diff --git a/doc/pages/changelog.asciidoc b/doc/pages/changelog.asciidoc
index 264019e5..8c9e7c9c 100644
--- a/doc/pages/changelog.asciidoc
+++ b/doc/pages/changelog.asciidoc
@@ -43,9 +43,11 @@ change to make Kakoune command model cleaner and more robust.
   ------------------------------------------------------------------
   add-highlighter <path>/<name> regions
   add-highlighter <path>/<name>/<region name> region <begin> <end> \
-  <recurse> <type> <params>
+  <type> <params>
   ------------------------------------------------------------------
 
+  The recursion regex is opt-in through a `-recurse <recurse>` flag.
+
   They also are not necessarily groups anymore, a region can directly
   apply any other highlighter
 
diff --git a/doc/pages/highlighters.asciidoc b/doc/pages/highlighters.asciidoc
index 34bab82e..d9c1a70b 100644
--- a/doc/pages/highlighters.asciidoc
+++ b/doc/pages/highlighters.asciidoc
@@ -188,7 +188,8 @@ Individual region definitions can then be added to that highlighter
 
 ----------------------------------------------------
 add-highlighter <path>/<name>/<region_name> region \
-    <opening> <closing> <recurse> <type> <params>...
+    [-match-capture] [-recurse <recurse>]          \
+    <opening> <closing> <type> <params>...
 ----------------------------------------------------
 
 *opening*::
@@ -199,7 +200,8 @@ add-highlighter <path>/<name>/<region_name> region \
 
 *recurse*::
     regex that defines the text that matches recursively an end token
-    into the region
+    into the region, every match of *recurse* will consume a following
+    match of *end*, preventing it from closing the region.
 
 *type* and *params*::
     An highlighter type, and associated params, as they would be passed
@@ -224,9 +226,9 @@ accepts nested braces scopes ('{ ... }') so the following string is valid:
 
 This region can be defined with:
 
-------------------------
-shell_expand %sh\{ \} \{
-------------------------
+---------------------------------
+shell_expand -recurse \{ %sh\{ \}
+---------------------------------
 
 Regions are matched using the left-most rule: the left-most region opening
 starts a new region. When a region closes, the closest next opening start
@@ -247,8 +249,8 @@ highlighter as root:
 
 -----------------------------------------------------------------
 add-highlighter <path>/<lang> regions
-add-highlighter <path>/<lang>/string '"' '"' '' fill string
-add-highlighter <path>/<lang>/comment '//' '$' '' fill comment
+add-highlighter <path>/<lang>/string '"' '"' fill string
+add-highlighter <path>/<lang>/comment '//' '$' fill comment
 add-highlighter <path>/<lang>/code default-region group
 add-highlighter <path>/<lang>/code/variable regex ...
 add-highlighter <path>/<lang>/code/function regex ...
diff --git a/rc/base/css.kak b/rc/base/css.kak
index c7669da4..79bfc69e 100644
--- a/rc/base/css.kak
+++ b/rc/base/css.kak
@@ -13,12 +13,12 @@ hook global BufCreate .*[.](css) %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/css regions
 add-highlighter shared/css/selector default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/css/declaration region [{] [}]  '' regions
-add-highlighter shared/css/comment    region /[*] [*]/ '' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/css/declaration region [{] [}]  regions
+add-highlighter shared/css/comment    region /[*] [*]/ fill comment
 
 add-highlighter shared/css/declaration/base default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/css/declaration/double_string region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/css/declaration/single_string region "'" "'"             '' fill string
+add-highlighter shared/css/declaration/double_string region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" fill string
+add-highlighter shared/css/declaration/single_string region "'" "'"             fill string
 
 # https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/length
 add-highlighter shared/css/declaration/base/ regex (#[0-9A-Fa-f]+)|((\d*\.)?\d+(ch|cm|em|ex|mm|pc|pt|px|rem|vh|vmax|vmin|vw)) 0:value
diff --git a/rc/base/d.kak b/rc/base/d.kak
index 531025a8..e41db053 100644
--- a/rc/base/d.kak
+++ b/rc/base/d.kak
@@ -13,16 +13,16 @@ hook global BufCreate .*\.di? %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/d regions
 add-highlighter shared/d/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/d/string region %{(?<!')(?<!'\\)"} %{(?<!\\)(?:\\\\)*"} "" group
-add-highlighter shared/d/verbatim_string1 region ` ` '' fill magenta
-add-highlighter shared/d/verbatim_string2 region %{(?<!')(?<!'\\)`} %{(?<!\\)(?:\\\\)*`} "" fill magenta
-add-highlighter shared/d/verbatim_string_prefixed region %{r`([^(]*)\(} %{\)([^)]*)`} "" fill magenta
-add-highlighter shared/d/disabled region '/\+[^+]?' '\+/' '' fill rgb:777777
-add-highlighter shared/d/comment1 region '/\*[^*]?' '\*/' '' fill comment
-add-highlighter shared/d/comment2 region '//[^/]?' $ '' fill comment
-add-highlighter shared/d/docstring1 region '/\+\+' '\+/' '' fill blue
-add-highlighter shared/d/docstring2 region '/\*\*' '\*/' '' fill blue
-add-highlighter shared/d/docstring3 region /// $ '' fill blue
+add-highlighter shared/d/string region %{(?<!')(?<!'\\)"} %{(?<!\\)(?:\\\\)*"} group
+add-highlighter shared/d/verbatim_string1 region ` ` fill magenta
+add-highlighter shared/d/verbatim_string2 region %{(?<!')(?<!'\\)`} %{(?<!\\)(?:\\\\)*`} fill magenta
+add-highlighter shared/d/verbatim_string_prefixed region %{r`([^(]*)\(} %{\)([^)]*)`} fill magenta
+add-highlighter shared/d/disabled region '/\+[^+]?' '\+/' fill rgb:777777
+add-highlighter shared/d/comment1 region '/\*[^*]?' '\*/' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/d/comment2 region '//[^/]?' $ fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/d/docstring1 region '/\+\+' '\+/' fill blue
+add-highlighter shared/d/docstring2 region '/\*\*' '\*/' fill blue
+add-highlighter shared/d/docstring3 region /// $ fill blue
 
 add-highlighter shared/d/string/ fill string
 add-highlighter shared/d/string/ regex %{\\(x[0-9a-fA-F]{2}|[0-7]{1,3}|u[0-9a-fA-F]{4}|U[0-9a-fA-F]{8})\b} 0:value
diff --git a/rc/base/fish.kak b/rc/base/fish.kak
index fe703a0c..4f73b612 100644
--- a/rc/base/fish.kak
+++ b/rc/base/fish.kak
@@ -13,9 +13,9 @@ hook global BufCreate .*[.](fish) %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/fish regions
 add-highlighter shared/fish/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/fish/double_string region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"  '' group
-add-highlighter shared/fish/single_string region "'" "'"              '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/fish/comment       region '#' '$'              '' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/fish/double_string region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"  group
+add-highlighter shared/fish/single_string region "'" "'"              fill string
+add-highlighter shared/fish/comment       region '#' '$'              fill comment
 
 add-highlighter shared/fish/double_string/ fill string
 add-highlighter shared/fish/double_string/ regex (\$\w+)|(\{\$\w+\}) 0:variable
diff --git a/rc/base/gas.kak b/rc/base/gas.kak
index 5603968d..568b5f52 100644
--- a/rc/base/gas.kak
+++ b/rc/base/gas.kak
@@ -7,10 +7,10 @@ hook global BufCreate .*\.(s|S|asm)$ %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/gas regions
 add-highlighter shared/gas/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/gas/string         region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"        '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/gas/commentMulti   region /\*       \*/              '' fill comment
-add-highlighter shared/gas/commentSingle1 region '#'       '$'              '' fill comment
-add-highlighter shared/gas/commentSingle2 region ';'       '$'              '' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/gas/string         region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"        fill string
+add-highlighter shared/gas/commentMulti   region /\*       \*/              fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/gas/commentSingle1 region '#'       '$'              fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/gas/commentSingle2 region ';'       '$'              fill comment
 
