diff --git a/colors/base16.kak b/colors/base16.kak
index 055b5d95f..b46e77abe 100644
--- a/colors/base16.kak
+++ b/colors/base16.kak
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 ## base16.kak by lenormf
 ##
 
-%sh{
+evaluate-commands %sh{
     black_lighterer='rgb:383838'
     black_lighter='rgb:2D2D2D'
     black_light='rgb:1C1C1C'
diff --git a/colors/gruvbox.kak b/colors/gruvbox.kak
index 56203bb6b..d17abc811 100644
--- a/colors/gruvbox.kak
+++ b/colors/gruvbox.kak
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # gruvbox theme
 
-%sh{
+evaluate-commands %sh{
     gray="rgb:928374"
     red="rgb:fb4934"
     green="rgb:b8bb26"
diff --git a/colors/lucius.kak b/colors/lucius.kak
index 8ca99c6eb..670888b41 100644
--- a/colors/lucius.kak
+++ b/colors/lucius.kak
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # lucius theme
 
-%sh{
+evaluate-commands %sh{
     # first we define the lucius colors as named colors
     lucius_darker_grey="rgb:303030"
     lucius_dark_grey="rgb:444444"
diff --git a/colors/reeder.kak b/colors/reeder.kak
index dd19cd24c..c1cb083b3 100644
--- a/colors/reeder.kak
+++ b/colors/reeder.kak
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 ## a light theme inspired after https://github.com/hyspace/st2-reeder-theme
 ##
 
-%sh{
+evaluate-commands %sh{
     white="rgb:f9f8f6"
     white_light="rgb:f6f5f0"
     black="rgb:383838"
diff --git a/colors/solarized-dark.kak b/colors/solarized-dark.kak
index 25134f7c6..3b92c709e 100644
--- a/colors/solarized-dark.kak
+++ b/colors/solarized-dark.kak
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Solarized Dark
 
-%sh{
+evaluate-commands %sh{
 	base03='rgb:002b36'
 	base02='rgb:073642'
 	base01='rgb:586e75'
diff --git a/colors/solarized-light.kak b/colors/solarized-light.kak
index 1ffefeb1b..831d5d326 100644
--- a/colors/solarized-light.kak
+++ b/colors/solarized-light.kak
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Solarized Light
 
-%sh{
+evaluate-commands %sh{
 	base03='rgb:002b36'
 	base02='rgb:073642'
 	base01='rgb:586e75'
diff --git a/colors/tomorrow-night.kak b/colors/tomorrow-night.kak
index 59065ff67..5e8b79364 100644
--- a/colors/tomorrow-night.kak
+++ b/colors/tomorrow-night.kak
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 ## Tomorrow-night, adapted by nicholastmosher
 ##
 
-%sh{
+evaluate-commands %sh{
     foreground="rgb:c5c8c6"
     background="rgb:272727"
     selection="rgb:373b41"
diff --git a/colors/zenburn.kak b/colors/zenburn.kak
index ac7f2ab96..c98828fa2 100644
--- a/colors/zenburn.kak
+++ b/colors/zenburn.kak
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # zenburn theme
 
-%sh{
+evaluate-commands %sh{
     # define some named colors
     zentext="rgb:cfcfcf"
     zenselectionbg="rgb:3f7fcc"
diff --git a/doc/interfacing.asciidoc b/doc/interfacing.asciidoc
index 0d922b5be..4e8b883c6 100644
--- a/doc/interfacing.asciidoc
+++ b/doc/interfacing.asciidoc
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ The common pattern to do that is to use a fifo buffer:
 
 [source,bash]
 -----
-%sh{
+evaluate-commands %sh{
      # Create a temporary fifo for communication
      output=$(mktemp -d -t kak-temp-XXXXXXXX)/fifo
      mkfifo ${output}
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ decl str plugin_completions
 hook global BufSetOption filetype=my_filetype %{
     set -add buff completers option=plugin_completions
 }
-%sh{
+evaluate-commands %sh{
     # ask Kakoune to write current buffer to temporary file
     filename=$(mktemp -t kak-temp.XXXXXXXX)
     echo "set buffer plugin_filename '$filename'
diff --git a/doc/pages/changelog.asciidoc b/doc/pages/changelog.asciidoc
index 679948d13..874e5214e 100644
--- a/doc/pages/changelog.asciidoc
+++ b/doc/pages/changelog.asciidoc
@@ -5,6 +5,9 @@ released versions.
 
 == Development version
 
+* `%sh{...}` strings are not reparsed automatically anymore, they need
+  to go through an explicit `evaluate-commands`
+
 * The `-allow-override` switch from `define-command` has been renamed
   `-override`.
 
diff --git a/rc/base/autowrap.kak b/rc/base/autowrap.kak
index 1f8ef8be7..6e6e371b5 100644
--- a/rc/base/autowrap.kak
+++ b/rc/base/autowrap.kak
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ define-command -hidden autowrap-cursor %{ evaluate-commands -save-regs '/"|^@m'
         } catch %{
             ## if we're adding characters in the middle of a sentence, use
             ## the `fmtcmd` command to wrap the entire paragraph
-            %sh{
+            evaluate-commands %sh{
                 if [ "${kak_opt_autowrap_format_paragraph}" = true ] \
                     && [ -n "${kak_opt_autowrap_fmtcmd}" ]; then
                     format_cmd=$(printf %s "${kak_opt_autowrap_fmtcmd}" \
diff --git a/rc/base/ctags.kak b/rc/base/ctags.kak
index 70069a19f..bfdefe217 100644
--- a/rc/base/ctags.kak
+++ b/rc/base/ctags.kak
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ define-command -params ..1 \
     -docstring %{ctags-search [<symbol>]: jump to a symbol's definition
 If no symbol is passed then the current selection is used as symbol name} \
     ctags-search \
-    %{ %sh{
+    %{ evaluate-commands %sh{
         realpath() { ( path=$(readlink "$1"); cd "$(dirname "$1")"; printf "%s/%s\n" "$(pwd -P)" "$(basename "$1")" ) }
         export tagname=${1:-${kak_selection}}
         printf %s\\n "$kak_opt_ctagsfiles" | tr ':' '\n' |
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ If no symbol is passed then the current selection is used as symbol name} \
 
 define-command ctags-complete -docstring "Insert completion candidates for the current selection into the buffer's local variables" %{ evaluate-commands -draft %{
     execute-keys <space>hb<a-k>^\w+$<ret>
-    %sh{ {
+    nop %sh{ {
         compl=$(readtags -p "$kak_selection" | cut -f 1 | sort | uniq | sed -e 's/:/\\:/g' | sed -e 's/\n/:/g' )
         compl="${kak_cursor_line}.${kak_cursor_column}+${#kak_selection}@${kak_timestamp}:${compl}"
         printf %s\\n "set-option buffer=$kak_bufname ctags_completions '${compl}'" | kak -p ${kak_session}
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ define-command ctags-funcinfo -docstring "Display ctags information about a sele
     evaluate-commands -draft %{
         try %{
             execute-keys -no-hooks '[(;B<a-k>[a-zA-Z_]+\(<ret><a-;>'
-            %sh{
+            evaluate-commands %sh{
                 sigs=$(readtags -e ${kak_selection%?} | grep kind:f | sed -re 's/^(\S+).*((class|struct|namespace):(\S+))?.*signature:(.*)$/\5 [\4::\1]/')
                 if [ -n "$sigs" ]; then
                     printf %s\\n "evaluate-commands -client ${kak_client} %{info -anchor $kak_cursor_line.$kak_cursor_column -placement above '$sigs'}"
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ declare-option -docstring "path to the directory in which the tags file will be
 
 define-command ctags-generate -docstring 'Generate tag file asynchronously' %{
     echo -markup "{Information}launching tag generation in the background"
-    %sh{ {
+    nop %sh{ (
         while ! mkdir .tags.kaklock 2>/dev/null; do sleep 1; done
         trap 'rmdir .tags.kaklock' EXIT
 
@@ -93,11 +93,11 @@ define-command ctags-generate -docstring 'Generate tag file asynchronously' %{
         fi
 
         printf %s\\n "evaluate-commands -client $kak_client echo -markup '{Information}${msg}'" | kak -p ${kak_session}
-    } > /dev/null 2>&1 < /dev/null & }
+    ) > /dev/null 2>&1 < /dev/null & }
 }
 
 define-command ctags-update-tags -docstring 'Update tags for the given file' %{
-    %sh{ {
+    nop %sh{ (
         while ! mkdir .tags.kaklock 2>/dev/null; do sleep 1; done
             trap 'rmdir .tags.kaklock' EXIT
 
