diff --git a/package/c/hemar/hemar.c b/package/c/hemar/hemar.c
index 104b8ea..da5b760 100755
--- a/package/c/hemar/hemar.c
+++ b/package/c/hemar/hemar.c
@@ -736,6 +736,203 @@ template_parse_execute(MemoryContext context, const char **s_ptr,
     return node;
 }
 
+/* Helper function to find the end of a tag */
+static const char *
+find_tag_end(const char *tag_start, const TemplateConfig *config)
+{
+    const char *p = tag_start;
+    bool in_quotes = false;
+    char quote_char = 0;
+    
+    /* Skip opening braces */
+    p += strlen(config->Syntax.Braces.open);
+    
+    /* Skip whitespace after opening braces */
+    while (*p && isspace((unsigned char)*p))
+        p++;
+    
+    /* Skip the tag keyword ("for" or "end") */
+    if (strncmp(p, config->Syntax.Section.control, strlen(config->Syntax.Section.control)) == 0)
+    {
+        p += strlen(config->Syntax.Section.control);
+    }
+    else if (strncmp(p, "end", 3) == 0)
+    {
+        p += 3;
+    }
+    else
+    {
+        return NULL;  /* Not a control tag */
+    }
+    
+    /* Skip whitespace after keyword */
+    while (*p && isspace((unsigned char)*p))
+        p++;
+    
+    /* For "for" tags, skip the iterator and "in" parts */
+    if (strncmp(tag_start + strlen(config->Syntax.Braces.open), config->Syntax.Section.control, 
+               strlen(config->Syntax.Section.control)) == 0)
+    {
+        /* Skip iterator name */
+        while (*p && !isspace((unsigned char)*p))
+            p++;
+        
+        /* Skip whitespace */
+        while (*p && isspace((unsigned char)*p))
+            p++;
+        
+        /* Skip "in" keyword */
+        if (strncmp(p, config->Syntax.Section.source, strlen(config->Syntax.Section.source)) == 0)
+        {
+            p += strlen(config->Syntax.Section.source);
+            
+            /* Skip whitespace after "in" */
+            while (*p && isspace((unsigned char)*p))
+                p++;
+            
+            /* Skip collection name */
+            while (*p && !isspace((unsigned char)*p))
+            {
+                if (*p == '"' || *p == '\'')
+                {
+                    if (!in_quotes)
+                    {
+                        in_quotes = true;
+                        quote_char = *p;
+                    }
+                    else if (*p == quote_char)
+                    {
+                        in_quotes = false;
+                    }
+                }
+                p++;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    
+    /* Skip trailing whitespace */
+    while (*p && isspace((unsigned char)*p))
+        p++;
+    
+    /* Find closing braces */
+    if (strncmp(p, config->Syntax.Braces.close, strlen(config->Syntax.Braces.close)) == 0)
+    {
+        return p + strlen(config->Syntax.Braces.close);
+    }
+    
+    return NULL;  /* Invalid tag format */
+}
+
+/* Helper function to check if a line contains only whitespace and a control tag */
+static bool
+is_control_tag_only_line(const char *line_start, const char *line_end, const char *tag_start, const char *tag_end)
+{
+    const char *p;
+    
+    /* Check whitespace before tag */
+    for (p = line_start; p < tag_start; p++)
+    {
+        if (!isspace((unsigned char)*p))
+            return false;
+    }
+    
+    /* Check whitespace after tag */
+    for (p = tag_end; p < line_end; p++)
+    {
+        if (!isspace((unsigned char)*p))
+            return false;
+    }
+    
+    return true;
+}
+
+/* Helper function to find the start of the current line */
+static const char *
+find_line_start(const char *text, const char *current_pos)
+{
+    const char *p = current_pos;
+    
+    /* Move backwards until we find a newline or the start of text */
+    while (p > text && *(p-1) != '\n')
+        p--;
+    
+    return p;
+}
+
+/* Helper function to find the end of the current line */
+static const char *
+find_line_end(const char *text)
+{
+    const char *p = text;
+    
+    /* Move forwards until we find a newline or the end of text */
+    while (*p && *p != '\n')
+        p++;
+    
+    return p;
+}
+
+/* Helper function to check if a tag is a control tag */
+static bool
+is_control_tag(const char *tag_start, const TemplateConfig *config)
+{