 # Constant
 add-highlighter shared/gas/code/ regex (0[xX][0-9]+|\b[0-9]+)\b 0:value
diff --git a/rc/base/go.kak b/rc/base/go.kak
index 560ee64e..1bebbb25 100644
--- a/rc/base/go.kak
+++ b/rc/base/go.kak
@@ -13,11 +13,11 @@ hook global BufCreate .*\.go %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/go regions
 add-highlighter shared/go/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/go/back_string region '`' '`' '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/go/double_string region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/go/single_string region "'" (?<!\\)(\\\\)*' '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/go/comment region /\* \*/ '' fill comment
-add-highlighter shared/go/comment_line region '//' $ '' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/go/back_string region '`' '`' fill string
+add-highlighter shared/go/double_string region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" fill string
+add-highlighter shared/go/single_string region "'" (?<!\\)(\\\\)*' fill string
+add-highlighter shared/go/comment region /\* \*/ fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/go/comment_line region '//' $ 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
 
diff --git a/rc/base/haskell.kak b/rc/base/haskell.kak
index 1fec8da6..d43853e7 100644
--- a/rc/base/haskell.kak
+++ b/rc/base/haskell.kak
@@ -13,11 +13,11 @@ hook global BufCreate .*[.](hs) %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/haskell regions
 add-highlighter shared/haskell/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/haskell/string       region (?<!'\\)(?<!')"                 (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" ''  fill string
-add-highlighter shared/haskell/macro        region ^\h*?\K#                        (?<!\\)\n       ''  fill meta
-add-highlighter shared/haskell/pragma       region \{-#                            '#-\}'          \{- fill meta
-add-highlighter shared/haskell/comment      region \{-                               -\}           \{- fill comment
-add-highlighter shared/haskell/line_comment region --(?:[^!#$%&*+./<>?@\\\^|~=]|$) $               ''  fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/haskell/string       region (?<!'\\)(?<!')"                 (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"  fill string
+add-highlighter shared/haskell/macro        region ^\h*?\K#                        (?<!\\)\n        fill meta
+add-highlighter shared/haskell/pragma       region -recurse \{- \{-#               '#-\}'           fill meta
+add-highlighter shared/haskell/comment      region -recurse \{- \{-                  -\}            fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/haskell/line_comment region --(?:[^!#$%&*+./<>?@\\\^|~=]|$) $                fill comment
 
 add-highlighter shared/haskell/code/ regex (?<!')\b0x+[A-Fa-f0-9]+ 0:value
 add-highlighter shared/haskell/code/ regex (?<!')\b\d+([.]\d+)? 0:value
diff --git a/rc/base/html.kak b/rc/base/html.kak
index 5cdc2660..247d2a49 100644
--- a/rc/base/html.kak
+++ b/rc/base/html.kak
@@ -16,14 +16,14 @@ hook global BufCreate .*\.xml %{
 # ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
 
 add-highlighter shared/html regions
-add-highlighter shared/html/comment region <!--     -->                  '' fill comment
-add-highlighter shared/html/tag     region <          >                  '' regions
-add-highlighter shared/html/style   region <style\b.*?>\K  (?=</style>)  '' ref css
-add-highlighter shared/html/script  region <script\b.*?>\K (?=</script>) '' ref javascript
+add-highlighter shared/html/comment region <!--     -->                  fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/html/tag     region <          >                  regions
+add-highlighter shared/html/style   region <style\b.*?>\K  (?=</style>)  ref css
+add-highlighter shared/html/script  region <script\b.*?>\K (?=</script>) ref javascript
 
 add-highlighter shared/html/tag/base default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/html/tag/ region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"      '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/html/tag/ region "'" "'"                  '' fill string
+add-highlighter shared/html/tag/ region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"      fill string
+add-highlighter shared/html/tag/ region "'" "'"                  fill string
 
 add-highlighter shared/html/tag/base/ regex \b([a-zA-Z0-9_-]+)=? 1:attribute
 add-highlighter shared/html/tag/base/ regex </?(\w+) 1:keyword
diff --git a/rc/base/ini.kak b/rc/base/ini.kak
index 441ed957..b9cb89ef 100644
--- a/rc/base/ini.kak
+++ b/rc/base/ini.kak
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ hook global BufCreate .*\.(repo|service|target|socket|ini|cfg|properties) %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/ini regions
 add-highlighter shared/ini/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/ini/comment region '(^|\h)\K[#;]' $ '' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/ini/comment region '(^|\h)\K[#;]' $ fill comment
 
 add-highlighter shared/ini/code/ regex "^\h*\[[^\]]*\]" 0:title
 add-highlighter shared/ini/code/ regex "^\h*([^\[][^=\n]*)=([^\n]*)" 1:variable 2:value
diff --git a/rc/base/java.kak b/rc/base/java.kak
index 63c4931f..24e6b1a0 100644
--- a/rc/base/java.kak
+++ b/rc/base/java.kak
@@ -4,9 +4,9 @@ hook global BufCreate .*\.java %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/java regions
 add-highlighter shared/java/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/java/string region %{(?<!')"} %{(?<!\\)(\\\\)*"} '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/java/comment region /\* \*/ '' fill comment
-add-highlighter shared/java/line_comment region // $ '' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/java/string region %{(?<!')"} %{(?<!\\)(\\\\)*"} fill string
+add-highlighter shared/java/comment region /\* \*/ fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/java/line_comment region // $ fill comment
 
 add-highlighter shared/java/code/ regex %{\b(this|true|false|null)\b} 0:value
 add-highlighter shared/java/code/ regex "\b(void|int|char|unsigned|float|boolean|double)\b" 0:type
diff --git a/rc/base/javascript.kak b/rc/base/javascript.kak
index e30e1936..15b55ddf 100644
--- a/rc/base/javascript.kak
+++ b/rc/base/javascript.kak
@@ -45,15 +45,15 @@ define-command -hidden init-javascript-filetype -params 1 %~
 
     add-highlighter "shared/%arg{1}" regions
     add-highlighter "shared/%arg{1}/code" default-region group
-    add-highlighter "shared/%arg{1}/double_string" region '"'  (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"         '' fill string
-    add-highlighter "shared/%arg{1}/single_string" region "'"  (?<!\\)(\\\\)*'         '' fill string
-    add-highlighter "shared/%arg{1}/literal"       region "`"  (?<!\\)(\\\\)*`         '' group
-    add-highlighter "shared/%arg{1}/comment_line"  region //   '$'                     '' fill comment
-    add-highlighter "shared/%arg{1}/comment"       region /\*  \*/                     '' fill comment
-    add-highlighter "shared/%arg{1}/shebang"       region ^#!  $                       '' fill meta
-    add-highlighter "shared/%arg{1}/regex"         region /    (?<!\\)(\\\\)*/[gimuy]* '' fill meta
-    add-highlighter "shared/%arg{1}/jsx"           region (?<![\w<])<[a-zA-Z][\w:.-]*(?!\hextends)(?=[\s/>])(?!>\()) (</.*?>|/>) (?<![\w<])<[a-zA-Z][\w:.-]* regions
-    add-highlighter "shared/%arg{1}/division" region '[\w\)\]]\K(/|(\h+/\h+))' '(?=\w)' '' group # Help Kakoune to better detect /…/ literals
+    add-highlighter "shared/%arg{1}/double_string" region '"'  (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"         fill string
+    add-highlighter "shared/%arg{1}/single_string" region "'"  (?<!\\)(\\\\)*'         fill string
+    add-highlighter "shared/%arg{1}/literal"       region "`"  (?<!\\)(\\\\)*`         group
+    add-highlighter "shared/%arg{1}/comment_line"  region //   '$'                     fill comment
+    add-highlighter "shared/%arg{1}/comment"       region /\*  \*/                     fill comment
+    add-highlighter "shared/%arg{1}/shebang"       region ^#!  $                       fill meta
+    add-highlighter "shared/%arg{1}/regex"         region /    (?<!\\)(\\\\)*/[gimuy]* fill meta
+    add-highlighter "shared/%arg{1}/jsx"           region -recurse (?<![\w<])<[a-zA-Z][\w:.-]* (?<![\w<])<[a-zA-Z][\w:.-]*(?!\hextends)(?=[\s/>])(?!>\()) (</.*?>|/>) regions
+    add-highlighter "shared/%arg{1}/division" region '[\w\)\]]\K(/|(\h+/\h+))' '(?=\w)' group # Help Kakoune to better detect /…/ literals
 
     # Regular expression flags are: g → global match, i → ignore case, m → multi-lines, u → unicode, y → sticky
     # https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/RegExp
@@ -70,14 +70,14 @@ define-command -hidden init-javascript-filetype -params 1 %~
     # We inline a small XML highlighter here since it anyway need to recurse back up to the starting highlighter.
     # To make things simple we assume that jsx is always enabled.
 
-    add-highlighter "shared/%arg{1}/jsx/tag"  region <(?=[/a-zA-Z]) (?<!=)> < regions
-    add-highlighter "shared/%arg{1}/jsx/expr" region \{             \}      \{ ref %arg{1}
+    add-highlighter "shared/%arg{1}/jsx/tag"  region -recurse <  <(?=[/a-zA-Z]) (?<!=)> regions
+    add-highlighter "shared/%arg{1}/jsx/expr" region -recurse \{ \{             \}      ref %arg{1}
         
 
     add-highlighter "shared/%arg{1}/jsx/tag/base" default-region group
-    add-highlighter "shared/%arg{1}/jsx/tag/double_string" region =\K" (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" '' fill string
-    add-highlighter "shared/%arg{1}/jsx/tag/single_string" region =\K' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*' '' fill string
-    add-highlighter "shared/%arg{1}/jsx/tag/expr" region \{   \}              \{ group
+    add-highlighter "shared/%arg{1}/jsx/tag/double_string" region =\K" (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" fill string
+    add-highlighter "shared/%arg{1}/jsx/tag/single_string" region =\K' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*' fill string
+    add-highlighter "shared/%arg{1}/jsx/tag/expr" region -recurse \{ \{   \}           group
 
     add-highlighter "shared/%arg{1}/jsx/tag/base/" regex (\w+) 1:attribute
     add-highlighter "shared/%arg{1}/jsx/tag/base/" regex </?([\w-$]+) 1:keyword
diff --git a/rc/base/json.kak b/rc/base/json.kak
index 717ef4d3..a2f654d4 100644
--- a/rc/base/json.kak
+++ b/rc/base/json.kak
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ hook global BufCreate .*[.](json) %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/json regions
 add-highlighter shared/json/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/json/string region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" '' fill string
+add-highlighter shared/json/string region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" fill string
 
 add-highlighter shared/json/code/ regex \b(true|false|null|\d+(?:\.\d+)?(?:[eE][+-]?\d*)?)\b 0:value
 
diff --git a/rc/base/julia.kak b/rc/base/julia.kak
index 8dc9cffb..2c50aade 100644
--- a/rc/base/julia.kak
+++ b/rc/base/julia.kak
@@ -13,8 +13,8 @@ hook global BufCreate .*\.(jl) %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/julia regions
 add-highlighter shared/julia/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/julia/string  region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"         '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/julia/comment region '#' '$'                     '' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/julia/string  region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"         fill string
+add-highlighter shared/julia/comment region '#' '$'                     fill comment
 
