diff --git a/src/utils/frontmatter-utils.ts b/src/utils/frontmatter-utils.ts
index 156cef7..2c4356c 100644
--- a/src/utils/frontmatter-utils.ts
+++ b/src/utils/frontmatter-utils.ts
@@ -240,9 +240,9 @@ export class FrontmatterUtils {
 					}
 				}
 				
-				// Pattern 3: ``` with any language specifier
+				// Pattern 3: ``` with any language specifier (one or more characters)
 				if (!jsonString) {
-					match = afterDrawing.match(/```[a-z-]*\s*\n([\s\S]*?)```/);
+					match = afterDrawing.match(/```[a-z-]+\s*\n([\s\S]*?)```/);
 					if (match) {
 						jsonString = match[1];
 					}
@@ -263,8 +263,8 @@ export class FrontmatterUtils {
 				const patterns = [
 					/```compressed-json\s*\n([\s\S]*?)```/,
 					/```json\s*\n([\s\S]*?)```/,
-					/```[a-z-]*\s*\n([\s\S]*?)```/,
-					/```\s*\n([\s\S]*?)```/
+					/```[a-z-]+\s*\n([\s\S]*?)```/, // One or more chars for language
+					/```\s*\n([\s\S]*?)```/  // No language specifier
 				];
 				
 				for (const pattern of patterns) {
diff --git a/tests/frontmatter-utils.test.ts b/tests/frontmatter-utils.test.ts
index 9568155..0050e09 100644
--- a/tests/frontmatter-utils.test.ts
+++ b/tests/frontmatter-utils.test.ts
@@ -629,6 +629,26 @@ No compressed-json, json, or other language specifier
 				expect(result.elementCount).toBe(2);
 			});
 
+			test('parses Excalidraw with code fence lacking language specifier (coverage for lines 253-255)', () => {
+				// Specific test to ensure Pattern 4 code path is exercised
+				// Uses only basic code fence with no language hint after ## Drawing
+				const content = `
+excalidraw-plugin
+
+## Drawing
+\`\`\`
+{"elements": [{"id": "elem1"}, {"id": "elem2"}, {"id": "elem3"}], "appState": {"gridSize": 20}, "version": 2}
+\`\`\``;
+
+				const result = FrontmatterUtils.parseExcalidrawMetadata(content);
+
+				expect(result.isExcalidraw).toBe(true);
+				expect(result.elementCount).toBe(3);
+				expect(result.hasCompressedData).toBe(false);
+				expect(result.metadata?.version).toBe(2);
+				expect(result.metadata?.appState).toEqual({"gridSize": 20});
+			});
+
 			test('tries patterns in entire content if no ## Drawing section', () => {
 				const content = `\`\`\`json
 {"elements": [{"id": "1"}], "appState": {}, "version": 2, "type":"excalidraw"}