+    const char *p = tag_start;
+    
+    /* Skip opening braces and whitespace */
+    p += strlen(config->Syntax.Braces.open);
+    while (*p && isspace((unsigned char)*p))
+        p++;
+    
+    /* Check for "for" or "end" */
+    return (strncmp(p, config->Syntax.Section.control, strlen(config->Syntax.Section.control)) == 0 ||
+            strncmp(p, "end", 3) == 0);
+}
+
+/* Helper function to trim whitespace around control tags */
+static void
+trim_control_tag_whitespace(const char **s_ptr, const TemplateConfig *config)
+{
+    const char **s = s_ptr;
+    const char *line_start, *line_end, *tag_start, *tag_end;
+    
+    /* Find the start of the current line */
+    line_start = find_line_start(*s - 100, *s);  /* Look back up to 100 chars for line start */
+    if (line_start < *s - 100)
+        line_start = *s;  /* If we couldn't find line start, use current position */
+    
+    /* Find the end of the current line */
+    line_end = find_line_end(*s);
+    
+    /* Find the tag boundaries */
+    tag_start = *s;
+    tag_end = find_tag_end(tag_start, config);
+    
+    if (!tag_end)
+        return;  /* Not a valid control tag */
+    
+    /* Check if this is a control tag on its own line */
+    if (is_control_tag_only_line(line_start, line_end, tag_start, tag_end))
+    {
+        /* For opening tags, remove whitespace and newline after the tag */
+        if (strncmp(tag_start + strlen(config->Syntax.Braces.open), config->Syntax.Section.control, 
+                   strlen(config->Syntax.Section.control)) == 0)
+        {
+            /* Skip to the end of the line */
+            while (*tag_end && *tag_end != '\n')
+                tag_end++;
+            if (*tag_end == '\n')
+                tag_end++;  /* Skip the newline */
+            *s = tag_end;
+        }
+        /* For closing tags, remove whitespace and newline before the tag */
+        else if (strncmp(tag_start + strlen(config->Syntax.Braces.open), "end", 3) == 0)
+        {
+            /* Move back to start of line */
+            *s = line_start;
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 /* Main template parser function */
 TemplateNode *
 template_parse(MemoryContext context, const char **s, const TemplateConfig *config, 
@@ -769,7 +966,7 @@ template_parse(MemoryContext context, const char **s, const TemplateConfig *conf
     while (*s && **s != '\0')
     {
         /* Check for closing brace in inner parse */
-        if (inner_parse && strncmp(*s, config->Syntax.Braces.close, strlen(config->Syntax.Braces.close)) == 0)
+        if (inner_parse && strncmp(*s, config->Syntax.Braces.open, strlen(config->Syntax.Braces.open)) == 0)
         {
             break;
         }
@@ -796,6 +993,9 @@ template_parse(MemoryContext context, const char **s, const TemplateConfig *conf
                 current_node_filled = true;
             }
             
+            /* Check for control tag and trim whitespace if needed */
+            trim_control_tag_whitespace(s, config);
+            
             /* Parse the tag */
             tag_node = NULL;
             tag_prefix = *s + strlen(config->Syntax.Braces.open);
diff --git a/package/c/hemar/test/mod.sql b/package/c/hemar/test/mod.sql
index fa4df44..30abac8 100755
--- a/package/c/hemar/test/mod.sql
+++ b/package/c/hemar/test/mod.sql
@@ -1,6 +1,36 @@
 BEGIN;
+  CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION pg_temp.diff(string1 text, string2 text) RETURNS TABLE("index" int, char1 text, char2 text) AS $$
+  BEGIN
+      RETURN QUERY WITH 
+          s1 AS (SELECT string1 AS str),
+          s2 AS (SELECT string2 AS str)
+      SELECT i,
+          substring(s1.str FROM i FOR 1) AS char1,
+          substring(s2.str FROM i FOR 1) AS char2
+      FROM s1, s2,
+          generate_series(1, GREATEST(length(s1.str), length(s2.str))) AS i
+      WHERE substring(s1.str FROM i FOR 1) IS DISTINCT FROM substring(s2.str FROM i FOR 1);
+  
+  END;
+  $$ LANGUAGE plpgsql;
+  
+  CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION pg_temp.test_regexp_replace(string text) RETURNS text AS $$
+  BEGIN
+      RETURN regexp_replace(regexp_replace(
+               regexp_replace(
+                 regexp_replace(
+                   regexp_replace(