 # taken from https://github.com/JuliaLang/julia/blob/master/contrib/julia-mode.el
 add-highlighter shared/julia/code/ regex %{\b(true|false|C_NULL|Inf|NaN|Inf32|NaN32|nothing|\b-?\d+[fdiu]?)\b} 0:value
diff --git a/rc/base/lisp.kak b/rc/base/lisp.kak
index e1da1eac..51ba584d 100644
--- a/rc/base/lisp.kak
+++ b/rc/base/lisp.kak
@@ -13,8 +13,8 @@ hook global BufCreate .*[.](lisp) %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/lisp regions
 add-highlighter shared/lisp/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/lisp/string  region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/lisp/comment region ';' '$'             '' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/lisp/string  region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" fill string
+add-highlighter shared/lisp/comment region ';' '$'             fill comment
 
 add-highlighter shared/lisp/code/ regex \b(nil|true|false)\b 0:value
 add-highlighter shared/lisp/code/ regex (((\Q***\E)|(///)|(\Q+++\E)){1,3})|(1[+-])|(<|>|<=|=|>=) 0:operator
diff --git a/rc/base/lua.kak b/rc/base/lua.kak
index 6a20fc56..13e0459f 100644
--- a/rc/base/lua.kak
+++ b/rc/base/lua.kak
@@ -13,11 +13,11 @@ hook global BufCreate .*[.](lua) %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/lua regions
 add-highlighter shared/lua/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/lua/double_string region '"'   (?<!\\)(?:\\\\)*" '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/lua/single_string region "'"   (?<!\\)(?:\\\\)*' '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/lua/comment       region '--'  $                 '' fill comment
-add-highlighter shared/lua/raw_string  region -match-capture '\[(=*)\['   '\](=*)\]'       '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/lua/raw_comment region -match-capture '--\[(=*)\[' '\](=*)\]'       '' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/lua/double_string region '"'   (?<!\\)(?:\\\\)*" fill string
+add-highlighter shared/lua/single_string region "'"   (?<!\\)(?:\\\\)*' fill string
+add-highlighter shared/lua/comment       region '--'  $                 fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/lua/raw_string  region -match-capture '\[(=*)\['   '\](=*)\]'       fill string
+add-highlighter shared/lua/raw_comment region -match-capture '--\[(=*)\[' '\](=*)\]'       fill comment
 
 add-highlighter shared/lua/code/ regex \b(and|break|do|else|elseif|end|false|for|function|goto|if|in|local|nil|not|or|repeat|return|then|true|until|while)\b 0:keyword
 
diff --git a/rc/base/markdown.kak b/rc/base/markdown.kak
index 160b34c3..224080e1 100644
--- a/rc/base/markdown.kak
+++ b/rc/base/markdown.kak
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ hook global BufCreate .*[.](markdown|md|mkd) %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/markdown regions
 add-highlighter shared/markdown/content default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/markdown/code region ``` ``` '' fill meta
+add-highlighter shared/markdown/code region ``` ``` fill meta
 
 evaluate-commands %sh{
   languages="
@@ -23,10 +23,10 @@ evaluate-commands %sh{
     sass scala scss sh swift tupfile typescript yaml
   "
   for lang in ${languages}; do
-    printf 'add-highlighter shared/markdown/%s region ```\h*%s\\b   ```   "" regions\n' "${lang}" "${lang}"
+    printf 'add-highlighter shared/markdown/%s region ```\h*%s\\b   ``` regions\n' "${lang}" "${lang}"
     printf 'add-highlighter shared/markdown/%s/ default-region fill meta\n' "${lang}"
     ref=$([ "${lang}" = kak ] && echo kakrc || echo "${lang}")
-    printf 'add-highlighter shared/markdown/%s/inner region \A```[^\\n]*\K (?=```) "" ref %s\n' "${lang}" "${ref}"
+    printf 'add-highlighter shared/markdown/%s/inner region \A```[^\\n]*\K (?=```) ref %s\n' "${lang}" "${ref}"
   done
 }
 
diff --git a/rc/base/ocaml.kak b/rc/base/ocaml.kak
index bdc76bc8..3686d4ed 100644
--- a/rc/base/ocaml.kak
+++ b/rc/base/ocaml.kak
@@ -15,8 +15,8 @@ hook global BufCreate .*\.mli? %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/ocaml regions
 add-highlighter shared/ocaml/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/ocaml/string region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/ocaml/comment region \Q(* \Q*) '' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/ocaml/string region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" fill string
+add-highlighter shared/ocaml/comment region \Q(* \Q*) fill comment
 
 # Commands
 # ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
diff --git a/rc/base/perl.kak b/rc/base/perl.kak
index 8ad92b13..2f0e2d7a 100644
--- a/rc/base/perl.kak
+++ b/rc/base/perl.kak
@@ -13,10 +13,10 @@ hook global BufCreate .*\.p[lm] %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/perl regions
 add-highlighter shared/perl/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/perl/command       region (?<!\$)(?<!\\)`   (?<!\\)(\\\\)*` '' fill magenta
-add-highlighter shared/perl/double_string region (?<!\$)(?<!\\)"   (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/perl/single_string region (?<!\$)(?<!\\\\)' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*' '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/perl/comment       region (?<!\$)(?<!\\)#   $               '' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/perl/command       region (?<!\$)(?<!\\)`   (?<!\\)(\\\\)*` fill magenta
+add-highlighter shared/perl/double_string region (?<!\$)(?<!\\)"   (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" fill string
+add-highlighter shared/perl/single_string region (?<!\$)(?<!\\\\)' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*' fill string
+add-highlighter shared/perl/comment       region (?<!\$)(?<!\\)#   $               fill comment
 
 evaluate-commands %sh{
     # Grammar
diff --git a/rc/base/restructuredtext.kak b/rc/base/restructuredtext.kak
index f1c8f494..6c994a44 100644
--- a/rc/base/restructuredtext.kak
+++ b/rc/base/restructuredtext.kak
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ hook global BufCreate .*[.](rst) %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/restructuredtext regions
 add-highlighter shared/restructuredtext/content default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/restructuredtext/code region ::\h*\n ^[^\s]  '' fill meta
+add-highlighter shared/restructuredtext/code region ::\h*\n ^[^\s]  fill meta
 
 evaluate-commands %sh{
     for ft in c cabal clojure coffee cpp css cucumber ddiff dockerfile \
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ evaluate-commands %sh{
               perl pug python ragel ruby rust sass scala scss sh swift \
               tupfile yaml; do
         ref=$(if [ "$ft" = kak ]; then echo "kakrc"; else echo "$ft"; fi)
-        printf 'add-highlighter shared/restructuredtext/%s region %s %s "" ref %s\n' "$ft" '\.\.\h*'$ft'::\h*c\h*\n' '^\S' "$ref"
+        printf 'add-highlighter shared/restructuredtext/%s region %s %s ref %s\n' "$ft" '\.\.\h*'$ft'::\h*c\h*\n' '^\S' "$ref"
     done
 }
 
diff --git a/rc/base/ruby.kak b/rc/base/ruby.kak
index d85a8b19..d811f6c1 100644
--- a/rc/base/ruby.kak
+++ b/rc/base/ruby.kak
@@ -13,30 +13,30 @@ hook global BufCreate .*(([.](rb))|(irbrc)|(pryrc)|(Capfile|[.]cap)|(Gemfile|[.]
 
 add-highlighter shared/ruby regions
 add-highlighter shared/ruby/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/ruby/double_string region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"        '' regions
-add-highlighter shared/ruby/single_string region "'" (?<!\\)(\\\\)*'        '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/ruby/backtick      region '`' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*`        '' regions
-add-highlighter shared/ruby/regex         region '/' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*/[imox]* '' regions
-add-highlighter shared/ruby/              region '#' '$'                    '' fill comment
-add-highlighter shared/ruby/              region ^begin= ^=end              '' fill comment
-add-highlighter shared/ruby/              region '%[iqrswxIQRSWX]\(' \)     \( fill meta
-add-highlighter shared/ruby/              region '%[iqrswxIQRSWX]\{' \}     \{ fill meta
-add-highlighter shared/ruby/              region '%[iqrswxIQRSWX]\[' \]     \[ fill meta
-add-highlighter shared/ruby/              region '%[iqrswxIQRSWX]<'   >      < fill meta
-add-highlighter shared/ruby/heredoc region '<<[-~]?(\w+)'      '^\h*(\w+)$' '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/ruby/division region '[\w\)\]](/|(\h+/\h+))' '\w' '' group # Help Kakoune to better detect /…/ literals
+add-highlighter shared/ruby/double_string region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"        regions
+add-highlighter shared/ruby/single_string region "'" (?<!\\)(\\\\)*'        fill string
+add-highlighter shared/ruby/backtick      region '`' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*`        regions
+add-highlighter shared/ruby/regex         region '/' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*/[imox]* regions
+add-highlighter shared/ruby/              region '#' '$'                    fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/ruby/              region ^begin= ^=end              fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/ruby/              region -recurse \( '%[iqrswxIQRSWX]\(' \) fill meta
+add-highlighter shared/ruby/              region -recurse \{ '%[iqrswxIQRSWX]\{' \} fill meta
+add-highlighter shared/ruby/              region -recurse \[ '%[iqrswxIQRSWX]\[' \] fill meta
+add-highlighter shared/ruby/              region -recurse  < '%[iqrswxIQRSWX]<'   > fill meta
+add-highlighter shared/ruby/heredoc region '<<[-~]?(\w+)'      '^\h*(\w+)$' fill string
+add-highlighter shared/ruby/division region '[\w\)\]](/|(\h+/\h+))' '\w' group # Help Kakoune to better detect /…/ literals
 
