diff --git a/flake.nix b/flake.nix
index b023039..514e450 100644
--- a/flake.nix
+++ b/flake.nix
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@
               toolchain
               pkgs.treefmt
               pkgs.shfmt
+              pkgs.rust-analyzer
               pkgs.taplo
               pkgs.pkg-config
               pkgs.nixfmt
diff --git a/src/highlight.rs b/src/highlight.rs
index 0309fe8..aa356ec 100644
--- a/src/highlight.rs
+++ b/src/highlight.rs
@@ -29,27 +29,28 @@ const HIGHLIGHT_NAMES: &[&str] = &[
 
 /// Static HTML attributes for each highlight class.
 /// Pre-computed to avoid allocations in the render loop.
+/// HtmlRenderer wraps with <span ...>...</span>, callback returns just the attributes.
 const HTML_ATTRS: &[&[u8]] = &[
-    b"<span class=\"hl-attribute\">",
-    b"<span class=\"hl-comment\">",
-    b"<span class=\"hl-constant\">",
-    b"<span class=\"hl-constant-builtin\">",
-    b"<span class=\"hl-constructor\">",
-    b"<span class=\"hl-function\">",
-    b"<span class=\"hl-function-builtin\">",
-    b"<span class=\"hl-keyword\">",
-    b"<span class=\"hl-number\">",
-    b"<span class=\"hl-operator\">",
-    b"<span class=\"hl-property\">",
-    b"<span class=\"hl-punctuation\">",
-    b"<span class=\"hl-punctuation-bracket\">",
-    b"<span class=\"hl-punctuation-delimiter\">",
-    b"<span class=\"hl-string\">",
-    b"<span class=\"hl-type\">",
-    b"<span class=\"hl-type-builtin\">",
-    b"<span class=\"hl-variable\">",
-    b"<span class=\"hl-variable-builtin\">",
-    b"<span class=\"hl-variable-parameter\">",
+    b" class=\"hl-attribute\"",
+    b" class=\"hl-comment\"",
+    b" class=\"hl-constant\"",
+    b" class=\"hl-constant-builtin\"",
+    b" class=\"hl-constructor\"",
+    b" class=\"hl-function\"",
+    b" class=\"hl-function-builtin\"",
+    b" class=\"hl-keyword\"",
+    b" class=\"hl-number\"",
+    b" class=\"hl-operator\"",
+    b" class=\"hl-property\"",
+    b" class=\"hl-punctuation\"",
+    b" class=\"hl-punctuation-bracket\"",
+    b" class=\"hl-punctuation-delimiter\"",
+    b" class=\"hl-string\"",
+    b" class=\"hl-type\"",
+    b" class=\"hl-type-builtin\"",
+    b" class=\"hl-variable\"",
+    b" class=\"hl-variable-builtin\"",
+    b" class=\"hl-variable-parameter\"",
 ];
 
 /// Supported languages for syntax highlighting.
@@ -147,7 +148,7 @@ mod tests {
         let html = highlight_code(Language::Rust, code);
 
         // Should contain span elements with highlight classes
-        assert!(html.contains("<span class=\"hl-"));
+        assert!(html.contains("class=\"hl-"));
         // Should contain the keyword "fn"
         assert!(html.contains("fn"));
         // Should contain the string
@@ -159,7 +160,7 @@ mod tests {
         let code = "#!/bin/bash\necho \"hello world\"";
         let html = highlight_code(Language::Bash, code);
 
-        assert!(html.contains("<span class=\"hl-"));
+        assert!(html.contains("class=\"hl-"));
         assert!(html.contains("echo"));
     }
 
diff --git a/src/render.rs b/src/render.rs
index 2469d77..217b769 100644
--- a/src/render.rs
+++ b/src/render.rs
@@ -1,11 +1,9 @@
-//! Markdown to HTML rendering via pulldown-cmark.
+//! Markdown to HTML rendering via pulldown-cmark with syntax highlighting.
 
