diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index dec5e7d..bdf7bcc 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -94,14 +94,31 @@ excalidraw-cli convert diagram.excalidraw --format svg --no-export-background
 | `[Label @fillStyle:hachure @backgroundColor:#a5d8ff]` | Styled node | Add inline node style attributes |
 | `->` | Arrow | Connection |
 | `-->` | Dashed Arrow | Dashed connection |
-| `-> "text" ->` | Labeled Arrow | Connection with label |
+| `-> "text" ->` | Labeled Arrow | Connection with a double-quoted label |
+| `-> 'text' ->` | Labeled Arrow | Connection with a single-quoted label |
 
 ### Example DSL
 
 ```
 (Start) -> [Enter Credentials] -> {Valid?}
 {Valid?} -> "yes" -> [Dashboard] -> (End)
-{Valid?} -> "no" -> [Show Error] -> [Enter Credentials]
+{Valid?} -> 'no' -> [Show Error] -> [Enter Credentials]
+[API] -> "GET /users?name=\"pp\" \\ cache" -> [Client]
+```
+
+### Edge label escaping
+
+Edge labels must use the fully specified form `[A] -> "label" -> [B]` (or single quotes instead of double quotes).
+Mixed forms like `[A] --> "x" -> [B]` are rejected on purpose, because guessing there is how parsers start doing dumb shit.
+
+Shell escaping tips:
+
+```bash
+# easiest: wrap the whole DSL in single quotes, use double-quoted labels inside
+excalidraw-cli create --inline '[API] -> "GET /users?name=\"pp\"" -> [Client]' -o api.excalidraw
+
+# if the label itself needs apostrophes, flip it
+excalidraw-cli create --inline "[Decision] -> 'team\'s call' -> [Next]" -o decision.excalidraw
 ```
 
 ### Node Styling
diff --git a/src/parser/dsl-parser.ts b/src/parser/dsl-parser.ts
index 25225bb..ae03948 100644
--- a/src/parser/dsl-parser.ts
+++ b/src/parser/dsl-parser.ts
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ interface Token {
   nodeType?: NodeType;
   nodeStyle?: NodeStyle;
   dashed?: boolean;
+  raw?: string;
   // Image-specific properties
   imageSrc?: string;
   imageWidth?: number;
@@ -285,6 +286,44 @@ function createNodeToken(rawLabel: string, nodeType: NodeType): Token {
 /**
  * Tokenize DSL input into tokens
  */
+function parseQuotedLabel(input: string, startIndex: number): { value: string; raw: string; nextIndex: number } {
+  const quote = input[startIndex];
+  let i = startIndex + 1;
+  let value = '';
+
+  while (i < input.length) {
+    const char = input[i];
+
+    if (char === '\\') {
+      if (i + 1 >= input.length) {
+        throw new Error(`Unterminated escape sequence in edge label starting at index ${startIndex}`);
+      }
+
+      const escaped = input[i + 1];
+      if (escaped === quote || escaped === '\\') {
+        value += escaped;
+      } else {
+        value += escaped;
+      }
+      i += 2;
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    if (char === quote) {
+      return {
+        value,
+        raw: input.slice(startIndex, i + 1),
+        nextIndex: i + 1,
+      };
+    }
+
+    value += char;
+    i++;
+  }
+
+  throw new Error(`Unterminated edge label starting at index ${startIndex}`);
+}
+
 function tokenize(input: string): Token[] {
   const tokens: Token[] = [];
   let i = 0;
@@ -455,21 +494,11 @@ function tokenize(input: string): Token[] {
       continue;
     }
 
-    // Quoted label "text"
-    if (input[i] === '"') {
-      i++;
-      let label = '';
-      while (i < len && input[i] !== '"') {
-        if (input[i] === '\\' && i + 1 < len) {
-          i++;
-          label += input[i];
-        } else {
-          label += input[i];
-        }
-        i++;
-      }
-      i++; // skip closing "
-      tokens.push({ type: 'label', value: label });
+    // Quoted label "text" or 'text'
+    if (input[i] === '"' || input[i] === "'") {
+      const parsed = parseQuotedLabel(input, i);
+      tokens.push({ type: 'label', value: parsed.value, raw: parsed.raw });
+      i = parsed.nextIndex;
       continue;
     }
 
@@ -549,6 +578,11 @@ export function parseDSL(input: string): FlowchartGraph {
   const { content, nodeStyles } = preprocessNodeStyleBlocks(input);
   const tokens = tokenize(content);
 
