diff --git a/src/cli/inline-blocks.ts b/src/cli/inline-blocks.ts
index 98756ec..5e6dc7b 100644
--- a/src/cli/inline-blocks.ts
+++ b/src/cli/inline-blocks.ts
@@ -70,6 +70,11 @@ export function extractInlineBlocks(
     (_match: string, lang: string, infoString: string, body: string) => {
       const attrs = parseAttrs(infoString);
 
+      // Only process blocks that have `file` or `as`; leave others untouched
+      if (!attrs.file && !attrs.as) {
+        return _match;
+      }
+
       // Determine filename: explicit `file` or content-hash generated
       const filename =
         attrs.file || `_inline_${contentHash(body)}.${lang || "txt"}`;
@@ -94,7 +99,7 @@ export function extractInlineBlocks(
         return `:${attrs.as}[./${filename}]${extraStr}`;
       }
 
-      return ""; // no `as` — strip the block entirely
+      return ""; // has `file` but no `as` — strip the block (body is already injected into index)
     },
   );
 }