 # Regular expression flags are: i → ignore case, m → multi-lines, o → only interpolate #{} blocks once, x → extended mode (ignore white spaces)
 # Literals are: i → array of symbols, q → string, r → regular expression, s → symbol, w → array of words, x → capture shell result
 
 add-highlighter shared/ruby/double_string/ default-region fill string
-add-highlighter shared/ruby/double_string/interpolation region \Q#{ \} \{ fill meta
+add-highlighter shared/ruby/double_string/interpolation region -recurse \{ \Q#{ \} fill meta
 
 add-highlighter shared/ruby/backtick/ default-region fill meta
-add-highlighter shared/ruby/backtick/interpolation region  \Q#{ \} \{ fill meta
+add-highlighter shared/ruby/backtick/interpolation region -recurse \{ \Q#{ \} fill meta
 
 add-highlighter shared/ruby/regex/ default-region fill meta
-add-highlighter shared/ruby/regex/interpolation region \Q#{ \} \{ fill meta
+add-highlighter shared/ruby/regex/interpolation region -recurse \{ \Q#{ \} 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
 
diff --git a/rc/base/rust.kak b/rc/base/rust.kak
index 183ee5a4..48f5702d 100644
--- a/rc/base/rust.kak
+++ b/rc/base/rust.kak
@@ -13,9 +13,9 @@ hook global BufCreate .*[.](rust|rs) %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/rust regions
 add-highlighter shared/rust/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/rust/string       region %{(?<!')"} (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"  '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/rust/comment      region /\*        \*/             /\* fill comment
-add-highlighter shared/rust/line_comment region //          $               '' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/rust/string       region %{(?<!')"} (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"  fill string
+add-highlighter shared/rust/comment      region -recurse /\* /\*        \*/ fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/rust/line_comment region //          $               fill comment
 
 add-highlighter shared/rust/code/ regex \b[A-z0-9_]+! 0:meta
 # the number literals syntax is defined here:
diff --git a/rc/base/scala.kak b/rc/base/scala.kak
index 1f12f23d..9cc31b14 100644
--- a/rc/base/scala.kak
+++ b/rc/base/scala.kak
@@ -13,10 +13,10 @@ hook global BufCreate .*[.](scala) %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/scala regions
 add-highlighter shared/scala/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/scala/string       region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" ''   fill string
-add-highlighter shared/scala/literal      region `    `             ''    fill variable
-add-highlighter shared/scala/comment      region /[*] [*]/           /[*] fill comment
-add-highlighter shared/scala/line_comment region //   $             ''    fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/scala/string       region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"   fill string
+add-highlighter shared/scala/literal      region `    `                fill variable
+add-highlighter shared/scala/comment      region -recurse /[*] /[*] [*]/  fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/scala/line_comment region //   $                fill comment
 
 # Keywords are collected at
 # http://tutorialspoint.com/scala/scala_basic_syntax.htm
diff --git a/rc/base/sql.kak b/rc/base/sql.kak
index c2388d03..cfe24c61 100644
--- a/rc/base/sql.kak
+++ b/rc/base/sql.kak
@@ -13,11 +13,11 @@ hook global BufCreate .*/?(?i)sql %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/sql regions
 add-highlighter shared/sql/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/sql/double_string region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/sql/single_string region "'" (?<!\\)(\\\\)*' '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/sql/comment1 region '--' '$' '' fill comment
-add-highlighter shared/sql/comment2 region '#' '$' '' fill comment
-add-highlighter shared/sql/comment3 region '/\*' '\*/' '' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/sql/double_string region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" fill string
+add-highlighter shared/sql/single_string region "'" (?<!\\)(\\\\)*' fill string
+add-highlighter shared/sql/comment1 region '--' '$' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/sql/comment2 region '#' '$' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/sql/comment3 region '/\*' '\*/' fill comment
 
 evaluate-commands %sh{
     # Keywords
diff --git a/rc/base/swift.kak b/rc/base/swift.kak
index 716ac35c..bbd8d34d 100644
--- a/rc/base/swift.kak
+++ b/rc/base/swift.kak
@@ -4,9 +4,9 @@ hook global BufCreate .*\.(swift) %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/swift regions
 add-highlighter shared/swift/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/swift/string region %{(?<!')"} %{(?<!\\)(\\\\)*"} '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/swift/comment region /\* \*/ '' group
-add-highlighter shared/swift/line_comment region // $ '' ref swift/comment
+add-highlighter shared/swift/string region %{(?<!')"} %{(?<!\\)(\\\\)*"} fill string
+add-highlighter shared/swift/comment region /\* \*/ group
+add-highlighter shared/swift/line_comment region // $ ref swift/comment
 
 add-highlighter shared/swift/comment/ fill comment
 add-highlighter shared/swift/comment/ regex "\b(TODO|XXX|MARK)\b" 0:red
diff --git a/rc/base/yaml.kak b/rc/base/yaml.kak
index 9b42a559..5775e2bf 100644
--- a/rc/base/yaml.kak
+++ b/rc/base/yaml.kak
@@ -13,9 +13,9 @@ hook global BufCreate .*[.](ya?ml) %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/yaml regions
 add-highlighter shared/yaml/code      default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/yaml/double_string region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"       '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/yaml/single_string region "'" "'"                   '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/yaml/comment       region '#' '$'                   '' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/yaml/double_string region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"       fill string
+add-highlighter shared/yaml/single_string region "'" "'"                   fill string
+add-highlighter shared/yaml/comment       region '#' '$'                   fill comment
 
 add-highlighter shared/yaml/code/ regex ^(---|\.\.\.)$ 0:meta
 add-highlighter shared/yaml/code/ regex ^(\h*:\w*) 0:keyword
diff --git a/rc/core/c-family.kak b/rc/core/c-family.kak
index b2edeb5d..162e94c2 100644
--- a/rc/core/c-family.kak
+++ b/rc/core/c-family.kak
@@ -138,12 +138,12 @@ evaluate-commands %sh{
         printf %s\\n '
             add-highlighter shared/FT regions
             add-highlighter shared/FT/code default-region group
-            add-highlighter shared/FT/string region %{MAYBEAT(?<!QUOTE)(?<!QUOTE\\)"} %{(?<!\\)(?:\\\\)*"} "" fill string
-            add-highlighter shared/FT/raw_string region %{R"([^(]*)\(} %{\)([^")]*)"} "" fill string
-            add-highlighter shared/FT/comment region /\* \*/ "" fill comment
-            add-highlighter shared/FT/line_comment region // $ "" fill comment
-            add-highlighter shared/FT/disabled region ^\h*?#\h*if\h+(?:0|FALSE)\b "#\h*(?:else|elif|endif)" "#\h*if(?:def)?" fill rgb:666666
-            add-highlighter shared/FT/macro region %{^\h*?\K#} %{(?<!\\)\n} "" group
+            add-highlighter shared/FT/string region %{MAYBEAT(?<!QUOTE)(?<!QUOTE\\)"} %{(?<!\\)(?:\\\\)*"} fill string
+            add-highlighter shared/FT/raw_string region %{R"([^(]*)\(} %{\)([^")]*)"} fill string
+            add-highlighter shared/FT/comment region /\* \*/ fill comment
+            add-highlighter shared/FT/line_comment region // $ fill comment
+            add-highlighter shared/FT/disabled region -recurse "#\h*if(?:def)?" ^\h*?#\h*if\h+(?:0|FALSE)\b "#\h*(?:else|elif|endif)" fill rgb:666666
+            add-highlighter shared/FT/macro region %{^\h*?\K#} %{(?<!\\)\n} group
 
