diff --git a/issues/01-syntax-design.md b/issues/01-syntax-design.md
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+# 01 — Design and finalize syntax for all new features
+
+**Status:** resolved
+**Blocks:** #02, #04, #05
+
+## Backtick command execution
+
+Backtick expressions return a plain table with three fields:
+
+```lua
+local output = `ls -lha`
+print(
+  output.code,
+  output.stdout,
+  output.stderr
+)
+```
+
+- `output.stdout` — captured stdout as a string
+- `output.stderr` — captured stderr as a string
+- `output.code` — integer exit code
+- No `__tostring` metamethod — access `.stdout` explicitly
+
+### String interpolation
+
+Backticks support `${expr}` interpolation:
+
+```lua
+local dir = "/tmp"
+local result = `ls -lha ${dir}`
+local pattern = "*.lua"
+local result2 = `find ${dir} -name ${pattern}`
+```
+
+`${expr}` evaluates the Lua expression, converts to string, and splices it into the command string before argv parsing.
+
+## Environment variables — `$` sigil
+
+```lua
+local dir = $PWD              -- getenv("PWD") → string or nil
+$PWD = "/"                    -- setenv("PWD", "/")
+$MY_ENV_VAR = "data"          -- setenv("MY_ENV_VAR", "data")
+```
+
+- `$NAME` as an expression → `getenv("NAME")`, returns string or `nil`
+- `$NAME = expr` as a statement → `setenv("NAME", tostring(expr))`
+- `$` followed by an identifier is a new token type in the lexer
+- Note: `$NAME` (env var) is distinct from `${expr}` inside backticks (interpolation)
+
+## Piping (future)
+
+```lua
+local result = `ls -l` | `grep ".lua"`
+```
+
+Challenge: `|` conflicts with Lua's bitwise OR. Pipes only valid between command expressions.
+
+## Redirection (future)
+
+```lua
+`ls -l` > "output.txt"
+`ls -l` >> "output.txt"
+`cmd` 2> "err.txt"
+`cmd` 2>&1
+`cmd` < "input.txt"
+```
+
+Challenge: `>` / `>>` conflict with Lua's comparison/shift operators. Only valid in command context.
diff --git a/issues/02-backtick-lexing-parsing.md b/issues/02-backtick-lexing-parsing.md
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+# 02 — Complete backtick command lexing and parsing
+
+**Status:** open
+**Blocked by:** #01
+**Blocks:** #03
+
+Backtick lexing is partially implemented:
+- `llex.c`: TK_COMMAND token lexed via `read_string()` on backtick
+- `llex.h`: TK_COMMAND enum added
+- `lparser.c`: TK_COMMAND handled in `simpleexp()` (as string) and `suffixedexp()` (as func args)
+
+## Remaining work
+
+- Verify the lexer handles edge cases (escaped backticks, newlines, nested quotes)
+- Parser must emit code that produces a result table (`{code, stdout, stderr}`) at runtime, not just a string literal
+- May need a new opcode (e.g. `OP_COMMAND`) or compile as a call to a built-in execution function
+- Add string interpolation inside backticks if decided in #01
+
+## Files touched
+
+- `llex.c` / `llex.h`
+- `lparser.c`
+- Possibly `lopcodes.h` / `lopcodes.c` if adding a new opcode
diff --git a/issues/03-command-execution-runtime.md b/issues/03-command-execution-runtime.md
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+# 03 — Implement direct command execution runtime (no shell)
+
+**Status:** open
+**Blocked by:** #02
+**Blocks:** #06, #07
+
+Implement the C runtime that executes commands when a backtick expression is evaluated.
+
+**Critical constraint:** do NOT spawn a shell (no `bash`, `dash`, `sh`, `system()`, `popen()`).
+
+## Return value
+
+Backtick expressions return a table:
+
+```lua
+local r = `ls -lha`
+r.code    -- exit code (integer)
+r.stdout  -- captured stdout (string)
+r.stderr  -- captured stderr (string)
+```
+
+## Implementation approach
+
+- `fork()` + `execvp()` on Unix/macOS
+- Set up two pipes: one for stdout, one for stderr
+- In child: `dup2()` pipes onto fd 1 and fd 2, then `execvp(argv[0], argv)`
+- In parent: read both pipes into buffers, `waitpid()` for exit status
+- Build a Lua table with `code`, `stdout`, `stderr` fields and push onto stack
+- Depends on #04 (argv parsing) to tokenize the command string into argv[]
+
+## Error handling
+
+- Command not found → set `code` to an error value, `stderr` to error message
+- Permission denied → same
+- `fork()` failure → raise a Lua error
+
+## Open questions
+
+- New file (`lcmd.c` / `lcmd.h`) or add to an existing lib?