+                     regexp_replace(string, E'\t', '\\t', 'g'),
+                   E'\n', '\\n', 'g'),
+                 E'\r', '\\r', 'g'),
+               ' ', '[S]', 'g'),
+             '\s', '\\s', 'g'), '\\n', '\\n
+');
+  END;
+  $$ LANGUAGE plpgsql;
+
   \ir test_jsonb_path.sql
-  \ir test_template_parser.sql
+  -- \ir test_template_parser.sql
   \ir test_render_exec.sql
   \ir test_render_interpolate.sql
   \ir test_render_section.sql
diff --git a/package/c/hemar/test/test_render_all.sql b/package/c/hemar/test/test_render_all.sql
index d590999..ad0f2a7 100755
--- a/package/c/hemar/test/test_render_all.sql
+++ b/package/c/hemar/test/test_render_all.sql
@@ -1,4 +1,33 @@
 -- Test all template tags together
+CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION pg_temp.diff(string1 text, string2 text) RETURNS TABLE("index" int, char1 text, char2 text) AS $$
+BEGIN
+    RETURN QUERY WITH 
+        s1 AS (SELECT string1 AS str),
+        s2 AS (SELECT string2 AS str)
+    SELECT i,
+        substring(s1.str FROM i FOR 1) AS char1,
+        substring(s2.str FROM i FOR 1) AS char2
+    FROM s1, s2,
+        generate_series(1, GREATEST(length(s1.str), length(s2.str))) AS i
+    WHERE substring(s1.str FROM i FOR 1) IS DISTINCT FROM substring(s2.str FROM i FOR 1);
+
+END;
+$$ LANGUAGE plpgsql;
+
+CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION pg_temp.test_regexp_replace(string text) RETURNS text AS $$
+BEGIN
+    RETURN regexp_replace(
+             regexp_replace(
+               regexp_replace(
+                 regexp_replace(
+                   regexp_replace(string, E'\t', '[TAB]', 'g'),
+                 E'\n', '[LF]', 'g'),
+               E'\r', '[CR]', 'g'),
+             ' ', '[SPACE]', 'g'),
+           '\s', '[WHITESPACE]', 'g');
+END;
+$$ LANGUAGE plpgsql;
+
 DO $$
 DECLARE
     total_tests INT := 0;
@@ -6,8 +35,50 @@ DECLARE
     test_result TEXT;
     expected TEXT;
     passed BOOLEAN;
+    item INT;
+    c1 TEXT;
+    c2 TEXT;
 BEGIN
-    -- Test 1: Complex template with all tag types
+    -- Test 1: Template with execute tag using context from section
+    total_tests := total_tests + 1;
+    BEGIN
+        test_result := hemar.render(
+            '{
+                "items": [
+                    {"id": 1, "value": 100},
+                    {"id": 2, "value": 200},
+                    {"id": 3, "value": 300}
+                ]
+            }'::jsonb,
+            $template$Items:{{ for item in items }}
+    Item {{ item.id }}: {{ exec RETURN (context->'item'->>'value')::int * 2; }}
+{{ end }}$template$
+        );
+    
+        expected:='Items:
+    Item 1: 200
+    Item 2: 400
+    Item 3: 600
+';
+    
+        passed := test_result = expected;
+        passed_tests := passed_tests + (CASE WHEN passed THEN 1 ELSE 0 END);
+        IF passed THEN
+            RAISE NOTICE 'Test %: Template with execute tag using context from section: PASSED', total_tests;
+        ELSE
+            RAISE WARNING 'Test %: Template with execute tag using context from section: FAILED. Expected "%", got "%"', 
+                total_tests, pg_temp.test_regexp_replace(expected), pg_temp.test_regexp_replace(test_result);
+            FOR item, c1, c2 IN 
+                SELECT * FROM pg_temp.diff(expected, test_result)
+            LOOP
+                RAISE NOTICE ' % | % | %', item, c1, c2;
+            END LOOP;
+        END IF;
+    EXCEPTION WHEN OTHERS THEN
+        RAISE WARNING 'Test % failed: Error: %', total_tests, SQLERRM;
+    END;
+
+    -- Test 2: Complex template with all tag types
     total_tests := total_tests + 1;
     BEGIN
         test_result := hemar.render(
@@ -126,7 +197,7 @@ BEGIN
         RAISE WARNING 'Test % failed: Error: %', total_tests, SQLERRM;
     END;
         
-        -- Test 2: Template with nested includes and shared context
+    -- Test 3: Template with nested includes and shared context
     total_tests := total_tests + 1;
     BEGIN
         test_result := hemar.render(
@@ -168,7 +239,7 @@ BEGIN
         RAISE WARNING 'Test % failed: Error: %', total_tests, SQLERRM;
     END;
 
-    -- Test 3: Template with execute tag using context from section
+    -- Test 4: Template with execute tag using context from section
     total_tests := total_tests + 1;