@@ -113,5 +113,5 @@ define-command ctags-update-tags -docstring 'Update tags for the given file' %{
         fi
 
         printf %s\\n "evaluate-commands -client $kak_client echo -markup '{Information}${msg}'" | kak -p ${kak_session}
-    } > /dev/null 2>&1 < /dev/null & }
+    ) > /dev/null 2>&1 < /dev/null & }
 }
diff --git a/rc/base/d.kak b/rc/base/d.kak
index 9cb995169..0b732eb5b 100644
--- a/rc/base/d.kak
+++ b/rc/base/d.kak
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ add-highlighter shared/d/code regex "\b(this)\b\s*[^(]" 1:value
 add-highlighter shared/d/code regex "((?:~|\b)this)\b\s*\(" 1:function
 add-highlighter shared/d/code regex '#\s*line\b.*' 0:meta
 
-%sh{
+evaluate-commands %sh{
     # Grammar
 
     keywords="abstract|alias|align|asm|assert|auto|body|break|case|cast"
diff --git a/rc/base/file.kak b/rc/base/file.kak
index ce947b19c..073e9ce0a 100644
--- a/rc/base/file.kak
+++ b/rc/base/file.kak
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-hook global BufOpenFile .* %{ %sh{
+hook global BufOpenFile .* %{ evaluate-commands %sh{
     if [ -z "${kak_opt_filetype}" ]; then
         mime=$(file -b --mime-type "${kak_buffile}")
         case "${mime}" in
diff --git a/rc/base/go.kak b/rc/base/go.kak
index 89bd3239c..61308f7b3 100644
--- a/rc/base/go.kak
+++ b/rc/base/go.kak
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ add-highlighter shared/go/comment fill comment
 
 add-highlighter shared/go/code regex %{-?([0-9]*\.(?!0[xX]))?\b([0-9]+|0[xX][0-9a-fA-F]+)\.?([eE][+-]?[0-9]+)?i?\b} 0:value
 
-%sh{
+evaluate-commands %sh{
     # Grammar
     keywords="break|default|func|interface|select|case|defer|go|map|struct"
     keywords="${keywords}|chan|else|goto|package|switch|const|fallthrough|if|range|type"
diff --git a/rc/base/lint.kak b/rc/base/lint.kak
index e02caa16c..0f1453f33 100644
--- a/rc/base/lint.kak
+++ b/rc/base/lint.kak
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ declare-option -hidden int lint_error_count
 declare-option -hidden int lint_warning_count
 
 define-command lint -docstring 'Parse the current buffer with a linter' %{
-    %sh{
+    evaluate-commands %sh{
         dir=$(mktemp -d "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}"/kak-lint.XXXXXXXX)
         mkfifo "$dir"/fifo
         printf '%s\n' "evaluate-commands -no-hooks write -sync $dir/buf"
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ define-command lint -docstring 'Parse the current buffer with a linter' %{
 
 define-command -hidden lint-show %{
     update-option buffer lint_errors
-    %sh{
+    evaluate-commands %sh{
         desc=$(printf '%s\n' "$kak_opt_lint_errors" | sed -e 's/\([^\\]\):/\1\n/g' | tail -n +2 |
                sed -ne "/^$kak_cursor_line\.[^|]\+|.*/ { s/^[^|]\+|//g; s/'/\\\\'/g; s/\\\\:/:/g; p; }")
         if [ -n "$desc" ]; then
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ define-command lint-disable -docstring "Disable automatic diagnostics of the cod
 
 define-command lint-next-error -docstring "Jump to the next line that contains an error" %{
     update-option buffer lint_errors
-    %sh{
+    evaluate-commands %sh{
         printf '%s\n' "$kak_opt_lint_errors" | sed -e 's/\([^\\]\):/\1\n/g' | tail -n +2 | {
             while IFS='|' read -r candidate rest
             do
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ define-command lint-next-error -docstring "Jump to the next line that contains a
 
 define-command lint-previous-error -docstring "Jump to the previous line that contains an error" %{
     update-option buffer lint_errors
-    %sh{
+    evaluate-commands %sh{
         printf '%s\n' "$kak_opt_lint_errors" | sed -e 's/\([^\\]\):/\1\n/g' | tail -n +2 | sort -t. -k1,1 -rn | {
             while IFS='|' read -r candidate rest
             do
diff --git a/rc/base/lua.kak b/rc/base/lua.kak
index 4fc145d7b..568708b7a 100644
--- a/rc/base/lua.kak
+++ b/rc/base/lua.kak
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ add-highlighter shared/lua/code regex \b(and|break|do|else|elseif|end|false|for|
 # Commands
 # ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
 
-define-command lua-alternative-file -docstring 'Jump to the alternate file (implementation ↔ test)' %{ %sh{
+define-command lua-alternative-file -docstring 'Jump to the alternate file (implementation ↔ test)' %{ evaluate-commands %sh{
     case $kak_buffile in
         *spec/*_spec.lua)
             altfile=$(eval printf %s\\n $(printf %s\\n $kak_buffile | sed s+spec/+'*'/+';'s/_spec//))
diff --git a/rc/base/markdown.kak b/rc/base/markdown.kak
index e5491ca14..154d76a22 100644
--- a/rc/base/markdown.kak
+++ b/rc/base/markdown.kak
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ hook global BufCreate .*[.](markdown|md|mkd) %{
 # Highlighters
 # ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
 
-%sh{
+evaluate-commands %sh{
   languages="
     c cabal clojure coffee cpp css cucumber d diff dockerfile fish gas go
     haml haskell html ini java javascript json julia kak kickstart latex
diff --git a/rc/base/ocaml.kak b/rc/base/ocaml.kak
index 1052e0573..07d0569b5 100644
--- a/rc/base/ocaml.kak
+++ b/rc/base/ocaml.kak
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ hook global WinSetOption filetype=(?!ocaml).* %{
 # Macro
 # ‾‾‾‾‾
 
-%sh{
+evaluate-commands %sh{
   keywords=and:as:asr:assert:begin:class:constraint:do:done:downto:else:end:exception:external:false:for:fun:function:functor:if:in:include:inherit:initializer:land:lazy:let:lor:lsl:lsr:lxor:match:method:mod:module:mutable:new:nonrec:object:of:open:or:private:rec:sig:struct:then:to:true:try:type:val:virtual:when:while:with
   echo "
     add-highlighter shared/ocaml/code regex \b($(printf $keywords | tr : '|'))\b 0:keyword
diff --git a/rc/base/perl.kak b/rc/base/perl.kak
index 5c0a3862b..34b884349 100644
--- a/rc/base/perl.kak
+++ b/rc/base/perl.kak
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ add-highlighter shared/perl/double_string fill string
 add-highlighter shared/perl/single_string fill string
 add-highlighter shared/perl/comment fill comment
 
-%sh{
+evaluate-commands %sh{
     # Grammar
     keywords="else|lock|qw|elsif|lt|qx|eq|exp|ne|sub|for|no|my|not|tr|goto|and|foreach|or|break|exit|unless|cmp|ge|package|until|continue|gt|while|if|qq|xor|do|le|qr|return"
     attributes="END|AUTOLOAD|BEGIN|CHECK|UNITCHECK|INIT|DESTROY"
diff --git a/rc/base/ruby.kak b/rc/base/ruby.kak
index c615c595c..b595f6720 100644
--- a/rc/base/ruby.kak
+++ b/rc/base/ruby.kak
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ add-highlighter shared/ruby/literal fill meta
 
 add-highlighter shared/ruby/code regex \b([A-Za-z]\w*:(?!:))|([$@][A-Za-z]\w*)|((?<!:):(([A-Za-z]\w*[=?!]?)|(\[\]=?)))|([A-Z]\w*|^|\h)\K::(?=[A-Z]) 0:variable
 
-%sh{
+evaluate-commands %sh{
     # Grammar
     # Keywords are collected searching for keywords at
     # https://github.com/ruby/ruby/blob/trunk/parse.y
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ add-highlighter shared/ruby/code regex \b([A-Za-z]\w*:(?!:))|([$@][A-Za-z]\w*)|(
 # Commands
 # ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
 