+- Signal handling during child execution
+- Binary output — return raw string bytes as-is?
+- Set `__tostring` metamethod on result table?
diff --git a/issues/04-argv-parsing.md b/issues/04-argv-parsing.md
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+# 04 — Implement argv parsing (tokenize command strings)
+
+**Status:** open
+**Blocked by:** #01
+**Blocks:** #06
+
+Since we're not using a shell, we need our own command-line tokenizer to split a command string into `argv[]`.
+
+## Must handle
+
+- Simple whitespace splitting: `ls -l /tmp` → `["ls", "-l", "/tmp"]`
+- Single-quoted strings: `echo 'hello world'` → `["echo", "hello world"]`
+- Double-quoted strings with escapes: `echo "hello \"world\""`
+- Backslash escaping outside quotes: `echo hello\ world`
+- Mixed quoting: `echo "it's a test"`
+
+## May handle (depending on #01 decisions)
+
+- Variable/expression interpolation: `echo $HOME` or `echo ${dir}`
+- Glob expansion: `ls *.lua` (could also defer to a later issue)
+
+## Implementation
+
+- Standalone C module, likely `lcmd_parse.c` or part of `lcmd.c`
+- Returns a `char **argv` (NULL-terminated) + argc count
+- Must handle memory allocation/cleanup
diff --git a/issues/05-env-var-access.md b/issues/05-env-var-access.md
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+# 05 — Implement environment variable access (read/write)
+
+**Status:** open
+**Blocked by:** #01
+
+Add syntax for reading and writing environment variables directly from Lua.
+
+## Option 1 — `export` keyword
+
+```lua
+local var = "my data"
+export var                    -- exports existing local to env
+export other_var = "my data"  -- creates + exports
+```
+
+- New reserved word `export` in lexer
+- `export var` looks up the local's value by name and calls `setenv()`
+- `export x = val` combines declaration with `setenv()`
+
+## Option 2 — `$` sigil
+
+```lua
+local dir = $PWD              -- getenv("PWD")
+$PWD = "/"                    -- setenv("PWD", "/")
+$MY_ENV_VAR = "data"          -- setenv("MY_ENV_VAR", "data")
+```
+
+- `$NAME` as expression → `getenv("NAME")`, returns string or `nil`
+- `$NAME = expr` as statement → `setenv("NAME", tostring(expr))`
+- New token type in lexer for `$` + identifier
+
+## Implementation touches
+
+- `llex.c` / `llex.h` — new token(s) or reserved word
+- `lparser.c` — new expression/statement rules
+- Runtime calls `getenv()` / `setenv()` — standard C, no shell needed
+- Non-existent env var → return `nil`
diff --git a/issues/06-piping.md b/issues/06-piping.md
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+# 06 — Implement piping between commands
+
+**Status:** open (post-core)
+**Blocked by:** #03, #04
+
+## Syntax
+
+```lua
+local result = `ls -l` | `grep ".lua"`
+```
+
+## Implementation
+
+- Connect stdout of one child to stdin of the next via `pipe()` + `dup2()`
+- Build a pipeline of N processes, all forked and connected
+- Only capture stdout/stderr of the **final** process
+- `waitpid()` all children, return exit code of last process
+
+## Challenge
+
+Lua uses `|` for bitwise OR. The parser needs to disambiguate:
+- `|` between two command expressions → pipe
+- `|` between numeric expressions → bitwise OR
+
+This is resolvable because the parser knows the type of each subexpression — a backtick expression is always a command.
diff --git a/issues/07-redirection.md b/issues/07-redirection.md
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+# 07 — Implement I/O redirection for commands
+
+**Status:** open (post-core)
+**Blocked by:** #03
+
+## Syntax
+
+```lua
+`ls -l` > "output.txt"        -- redirect stdout to file
+`ls -l` >> "output.txt"       -- append stdout to file
+`cmd` 2> "err.txt"            -- redirect stderr to file
+`cmd` 2>&1                    -- merge stderr into stdout
+`cmd` < "input.txt"           -- redirect stdin from file
+```
+
+## Implementation
+
+- Before `execvp()` in the child process, use `dup2()` to redirect file descriptors
+- Parse redirection operators as part of the command syntax
+- Open target files with appropriate flags:
+  - `>` — `O_WRONLY | O_CREAT | O_TRUNC`
+  - `>>` — `O_WRONLY | O_CREAT | O_APPEND`
+  - `<` — `O_RDONLY`
+- `2>&1` — `dup2(stdout_fd, STDERR_FILENO)`
+
+## Challenge
+
+`>` and `>>` conflict with Lua's greater-than and right-shift operators. Like piping, these operators must only be valid in command context. The parser can disambiguate because the left-hand side is a command expression.