diff --git a/packages/parsers/src/rag_parsers/markdown.py b/packages/parsers/src/rag_parsers/markdown.py
index ab66e72..c3fbfab 100644
--- a/packages/parsers/src/rag_parsers/markdown.py
+++ b/packages/parsers/src/rag_parsers/markdown.py
@@ -51,6 +51,8 @@ async def parse(
         except UnicodeDecodeError as exc:
             raise ParseError(f"Markdown bytes are not valid UTF-8: {exc}") from exc
 
+        text = text.replace("\r\n", "\n").replace("\r", "\n")
+
         if not text.strip():
             return empty_parsed(ctx, data, mime_type, document_id, corpus_id, source_uri)
 
diff --git a/packages/parsers/src/rag_parsers/text.py b/packages/parsers/src/rag_parsers/text.py
index dfa0e0d..9dfc3b5 100644
--- a/packages/parsers/src/rag_parsers/text.py
+++ b/packages/parsers/src/rag_parsers/text.py
@@ -65,12 +65,18 @@ def _decode(data: bytes) -> str:
     if data.startswith(b"\xef\xbb\xbf"):
         data = data[3:]
     try:
-        return data.decode("utf-8")
+        text = data.decode("utf-8")
     except UnicodeDecodeError as exc:
         try:
-            return data.decode("latin-1")
+            text = data.decode("latin-1")
         except UnicodeDecodeError:
             raise ParseError(f"Unable to decode text bytes: {exc}") from exc
+    return _normalize_newlines(text)
+
+
+def _normalize_newlines(text: str) -> str:
+    """Collapse CRLF and bare CR to LF so paragraph splitters are platform-stable."""
+    return text.replace("\r\n", "\n").replace("\r", "\n")
 
 
 def _split_paragraphs(text: str) -> list[Block]:
diff --git a/packages/ragctl/tests/test_parse.py b/packages/ragctl/tests/test_parse.py
index be2ac35..77d18e0 100644
--- a/packages/ragctl/tests/test_parse.py
+++ b/packages/ragctl/tests/test_parse.py
@@ -12,7 +12,8 @@
 
 def test_parse_plain_text(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
     sample = tmp_path / "hello.txt"
-    sample.write_text("first paragraph.\n\nsecond paragraph.\n")
+    # write_bytes (not write_text) so line endings stay LF on every platform.
+    sample.write_bytes(b"first paragraph.\n\nsecond paragraph.\n")
     result = runner.invoke(app, ["parse", str(sample)])
     assert result.exit_code == 0, result.output
     assert "PlainTextParser" in result.output
@@ -22,7 +23,7 @@ def test_parse_plain_text(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
 
 def test_parse_markdown_blocks_preview(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
     sample = tmp_path / "doc.md"
-    sample.write_text("# Heading\n\nA paragraph.\n\n- item\n")
+    sample.write_bytes(b"# Heading\n\nA paragraph.\n\n- item\n")
     result = runner.invoke(app, ["parse", str(sample), "-n", "3"])
     assert result.exit_code == 0, result.output
     assert "MarkdownParser" in result.output
@@ -33,7 +34,7 @@ def test_parse_markdown_blocks_preview(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
 def test_parse_mime_override(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
     # File extension says .txt; --mime forces JSON parsing of a JSON body.
     sample = tmp_path / "data.txt"
-    sample.write_text('{"a": 1}')
+    sample.write_bytes(b'{"a": 1}')
     result = runner.invoke(app, ["parse", str(sample), "--mime", "application/json"])
     assert result.exit_code == 0, result.output
     assert "JsonParser" in result.output
diff --git a/tests/parsers/test_text_family.py b/tests/parsers/test_text_family.py
index da7a2cd..9341b06 100644
--- a/tests/parsers/test_text_family.py
+++ b/tests/parsers/test_text_family.py
@@ -67,6 +67,36 @@ async def test_plain_text_empty(
     assert parsed.blocks == []
 
 
+async def test_plain_text_crlf_paragraph_split(
+    ctx: RequestContext, corpus_id: CorpusId, document_id: DocumentId
+) -> None:
+    # CRLF-encoded input (as produced by Windows text-mode writes) must split on
+    # blank lines the same way LF input does — otherwise paragraph detection is
+    # platform-dependent.
+    body = b"first paragraph.\r\n\r\nsecond paragraph.\r\n"
+    parsed = await _parse(PlainTextParser(), ctx, "text/plain", body, document_id, corpus_id)
+    assert "\r" not in parsed.text
+    assert len(parsed.blocks) == 2
+    assert parsed.blocks[0].text.startswith("first paragraph")
+    assert parsed.blocks[1].text.startswith("second paragraph")
+
+
+async def test_plain_text_bare_cr_normalized(
+    ctx: RequestContext, corpus_id: CorpusId, document_id: DocumentId
+) -> None:
+    # Legacy classic-Mac files use bare CR. Treat them as line separators too.
+    parsed = await _parse(
+        PlainTextParser(),
+        ctx,
+        "text/plain",
+        b"a\r\rb",
+        document_id,
+        corpus_id,
+    )
+    assert "\r" not in parsed.text
+    assert len(parsed.blocks) == 2
+
+
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Markdown
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -104,6 +134,22 @@ async def test_markdown_invalid_utf8(
         await _parse(MarkdownParser(), ctx, "text/markdown", b"\xff\xfe", document_id, corpus_id)
 
 
+async def test_markdown_crlf_input(
+    ctx: RequestContext, corpus_id: CorpusId, document_id: DocumentId
+) -> None:
+    # Markdown sources saved on Windows arrive with CRLF; ensure heading/paragraph
+    # detection still works after normalization.
+    src = b"# Heading\r\n\r\nA paragraph.\r\n\r\n- item\r\n"
+    parsed = await _parse(MarkdownParser(), ctx, "text/markdown", src, document_id, corpus_id)
+    assert "\r" not in parsed.text
+    by_type: dict[BlockType, list] = {}
+    for block in parsed.blocks:
+        by_type.setdefault(block.type, []).append(block)
+    assert by_type[BlockType.heading][0].text == "Heading"
+    assert any(b.type == BlockType.paragraph for b in parsed.blocks)
+    assert any(b.type == BlockType.list_item for b in parsed.blocks)
+
+
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # JSON
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------