-define-command ruby-alternative-file -docstring 'Jump to the alternate file (implementation ↔ test)' %{ %sh{
+define-command ruby-alternative-file -docstring 'Jump to the alternate file (implementation ↔ test)' %{ evaluate-commands %sh{
     case $kak_buffile in
         *spec/*_spec.rb)
             altfile=$(eval echo $(echo $kak_buffile | sed s+spec/+'*'/+';'s/_spec//))
diff --git a/rc/base/screen.kak b/rc/base/screen.kak
index f28a21161..9df694ba4 100644
--- a/rc/base/screen.kak
+++ b/rc/base/screen.kak
@@ -1,19 +1,17 @@
 # http://gnu.org/software/screen/
 # ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
  
-hook -group GNUscreen global KakBegin .* %{
-    %sh{
-        [ -z "${STY}" ] && exit
-        echo "
-            alias global focus screen-focus
-            alias global new screen-new-vertical
-        "
-    }
+hook -group GNUscreen global KakBegin .* %sh{
+    [ -z "${STY}" ] && exit
+    echo "
+        alias global focus screen-focus
+        alias global new screen-new-vertical
+    "
 }
 
 
 define-command screen-new-vertical -params .. -command-completion -docstring "Split the current pane into two, left and right" %{
-     %sh{
+     nop %sh{
         tty="$(ps -o tty ${kak_client_pid} | tail -n 1)"
         screen -X eval \
             'split -h' \
@@ -25,7 +23,7 @@ define-command screen-new-vertical -params .. -command-completion -docstring "Sp
 }
 
 define-command screen-new-horizontal -params .. -command-completion -docstring "Split the current pane into two, top and bottom" %{
-     %sh{
+     nop %sh{
         tty="$(ps -o tty ${kak_client_pid} | tail -n 1)"
         screen -X eval \
             'split -v' \
@@ -37,7 +35,7 @@ define-command screen-new-horizontal -params .. -command-completion -docstring "
 }
 
 define-command screen-new-window -params .. -command-completion -docstring "Create a new window" %{
-    %sh{
+    nop %sh{
         tty="$(ps -o tty ${kak_client_pid} | tail -n 1)"
         screen -X screen kak -c "${kak_session}" -e "$*" < "/dev/$tty"
     }
@@ -46,7 +44,7 @@ define-command screen-new-window -params .. -command-completion -docstring "Crea
 define-command -docstring %{screen-focus [<client>]: focus the given client
 If no client is passed then the current one is used} \
     -params ..1 -client-completion \
-    screen-focus %{ %sh{
+    screen-focus %{ evaluate-commands %sh{
         if [ $# -eq 1 ]; then
             printf %s\\n "
                 evaluate-commands -client '$1' focus
diff --git a/rc/base/spell.kak b/rc/base/spell.kak
index cd5a82777..19fd5f7b0 100644
--- a/rc/base/spell.kak
+++ b/rc/base/spell.kak
@@ -10,12 +10,12 @@ Formats of language supported:
  - language code above followed by a dash or underscore with an ISO country code, e.g. 'en-US'} \
     spell %{
     try %{ add-highlighter window ranges 'spell_regions' }
-    %sh{
+    evaluate-commands %sh{
         file=$(mktemp -d "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}"/kak-spell.XXXXXXXX)/buffer
         printf 'eval -no-hooks write -sync %s\n' "${file}"
         printf 'set-option buffer spell_tmp_file %s\n' "${file}"
     }
-    %sh{
+    evaluate-commands %sh{
         if [ $# -ge 1 ]; then
             if [ ${#1} -ne 2 ] && [ ${#1} -ne 5 ]; then
                 echo "echo -markup '{Error}Invalid language code (examples of expected format: en, en_US, en-US)'"
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ Formats of language supported:
     }
 }
 
-define-command spell-next %{ %sh{
+define-command spell-next %{ evaluate-commands %sh{
     anchor_line="${kak_selection_desc%%.*}"
     anchor_col="${kak_selection_desc%%,*}"
     anchor_col="${anchor_col##*.}"
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ define-command spell-next %{ %sh{
     fi
 } }
 
-define-command spell-replace %{ %sh{
+define-command spell-replace %{ evaluate-commands %sh{
     if [ -n "$kak_opt_spell_lang" ]; then
         options="-l '$kak_opt_spell_lang'"
     fi
diff --git a/rc/base/sql.kak b/rc/base/sql.kak
index c0b5608ac..2a1613a00 100644
--- a/rc/base/sql.kak
+++ b/rc/base/sql.kak
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ add-highlighter shared/ regions -default code sql \
     comment '#' '$' '' \
     comment '/\*' '\*/' ''
 
-%sh{
+evaluate-commands %sh{
     # Keywords
     keywords="ALTER|AS|ASC|AUTO_INCREMENT|CHECK|CONSTRAINT|CREATE|DATABASE|DEFAULT|DELETE|DESC|DISTINCT|DROP"
     keywords="${keywords}|EXISTS|FOREIGN KEY|FROM|FULL JOIN|FULL OUTER JOIN|GROUP BY|HAVING|INDEX|INNER JOIN"
diff --git a/rc/base/tmux.kak b/rc/base/tmux.kak
index c688617fb..3a17669d4 100644
--- a/rc/base/tmux.kak
+++ b/rc/base/tmux.kak
@@ -2,20 +2,18 @@
 # ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
 
 ## The default behaviour for the `new` command is to open an horizontal pane in a tmux session
-hook global KakBegin .* %{
-    %sh{
-        if [ -n "$TMUX" ]; then
-            echo "
-                alias global focus tmux-focus
-                alias global new tmux-new-horizontal
-            "
-        fi
-    }
+hook global KakBegin .* %sh{
+    if [ -n "$TMUX" ]; then
+        echo "
+            alias global focus tmux-focus
+            alias global new tmux-new-horizontal
+        "
+    fi
 }
 
 ## Temporarily override the default client creation command
 define-command -hidden -params 1.. tmux-new-impl %{
-    %sh{
+    evaluate-commands %sh{
         tmux=${kak_client_env_TMUX:-$TMUX}
         if [ -z "$tmux" ]; then
             echo "echo -markup '{Error}This command is only available in a tmux session'"
@@ -43,7 +41,7 @@ define-command tmux-new-window -params .. -command-completion -docstring "Create
 define-command -docstring %{tmux-focus [<client>]: focus the given client
 If no client is passed then the current one is used} \
     -params ..1 -client-completion \
-    tmux-focus %{ %sh{
+    tmux-focus %{ evaluate-commands %sh{
     if [ $# -eq 1 ]; then
         printf %s\\n "evaluate-commands -client '$1' focus"
     elif [ -n "${kak_client_env_TMUX}" ]; then
diff --git a/rc/base/x11.kak b/rc/base/x11.kak
index 484cee9b6..1c4f6df68 100644
--- a/rc/base/x11.kak
+++ b/rc/base/x11.kak
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ A shell command is appended to the one set in this option at runtime} \
                    'xfce4-terminal -e      ' ; do
         terminal=${termcmd%% *}
         if command -v $terminal >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-            printf %s\\n "'$termcmd'"
+            printf %s\\n "$termcmd"
             exit
         fi
     done
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ define-command -docstring %{x11-new [<command>]: create a new kak client for the
 The optional arguments will be passed as arguments to the new client} \
     -params .. \
     -command-completion \
-    x11-new %{ %sh{
+    x11-new %{ evaluate-commands %sh{
         if [ -z "${kak_opt_termcmd}" ]; then
            echo "echo -markup '{Error}termcmd option is not set'"
            exit
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ The optional arguments will be passed as arguments to the new client} \
 define-command -docstring %{x11-focus [<client>]: focus a given client's window
 If no client is passed, then the current client is used} \
     -params ..1 -client-completion \
-    x11-focus %{ %sh{
+    x11-focus %{ evaluate-commands %sh{
         if [ $# -eq 1 ]; then
             printf %s\\n "evaluate-commands -client '$1' focus"
         else
diff --git a/rc/core/c-family.kak b/rc/core/c-family.kak
index 962a4b618..1b1402f38 100644
--- a/rc/core/c-family.kak
+++ b/rc/core/c-family.kak
@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ define-command -hidden c-family-insert-on-newline %[ evaluate-commands -itersel
 ] ]
 
 # Regions definition are the same between c++ and objective-c
-%sh{
+evaluate-commands %sh{
     for ft in c cpp objc; do
         if [ "${ft}" = "objc" ]; then
             maybe_at='@?'
@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ define-command -hidden c-family-insert-on-newline %[ evaluate-commands -itersel
 