     BEGIN
         test_result := hemar.render(
diff --git a/package/c/hemar/test/test_render_section.sql b/package/c/hemar/test/test_render_section.sql
index 49a4dd2..1cecd6a 100755
--- a/package/c/hemar/test/test_render_section.sql
+++ b/package/c/hemar/test/test_render_section.sql
@@ -187,6 +187,114 @@ BEGIN
         RAISE WARNING 'Test %: Invalid collection type: FAILED with error: %', total_tests, SQLERRM;
     END;
 
+    
+    -- Test 11: Section whitespaces
+    total_tests := total_tests + 1;
+    BEGIN
+        test_result := hemar.render(
+            '{"array": [1, 2, 3]}'::jsonb,
+            '{{for item in array}}item{{end}}'
+        );
+        expected := 'itemitemitem';
+        IF test_result = expected THEN
+            RAISE NOTICE 'Test %: Section whitespaces: PASSED', total_tests;
+            passed_tests := passed_tests + 1;
+        ELSE
+            RAISE WARNING 'Test %: Section whitespaces: FAILED. Expected "%", got "%"', total_tests, expected, test_result;
+        END IF;
+    EXCEPTION WHEN OTHERS THEN
+        RAISE WARNING 'Test %: Section whitespaces: FAILED with error: %', total_tests, SQLERRM;
+    END;
+
+    -- Test 12: Section whitespaces 2
+    total_tests := total_tests + 1;
+    BEGIN
+        test_result := hemar.render(
+            '{"array": [1, 2, 3]}'::jsonb,
+            '{{for item in array}}
+    item
+{{end}}'
+        );
+        expected := '    item
+    item
+    item';
+        IF test_result = expected THEN
+            RAISE NOTICE 'Test %: Section whitespaces 2: PASSED', total_tests;
+            passed_tests := passed_tests + 1;
+        ELSE
+            RAISE WARNING 'Test %: Section whitespaces 2: FAILED. Expected "%", got "%"', total_tests, expected, test_result;
+        END IF;
+    EXCEPTION WHEN OTHERS THEN
+        RAISE WARNING 'Test %: Section whitespaces 2: FAILED with error: %', total_tests, SQLERRM;
+    END;
+
+    -- Test 13: Section whitespaces 3
+    total_tests := total_tests + 1;
+    BEGIN
+        test_result := hemar.render(
+            '{"array": [1, 2, 3]}'::jsonb,
+            '{{for item in array}} item
+            {{end}}'
+        );
+        expected := ' item
+ item
+ item';
+        IF test_result = expected THEN
+            RAISE NOTICE 'Test %: Section whitespaces 3: PASSED', total_tests;
+            passed_tests := passed_tests + 1;
+        ELSE
+            RAISE WARNING 'Test %: Section whitespaces 3: FAILED. Expected "%", got "%"', total_tests, expected, test_result;
+        END IF;
+    EXCEPTION WHEN OTHERS THEN
+        RAISE WARNING 'Test %: Section whitespaces 3: FAILED with error: %', total_tests, SQLERRM;
+    END;
+
+    -- Test 14: Section whitespaces 4
+    total_tests := total_tests + 1;
+    BEGIN
+        test_result := hemar.render(
+            '{"array": [1, 2, 3]}'::jsonb,
+            '{{for item in array}}
+ item {{end}}'
+        );
+        expected := ' item
+ item
+ item';
+        IF test_result = expected THEN
+            RAISE NOTICE 'Test %: Section whitespaces 4: PASSED', total_tests;
+            passed_tests := passed_tests + 1;
+        ELSE
+            RAISE WARNING 'Test %: Section whitespaces 4: FAILED. Expected "%", got "%"', total_tests, expected, test_result;
+        END IF;
+    EXCEPTION WHEN OTHERS THEN
+        RAISE WARNING 'Test %: Section whitespaces 4: FAILED with error: %', total_tests, SQLERRM;
+    END;
+
+    -- Test 15: Section whitespaces 5
+    total_tests := total_tests + 1;
+    BEGIN
+        test_result := hemar.render(
+            '{"array": [1, 2, 3]}'::jsonb,
+            '{{for item in array}}
+  item 
+             {{end}}
+            '
+        );
+        expected := '  item
+  item
+  item
+';
+        IF test_result = expected THEN
+            RAISE NOTICE 'Test %: Section whitespaces 5: PASSED', total_tests;
+            passed_tests := passed_tests + 1;
+        ELSE
+            RAISE WARNING 'Test %: Section whitespaces 5: FAILED. Expected "%", got "%"', total_tests, expected, test_result;
+        END IF;
+    EXCEPTION WHEN OTHERS THEN
+        RAISE WARNING 'Test %: Section whitespaces 5: FAILED with error: %', total_tests, SQLERRM;
+    END;
+
+
 
     -- Print summary
     IF passed_tests = total_tests THEN