diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/expressions/compile-expression.ts b/packages/compiler/src/expressions/compile-expression.ts
index 50674314..e2496709 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/expressions/compile-expression.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/expressions/compile-expression.ts
@@ -79,16 +79,7 @@ export function compileExpression(
   ctx: CompilerContext,
   options: CompileExpressionOptions = {}
 ): string {
-  let compiled = compileExprNode(expr, ctx, options);
-
-  // Post-process: Replace any remaining @variables references that weren't
-  // properly compiled (e.g., inside function calls like len(@variables.x))
-  // This matches agent-dsl's regex-based approach for comprehensive coverage.
-  compiled = compiled.replace(/@variables\.(\w+)/g, (_, varName) =>
-    resolveVariableRef(varName, ctx, expr.__cst?.range)
-  );
-
-  return compiled;
+  return compileExprNode(expr, ctx, options);
 }
 
 export interface CompileExpressionOptions {
diff --git a/packages/compiler/test/expressions.test.ts b/packages/compiler/test/expressions.test.ts
index 19ac8213..e4c27bc4 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/test/expressions.test.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/test/expressions.test.ts
@@ -107,6 +107,46 @@ describe('compileExpression', () => {
   });
 
   describe('@variables references', () => {
+    it.each([
+      ['"@variables.missing"', '"@variables.missing"'],
+      ['@variables.x == "@variables.x"', 'state.x == "@variables.x"'],
+      [
+        'concat("@variables.x", @variables.x, @variables.linked)',
+        'concat("@variables.x", state.x, variables.linked)',
+      ],
+      [
+        'concat("say \\"@variables.missing\\"", @variables.x)',
+        'concat("say \\"@variables.missing\\"", state.x)',
+      ],
+    ])('preserves literal reference text in %s', (source, expected) => {
+      ctx.mutableVariableNames.add('x');
+      ctx.linkedVariableNames.add('linked');
+      const { rootNode } = parse(`value: ${source}\n`);
+      const mapping =
+        rootNode.namedChildren.find(node => node.type === 'mapping') ??
+        rootNode;
+      const result = new Dialect().parse(mapping, { value: ExpressionValue });
+
+      expect(result.diagnostics).toEqual([]);
+      expect(compileExpression(result.value.value, ctx)).toBe(expected);
+      expect(ctx.diagnostics).toEqual([]);
+    });
+
+    it('preserves template text while resolving interpolated references', () => {
+      ctx.mutableVariableNames.add('x');
+      const expr = new TemplateExpression([
+        new TemplateText('Use @variables.missing: '),
+        new TemplateInterpolation(
+          new MemberExpression(new AtIdentifier('variables'), 'x')
+        ),
+      ]);
+
+      expect(compileExpression(expr, ctx)).toBe(
+        'Use @variables.missing: {{state.x}}'
+      );
+      expect(ctx.diagnostics).toEqual([]);
+    });
+
     it('should compile mutable @variables.x as state.x', () => {
       ctx.mutableVariableNames.add('user_name');
       const expr = new MemberExpression(