-use pulldown_cmark::{html, Options, Parser};
+use crate::highlight::{highlight_code, Language};
+use pulldown_cmark::{CodeBlockKind, Event, Options, Parser, Tag, TagEnd};
 
-/// Render markdown content to HTML.
-///
-/// Currently performs basic rendering. Future phases will intercept
-/// code blocks for Tree-sitter highlighting.
+/// Render markdown content to HTML with syntax highlighting.
 pub fn markdown_to_html(markdown: &str) -> String {
     let options = Options::ENABLE_TABLES
         | Options::ENABLE_FOOTNOTES
@@ -14,10 +12,190 @@ pub fn markdown_to_html(markdown: &str) -> String {
 
     let parser = Parser::new_ext(markdown, options);
     let mut html_output = String::new();
-    html::push_html(&mut html_output, parser);
+    let mut code_block_lang: Option<String> = None;
+    let mut code_block_content = String::new();
+
+    for event in parser {
+        match event {
+            Event::Start(Tag::CodeBlock(kind)) => {
+                // Extract language from code fence
+                code_block_lang = match kind {
+                    CodeBlockKind::Fenced(lang) => {
+                        let lang_str = lang.as_ref().split_whitespace().next().unwrap_or("");
+                        if lang_str.is_empty() {
+                            None
+                        } else {
+                            Some(lang_str.to_string())
+                        }
+                    }
+                    CodeBlockKind::Indented => None,
+                };
+                code_block_content.clear();
+            }
+            Event::Text(text) if code_block_lang.is_some() || !code_block_content.is_empty() => {
+                // Accumulate code block content
+                // Note: we're in a code block if we have a lang OR we've started accumulating
+                if code_block_lang.is_some() {
+                    code_block_content.push_str(&text);
+                } else {
+                    // Regular text, render normally
+                    html_output.push_str(&html_escape(&text));
+                }
+            }
+            Event::End(TagEnd::CodeBlock) => {
+                // Render the code block with highlighting
+                let lang_str = code_block_lang.as_deref().unwrap_or("");
+                html_output.push_str("<pre><code");
+
+                if let Some(lang) = Language::from_fence(lang_str) {
+                    // Supported language: apply tree-sitter highlighting
+                    html_output.push_str(&format!(" class=\"language-{}\">", lang_str));
+                    html_output.push_str(&highlight_code(lang, &code_block_content));
+                } else {
+                    // Unsupported language: render as plain escaped text
+                    if !lang_str.is_empty() {
+                        html_output.push_str(&format!(" class=\"language-{}\">", lang_str));
+                    } else {
+                        html_output.push('>');
+                    }
+                    html_output.push_str(&html_escape(&code_block_content));
+                }
+
+                html_output.push_str("</code></pre>\n");
+                code_block_lang = None;
+                code_block_content.clear();
+            }
+            Event::Text(text) => {
+                // Regular text outside code blocks
+                html_output.push_str(&html_escape(&text));
+            }
+            Event::Code(text) => {
+                // Inline code
+                html_output.push_str("<code>");
+                html_output.push_str(&html_escape(&text));
+                html_output.push_str("</code>");
+            }
+            Event::Start(tag) => {
+                html_output.push_str(&start_tag_to_html(&tag));
+            }
+            Event::End(tag) => {
+                html_output.push_str(&end_tag_to_html(&tag));
+            }
+            Event::SoftBreak => {
+                html_output.push('\n');
+            }
+            Event::HardBreak => {
+                html_output.push_str("<br />\n");
+            }
+            Event::Rule => {
+                html_output.push_str("<hr />\n");
+            }
+            Event::Html(html) | Event::InlineHtml(html) => {
+                html_output.push_str(&html);
+            }
+            Event::FootnoteReference(name) => {
+                html_output.push_str(&format!(
+                    "<sup class=\"footnote-ref\"><a href=\"#fn-{}\">{}</a></sup>",
+                    name, name
+                ));
+            }
+            Event::TaskListMarker(checked) => {
+                let checkbox = if checked {
+                    "<input type=\"checkbox\" checked disabled />"
+                } else {
+                    "<input type=\"checkbox\" disabled />"
+                };
+                html_output.push_str(checkbox);
+            }
+            Event::InlineMath(_) | Event::DisplayMath(_) => {
+                // Future: KaTeX integration
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
     html_output
 }
 