             add-highlighter shared/FT/macro/ fill meta
             add-highlighter shared/FT/macro/ regex ^\h*#include\h+(\S*) 1:module
diff --git a/rc/core/kakrc.kak b/rc/core/kakrc.kak
index f0ca884c..37334711 100644
--- a/rc/core/kakrc.kak
+++ b/rc/core/kakrc.kak
@@ -13,17 +13,17 @@ hook global BufCreate (.*/)?(kakrc|.*.kak) %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/kakrc regions
 add-highlighter shared/kakrc/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/kakrc/comment region (^|\h)\K# $ '' fill comment
-add-highlighter shared/kakrc/double_string region %{(^|\h)\K"} %{"(?!")} %{(?<!")("")+(?!")} group
-add-highlighter shared/kakrc/single_string region %{(^|\h)\K'} %{'(?!')} %{(?<!')('')+(?!')} group
-add-highlighter shared/kakrc/shell1 region '(^|\h)\K%?%sh\{' '\}' '\{' ref sh
-add-highlighter shared/kakrc/shell2 region '(^|\h)\K%?%sh\(' '\)' '\(' ref sh
-add-highlighter shared/kakrc/shell3 region '(^|\h)\K%?%sh\[' '\]' '\[' ref sh
-add-highlighter shared/kakrc/shell4 region '(^|\h)\K%?%sh<'  '>'  '<' ref sh
-add-highlighter shared/kakrc/shell5 region '(^|\h)\K-shell-(completion|candidates)\h+%\{' '\}' '\{' ref sh
-add-highlighter shared/kakrc/shell6 region '(^|\h)\K-shell-(completion|candidates)\h+%\(' '\)' '\(' ref sh
-add-highlighter shared/kakrc/shell7 region '(^|\h)\K-shell-(completion|candidates)\h+%\[' '\]' '\[' ref sh
-add-highlighter shared/kakrc/shell8 region '(^|\h)\K-shell-(completion|candidates)\h+%<'  '>'  '<' ref sh
+add-highlighter shared/kakrc/comment region (^|\h)\K# $ fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/kakrc/double_string region -recurse %{(?<!")("")+(?!")} %{(^|\h)\K"} %{"(?!")} group
+add-highlighter shared/kakrc/single_string region -recurse %{(?<!')('')+(?!')} %{(^|\h)\K'} %{'(?!')} group
+add-highlighter shared/kakrc/shell1 region -recurse '\{' '(^|\h)\K%?%sh\{' '\}' ref sh
+add-highlighter shared/kakrc/shell2 region -recurse '\(' '(^|\h)\K%?%sh\(' '\)' ref sh
+add-highlighter shared/kakrc/shell3 region -recurse '\[' '(^|\h)\K%?%sh\[' '\]' ref sh
+add-highlighter shared/kakrc/shell4 region -recurse '<'  '(^|\h)\K%?%sh<'  '>'  ref sh
+add-highlighter shared/kakrc/shell5 region -recurse '\{' '(^|\h)\K-shell-(completion|candidates)\h+%\{' '\}' ref sh
+add-highlighter shared/kakrc/shell6 region -recurse '\(' '(^|\h)\K-shell-(completion|candidates)\h+%\(' '\)' ref sh
+add-highlighter shared/kakrc/shell7 region -recurse '\[' '(^|\h)\K-shell-(completion|candidates)\h+%\[' '\]' ref sh
+add-highlighter shared/kakrc/shell8 region -recurse '<'  '(^|\h)\K-shell-(completion|candidates)\h+%<'  '>'  ref sh
 
 evaluate-commands %sh{
     # Grammar
diff --git a/rc/core/makefile.kak b/rc/core/makefile.kak
index bf1d79de..ad509296 100644
--- a/rc/core/makefile.kak
+++ b/rc/core/makefile.kak
@@ -11,8 +11,8 @@ hook global BufCreate .*/?[mM]akefile %{
 add-highlighter shared/makefile regions
 
 add-highlighter shared/makefile/content default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/makefile/comment region '#' '$' '' fill comment
-add-highlighter shared/makefile/evaluate-commands region '\$\(' '\)' '\(' fill value
+add-highlighter shared/makefile/comment region '#' '$' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/makefile/evaluate-commands region -recurse '\(' '\$\(' '\)' fill value
 
 add-highlighter shared/makefile/content/ regex ^[\w.%-]+\h*:\s 0:variable
 add-highlighter shared/makefile/content/ regex [+?:]= 0:operator
diff --git a/rc/core/python.kak b/rc/core/python.kak
index 1dbf7c69..f844ba4e 100644
--- a/rc/core/python.kak
+++ b/rc/core/python.kak
@@ -13,10 +13,10 @@ hook global BufCreate .*[.](py) %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/python regions
 add-highlighter shared/python/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/python/docstring     region -match-capture ("""|''') ("""|''') '' regions
-add-highlighter shared/python/double_string region '"'   (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"  '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/python/single_string region "'"   (?<!\\)(\\\\)*'  '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/python/comment       region '#'   '$'              '' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/python/docstring     region -match-capture ("""|''') ("""|''') regions
+add-highlighter shared/python/double_string region '"'   (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"  fill string
+add-highlighter shared/python/single_string region "'"   (?<!\\)(\\\\)*'  fill string
+add-highlighter shared/python/comment       region '#'   '$'              fill comment
 
 # Integer formats
 add-highlighter shared/python/code/ regex '(?i)\b0b[01]+l?\b' 0:value
@@ -31,8 +31,8 @@ add-highlighter shared/python/code/ regex '\b\d+\.' 0:value
 add-highlighter shared/python/code/ regex '\b\d+\+\d+[jJ]\b' 0:value
 
 add-highlighter shared/python/docstring/ default-region fill string
-add-highlighter shared/python/docstring/ region '>>> \K'    '\z' '' ref python
-add-highlighter shared/python/docstring/ region '\.\.\. \K'    '\z' '' ref python
+add-highlighter shared/python/docstring/ region '>>> \K'    '\z' ref python
+add-highlighter shared/python/docstring/ region '\.\.\. \K'    '\z' ref python
 
 evaluate-commands %sh{
     # Grammar
diff --git a/rc/core/sh.kak b/rc/core/sh.kak
index 8bba36eb..caa68720 100644
--- a/rc/core/sh.kak
+++ b/rc/core/sh.kak
@@ -4,10 +4,10 @@ hook global BufCreate .*\.(z|ba|c|k|mk)?sh(rc|_profile)? %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/sh regions
 add-highlighter shared/sh/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/sh/double_string region  %{(?<!\\)(?:\\\\)*\K"} %{(?<!\\)(?:\\\\)*"} '' group
-add-highlighter shared/sh/single_string region %{(?<!\\)(?:\\\\)*\K'} %{'} '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/sh/comment region '(?<!\$)#' '$' '' fill comment
-add-highlighter shared/sh/heredoc region -match-capture '<<-?(\w+)' '^\t*(\w+)$' '' fill string
+add-highlighter shared/sh/double_string region  %{(?<!\\)(?:\\\\)*\K"} %{(?<!\\)(?:\\\\)*"} group
+add-highlighter shared/sh/single_string region %{(?<!\\)(?:\\\\)*\K'} %{'} fill string
+add-highlighter shared/sh/comment region '(?<!\$)#' '$' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/sh/heredoc region -match-capture '<<-?(\w+)' '^\t*(\w+)$' fill string
 
 add-highlighter shared/sh/double_string/fill fill string
 
diff --git a/rc/extra/cabal.kak b/rc/extra/cabal.kak
index 52866a3c..54e92f1f 100644
--- a/rc/extra/cabal.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/cabal.kak
@@ -13,8 +13,8 @@ hook global BufCreate .*[.](cabal) %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/cabal regions
 add-highlighter shared/cabal/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/cabal/line_comment region (--) $ '' fill comment
-add-highlighter shared/cabal/comment region \{-   -\}   \{- fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/cabal/line_comment region (--) $ fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/cabal/comment region -recurse \{- \{- -\} fill comment
 
 add-highlighter shared/cabal/code/ regex \b(true|false)\b|(([<>]?=?)?\d+(\.\d+)+) 0:value
 add-highlighter shared/cabal/code/ regex \b(if|else)\b 0:keyword
diff --git a/rc/extra/cmake.kak b/rc/extra/cmake.kak
index 58f60f29..d2348bec 100644
--- a/rc/extra/cmake.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/cmake.kak
@@ -4,14 +4,14 @@ hook global BufCreate .+\.cmake|.*/CMakeLists.txt %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/cmake regions
 add-highlighter shared/cmake/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/cmake/comment  region '#' '$' '' fill comment
-add-highlighter shared/cmake/argument region '\w+\h*\(\K' '(?=\))' '\(' regions
+add-highlighter shared/cmake/comment  region '#' '$' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/cmake/argument region -recurse '\(' '\w+\h*\(\K' '(?=\))' regions
 
 add-highlighter shared/cmake/code/ regex '\w+\h*(?=\()' 0:meta
 
 add-highlighter shared/cmake/argument/args default-region regex '\$\{\w+\}' 0:variable
-add-highlighter shared/cmake/argument/quoted region '"' '(?<!\\)(\\\\)*"' '' group
-add-highlighter shared/cmake/argument/raw-quoted region -match-capture '\[(=*)\[' '\](=*)\]' '' ref cmake/argument/quoted
+add-highlighter shared/cmake/argument/quoted region '"' '(?<!\\)(\\\\)*"' group
+add-highlighter shared/cmake/argument/raw-quoted region -match-capture '\[(=*)\[' '\](=*)\]' ref cmake/argument/quoted
 
 add-highlighter shared/cmake/argument/quoted/ fill string
 add-highlighter shared/cmake/argument/quoted/ regex '\$\{\w+\}' 0:variable
diff --git a/rc/extra/coffee.kak b/rc/extra/coffee.kak
index b028a890..42a2f384 100644
--- a/rc/extra/coffee.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/coffee.kak
@@ -13,22 +13,22 @@ hook global BufCreate .*[.](coffee) %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/coffee regions
 add-highlighter shared/coffee/code     default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/coffee/single_string     region "'" "'"                    '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/coffee/single_string_alt region "'''" "'''"                '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/coffee/double_string     region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"        '' regions
-add-highlighter shared/coffee/double_string_alt region '"""' '"""'                '' ref shared/coffee/double_string
-add-highlighter shared/coffee/regex             region '/' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*/[gimy]* '' regions
-add-highlighter shared/coffee/regex_alt         region '///' ///[gimy]*           '' ref shared/coffee/regex
-add-highlighter shared/coffee/comment1          region '#' '$'                    '' fill comment
-add-highlighter shared/coffee/comment2          region '###' '###'                '' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/coffee/single_string     region "'" "'"                    fill string
+add-highlighter shared/coffee/single_string_alt region "'''" "'''"                fill string
+add-highlighter shared/coffee/double_string     region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"        regions
+add-highlighter shared/coffee/double_string_alt region '"""' '"""'                ref shared/coffee/double_string
+add-highlighter shared/coffee/regex             region '/' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*/[gimy]* regions
+add-highlighter shared/coffee/regex_alt         region '///' ///[gimy]*           ref shared/coffee/regex
+add-highlighter shared/coffee/comment1          region '#' '$'                    fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/coffee/comment2          region '###' '###'                fill comment
 