 # c specific
 add-highlighter shared/c/code regex %{\b-?(0x[0-9a-fA-F]+|\d+)[fdiu]?|'((\\.)?|[^'\\])'} 0:value
-%sh{
+evaluate-commands %sh{
     # Grammar
     keywords="asm break case continue default do else for goto if return
               sizeof switch while"
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@ add-highlighter shared/cpp/code regex %{(?i)(?<!\.)\b0x([\da-f]('?[\da-f]+)*)?\.
 # character literals (no multi-character literals)
 add-highlighter shared/cpp/code regex %{(\b(u8|u|U|L)|\B)'((\\.)|[^'\\])'\B} 0:value
 
-%sh{
+evaluate-commands %sh{
     # Grammar
     keywords="alignas alignof and and_eq asm bitand bitor break case catch
               compl const_cast continue decltype default delete do dynamic_cast
@@ -231,7 +231,7 @@ add-highlighter shared/cpp/code regex %{(\b(u8|u|U|L)|\B)'((\\.)|[^'\\])'\B} 0:v
 }
 
 # c and c++ compiler macros
-%sh{
+evaluate-commands %sh{
     builtin_macros="__cplusplus|__STDC_HOSTED__|__FILE__|__LINE__|__DATE__|__TIME__|__STDCPP_DEFAULT_NEW_ALIGNMENT__"
 
     printf %s "
@@ -243,7 +243,7 @@ add-highlighter shared/cpp/code regex %{(\b(u8|u|U|L)|\B)'((\\.)|[^'\\])'\B} 0:v
 # objective-c specific
 add-highlighter shared/objc/code regex %{\b-?\d+[fdiu]?|'((\\.)?|[^'\\])'} 0:value
 
-%sh{
+evaluate-commands %sh{
     # Grammar
     keywords="break case continue default do else for goto if return switch
               while"
@@ -314,7 +314,7 @@ Can be one of the following:
     str c_include_guard_style "ifdef"
 
 define-command -hidden c-family-insert-include-guards %{
-    %sh{
+    evaluate-commands %sh{
         case "${kak_opt_c_include_guard_style}" in
             ifdef)
                 echo 'execute-keys ggi<c-r>%<ret><esc>ggxs\.<ret>c_<esc><space>A_INCLUDED<esc>ggxyppI#ifndef<space><esc>jI#define<space><esc>jI#endif<space>//<space><esc>O<esc>'
@@ -332,7 +332,7 @@ hook -group c-family-insert global BufNewFile .*\.(h|hh|hpp|hxx|H) c-family-inse
 declare-option -docstring "colon separated list of path in which header files will be looked for" \
     str-list alt_dirs ".:.."
 
-define-command c-family-alternative-file -docstring "Jump to the alternate file (header/implementation)" %{ %sh{
+define-command c-family-alternative-file -docstring "Jump to the alternate file (header/implementation)" %{ evaluate-commands %sh{
     alt_dirs=$(printf %s\\n "${kak_opt_alt_dirs}" | tr ':' '\n')
     file="${kak_buffile##*/}"
     file_noext="${file%.*}"
diff --git a/rc/core/comment.kak b/rc/core/comment.kak
index 3e017ed04..4dee7df7f 100644
--- a/rc/core/comment.kak
+++ b/rc/core/comment.kak
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ hook global BufSetOption filetype=ruby %{
 }
 
 define-command comment-block -docstring '(un)comment selections using block comments' %{
-    %sh{
+    evaluate-commands %sh{
         if [ -z "${kak_opt_comment_block_begin}" ] || [ -z "${kak_opt_comment_block_end}" ]; then
             echo "fail \"The 'comment_block' options are empty, could not comment the selection\""
         fi
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ define-command comment-block -docstring '(un)comment selections using block comm
 }
 
 define-command comment-line -docstring '(un)comment selected lines using line comments' %{
-    %sh{
+    evaluate-commands %sh{
         if [ -z "${kak_opt_comment_line}" ]; then
             echo "fail \"The 'comment_line' option is empty, could not comment the line\""
         fi
diff --git a/rc/core/doc.kak b/rc/core/doc.kak
index 8398fb74f..1f14cfcf4 100644
--- a/rc/core/doc.kak
+++ b/rc/core/doc.kak
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ define-command -hidden -params 4 doc-render-regex %{
         execute-keys \%s %arg{1} <ret>
         execute-keys -draft s %arg{2} <ret> d
         execute-keys "%arg{3}"
-        %sh{
+        evaluate-commands %sh{
             ranges=$(echo "$kak_selections_desc" | sed -e "s/:/|$4:/g; s/\$/|$4/")
             echo "update-option buffer doc_render_ranges"
             echo "set-option -add buffer doc_render_ranges '$ranges'"
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ define-command -hidden doc-parse-anchors %{
 
 define-command doc-jump-to-anchor -params 1 %{
     update-option buffer doc_anchors
-    %sh{
+    evaluate-commands %sh{
         range=$(printf "%s" "$kak_opt_doc_anchors" | tr ':' '\n' | grep "$1" | head -n1)
         if [ -n "$range" ]; then
             printf '%s\n'  "select '${range%|*}'; execute-keys vv"
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ define-command doc-jump-to-anchor -params 1 %{
 
 define-command doc-follow-link %{
     update-option buffer doc_links
-    %sh{
+    evaluate-commands %sh{
         printf "%s" "$kak_opt_doc_links" | awk -v RS=':' -v FS='[.,|#]' '
             BEGIN {
                 l=ENVIRON["kak_cursor_line"];
@@ -136,7 +136,7 @@ define-command -params 1..2 \
     } \
     doc -docstring %{doc <topic> [<keyword>]: open a buffer containing documentation about a given topic
 An optional keyword argument can be passed to the function, which will be automatically selected in the documentation} %{
-    %sh{
+    evaluate-commands %sh{
         readonly page="${kak_runtime}/doc/${1}.asciidoc"
         if [ -f "${page}" ]; then
             if [ $# -eq 2 ]; then
diff --git a/rc/core/formatter.kak b/rc/core/formatter.kak
index 1e4a7f86a..40c384448 100644
--- a/rc/core/formatter.kak
+++ b/rc/core/formatter.kak
@@ -2,18 +2,18 @@ declare-option -docstring "shell command to which the contents of the current bu
     str formatcmd
 
 define-command format -docstring "Format the contents of the current buffer" %{ evaluate-commands -draft -no-hooks %{
-    %sh{
+    evaluate-commands %sh{
         if [ -n "${kak_opt_formatcmd}" ]; then
             path_file_tmp=$(mktemp "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}"/kak-formatter-XXXXXX)
             printf %s\\n "
                 write -sync \"${path_file_tmp}\"
 
-                %sh{
+                evaluate-commands %sh{
                     readonly path_file_out=\$(mktemp \"${TMPDIR:-/tmp}\"/kak-formatter-XXXXXX)
 
                     if cat \"${path_file_tmp}\" | eval \"${kak_opt_formatcmd}\" > \"\${path_file_out}\"; then
                         printf '%s\\n' \"execute-keys \\%|cat<space>'\${path_file_out}'<ret>\"
-                        printf '%s\\n' \"%sh{ rm -f '\${path_file_out}' }\"
+                        printf '%s\\n' \"nop %sh{ rm -f '\${path_file_out}' }\"
                     else
                         printf '%s\\n' \"
                             evaluate-commands -client '${kak_client}' echo -markup '{Error}formatter returned an error (\$?)'
diff --git a/rc/core/grep.kak b/rc/core/grep.kak
index a1fb357ae..c634abee4 100644
--- a/rc/core/grep.kak
+++ b/rc/core/grep.kak
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ declare-option -hidden int grep_current_line 0
 define-command -params .. -file-completion \
     -docstring %{grep [<arguments>]: grep utility wrapper
 All the optional arguments are forwarded to the grep utility} \
-    grep %{ %sh{
+    grep %{ evaluate-commands %sh{
      output=$(mktemp -d "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}"/kak-grep.XXXXXXXX)/fifo
      mkfifo ${output}
      if [ $# -gt 0 ]; then
diff --git a/rc/core/kakrc.kak b/rc/core/kakrc.kak
index 616669c66..80e45a1b3 100644
--- a/rc/core/kakrc.kak
+++ b/rc/core/kakrc.kak
@@ -15,16 +15,16 @@ add-highlighter shared/ regions -default code kakrc \
     comment (^|\h)\K# $ '' \
     double_string %{(^|\h)\K"} %{(?<!\\)(\\\\)*"} '' \
     single_string %{(^|\h)\K'} %{(?<!\\)(\\\\)*'} '' \
-    shell '(^|\h)\K%sh\{' '\}' '\{' \
-    shell '(^|\h)\K%sh\(' '\)' '\(' \
-    shell '(^|\h)\K%sh\[' '\]' '\[' \
-    shell '(^|\h)\K%sh<'  '>'  '<' \
+    shell '(^|\h)\K%?%sh\{' '\}' '\{' \
+    shell '(^|\h)\K%?%sh\(' '\)' '\(' \
+    shell '(^|\h)\K%?%sh\[' '\]' '\[' \
+    shell '(^|\h)\K%?%sh<'  '>'  '<' \
     shell '(^|\h)\K-shell-(completion|candidates)\h+%\{' '\}' '\{' \
     shell '(^|\h)\K-shell-(completion|candidates)\h+%\(' '\)' '\(' \
     shell '(^|\h)\K-shell-(completion|candidates)\h+%\[' '\]' '\[' \
     shell '(^|\h)\K-shell-(completion|candidates)\h+%<'  '>'  '<'
 