+fn html_escape(s: &str) -> String {
+    s.replace('&', "&amp;")
+        .replace('<', "&lt;")
+        .replace('>', "&gt;")
+        .replace('"', "&quot;")
+}
+
+fn start_tag_to_html(tag: &Tag) -> String {
+    match tag {
+        Tag::Paragraph => "<p>".to_string(),
+        Tag::Heading { level, .. } => format!("<h{}>", *level as u8),
+        Tag::BlockQuote(_) => "<blockquote>\n".to_string(),
+        Tag::CodeBlock(_) => String::new(), // Handled separately
+        Tag::List(Some(start)) => format!("<ol start=\"{}\">\n", start),
+        Tag::List(None) => "<ul>\n".to_string(),
+        Tag::Item => "<li>".to_string(),
+        Tag::FootnoteDefinition(name) => {
+            format!("<div class=\"footnote\" id=\"fn-{}\">", name)
+        }
+        Tag::Table(_) => "<table>\n".to_string(),
+        Tag::TableHead => "<thead>\n<tr>\n".to_string(),
+        Tag::TableRow => "<tr>\n".to_string(),
+        Tag::TableCell => "<td>".to_string(),
+        Tag::Emphasis => "<em>".to_string(),
+        Tag::Strong => "<strong>".to_string(),
+        Tag::Strikethrough => "<del>".to_string(),
+        Tag::Link {
+            dest_url, title, ..
+        } => {
+            if title.is_empty() {
+                format!("<a href=\"{}\">", dest_url)
+            } else {
+                format!("<a href=\"{}\" title=\"{}\">", dest_url, title)
+            }
+        }
+        Tag::Image {
+            dest_url, title, ..
+        } => {
+            format!("<img src=\"{}\" alt=\"\" title=\"{}\" />", dest_url, title)
+        }
+        Tag::HtmlBlock => String::new(),
+        Tag::MetadataBlock(_) => String::new(),
+        Tag::DefinitionListTitle => "<dt>".to_string(),
+        Tag::DefinitionListDefinition => "<dd>".to_string(),
+        Tag::DefinitionList => "<dl>".to_string(),
+    }
+}
+
+fn end_tag_to_html(tag: &TagEnd) -> String {
+    match tag {
+        TagEnd::Paragraph => "</p>\n".to_string(),
+        TagEnd::Heading(level) => format!("</h{}>\n", *level as u8),
+        TagEnd::BlockQuote(_) => "</blockquote>\n".to_string(),
+        TagEnd::CodeBlock => String::new(), // Handled separately
+        TagEnd::List(ordered) => {
+            if *ordered {
+                "</ol>\n".to_string()
+            } else {
+                "</ul>\n".to_string()
+            }
+        }
+        TagEnd::Item => "</li>\n".to_string(),
+        TagEnd::FootnoteDefinition => "</div>\n".to_string(),
+        TagEnd::Table => "</table>\n".to_string(),
+        TagEnd::TableHead => "</tr>\n</thead>\n".to_string(),
+        TagEnd::TableRow => "</tr>\n".to_string(),
+        TagEnd::TableCell => "</td>\n".to_string(),
+        TagEnd::Emphasis => "</em>".to_string(),
+        TagEnd::Strong => "</strong>".to_string(),
+        TagEnd::Strikethrough => "</del>".to_string(),
+        TagEnd::Link => "</a>".to_string(),
+        TagEnd::Image => String::new(),
+        TagEnd::HtmlBlock => String::new(),
+        TagEnd::MetadataBlock(_) => String::new(),
+        TagEnd::DefinitionListTitle => "</dt>\n".to_string(),
+        TagEnd::DefinitionListDefinition => "</dd>\n".to_string(),
+        TagEnd::DefinitionList => "</dl>\n".to_string(),
+    }
+}
+
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
@@ -29,4 +207,35 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(html.contains("<h1>Hello</h1>"));
         assert!(html.contains("<em>test</em>"));
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_code_block_highlighting() {
+        let md = "```rust\nfn main() {}\n```";
+        let html = markdown_to_html(md);
+
+        // Should contain highlighted code
+        assert!(html.contains("<pre><code"));
+        assert!(html.contains("language-rust"));
+        assert!(html.contains("class=\"hl-"));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_code_block_unknown_language() {
+        let md = "```unknown\nsome code\n```";
+        let html = markdown_to_html(md);
+
+        // Should contain escaped code without highlighting spans
+        assert!(html.contains("<pre><code"));
+        assert!(html.contains("language-unknown"));
+        assert!(html.contains("some code"));
+        assert!(!html.contains("class=\"hl-"));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_inline_code() {
+        let md = "Use `cargo run` to start.";
+        let html = markdown_to_html(md);
+
+        assert!(html.contains("<code>cargo run</code>"));
+    }
 }
diff --git a/static/style.css b/static/style.css
index f20208e..9d621a5 100644
--- a/static/style.css
+++ b/static/style.css
@@ -40,7 +40,9 @@
 }
 