+  function formatArrowToken(token: Token | undefined): string {
+    if (!token || token.type !== 'arrow') return '<missing arrow>';
+    return token.value;
+  }
+
   const nodes: Map<string, GraphNode> = new Map();
   const edges: GraphEdge[] = [];
   const options: LayoutOptions = { ...DEFAULT_LAYOUT_OPTIONS };
@@ -714,15 +748,37 @@ export function parseDSL(input: string): FlowchartGraph {
     }
 
     if (token.type === 'arrow') {
+      const nextToken = tokens[i + 1];
+      if (nextToken?.type === 'label') {
+        const trailingArrow = tokens[i + 2];
+        const targetNodeToken = tokens[i + 3];
+
+        if (token.value !== '->' || trailingArrow?.type !== 'arrow' || trailingArrow.value !== '->') {
+          const rawLabel = nextToken.raw ?? JSON.stringify(nextToken.value);
+          throw new Error(
+            `Invalid labeled edge syntax around ${rawLabel}: expected [A] -> ${rawLabel} -> [B], got ${formatArrowToken(token)} ${rawLabel} ${formatArrowToken(trailingArrow)}`
+          );
+        }
+
+        if (!targetNodeToken || (targetNodeToken.type !== 'node' && targetNodeToken.type !== 'image')) {
+          const rawLabel = nextToken.raw ?? JSON.stringify(nextToken.value);
+          throw new Error(`Invalid labeled edge syntax around ${rawLabel}: missing target node after label`);
+        }
+
+        pendingDashed = false;
+        pendingLabel = nextToken.value;
+        i += 3;
+        continue;
+      }
+
       pendingDashed = token.dashed || false;
       i++;
       continue;
     }
 
     if (token.type === 'label') {
-      pendingLabel = token.value;
-      i++;
-      continue;
+      const rawLabel = token.raw ?? JSON.stringify(token.value);
+      throw new Error(`Edge label ${rawLabel} must appear between arrows as [A] -> ${rawLabel} -> [B]`);
     }
 
     i++;
diff --git a/tests/integration/exporter/edge-labels.test.ts b/tests/integration/exporter/edge-labels.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cb6c502
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/integration/exporter/edge-labels.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
+import { createFlowchartFromDSL } from '../../../src/index.js';
+
+describe('edge label integration', () => {
+  it('binds escaped edge labels to arrows in generated Excalidraw output', async () => {
+    const dsl = String.raw`[API] -> "GET /users?name=\"pp\" \\ path" -> [Client]`;
+    const raw = await createFlowchartFromDSL(dsl);
+    const file = JSON.parse(raw);
+
+    const arrow = file.elements.find((element: any) => element.type === 'arrow');
+    const text = file.elements.find(
+      (element: any) => element.type === 'text' && element.containerId === arrow?.id
+    );
+
+    expect(arrow).toBeTruthy();
+    expect(arrow.boundElements).toEqual([{ id: text.id, type: 'text' }]);
+    expect(text).toBeTruthy();
+    expect(text.text).toBe('GET /users?name="pp" \\ path');
+    expect(text.containerId).toBe(arrow.id);
+  });
+
+  it('supports single-quoted edge labels end to end', async () => {
+    const raw = await createFlowchartFromDSL(String.raw`[Decision] -> 'team\'s choice' -> [Next]`);
+    const file = JSON.parse(raw);
+
+    const text = file.elements.find((element: any) => element.type === 'text' && element.containerId);
+    expect(text.text).toBe("team's choice");
+  });
+});
diff --git a/tests/unit/parser/dsl-parser.test.ts b/tests/unit/parser/dsl-parser.test.ts
index e14b201..a649988 100644
--- a/tests/unit/parser/dsl-parser.test.ts
+++ b/tests/unit/parser/dsl-parser.test.ts
@@ -81,6 +81,41 @@ describe('DSL Parser', () => {
       expect(result.edges[0].label).toBe('yes');
     });
 
+    it('should parse single-quoted labeled connections', () => {
+      const result = parseDSL("[A] -> 'yes' -> [B]");
+      expect(result.edges[0].label).toBe('yes');
+    });
+
+    it('should preserve escaped quotes and backslashes in edge labels', () => {
+      const result = parseDSL(String.raw`[API] -> "say \"hello\" at C:\\temp" -> [Client]`);
+      expect(result.edges[0].label).toBe(String.raw`say "hello" at C:\temp`);
+    });
+
+    it('should preserve apostrophes in single-quoted edge labels', () => {
+      const result = parseDSL(String.raw`[A] -> 'team\'s call' -> [B]`);
+      expect(result.edges[0].label).toBe("team's call");
+    });
+
+    it('should reject malformed labeled edge arrow combinations', () => {
+      expect(() => parseDSL('[A] --> "x" -> [B]')).toThrow(
+        'Invalid labeled edge syntax around "x": expected [A] -> "x" -> [B], got --> "x" ->'
+      );
+      expect(() => parseDSL('[A] -> "x" --> [B]')).toThrow(
+        'Invalid labeled edge syntax around "x": expected [A] -> "x" -> [B], got -> "x" -->'
+      );
+      expect(() => parseDSL('[A] <- "x" [B]')).toThrow('Edge label "x" must appear between arrows as [A] -> "x" -> [B]');
+    });
+
+    it('should reject labeled edges with missing target node', () => {
+      expect(() => parseDSL('[A] -> "x" ->')).toThrow(
+        'Invalid labeled edge syntax around "x": missing target node after label'
+      );
+    });
+
+    it('should reject unterminated edge labels', () => {
+      expect(() => parseDSL('[A] -> "oops -> [B]')).toThrow('Unterminated edge label');
+    });
+
     it('should parse dashed connections', () => {
       const result = parseDSL('[A] --> [B]');
       expect(result.edges[0].style?.strokeStyle).toBe('dashed');