 # Regular expression flags are: g → global match, i → ignore case, m → multi-lines, y → sticky
 # https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/RegExp
 
 add-highlighter shared/coffee/double_string/base default-region fill string
-add-highlighter shared/coffee/double_string/interpolation region \Q#{ \} \{ fill meta
+add-highlighter shared/coffee/double_string/interpolation region -recurse \{ \Q#{ \} fill meta
 add-highlighter shared/coffee/regex/base default-region fill meta
-add-highlighter shared/coffee/regex/interpolation region \Q#{ \} \{ fill meta
+add-highlighter shared/coffee/regex/interpolation region -recurse \{ \Q#{ \} fill meta
 
 # Keywords are collected at
 # https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Lexical_grammar#Keywords
diff --git a/rc/extra/cucumber.kak b/rc/extra/cucumber.kak
index 3d28ce77..2ba21be4 100644
--- a/rc/extra/cucumber.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/cucumber.kak
@@ -13,8 +13,8 @@ hook global BufCreate .*[.](feature|story) %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/cucumber regions
 add-highlighter shared/cucumber/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/cucumber/language region ^\h*#\h*language: $ '' group
-add-highlighter shared/cucumber/comment  region ^\h*#             $ '' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/cucumber/language region ^\h*#\h*language: $ group
+add-highlighter shared/cucumber/comment  region ^\h*#             $ fill comment
 
 add-highlighter shared/cucumber/language/ fill meta
 add-highlighter shared/cucumber/language/ regex \S+$ 0:value
diff --git a/rc/extra/dockerfile.kak b/rc/extra/dockerfile.kak
index ef30d7c4..fcc4c5c3 100644
--- a/rc/extra/dockerfile.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/dockerfile.kak
@@ -15,9 +15,9 @@ hook global BufCreate .*/?Dockerfile(\.\w+)?$ %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/dockerfile regions
 add-highlighter shared/dockerfile/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/dockerfile/double_string region '"' '(?<!\\)(\\\\)*"' '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/dockerfile/single_string region "'" "'"               '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/dockerfile/comment region '#' $ '' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/dockerfile/double_string region '"' '(?<!\\)(\\\\)*"' fill string
+add-highlighter shared/dockerfile/single_string region "'" "'"               fill string
+add-highlighter shared/dockerfile/comment region '#' $ fill comment
 
 evaluate-commands %sh{
     # Grammar
diff --git a/rc/extra/elixir.kak b/rc/extra/elixir.kak
index a3edd884..86799213 100644
--- a/rc/extra/elixir.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/elixir.kak
@@ -14,13 +14,13 @@ hook global BufCreate .*[.](ex|exs) %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/elixir regions
 add-highlighter shared/elixir/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/elixir/double_string region '"'   (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"   '' regions
-add-highlighter shared/elixir/triple_string region '"""' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*""" '' ref shared/elixir/double_string
-add-highlighter shared/elixir/single_string region "'"   (?<!\\)(\\\\)*'   '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/elixir/comment       region '#'   '$'               '' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/elixir/double_string region '"'   (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"   regions
+add-highlighter shared/elixir/triple_string region '"""' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*""" ref shared/elixir/double_string
+add-highlighter shared/elixir/single_string region "'"   (?<!\\)(\\\\)*'   fill string
+add-highlighter shared/elixir/comment       region '#'   '$'               fill comment
 
 add-highlighter shared/elixir/double_string/base default-region fill string
-add-highlighter shared/elixir/double_string/interpolation region  \Q#{ \} \{ fill builtin
+add-highlighter shared/elixir/double_string/interpolation region -recurse \{ \Q#{ \} fill builtin
 
 add-highlighter shared/elixir/code/ regex ':[\w_]+\b' 0:type
 add-highlighter shared/elixir/code/ regex '[\w_]+:' 0:type
diff --git a/rc/extra/elm.kak b/rc/extra/elm.kak
index c5ccbe40..9ce9fcc8 100644
--- a/rc/extra/elm.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/elm.kak
@@ -13,9 +13,9 @@ hook global BufCreate .*[.](elm) %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/elm regions
 add-highlighter shared/elm/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/elm/string        region '"'     (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"      ''  fill string
-add-highlighter shared/elm/line_comment  region (--) $                       ''  fill comment
-add-highlighter shared/elm/comment       region \{-   -\}                    \{- fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/elm/string        region '"'     (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"       fill string
+add-highlighter shared/elm/line_comment  region (--) $                        fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/elm/comment       region -recurse \{- \{-   -\}        fill comment
 
 add-highlighter shared/elm/code/ regex \b(import|exposing|as|module|where)\b 0:meta
 add-highlighter shared/elm/code/ regex \b(True|False)\b 0:value
diff --git a/rc/extra/haml.kak b/rc/extra/haml.kak
index 5bb3cda6..95eb5647 100644
--- a/rc/extra/haml.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/haml.kak
@@ -13,14 +13,14 @@ hook global BufCreate .*[.](haml) %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/haml regions
 add-highlighter shared/haml/code    default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/haml/comment region ^\h*/                                                                $             '' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/haml/comment region ^\h*/          $             fill comment
 
 # Filters
 # http://haml.info/docs/yardoc/file.REFERENCE.html#filters
-add-highlighter shared/haml/eval1   region ^\h*%([A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_-]*)([#.][A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_-]*)?\{\K|#\{\K (?=\})        \{ ref ruby
-add-highlighter shared/haml/eval2   region ^\h*[=-]\K                                                           (?<!\|)(?=\n) '' ref ruby
-add-highlighter shared/haml/coffee  region ^\h*:coffee\K                                                        ^\h*[%=-]\K   '' ref coffee
-add-highlighter shared/haml/sass    region ^\h*:sass\K                                                          ^\h*[%=-]\K   '' ref sass
+add-highlighter shared/haml/eval1   region -recurse \{ ^\h*%([A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_-]*)([#.][A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_-]*)?\{\K|#\{\K (?=\}) ref ruby
+add-highlighter shared/haml/eval2   region ^\h*[=-]\K     (?<!\|)(?=\n) ref ruby
+add-highlighter shared/haml/coffee  region ^\h*:coffee\K  ^\h*[%=-]\K   ref coffee
+add-highlighter shared/haml/sass    region ^\h*:sass\K    ^\h*[%=-]\K   ref sass
 
 add-highlighter shared/haml/code/ regex ^\h*(:[a-z]+|-|=)|^(!!!)$ 0:meta
 add-highlighter shared/haml/code/ regex ^\h*%([A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_-]*)([#.][A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_-]*)? 1:keyword 2:variable
diff --git a/rc/extra/hbs.kak b/rc/extra/hbs.kak
index 92917d7c..47b83502 100644
--- a/rc/extra/hbs.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/hbs.kak
@@ -13,9 +13,9 @@ hook global BufCreate .*[.](hbs) %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/hbs regions
 add-highlighter shared/hbs/html  default-region ref html
-add-highlighter shared/hbs/comment          region \{\{!-- --\}\} ' ' fill comment
-add-highlighter shared/hbs/comment_alt      region \{\{!   \}\}   '' fill comment
-add-highlighter shared/hbs/block-expression region \{\{    \}\}   '' group
+add-highlighter shared/hbs/comment          region -recurse ' ' \{\{!-- --\}\} fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/hbs/comment_alt      region \{\{!   \}\}   fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/hbs/block-expression region \{\{    \}\}   group
 
 add-highlighter shared/hbs/block-expression/ regex \{\{((#|/|)(\w|-)+) 1:meta
 
diff --git a/rc/extra/i3.kak b/rc/extra/i3.kak
index ac5b73c7..9e4529ce 100644
--- a/rc/extra/i3.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/i3.kak
@@ -4,10 +4,10 @@ hook global BufCreate .*(sway|i3)/config %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/i3 regions
 add-highlighter shared/i3/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/i3/double_string region %{"} %{"} "" group
-add-highlighter shared/i3/single_string region %{'} %{'} "" group
-add-highlighter shared/i3/exec region %{(?<=exec)} "$" "" fill string
-add-highlighter shared/i3/comment region "# " "$" "" fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/i3/double_string region %{"} %{"} group
+add-highlighter shared/i3/single_string region %{'} %{'} group
+add-highlighter shared/i3/exec region %{(?<=exec)} "$" fill string
+add-highlighter shared/i3/comment region "# " "$" fill comment
 