-%sh{
+evaluate-commands %sh{
     # Grammar
     keywords="edit write write-all kill quit write-quit write-all-quit map unmap alias unalias
               buffer buffer-next buffer-previous delete-buffer add-highlighter remove-highlighter
diff --git a/rc/core/make.kak b/rc/core/make.kak
index 62c0881a1..e171300ed 100644
--- a/rc/core/make.kak
+++ b/rc/core/make.kak
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ declare-option -hidden int make_current_error_line
 define-command -params .. \
     -docstring %{make [<arguments>]: make utility wrapper
 All the optional arguments are forwarded to the make utility} \
-    make %{ %sh{
+    make %{ evaluate-commands %sh{
      output=$(mktemp -d "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}"/kak-make.XXXXXXXX)/fifo
      mkfifo ${output}
      ( eval ${kak_opt_makecmd} "$@" > ${output} 2>&1 ) > /dev/null 2>&1 < /dev/null &
diff --git a/rc/core/makefile.kak b/rc/core/makefile.kak
index 1e830120b..c54735a05 100644
--- a/rc/core/makefile.kak
+++ b/rc/core/makefile.kak
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ add-highlighter shared/makefile/evaluate-commands fill value
 add-highlighter shared/makefile/content regex ^[\w.%-]+\h*:\s 0:variable
 add-highlighter shared/makefile/content regex [+?:]= 0:operator
 
-%sh{
+evaluate-commands %sh{
     # Grammar
     keywords="ifeq|ifneq|ifdef|ifndef|else|endif|define|endef"
 
diff --git a/rc/core/man.kak b/rc/core/man.kak
index 9925098e1..b1ae14330 100644
--- a/rc/core/man.kak
+++ b/rc/core/man.kak
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ hook global WinSetOption filetype=(?!man).* %{
     remove-hooks window man-hooks
 }
 
-define-command -hidden -params 2..3 man-impl %{ %sh{
+define-command -hidden -params 2..3 man-impl %{ evaluate-commands %sh{
     buffer_name="$1"
     shift
     manout=$(mktemp "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}"/kak-man-XXXXXX)
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ define-command -params ..1 \
   -docstring %{man [<page>]: manpage viewer wrapper
 If no argument is passed to the command, the selection will be used as page
 The page can be a word, or a word directly followed by a section number between parenthesis, e.g. kak(1)} \
-    man %{ %sh{
+    man %{ evaluate-commands %sh{
     subject=${1-$kak_selection}
 
     ## The completion suggestions display the page number, strip them if present
diff --git a/rc/core/python.kak b/rc/core/python.kak
index da451413e..de6aa4790 100644
--- a/rc/core/python.kak
+++ b/rc/core/python.kak
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ add-highlighter shared/python/docstring/py-docstring/docstring fill string
 
 add-highlighter shared/python/comment       fill comment
 
-%sh{
+evaluate-commands %sh{
     # Grammar
     values="True|False|None|self|inf"
     meta="import|from"
diff --git a/rc/core/sh.kak b/rc/core/sh.kak
index bc917cc56..a3289ee80 100644
--- a/rc/core/sh.kak
+++ b/rc/core/sh.kak
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ add-highlighter shared/sh/single_string fill string
 add-highlighter shared/sh/comment fill comment
 add-highlighter shared/sh/heredoc fill string
 
-%sh{
+evaluate-commands %sh{
     # Grammar
     keywords="alias|bind|builtin|caller|case|cd|command|coproc|declare|do|done"
     keywords="${keywords}|echo|elif|else|enable|esac|exit|fi|for|function|help"
diff --git a/rc/extra/autorestore.kak b/rc/extra/autorestore.kak
index e2709c502..f8e3e14d1 100644
--- a/rc/extra/autorestore.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/autorestore.kak
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ declare-option -docstring "remove backups once they've been restored" \
 
 ## Insert the content of the backup file into the current buffer, if a suitable one is found
 define-command autorestore-restore-buffer -docstring "Restore the backup for the current file if it exists" %{
-    %sh{
+    evaluate-commands %sh{
         buffer_basename="${kak_buffile##*/}"
         buffer_dirname=$(dirname "${kak_buffile}")
 
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ define-command autorestore-restore-buffer -docstring "Restore the backup for the
 
 ## Remove all the backups that have been created for the current buffer
 define-command autorestore-purge-backups -docstring "Remove all the backups of the current buffer" %{
-    %sh{
+    evaluate-commands %sh{
         [ ! -f "${kak_buffile}" ] && exit
 
         buffer_basename="${kak_bufname##*/}"
diff --git a/rc/extra/clang.kak b/rc/extra/clang.kak
index 61a3708a7..e5c1b9fff 100644
--- a/rc/extra/clang.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/clang.kak
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ define-command -params ..1 \
     -docstring %{Parse the contents of the current buffer
 The syntaxic errors detected during parsing are shown when auto-diagnostics are enabled} \
     clang-parse %{
-    %sh{
+    evaluate-commands %sh{
         dir=$(mktemp -d "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}"/kak-clang.XXXXXXXX)
         mkfifo ${dir}/fifo
         printf %s\\n "set-option buffer clang_tmp_dir ${dir}"
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ The syntaxic errors detected during parsing are shown when auto-diagnostics are
     }
     # end the previous %sh{} so that its output gets interpreted by kakoune
     # before launching the following as a background task.
-    %sh{
+    evaluate-commands %sh{
         dir=${kak_opt_clang_tmp_dir}
         printf %s\\n "evaluate-commands -draft %{
                   edit! -fifo ${dir}/fifo -debug *clang-output*
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ define-command clang-complete -docstring "Complete the current selection" %{ cla
 define-command -hidden clang-show-completion-info %[ try %[
     evaluate-commands -draft %[
         execute-keys <space>{( <a-k> ^\( <ret> b <a-k> \A\w+\z <ret>
-        %sh[
+        evaluate-commands %sh[
             desc=$(printf %s\\n "${kak_opt_clang_completions}" | sed -e "{ s/\([^\\]\):/\1\n/g }" | sed -ne "/^${kak_selection}|/ { s/^[^|]\+|//; s/|.*$//; s/\\\:/:/g; p }")
             if [ -n "$desc" ]; then
                 printf %s\\n "evaluate-commands -client $kak_client %{info -anchor ${kak_cursor_line}.${kak_cursor_column} -placement above %{${desc}}}"
@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ define-command clang-disable-autocomplete -docstring "Disable automatic clang co
 
 define-command -hidden clang-show-error-info %{
     update-option buffer clang_errors # Ensure we are up to date with buffer changes
-    %sh{
+    evaluate-commands %sh{
         desc=$(printf %s\\n "${kak_opt_clang_errors}" |
                sed -e "s/\([^\\]\):/\1\n/g" |
                sed -ne "/^${kak_cursor_line}|.*/ { s/^[[:digit:]]\+|//g; s/'/\\\\'/g; s/\\\\:/:/g; p }")
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ define-command clang-disable-diagnostics -docstring "Disable automatic error rep
 
 define-command clang-diagnostics-next -docstring "Jump to the next line that contains an error" %{
     update-option buffer clang_errors # Ensure we are up to date with buffer changes
-    %sh{
+    evaluate-commands %sh{
         printf "%s\n" "${kak_opt_clang_errors}" | sed -e 's/\([^\\]\):/\1\n/g' | tail -n +2 | (
             while IFS='|' read candidate rest; do
                 first_line=${first_line-$candidate}
diff --git a/rc/extra/dockerfile.kak b/rc/extra/dockerfile.kak
index db3597baa..9c127cfd4 100644
--- a/rc/extra/dockerfile.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/dockerfile.kak
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ add-highlighter shared/ regions -default code dockerfile \
     string "'" "'"               '' \
     comment '#' $ ''
 
