diff --git a/services/clsi/app/js/QuartoRunner.js b/services/clsi/app/js/QuartoRunner.js
index 4ba220594e..de9b74c9c2 100644
--- a/services/clsi/app/js/QuartoRunner.js
+++ b/services/clsi/app/js/QuartoRunner.js
@@ -82,9 +82,18 @@ function _buildQuartoCommand(mainFile, exportMode) {
   //     deck compiles and is fully portable/offline.
   //   - 'pdf-slides': render the deck, then print it to a faithful slide PDF
   //     with decktape (headless Chromium), one slide per page.
+  // NB: Quarto's --metadata/-M flag uses COLON syntax (KEY:VALUE), not "=".
+  // Using "=" makes Quarto register a bogus key literally named
+  // "embed-resources=true" and silently leave the real option unset, so the
+  // deck stays non-self-contained (references a sibling "<base>_files/" dir).
+  //   - embed-resources: inline CSS/JS/images into the single .html
+  //   - self-contained-math: also inline MathJax (not embedded by default),
+  //     so equations render in a fully offline/portable file
+  //   - chalkboard: must be off — it is incompatible with embed-resources and
+  //     errors the render if left enabled
   const renderFlags =
     exportMode === 'html-standalone'
-      ? ' -M embed-resources=true -M chalkboard=false'
+      ? ' -M embed-resources:true -M self-contained-math:true -M chalkboard:false'
       : ''
 
   let tail =
@@ -94,8 +103,11 @@ function _buildQuartoCommand(mainFile, exportMode) {
   if (exportMode === 'pdf-slides') {
     // After producing output.html, print it to output-slides.pdf. --no-sandbox
     // is required for Chromium running as a non-root user inside the container.
+    // --no-sandbox: Chromium can't sandbox as a non-root container user.
+    // --disable-dev-shm-usage: containers usually have a tiny /dev/shm, which
+    // makes Chromium crash mid-render; this routes its shared memory to /tmp.
     tail +=
-      ` && decktape --chrome-arg=--no-sandbox "$(pwd)/output.html" output-slides.pdf 2>&1`
+      ` && decktape --chrome-arg=--no-sandbox --chrome-arg=--disable-dev-shm-usage "$(pwd)/output.html" output-slides.pdf 2>&1`
   }
 
   const cmd =
diff --git a/services/web/app/src/Features/Compile/PresentationExportController.mjs b/services/web/app/src/Features/Compile/PresentationExportController.mjs
index d13aee8b83..312872184f 100644
--- a/services/web/app/src/Features/Compile/PresentationExportController.mjs
+++ b/services/web/app/src/Features/Compile/PresentationExportController.mjs
@@ -27,6 +27,29 @@ const FORMATS = {
   },
 }
 
+// Best-effort fetch of the export compile's output.log so export failures can
+// show the underlying error (e.g. decktape/Chromium output). Never throws.
+async function _fetchLog(projectId, userId, clsiServerId, buildId) {
+  if (!buildId) return ''
+  try {
+    const compileAsUser = Settings.disablePerUserCompiles ? undefined : userId
+    const stream = await ClsiManager.promises.getOutputFileStream(
+      projectId,
+      compileAsUser,
+      clsiServerId,
+      buildId,
+      'output.log'
+    )
+    const chunks = []
+    for await (const chunk of stream) chunks.push(chunk)
+    const text = Buffer.concat(chunks).toString('utf8')
+    // Keep it bounded — the tail holds the relevant error.
+    return text.length > 8000 ? text.slice(-8000) : text
+  } catch {
+    return ''
+  }
+}
+
 async function exportPresentation(req, res) {
   const projectId = req.params.Project_id
   const userId = SessionManager.getLoggedInUserId(req.session)
@@ -41,12 +64,18 @@ async function exportPresentation(req, res) {
       })
 
     if (!buildId || !outputFiles?.some(f => f.path === format.file)) {
-      return res
-        .status(400)
-        .send(
-          `Export failed: the project did not produce ${format.file} (compile status: ${status}). ` +
-            `This export is only available for RevealJS presentations.`
-        )
+      // The expected artefact wasn't produced. Surface the compile log (which
+      // for the PDF path includes decktape/Chromium's own stderr) as plain
+      // text so the failure is diagnosable, instead of returning an HTML page
+      // the browser saves as "pdf.htm".
+      const log = await _fetchLog(projectId, userId, clsiServerId, buildId)
+      res.status(400).type('text/plain')
+      return res.send(
+        `Export failed: the project did not produce ${format.file} ` +
+          `(compile status: ${status}). This export is only available for ` +
+          `RevealJS presentations.\n\n` +
+          (log ? `--- compile log ---\n${log}` : '(no compile log available)')
+      )
     }
 
     const compileAsUser = Settings.disablePerUserCompiles ? undefined : userId