::split(&params.args)
+            .unwrap_or_else(|| params.args.split_whitespace().map(String::from).collect());
+        let part_refs: Vec<&str> = parts.iter().map(|s| s.as_str()).collect();
+        match devpod::up(&part_refs).await {
             Ok(output) => format_output(&output),
             Err(e) => format!("Error: {e}"),
         }