-%sh{
+evaluate-commands %sh{
     # Grammar
     keywords="ADD|ARG|CMD|COPY|ENTRYPOINT|ENV|EXPOSE|FROM|HEALTHCHECK|LABEL"
     keywords="${keywords}|MAINTAINER|RUN|SHELL|STOPSIGNAL|USER|VOLUME|WORKDIR"
diff --git a/rc/extra/editorconfig.kak b/rc/extra/editorconfig.kak
index 23a5ebd30..18fc3e9e5 100644
--- a/rc/extra/editorconfig.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/editorconfig.kak
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ declare-option -hidden bool editorconfig_trim_trailing_whitespace false
 
 define-command editorconfig-load -params ..1 -docstring "editorconfig-load [file]: set formatting behavior according to editorconfig" %{
     remove-hooks buffer editorconfig-hooks
-    %sh{
+    evaluate-commands %sh{
         command -v editorconfig >/dev/null 2>&1 || { echo 'echo -markup "{Error}editorconfig could not be found"'; exit 1; }
         editorconfig "${1:-$kak_buffile}" | awk -F= -- '
             /indent_style=/            { indent_style = $2 }
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ define-command editorconfig-load -params ..1 -docstring "editorconfig-load [file
             }
         '
     }
-    hook buffer BufWritePre %val{buffile} -group editorconfig-hooks %{ %sh{
+    hook buffer BufWritePre %val{buffile} -group editorconfig-hooks %{ evaluate-commands %sh{
         if [ ${kak_opt_editorconfig_trim_trailing_whitespace} = "true" ]; then
             printf %s\\n "try %{ execute-keys -draft %{ %s\h+$<ret>d } }"
         fi
diff --git a/rc/extra/git-tools.kak b/rc/extra/git-tools.kak
index 166e80449..3c73a9818 100644
--- a/rc/extra/git-tools.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/git-tools.kak
@@ -24,9 +24,9 @@ set-face global GitBlame default,magenta
 set-face global GitDiffFlags default,black
 
 define-command -params 1.. \
-  -docstring %sh{printf '%%{git [<arguments>]: git wrapping helper
+  -docstring %sh{printf 'git [<arguments>]: git wrapping helper
 All the optional arguments are forwarded to the git utility
-Available commands:\n  add\n  rm\n  blame\n  commit\n  checkout\n  diff\n  hide-blame\n  log\n  show\n  show-diff\n  status\n  update-diff}'} \
+Available commands:\n  add\n  rm\n  blame\n  commit\n  checkout\n  diff\n  hide-blame\n  log\n  show\n  show-diff\n  status\n  update-diff'} \
   -shell-candidates %{
     if [ $kak_token_to_complete -eq 0 ]; then
         printf "add\nrm\nblame\ncommit\ncheckout\ndiff\nhide-blame\nlog\nshow\nshow-diff\nstatus\nupdate-diff\n"
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ Available commands:\n  add\n  rm\n  blame\n  commit\n  checkout\n  diff\n  hide-
         esac
     fi
   } \
-  git %{ %sh{
+  git %{ evaluate-commands %sh{
     show_git_cmd_output() {
         local filetype
         case "$1" in
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ Available commands:\n  add\n  rm\n  blame\n  commit\n  checkout\n  diff\n  hide-
         GIT_EDITOR='' EDITOR='' git commit "$@" > /dev/null 2>&1
         msgfile="$(git rev-parse --git-dir)/COMMIT_EDITMSG"
         printf %s "edit '$msgfile'
-              hook buffer BufWritePost '.*\Q$msgfile\E' %{ %sh{
+              hook buffer BufWritePost '.*\Q$msgfile\E' %{ evaluate-commands %sh{
                   if git commit -F '$msgfile' --cleanup=strip $* > /dev/null; then
                      printf %s 'evaluate-commands -client $kak_client echo -markup %{{Information}Commit succeeded}; delete-buffer'
                   else
diff --git a/rc/extra/go-tools.kak b/rc/extra/go-tools.kak
index 439715ec3..91f5c8259 100644
--- a/rc/extra/go-tools.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/go-tools.kak
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 # Needs the following tools in the path:
 # - jq for json deserializaton
 
-%sh{
+evaluate-commands %sh{
     for dep in gocode goimports gogetdoc jq; do
         if ! command -v $dep > /dev/null 2>&1; then
             echo "echo -debug %{Dependency unmet: $dep, please install it to use go-tools}"
@@ -20,12 +20,12 @@ declare-option -hidden str go_complete_tmp_dir
 declare-option -hidden completions gocode_completions
 
 define-command go-complete -docstring "Complete the current selection with gocode" %{
-    %sh{
+    evaluate-commands %sh{
         dir=$(mktemp -d "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}"/kak-go.XXXXXXXX)
         printf %s\\n "set-option buffer go_complete_tmp_dir ${dir}"
         printf %s\\n "evaluate-commands -no-hooks write ${dir}/buf"
     }
-    %sh{
+    nop %sh{
         dir=${kak_opt_go_complete_tmp_dir}
         (
             gocode_data=$(gocode -f=godit --in=${dir}/buf autocomplete ${kak_cursor_byte_offset})
@@ -63,12 +63,12 @@ declare-option -hidden str go_format_tmp_dir
 
 define-command -params ..1 go-format \
     -docstring "go-format [-use-goimports]: custom formatter for go files" %{
-    %sh{
+    evaluate-commands %sh{
         dir=$(mktemp -d "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}"/kak-go.XXXXXXXX)
         printf %s\\n "set-option buffer go_format_tmp_dir ${dir}"
         printf %s\\n "evaluate-commands -no-hooks write ${dir}/buf"
     }
-    %sh{
+    evaluate-commands %sh{
         dir=${kak_opt_go_format_tmp_dir}
         if [ "$1" = "-use-goimports" ]; then
             fmt_cmd="goimports -srcdir '${kak_buffile}'"
@@ -94,12 +94,12 @@ declare-option -hidden str go_doc_tmp_dir
 
 # FIXME text escaping
 define-command -hidden -params 1..2 gogetdoc-cmd %{
-   %sh{
+   evaluate-commands %sh{
         dir=$(mktemp -d "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}"/kak-go.XXXXXXXX)
         printf %s\\n "set-option buffer go_doc_tmp_dir ${dir}"
         printf %s\\n "evaluate-commands -no-hooks write ${dir}/buf"
     }
-    %sh{
+    evaluate-commands %sh{
         dir=${kak_opt_go_doc_tmp_dir}
         (
             printf %s\\n "${kak_buffile}" > ${dir}/modified
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@ define-command go-jump -docstring "Jump to the symbol definition" %{
     gogetdoc-cmd "jump" 1
 }
 
-define-command go-share-selection -docstring "Share the selection using the Go Playground" %{ %sh{
+define-command go-share-selection -docstring "Share the selection using the Go Playground" %{ evaluate-commands %sh{
     snippet_id=$(printf %s\\n "${kak_selection}" | curl -s https://play.golang.org/share --data-binary @-)
     printf "echo https://play.golang.org/p/%s" ${snippet_id}
 } }
diff --git a/rc/extra/iterm.kak b/rc/extra/iterm.kak
index 90252c054..b7fe50037 100644
--- a/rc/extra/iterm.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/iterm.kak
@@ -3,19 +3,17 @@
 
