diff --git a/src-tauri/src/commands.rs b/src-tauri/src/commands.rs
index 45b78cc..9bca859 100644
--- a/src-tauri/src/commands.rs
+++ b/src-tauri/src/commands.rs
@@ -2026,9 +2026,8 @@ pub fn create_version(
     let config = state.config.lock().map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
     let vault_path = config.active_vault.as_ref().ok_or("No active vault")?;
     let max_versions = config.max_versions_per_note;
-    let raw = std::fs::read_to_string(&path).map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
-    crate::history::force_snapshot(vault_path, &note_id, &raw, max_versions);
-    Ok(())
+    let raw = operations::read_vault_note(vault_path, &path)?.raw;
+    crate::history::force_snapshot(vault_path, &note_id, &raw, max_versions)
 }
 
 #[tauri::command]
diff --git a/src-tauri/src/history.rs b/src-tauri/src/history.rs
index 8ba518b..84c6985 100644
--- a/src-tauri/src/history.rs
+++ b/src-tauri/src/history.rs
@@ -1,22 +1,36 @@
 use std::fs;
-use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
+use std::path::{Component, Path, PathBuf};
 
 use chrono::{DateTime, Utc};
 
 use crate::types::VersionEntry;
 
+fn safe_path_component<'a>(value: &'a str, label: &str) -> Result<&'a str, String> {
+    let mut components = Path::new(value).components();
+    if value.is_empty()
+        || !matches!(components.next(), Some(Component::Normal(_)))
+        || components.next().is_some()
+    {
+        return Err(format!("Invalid {label}"));
+    }
+    Ok(value)
+}
+
 /// Directory: .helixnotes/history/<note-id>/
-fn history_dir(vault_path: &str, note_id: &str) -> PathBuf {
-    Path::new(vault_path)
+fn history_dir(vault_path: &str, note_id: &str) -> Result<PathBuf, String> {
+    Ok(Path::new(vault_path)
         .join(".helixnotes")
         .join("history")
-        .join(note_id)
+        .join(safe_path_component(note_id, "note ID")?))
 }
 
 /// Save a version snapshot if enough time has passed since the last one.
 /// Minimum interval: 5 minutes between snapshots.
 pub fn maybe_snapshot(vault_path: &str, note_id: &str, raw_content: &str, max_versions: u32) {
-    let dir = history_dir(vault_path, note_id);
+    let Ok(dir) = history_dir(vault_path, note_id) else {
+        log::warn!("Skipping history snapshot with an invalid note ID");
+        return;
+    };
 
     // Check if we should create a snapshot (5 min cooldown)
     if let Ok(entries) = fs::read_dir(&dir) {
@@ -68,31 +82,30 @@ pub fn maybe_snapshot(vault_path: &str, note_id: &str, raw_content: &str, max_ve
 }
 
 /// Force-create a version snapshot, bypassing the cooldown.
-pub fn force_snapshot(vault_path: &str, note_id: &str, raw_content: &str, max_versions: u32) {
-    let dir = history_dir(vault_path, note_id);
-
-    if let Err(e) = fs::create_dir_all(&dir) {
-        eprintln!("Failed to create history dir: {}", e);
-        return;
-    }
+pub fn force_snapshot(
+    vault_path: &str,
+    note_id: &str,
+    raw_content: &str,
+    max_versions: u32,
+) -> Result<(), String> {
+    let dir = history_dir(vault_path, note_id)?;
+    fs::create_dir_all(&dir).map_err(|error| error.to_string())?;
 
     let timestamp = Utc::now().format("%Y-%m-%dT%H-%M-%S").to_string();
     let filename = format!("{}.md", timestamp);
     let path = dir.join(&filename);
 
-    if let Err(e) = fs::write(&path, raw_content) {
-        eprintln!("Failed to write version snapshot: {}", e);
-        return;
-    }
+    fs::write(&path, raw_content).map_err(|error| error.to_string())?;
 
     if max_versions > 0 {
-        let _ = prune_versions(&dir, max_versions);
+        prune_versions(&dir, max_versions)?;
     }
+    Ok(())
 }
 
 /// List all version snapshots for a note, newest first.
 pub fn list_versions(vault_path: &str, note_id: &str) -> Result<Vec<VersionEntry>, String> {
-    let dir = history_dir(vault_path, note_id);
+    let dir = history_dir(vault_path, note_id)?;
     if !dir.exists() {
         return Ok(Vec::new());
     }
@@ -134,6 +147,7 @@ pub fn list_versions(vault_path: &str, note_id: &str) -> Result<Vec<VersionEntry
 
 /// Get the raw content of a specific version.
 pub fn get_version(vault_path: &str, note_id: &str, timestamp: &str) -> Result<String, String> {
+    safe_path_component(timestamp, "version timestamp")?;
     // Convert ISO timestamp back to filename: 2026-02-08T18:30:00Z → 2026-02-08T18-30-00.md
     let filename = if let Some(t_pos) = timestamp.find('T') {
         let date_part = &timestamp[..t_pos];
@@ -144,7 +158,7 @@ pub fn get_version(vault_path: &str, note_id: &str, timestamp: &str) -> Result<S
         format!("{}.md", timestamp)
     };
 
-    let path = history_dir(vault_path, note_id).join(&filename);
+    let path = history_dir(vault_path, note_id)?.join(&filename);
     fs::read_to_string(&path).map_err(|e| format!("Version not found: {}", e))
 }
 
@@ -169,3 +183,27 @@ fn prune_versions(dir: &Path, max: u32) -> Result<(), String> {
 
     Ok(())
 }
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::{get_version, list_versions};
+    use std::fs;
+    use uuid::Uuid;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn rejects_history_path_traversal() {
+        let vault =
+            std::env::temp_dir().join(format!("helixnotes-history-test-{}", Uuid::new_v4()));
+        let metadata = vault.join(".helixnotes");
+        let escaped_history = metadata.join("escaped");
+        fs::create_dir_all(&escaped_history).unwrap();
+        fs::write(escaped_history.join("2026-01-01T00-00-00.md"), "escaped").unwrap();
+        fs::create_dir_all(metadata.join("history").join("safe")).unwrap();
+        fs::write(metadata.join("secret.md"), "secret").unwrap();
+
+        assert!(list_versions(&vault.to_string_lossy(), "../escaped").is_err());
+        assert!(get_version(&vault.to_string_lossy(), "safe", "../../secret").is_err());
+
+        fs::remove_dir_all(vault).unwrap();
+    }
+}