 add-highlighter shared/i3/double_string/ fill string
 add-highlighter shared/i3/single_string/ fill string
diff --git a/rc/extra/just.kak b/rc/extra/just.kak
index 1df2adfe..e8dc19b6 100644
--- a/rc/extra/just.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/just.kak
@@ -24,11 +24,11 @@ define-command -hidden just-indent-on-new-line %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/justfile regions
 add-highlighter shared/justfile/content default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/justfile/comment  region '#' '$'  '' fill comment
-add-highlighter shared/justfile/double_string region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/justfile/single_string region "'" (?<!\\)(\\\\)*' '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/justfile/inline   region '`' '`' '' ref sh
-add-highlighter shared/justfile/shell    region '^\h+' '^[^\h]' '' group
+add-highlighter shared/justfile/comment  region '#' '$'  fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/justfile/double_string region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" fill string
+add-highlighter shared/justfile/single_string region "'" (?<!\\)(\\\\)*' fill string
+add-highlighter shared/justfile/inline   region '`' '`' ref sh
+add-highlighter shared/justfile/shell    region '^\h+' '^[^\h]' group
 
 add-highlighter shared/justfile/shell/ ref sh
 
diff --git a/rc/extra/kickstart.kak b/rc/extra/kickstart.kak
index ea270e1a..b53448b2 100644
--- a/rc/extra/kickstart.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/kickstart.kak
@@ -4,11 +4,11 @@ hook global BufCreate .*\.ks %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/kickstart regions
 add-highlighter shared/kickstart/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/kickstart/comment region '(^|\h)\K#' $ '' fill comment
-add-highlighter shared/kickstart/double_string region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/kickstart/single_string region "'" (?<!\\)(\\\\)*' '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/kickstart/packages region '^\h*\K%packages\b' '^\h*\K%end\b' '' group
-add-highlighter shared/kickstart/shell region '^\h*\K%(pre|pre-install|post)\b' '^\h*\K%end\b' '' group
+add-highlighter shared/kickstart/comment region '(^|\h)\K#' $ fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/kickstart/double_string region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" fill string
+add-highlighter shared/kickstart/single_string region "'" (?<!\\)(\\\\)*' fill string
+add-highlighter shared/kickstart/packages region '^\h*\K%packages\b' '^\h*\K%end\b' group
+add-highlighter shared/kickstart/shell region '^\h*\K%(pre|pre-install|post)\b' '^\h*\K%end\b' group
 
 add-highlighter shared/kickstart/code/ regex "^\h*\b(auth|authconfig|autopart|autostep|bootloader|btrfs|clearpart|cmdline|device|dmraid|driverdisk|fcoe|firewall|firstboot|group|graphical|halt|ignoredisk|install|cdrom|harddrive|liveimg|nfs|url|iscsi|iscsiname|keyboard|lang|logvol|logging|mediacheck|monitor|multipath|network|part|partition|poweroff|raid|realm|reboot|repo|rescue|rootpw|selinux|services|shutdown|sshkey|sshpw|skipx|text|timezone|updates|upgrade|user|vnc|volgroup|xconfig|zerombr|zfcp)\b" 1:keyword
 add-highlighter shared/kickstart/code/ regex '(--[\w-]+=? ?)([^-"\n][^\h\n]*)?' 1:attribute 2:string
diff --git a/rc/extra/latex.kak b/rc/extra/latex.kak
index a1e4bcc2..4f0a7f15 100644
--- a/rc/extra/latex.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/latex.kak
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ hook global BufCreate .*\.tex %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/latex regions
 add-highlighter shared/latex/content default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/latex/comment region '(?<!\\)%' '\n' '' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/latex/comment region '(?<!\\)%' '\n' fill comment
 
 # Scopes, starting with a backslash
 add-highlighter shared/latex/content/ regex '\\(?!_)\w+\b' 0:keyword
diff --git a/rc/extra/moon.kak b/rc/extra/moon.kak
index 2ca09f01..c37c2bd2 100644
--- a/rc/extra/moon.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/moon.kak
@@ -13,12 +13,12 @@ hook global BufCreate .*[.](moon) %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/moon regions
 add-highlighter shared/moon/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/moon/double_string region '"'  (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" '' regions
-add-highlighter shared/moon/single_string region "'"  (?<!\\)(\\\\)*' '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/moon/comment       region '--' '$'             '' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/moon/double_string region '"'  (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" regions
+add-highlighter shared/moon/single_string region "'"  (?<!\\)(\\\\)*' fill string
+add-highlighter shared/moon/comment       region '--' '$'             fill comment
 
 add-highlighter shared/moon/double_string/base default-region fill string
-add-highlighter shared/moon/double_string/interpolation region \Q#{ \} \{ fill meta
+add-highlighter shared/moon/double_string/interpolation region -recurse \{ \Q#{ \} fill meta
 
 add-highlighter shared/moon/code/ regex ([.\\](?=[A-Za-z]))|(\b[A-Za-z]\w*:)|(\b[A-Za-z]\w*\K!+)|(\W\K[@:][A-Za-z]\w*) 0:variable
 add-highlighter shared/moon/code/ regex \b(and|break|catch|class|continue|do|else(if)?|export|extends|false|finally|for|from|if|import|in|local|nil|not|or|return|super|switch|then|true|try|unless|using|when|while|with)\b 0:keyword
diff --git a/rc/extra/nim.kak b/rc/extra/nim.kak
index 58051f77..8fc2a86c 100644
--- a/rc/extra/nim.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/nim.kak
@@ -13,9 +13,9 @@ hook global BufCreate .*\.nim(s|ble)? %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/nim regions
 add-highlighter shared/nim/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/nim/double_string region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/nim/triple_string region '"""' '"""' '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/nim/comment region '#?#\[' '\]##?' '' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/nim/double_string region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" fill string
+add-highlighter shared/nim/triple_string region '"""' '"""' fill string
+add-highlighter shared/nim/comment region '#?#\[' '\]##?' fill comment
 
 add-highlighter shared/nim/code/ regex \b(0[xXocCbB])?[\d_]+('[iIuUfFdD](8|16|32|64|128))?\b 0:value
 add-highlighter shared/nim/code/ regex \b\d+\.\d+\b 0:value
diff --git a/rc/extra/php.kak b/rc/extra/php.kak
index e0675177..a723d50c 100644
--- a/rc/extra/php.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/php.kak
@@ -10,13 +10,13 @@ hook global BufCreate .*[.](php) %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/php regions
 add-highlighter shared/php/code  default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/php/double_string region '"'    (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" '' group
-add-highlighter shared/php/single_string region "'"    (?<!\\)(\\\\)*' '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/php/doc_comment   region ///    '$'             '' group
-add-highlighter shared/php/doc_comment2  region /\*\*  \*/             '' ref php/doc_comment
-add-highlighter shared/php/comment1      region //     '$'             '' fill comment
-add-highlighter shared/php/comment2      region /\*    \*/             '' fill comment
-add-highlighter shared/php/comment3      region '#'    '$'             '' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/php/double_string region '"'    (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" group
+add-highlighter shared/php/single_string region "'"    (?<!\\)(\\\\)*' fill string
+add-highlighter shared/php/doc_comment   region ///    '$'             group
+add-highlighter shared/php/doc_comment2  region /\*\*  \*/             ref php/doc_comment
+add-highlighter shared/php/comment1      region //     '$'             fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/php/comment2      region /\*    \*/             fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/php/comment3      region '#'    '$'             fill comment
 
 
 
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ add-highlighter shared/php/code/ regex \b(__halt_compiler|abstract|and|array|as|
 # Highlighter for html with php tags in it, i.e. the structure of conventional php files
 add-highlighter shared/php-file regions
 add-highlighter shared/php-file/html default-region ref html
-add-highlighter shared/php-file/php  region '<\?(php)?'     '\?>'      '' ref php
+add-highlighter shared/php-file/php  region '<\?(php)?'     '\?>'      ref php
 
 # Commands
 # ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
diff --git a/rc/extra/pony.kak b/rc/extra/pony.kak
index 853cdecb..3c8d105d 100644
--- a/rc/extra/pony.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/pony.kak
@@ -13,10 +13,10 @@ hook global BufCreate .*[.](pony) %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/pony regions
 add-highlighter shared/pony/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/pony/triple_string region '"""' '"""'            '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/pony/double_string region '"'   (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"  '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/pony/comment       region '/\*'   '\*/'          '' fill comment
-add-highlighter shared/pony/line_comment  region '//'   '$'             '' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/pony/triple_string region '"""' '"""'            fill string
+add-highlighter shared/pony/double_string region '"'   (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"  fill string
+add-highlighter shared/pony/comment       region '/\*'   '\*/'          fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/pony/line_comment  region '//'   '$'             fill comment
 