 ## The default behaviour for the `new` command is to open an vertical pane in
 ## an iTerm session if not in a tmux session.
-hook global KakBegin .* %{
-    %sh{
-        if [ "$TERM_PROGRAM" = "iTerm.app" ] && [ -z "$TMUX" ]; then
-            echo "
-                alias global new iterm-new-vertical
-                alias global focus iterm-focus
-            "
-        fi
-    }
+hook global KakBegin .* %sh{
+    if [ "$TERM_PROGRAM" = "iTerm.app" ] && [ -z "$TMUX" ]; then
+        echo "
+            alias global new iterm-new-vertical
+            alias global focus iterm-focus
+        "
+    fi
 }
 
 define-command -hidden -params 1.. iterm-new-split-impl %{
-    %sh{
+    nop %sh{
         direction="$1"
         shift
         if [ $# -gt 0 ]; then kakoune_params="-e \\\"$*\\\""; fi
@@ -41,7 +39,7 @@ define-command -params .. -command-completion \
     -docstring %{iterm-new-tab [<arguments>]: create a new tab
 All optional arguments are forwarded to the new kak client} \
     iterm-new-tab %{
-    %sh{
+    nop %sh{
         if [ $# -gt 0 ]; then kakoune_params="-e \\\"$*\\\""; fi
         cmd="env PATH='${PATH}' TMPDIR='${TMPDIR}' kak -c '${kak_session}' ${kakoune_params}"
         osascript                                                       \
@@ -57,7 +55,7 @@ define-command -params .. -command-completion \
     -docstring %{iterm-new-window [<arguments>]: create a new window
 All optional arguments are forwarded to the new kak client} \
     iterm-new-window %{
-    %sh{
+    nop %sh{
         if [ $# -gt 0 ]; then kakoune_params="-e \\\"$*\\\""; fi
         cmd="env PATH='${PATH}' TMPDIR='${TMPDIR}' kak -c '${kak_session}' ${kakoune_params}"
         osascript                                                      \
@@ -70,7 +68,7 @@ All optional arguments are forwarded to the new kak client} \
 define-command -params ..1 -client-completion \
     -docstring %{iterm-focus [<client>]: focus the given client
 If no client is passed then the current one is used} \
-    iterm-focus %{ %sh{
+    iterm-focus %{ evaluate-commands %sh{
         if [ $# -eq 1 ]; then
             printf %s\\n "evaluate-commands -client '$1' focus"
         else
diff --git a/rc/extra/jedi.kak b/rc/extra/jedi.kak
index c48cb71c5..df259ead0 100644
--- a/rc/extra/jedi.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/jedi.kak
@@ -4,13 +4,13 @@ declare-option -docstring "colon separated list of path added to `python`'s $PYT
     str-list jedi_python_path
 
 define-command jedi-complete -docstring "Complete the current selection" %{
-    %sh{
+    evaluate-commands %sh{
         dir=$(mktemp -d "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}"/kak-jedi.XXXXXXXX)
         mkfifo ${dir}/fifo
         printf %s\\n "set-option buffer jedi_tmp_dir ${dir}"
         printf %s\\n "evaluate-commands -no-hooks write -sync ${dir}/buf"
     }
-    %sh{
+    evaluate-commands %sh{
         dir=${kak_opt_jedi_tmp_dir}
         printf %s\\n "evaluate-commands -draft %{ edit! -fifo ${dir}/fifo *jedi-output* }"
         (
diff --git a/rc/extra/modeline.kak b/rc/extra/modeline.kak
index 17fcd30db..ece6d97ac 100644
--- a/rc/extra/modeline.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/modeline.kak
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ declare-option -docstring "amount of lines that will be checked at the beginning
     int modelines 5
 
 define-command -hidden modeline-parse-impl %{
-    %sh{
+    evaluate-commands %sh{
         # Translate a vim option into the corresponding kakoune one
         translate_opt_vim() {
             readonly key="$1"
diff --git a/rc/extra/moon.kak b/rc/extra/moon.kak
index bee113ec5..c4835d4b8 100644
--- a/rc/extra/moon.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/moon.kak
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ add-highlighter shared/moon/code regex \b(and|break|catch|class|continue|do|else
 # Commands
 # ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
 
-define-command moon-alternative-file -docstring 'Jump to the alternate file (implementation ↔ test)' %{ %sh{
+define-command moon-alternative-file -docstring 'Jump to the alternate file (implementation ↔ test)' %{ evaluate-commands %sh{
     case $kak_buffile in
         *spec/*_spec.moon)
             altfile=$(eval printf %s\\n $(printf %s\\n $kak_buffile | sed s+spec/+'*'/+';'s/_spec//))
diff --git a/rc/extra/nim.kak b/rc/extra/nim.kak
index 7aa3bf374..cc7bb23de 100644
--- a/rc/extra/nim.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/nim.kak
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ add-highlighter shared/nim/code regex \b(0[xXocCbB])?[\d_]+('[iIuUfFdD](8|16|32|
 add-highlighter shared/nim/code regex \b\d+\.\d+\b 0:value
 add-highlighter shared/nim/code regex %{'[^'\n]'} 0:string
 
-%sh{
+evaluate-commands %sh{
     # Grammar
     keywords="addr|and|as|asm|atomic|bind|block|break|case|cast|concept|const"
     keywords="${keywords}|continue|converter|defer|discard|distinct|div|do|elif"
diff --git a/rc/extra/pony.kak b/rc/extra/pony.kak
index 43a41b141..8a7b34ec5 100644
--- a/rc/extra/pony.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/pony.kak
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ add-highlighter shared/pony/double_string fill string
 add-highlighter shared/pony/comment       fill comment
 
 
-%sh{
+evaluate-commands %sh{
     # Grammar
     values="true|false|None|this"
     meta='use'
diff --git a/rc/extra/racer.kak b/rc/extra/racer.kak
index e7f677797..3b3524a34 100644
--- a/rc/extra/racer.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/racer.kak
@@ -2,12 +2,12 @@ declare-option -hidden str racer_tmp_dir
 declare-option -hidden completions racer_completions
 
 define-command racer-complete -docstring "Complete the current selection with racer" %{
-    %sh{
+    evaluate-commands %sh{
         dir=$(mktemp -d "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}"/kak-racer.XXXXXXXX)
         printf %s\\n "set-option buffer racer_tmp_dir ${dir}"
         printf %s\\n "evaluate-commands -no-hooks %{ write ${dir}/buf }"
     }
-    %sh{
+    nop %sh{
         dir=${kak_opt_racer_tmp_dir}
         (
             cursor="${kak_cursor_line} $((${kak_cursor_column} - 1))"
@@ -95,12 +95,12 @@ define-command racer-disable-autocomplete -docstring "Disable racer completion"
 }
 
 define-command racer-go-definition -docstring "Jump to where the rust identifier below the cursor is defined" %{
-    %sh{
+    evaluate-commands %sh{
         dir=$(mktemp -d "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}"/kak-racer.XXXXXXXX)
         printf %s\\n "set-option buffer racer_tmp_dir ${dir}"
         printf %s\\n "evaluate-commands -no-hooks %{ write ${dir}/buf }"
     }
-    %sh{
+    evaluate-commands %sh{
         dir=${kak_opt_racer_tmp_dir}
         cursor="${kak_cursor_line} $((${kak_cursor_column} - 1))"
         racer_data=$(racer --interface tab-text  find-definition ${cursor} "${kak_buffile}" "${dir}/buf" | head -n 1)
@@ -122,12 +122,12 @@ define-command racer-go-definition -docstring "Jump to where the rust identifier
 }
 
 define-command racer-show-doc -docstring "Show the documentation about the rust identifier below the cursor" %{
-    %sh{
+    evaluate-commands %sh{
         dir=$(mktemp -d "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}"/kak-racer.XXXXXXXX)
         printf %s\\n "set-option buffer racer_tmp_dir ${dir}"
         printf %s\\n "evaluate-commands -no-hooks %{ write ${dir}/buf }"
     }
-    %sh{
+    evaluate-commands %sh{
         dir=${kak_opt_racer_tmp_dir}
         cursor="${kak_cursor_line} ${kak_cursor_column}"
         racer_data=$(racer --interface tab-text  complete-with-snippet  ${cursor} "${kak_buffile}" "${dir}/buf" | sed -n 2p )
diff --git a/rc/extra/ranger.kak b/rc/extra/ranger.kak
index 76e014533..4bb49a7bd 100644
--- a/rc/extra/ranger.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/ranger.kak
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 
 define-command ranger-open-on-edit-directory \
     -docstring 'Start the ranger file system explorer when trying to edit a directory' %{
-        hook global RuntimeError "\d+:\d+: '\w+' (.*): is a directory" %{ %sh{
+        hook global RuntimeError "\d+:\d+: '\w+' (.*): is a directory" %{ evaluate-commands %sh{
             directory=$kak_hook_param_capture_1
             echo ranger $directory
     }}
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ define-command \
     -params .. -file-completion \
     -docstring %{ranger [<arguments>]: open the file system explorer to select buffers to open
     All the optional arguments are forwarded to the ranger utility} \
-    ranger %{ %sh{
+    ranger %{ evaluate-commands %sh{
     if [ -n "${TMUX}" ]; then
         tmux split-window -h \
             ranger $@ --cmd " \
diff --git a/rc/extra/tmux-repl.kak b/rc/extra/tmux-repl.kak
index 43d460b84..a0873874e 100644
--- a/rc/extra/tmux-repl.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/tmux-repl.kak
@@ -1,30 +1,28 @@
 # http://tmux.github.io/
 # ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
 
