diff --git a/tests/test_renderer_js_behaviour.py b/tests/test_renderer_js_behaviour.py
index 0c63cc6e0..501a4e880 100644
--- a/tests/test_renderer_js_behaviour.py
+++ b/tests/test_renderer_js_behaviour.py
@@ -242,6 +242,25 @@ class TestCommonLLMShapes:
         assert "<p><table" not in out
         assert "</table></p>" not in out
 
+    def test_table_pipe_inside_inline_code_is_protected(self, driver_path):
+        """Pipes inside backtick code in table cells must not create extra columns."""
+        src = (
+            "| field | expr |\n"
+            "| --- | --- |\n"
+            "| set | `updates.model = modelState.model || null` |\n"
+        )
+        out = _render(driver_path, src)
+        # Must be exactly 2 cells in the data row
+        assert "<th>field</th>" in out
+        assert "<th>expr</th>" in out
+        # The code cell should contain both pipes
+        assert "<code>" in out
+        assert "||" in out
+        # Must NOT split into extra cells
+        assert out.count("<td>") == 2, (
+            f"Expected exactly 2 <td> cells, got {out.count('<td>')}: {out!r}"
+        )
+
     def test_strikethrough_outside_quote(self, driver_path):
         out = _render(driver_path, "This was ~~outdated~~ but is now fine.")
         assert "<del>outdated</del>" in out