 evaluate-commands %sh{
     # Grammar
diff --git a/rc/extra/pug.kak b/rc/extra/pug.kak
index 2748aa80..40c219da 100644
--- a/rc/extra/pug.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/pug.kak
@@ -17,14 +17,14 @@ hook global BufCreate .*[.](pug|jade) %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/pug regions
 add-highlighter shared/pug/code          default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/pug/text          region ^\h*\|\s     $                      '' regex   \h*(\|) 1:meta
-add-highlighter shared/pug/text2         region '^\h*([A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_-]*)?(#[A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_-]*)?((?:\.[A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_-]*)*)?(?<!\t)(?<! )(?<!\n)\h+\K.*' $ '' regex   \h*(\|) 1:meta
-add-highlighter shared/pug/javascript    region ^\h*[-=!]    $                      '' ref javascript
-add-highlighter shared/pug/double_string region '"'          (?:(?<!\\)(\\\\)*"|$)  '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/pug/single_string region "'"          (?:(?<!\\)(\\\\)*'|$)  '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/pug/comment       region //           $                      '' fill comment
-add-highlighter shared/pug/attribute     region \(            \)                     \( group
-add-highlighter shared/pug/puglang       region ^\h*\b(\block|extends|include|append|prepend|if|unless|else|case|when|default|each|while|mixin)\b $ '' group
+add-highlighter shared/pug/text          region ^\h*\|\s     $                      regex   \h*(\|) 1:meta
+add-highlighter shared/pug/text2         region '^\h*([A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_-]*)?(#[A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_-]*)?((?:\.[A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_-]*)*)?(?<!\t)(?<! )(?<!\n)\h+\K.*' $ regex   \h*(\|) 1:meta
+add-highlighter shared/pug/javascript    region ^\h*[-=!]    $                      ref javascript
+add-highlighter shared/pug/double_string region '"'          (?:(?<!\\)(\\\\)*"|$)  fill string
+add-highlighter shared/pug/single_string region "'"          (?:(?<!\\)(\\\\)*'|$)  fill string
+add-highlighter shared/pug/comment       region //           $                      fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/pug/attribute     region -recurse \( \(            \)        group
+add-highlighter shared/pug/puglang       region ^\h*\b(\block|extends|include|append|prepend|if|unless|else|case|when|default|each|while|mixin)\b $ group
 
 # Filters
 # ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
diff --git a/rc/extra/ragel.kak b/rc/extra/ragel.kak
index 05c2f7b9..4eb37fa0 100644
--- a/rc/extra/ragel.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/ragel.kak
@@ -15,9 +15,9 @@ hook global BufCreate .*[.](ragel|rl) %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/ragel regions
 add-highlighter shared/ragel/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/ragel/double_string region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"         '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/ragel/single_string region "'" "'"                     '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/ragel/comment region '#' '$'                     '' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/ragel/double_string region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"         fill string
+add-highlighter shared/ragel/single_string region "'" "'"                     fill string
+add-highlighter shared/ragel/comment region '#' '$'                     fill comment
 
 add-highlighter shared/ragel/code/ regex \b(true|false)\b 0:value
 add-highlighter shared/ragel/code/ regex '%%\{|\}%%|<\w+>' 0:variable
diff --git a/rc/extra/sass.kak b/rc/extra/sass.kak
index fe203b5c..6367628b 100644
--- a/rc/extra/sass.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/sass.kak
@@ -13,9 +13,9 @@ hook global BufCreate .*[.](sass) %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/sass regions
 add-highlighter shared/sass/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/sass/single_string  region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/sass/double_string  region "'" "'"             '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/sass/comment        region '/' '$'             '' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/sass/single_string  region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" fill string
+add-highlighter shared/sass/double_string  region "'" "'"             fill string
+add-highlighter shared/sass/comment        region '/' '$'             fill comment
 
 add-highlighter shared/sass/code/ regex [*]|[#.][A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_-]* 0:variable
 add-highlighter shared/sass/code/ regex &|@[A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_-]* 0:meta
diff --git a/rc/extra/scss.kak b/rc/extra/scss.kak
index 906dd7be..d1df3d2c 100644
--- a/rc/extra/scss.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/scss.kak
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ hook global BufCreate .*[.](scss) %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/scss regions
 add-highlighter shared/scss/core default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/scss/comment region // $ '' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/scss/comment region // $ fill comment
 
 add-highlighter shared/scss/core/ ref css
 add-highlighter shared/scss/core/ regex @[A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_-]* 0:meta
diff --git a/rc/extra/toml.kak b/rc/extra/toml.kak
index dd38eec7..40114b78 100644
--- a/rc/extra/toml.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/toml.kak
@@ -13,11 +13,11 @@ hook global BufCreate .*\.(toml) %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/toml regions
 add-highlighter shared/toml/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/toml/comment region '#'   $           '' fill comment
-add-highlighter shared/toml/string1 region  '"""' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*""" '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/toml/string2 region  "'''" "'''"             '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/toml/string3 region  '"'   (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"   '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/toml/string4 region  "'"   "'"               '' fill string
+add-highlighter shared/toml/comment region '#'   $           fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/toml/string1 region  '"""' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*""" fill string
+add-highlighter shared/toml/string2 region  "'''" "'''"             fill string
+add-highlighter shared/toml/string3 region  '"'   (?<!\\)(\\\\)*"   fill string
+add-highlighter shared/toml/string4 region  "'"   "'"               fill string
 
 add-highlighter shared/toml/code/ regex \
     "^\h*\[\[?([A-Za-z0-9._-]*)\]\]?" 1:title
diff --git a/rc/extra/tupfile.kak b/rc/extra/tupfile.kak
index 3c8347db..0f38180a 100644
--- a/rc/extra/tupfile.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/tupfile.kak
@@ -13,8 +13,8 @@ hook global BufCreate .*/?Tup(file|rules)(\.\w+)?$ %{
 
 add-highlighter shared/tupfile regions
 add-highlighter shared/tupfile/code default-region group
-add-highlighter shared/tupfile/string region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" '' fill string
-add-highlighter shared/tupfile/comment region '#' $ '' fill comment
+add-highlighter shared/tupfile/string region '"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" fill string
+add-highlighter shared/tupfile/comment region '#' $ fill comment
 
 add-highlighter shared/tupfile/code/ regex '%[fbBeoOdg]\b' 0:value
 add-highlighter shared/tupfile/code/ regex '[$@]\([\w_]+\)' 0:value
diff --git a/src/highlighters.cc b/src/highlighters.cc
index 8e1c35f4..7614810d 100644
--- a/src/highlighters.cc
+++ b/src/highlighters.cc
@@ -1858,9 +1858,9 @@ public:
             throw runtime_error{"region highlighter can only be added to a regions parent"};
 
         static const ParameterDesc param_desc{
-            { { "match-capture", { false, "" } } },
+            { { "match-capture", { false, "" } }, { "recurse", { true, "" } } },
             ParameterDesc::Flags::SwitchesOnlyAtStart | ParameterDesc::Flags::IgnoreUnknownSwitches,
-            4
+            3
         };
 
         ParametersParser parser{params, param_desc};
@@ -1872,14 +1872,18 @@ public:
         const RegexCompileFlags flags = match_capture ?
             RegexCompileFlags::Optimize : RegexCompileFlags::NoSubs | RegexCompileFlags::Optimize;
 
-        const auto& type = parser[3];
+        const auto& type = parser[2];
         auto& registry = HighlighterRegistry::instance();
         auto it = registry.find(type);
         if (it == registry.end())
             throw runtime_error(format("no such highlighter type: '{}'", type));
 
-        auto delegate = it->value.factory(parser.positionals_from(4), nullptr);
-        return std::make_unique<RegionHighlighter>(std::move(delegate), Regex{parser[0], flags}, Regex{parser[1], flags}, parser[2].empty() ? Regex{} : Regex{parser[2], flags}, match_capture);
+        Regex recurse;
+        if (auto recurse_switch = parser.get_switch("recurse"))
+            recurse = Regex{*recurse_switch, flags};
+
+        auto delegate = it->value.factory(parser.positionals_from(3), nullptr);
+        return std::make_unique<RegionHighlighter>(std::move(delegate), Regex{parser[0], flags}, Regex{parser[1], flags}, recurse, match_capture);
     }
 
     static std::unique_ptr<Highlighter> create_default_region(HighlighterParameters params, Highlighter* parent)
diff --git a/test/highlight/regions-recurse/rc b/test/highlight/regions-recurse/rc
index 94244158..416c9669 100644
--- a/test/highlight/regions-recurse/rc
+++ b/test/highlight/regions-recurse/rc
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 add-highlighter window/regions_test regions
 add-highlighter window/regions_test/code default-region fill yellow
-add-highlighter window/regions_test/argument region '\w+\h*\(\K' '(?=\))' '\(' fill red
+add-highlighter window/regions_test/argument region -recurse '\(' '\w+\h*\(\K' '(?=\))' fill red
diff --git a/test/highlight/regions/rc b/test/highlight/regions/rc
index 21d886cb..dccc2a89 100644
--- a/test/highlight/regions/rc
+++ b/test/highlight/regions/rc
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 add-highlighter window/regions_test regions
 add-highlighter window/regions_test/code default-region fill yellow
-add-highlighter window/regions_test/string region %{"} %{(?<!\\)(\\\\)*"} '' fill green
-add-highlighter window/regions_test/shell region '\$\{' '\}' '\{' fill red
+add-highlighter window/regions_test/string region %{"} %{(?<!\\)(\\\\)*"} fill green
+add-highlighter window/regions_test/shell region -recurse '\{' '\$\{' '\}' fill red
diff --git a/test/regression/1195-infinite-loop-in-regex-matching/rc b/test/regression/1195-infinite-loop-in-regex-matching/rc
index 7e27b724..c6fb4830 100644
--- a/test/regression/1195-infinite-loop-in-regex-matching/rc
+++ b/test/regression/1195-infinite-loop-in-regex-matching/rc
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 add-highlighter window/sh regions
 add-highlighter window/sh/code default-region group
-add-highlighter window/sh/heredoc region -match-capture '<<-?(\w+)' '^\t*(\w+)$' '' group
+add-highlighter window/sh/heredoc region -match-capture '<<-?(\w+)' '^\t*(\w+)$' group