-hook global KakBegin .* %{
-    %sh{
-        if [ -n "$TMUX" ]; then
-            VERSION_TMUX=$(tmux -V | cut -d' ' -f2)
-            VERSION_TMUX=${VERSION_TMUX%%.*}
+hook global KakBegin .* %sh{
+    if [ -n "$TMUX" ]; then
+        VERSION_TMUX=$(tmux -V | cut -d' ' -f2)
+        VERSION_TMUX=${VERSION_TMUX%%.*}
 
-            if [ "${VERSION_TMUX}" = "master" ] \
-                || [ "${VERSION_TMUX}" -ge 2 ]; then
-                echo "
-                    alias global repl tmux-repl-horizontal
-                    alias global send-text tmux-send-text
-                "
-            else
-                echo "
-                    alias global repl tmux-repl-disabled
-                    alias global send-text tmux-repl-disabled
-                "
-            fi
+        if [ "${VERSION_TMUX}" = "master" ] \
+            || [ "${VERSION_TMUX}" -ge 2 ]; then
+            echo "
+                alias global repl tmux-repl-horizontal
+                alias global send-text tmux-send-text
+            "
+        else
+            echo "
+                alias global repl tmux-repl-disabled
+                alias global send-text tmux-repl-disabled
+            "
         fi
-    }
+    fi
 }
 
 define-command -hidden -params 1..2 tmux-repl-impl %{
-    %sh{
+    evaluate-commands %sh{
         if [ -z "$TMUX" ]; then
             echo "echo -markup '{Error}This command is only available in a tmux session'"
             exit
@@ -68,7 +66,7 @@ define-command -hidden tmux-send-text -params 0..1 -docstring "tmux-send-text [t
     }
 }
 
-define-command -hidden tmux-repl-disabled %{ %sh{
+define-command -hidden tmux-repl-disabled %{ evaluate-commands %sh{
     VERSION_TMUX=$(tmux -V)
     printf %s "echo -markup %{{Error}The version of tmux is too old: got ${VERSION_TMUX}, expected >= 2.x}"
 } }
diff --git a/rc/extra/x11-repl.kak b/rc/extra/x11-repl.kak
index 57b4c1407..6ec8175e3 100644
--- a/rc/extra/x11-repl.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/x11-repl.kak
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ define-command -docstring %{x11-repl [<arguments>]: create a new window for repl
 All optional parameters are forwarded to the new window} \
     -params .. \
     -command-completion \
-    x11-repl %{ %sh{
+    x11-repl %{ evaluate-commands %sh{
         if [ -z "${kak_opt_termcmd}" ]; then
            echo "echo -markup '{Error}termcmd option is not set'"
            exit
diff --git a/share/kak/kakrc b/share/kak/kakrc
index fb8d16c79..03ef7139d 100644
--- a/share/kak/kakrc
+++ b/share/kak/kakrc
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ def -params 1 -docstring "colorscheme <name>: enable named colorscheme" \
             printf %s\\n "${basename%.*}"
         done | sort -u
   } \
-  colorscheme %{ %sh{
+  colorscheme %{ evaluate-commands %sh{
     find_colorscheme() {
         find -L "${1}" -type f -name "${2}".kak | head -n 1
     }
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ def -params 1 -docstring "colorscheme <name>: enable named colorscheme" \
     fi
 }}
 
-%sh{
+evaluate-commands %sh{
     autoload_directory() {
         find -L "$1" -type f -name '*\.kak' \
             -exec printf 'try %%{ source "%s" } catch %%{ echo -debug Autoload: could not load "%s" }\n' '{}' '{}' \;
diff --git a/src/command_manager.cc b/src/command_manager.cc
index 94182f4df..9429b3341 100644
--- a/src/command_manager.cc
+++ b/src/command_manager.cc
@@ -171,6 +171,7 @@ Token parse_percent_token(Reader& reader, bool throw_on_unterminated)
 {
     kak_assert(*reader == '%');
     ++reader;
+
     const auto type_start = reader.pos;
     while (reader and iswalpha(*reader))
         ++reader;
@@ -441,26 +442,10 @@ void CommandManager::execute(StringView command_line,
                              Context& context, const ShellContext& shell_context)
 {
     CommandParser parser(command_line);
-    struct ShellParser {
-        ShellParser(String&& str) : output{std::move(str)}, parser{output} {}
-        String output;
-        CommandParser parser;
-    };
-    Vector<ShellParser> shell_parser_stack;
-
-    auto next_token = [&] {
-        while (not shell_parser_stack.empty())
-        {
-            if (auto shell_token = shell_parser_stack.back().parser.read_token(true))
-                return shell_token;
-            shell_parser_stack.pop_back();
-        }
-        return parser.read_token(true);
-    };
 
     BufferCoord command_coord;
-    Vector<String> params;
-    while (Optional<Token> token_opt = next_token())
+    Vector<String, MemoryDomain::Commands> params;
+    while (Optional<Token> token_opt = parser.read_token(true))
     {
         auto& token = *token_opt;
         if (params.empty())
@@ -471,9 +456,6 @@ void CommandManager::execute(StringView command_line,
             execute_single_command(params, context, shell_context, command_coord);
             params.clear();
         }
-        // Shell expand are retokenized
-        else if (token.type == Token::Type::ShellExpand)
-            shell_parser_stack.emplace_back(expand_token(token, context, shell_context));
         else if (token.type == Token::Type::ArgExpand and token.content == '@')
             params.insert(params.end(), shell_context.params.begin(),
                           shell_context.params.end());
diff --git a/src/commands.cc b/src/commands.cc
index a40a7f87c..1cf8acddd 100644
--- a/src/commands.cc
+++ b/src/commands.cc
@@ -1702,14 +1702,14 @@ void context_wrap(const ParametersParser& parser, Context& context, Func func)
     }
     else
     {
-        const bool transient = c.flags() & Context::Flags::Draft;
-        auto original_jump_list = transient ? Optional<JumpList>{} : c.jump_list();
-        auto jump = transient ? Optional<SelectionList>{} : c.selections();
+        const bool collapse_jumps = not (c.flags() & Context::Flags::Draft) and context.has_buffer();
+        auto original_jump_list = collapse_jumps ? c.jump_list() : Optional<JumpList>{};
+        auto jump = collapse_jumps ? c.selections() : Optional<SelectionList>{};
 
         func(parser, c);
 
         // If the jump list got mutated, collapse all jumps into a single one from original selections
-        if (not transient and c.jump_list() != *original_jump_list)
+        if (collapse_jumps and c.jump_list() != *original_jump_list)
         {
             original_jump_list->push(std::move(*jump));
             if (c.jump_list() != *original_jump_list)
diff --git a/src/context.hh b/src/context.hh
index f4562cf3f..dfbd855c6 100644
--- a/src/context.hh
+++ b/src/context.hh
@@ -159,10 +159,11 @@ private:
 struct ScopedEdition
 {
     ScopedEdition(Context& context)
-        : m_context(context), m_buffer(&context.buffer())
-    { m_context.begin_edition(); }
+        : m_context{context},
+          m_buffer{context.has_buffer() ? &context.buffer() : nullptr}
+    { if (m_buffer) m_context.begin_edition(); }
 
-    ~ScopedEdition() { m_context.end_edition(); }
+    ~ScopedEdition() { if (m_buffer) m_context.end_edition(); }
 
     Context& context() const { return m_context; }
 private:
diff --git a/src/main.cc b/src/main.cc
index 84cf162b0..8a7da2da2 100644
--- a/src/main.cc
+++ b/src/main.cc
@@ -52,7 +52,8 @@ static const char* startup_info =
 " * faces are now scoped, set-face command takes an additional scope parameter\n"
 " * <backtab> key is gone, use <s-tab> instead\n"
 " === Kakoune v2018.04.13 Released ===\n"
-" * define-command -allow-override switch has been renamed -override\n";
+" * define-command -allow-override switch has been renamed -override\n"
+" %sh{...} strings are not automatically reparsed anymore, use evaluate-commands %sh{...}\n";
 
 struct startup_error : runtime_error
 {