 /* Reset */
-*, *::before, *::after {
+*,
+*::before,
+*::after {
   box-sizing: border-box;
   margin: 0;
   padding: 0;
@@ -62,7 +64,9 @@ body {
 }
 
 /* Layout */
-nav, main, footer {
+nav,
+main,
+footer {
   width: 100%;
   max-width: var(--max-width);
   margin: 0 auto;
@@ -89,16 +93,28 @@ footer {
 }
 
 /* Typography */
-h1, h2, h3 {
+h1,
+h2,
+h3 {
   line-height: 1.3;
   margin-block: var(--space-lg) var(--space-md);
 }
 
-h1 { font-size: 2rem; }
-h2 { font-size: 1.5rem; }
-h3 { font-size: 1.25rem; }
+h1 {
+  font-size: 2rem;
+}
 
-h1:first-child, h2:first-child, h3:first-child {
+h2 {
+  font-size: 1.5rem;
+}
+
+h3 {
+  font-size: 1.25rem;
+}
+
+h1:first-child,
+h2:first-child,
+h3:first-child {
   margin-top: 0;
 }
 
@@ -117,7 +133,8 @@ a:hover {
 }
 
 /* Code */
-code, pre {
+code,
+pre {
   font-family: var(--font-mono);
   font-size: 0.9em;
 }
@@ -142,7 +159,8 @@ pre code {
 }
 
 /* Lists */
-ul, ol {
+ul,
+ol {
   margin-block: var(--space-md);
   padding-left: var(--space-lg);
 }
@@ -249,3 +267,117 @@ article.post header {
   font-size: 1.25rem;
   color: var(--text-muted);
 }
+
+/* Syntax Highlighting */
+:root {
+  --hl-keyword: #d73a49;
+  --hl-string: #22863a;
+  --hl-comment: #6a737d;
+  --hl-function: #6f42c1;
+  --hl-type: #005cc5;
+  --hl-number: #005cc5;
+  --hl-operator: #d73a49;
+  --hl-variable: #24292e;
+  --hl-constant: #005cc5;
+  --hl-property: #005cc5;
+  --hl-punctuation: #24292e;
+  --hl-attribute: #22863a;
+}
+
+@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
+  :root {
+    --hl-keyword: #f97583;
+    --hl-string: #9ecbff;
+    --hl-comment: #6a737d;
+    --hl-function: #b392f0;
+    --hl-type: #79b8ff;
+    --hl-number: #79b8ff;
+    --hl-operator: #f97583;
+    --hl-variable: #e1e4e8;
+    --hl-constant: #79b8ff;
+    --hl-property: #79b8ff;
+    --hl-punctuation: #e1e4e8;
+    --hl-attribute: #85e89d;
+  }
+}
+
+.hl-keyword {
+  color: var(--hl-keyword);
+}
+
+.hl-string {
+  color: var(--hl-string);
+}
+
+.hl-comment {
+  color: var(--hl-comment);
+  font-style: italic;
+}
+
+.hl-function {
+  color: var(--hl-function);
+}
+
+.hl-function-builtin {
+  color: var(--hl-function);
+}
+
+.hl-type {
+  color: var(--hl-type);
+}
+
+.hl-type-builtin {
+  color: var(--hl-type);
+}
+
+.hl-number {
+  color: var(--hl-number);
+}
+
+.hl-operator {
+  color: var(--hl-operator);
+}
+
+.hl-variable {
+  color: var(--hl-variable);
+}
+
+.hl-variable-builtin {
+  color: var(--hl-variable);
+}
+
+.hl-variable-parameter {
+  color: var(--hl-variable);
+}
+
+.hl-constant {
+  color: var(--hl-constant);
+}
+
+.hl-constant-builtin {
+  color: var(--hl-constant);
+}
+
+.hl-property {
+  color: var(--hl-property);
+}
+
+.hl-punctuation {
+  color: var(--hl-punctuation);
+}
+
+.hl-punctuation-bracket {
+  color: var(--hl-punctuation);
+}
+
+.hl-punctuation-delimiter {
+  color: var(--hl-punctuation);
+}
+
+.hl-attribute {
+  color: var(--hl-attribute);
+}
+
+.hl-constructor {
+  color: var(--hl-type);
+}
\ No newline at end of file