diff --git a/Parser/XnParser.cs b/Parser/XnParser.cs
index cfb2030..f959107 100644
--- a/Parser/XnParser.cs
+++ b/Parser/XnParser.cs
@@ -6,10 +6,12 @@ using Sprache;
 using System.Globalization;
 using XNeedle.Parser.Elements;
 using Part = XNeedle.Parser.Elements.Part;
+using NullPart = XNeedle.Parser.Elements.NullPart;
 using XNeedle.Transformation;
 using Rule = XNeedle.Transformation.Rule;
 using System.Data;
 using System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations;
+using System.Text;
 
 namespace XNeedle.Parser
 {
@@ -189,16 +191,14 @@ namespace XNeedle.Parser
         public static CommentParser Comment = new CommentParser { Single = "#", NewLine = Environment.NewLine };
 
          public static readonly Parser<Part> BangObject = 
-            from c1 in Comment.SingleLineComment.Optional()
             from bang in Parse.Char('!')
             from name in Parse.AnyChar.Until(Parse.Char('('))
             from arguments in Argument.DelimitedBy(Parse.Char(',').Token())
             from bclose in Parse.Char(')')
-            let ctx = new Context{XPathSelector = "//*."}
+            let ctx = new Context{XPathSelector = "//*."}            
             from ws1 in Parse.WhiteSpace.Many().Optional()
             from open in Parse.Char('{')
             from ws2 in Parse.WhiteSpace.Many().Optional()
-            from c2 in Comment.SingleLineComment.Optional()
             from expressions in Parse.Ref(() => BangObject)
                 .Or(Parse.Ref(() => RuleObject))
                 .Or(ExprPart(ctx).Select(e => (Part)e))
@@ -209,13 +209,11 @@ namespace XNeedle.Parser
             select new Bang{Name = new string([.. name]), Arguments = arguments, Body = expressions};
 
         public static readonly Parser<Part> RuleObject =
-            from c1 in Comment.SingleLineComment.Optional()
             from selector in Selector(XPath).Token()
             let ctx = new Context{XPathSelector = selector}
             from ws1 in Parse.WhiteSpace.Many().Optional()
             from open in Parse.Char('{')
             from ws2 in Parse.WhiteSpace.Many().Optional()
-            from c2 in Comment.SingleLineComment.Optional()
             from expressions in Parse.Ref(() => BangObject)
                 .Or(Parse.Ref(() => RuleObject))
                 .Or(ExprPart(ctx).Select(e => (Part)e))
@@ -224,6 +222,30 @@ namespace XNeedle.Parser
             from ws3 in Parse.WhiteSpace.Many().Optional()
             from close in Parse.Char('}')
             select new Rule{XPathSelector = selector, Body = expressions};
+    
 
+        static public string StripComments(string source)
+        {
+            var result = new StringBuilder();
+            foreach (var line in source.Split('\n'))
+            {
+                bool inSingle = false, inDouble = false;
+                int commentIdx = -1;
+                for (int i = 0; i < line.Length; i++)
+                {
+                    char c = line[i];
+                    if (c == '\'' && !inDouble) inSingle = !inSingle;
+                    else if (c == '"' && !inSingle) inDouble = !inDouble;
+                    else if (c == '#' && !inSingle && !inDouble)
+                    {
+                        commentIdx = i;
+                        break;
+                    }
+                }
+                result.Append(commentIdx >= 0 ? line[..commentIdx] : line);
+                result.Append('\n');
+            }
+            return result.ToString();
+        }
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/Program.cs b/Program.cs
index cd3f6a0..fe57405 100644
--- a/Program.cs
+++ b/Program.cs
@@ -38,7 +38,9 @@ namespace XNeedle
             // Auto-discover operations via reflection
             BangOperation.RegisterAll();
 
-            var masterRule = (Rule)XnParser.RuleObject.Parse(File.ReadAllText(opts.XnDefinition));
+            var xnSource = XnParser.StripComments(File.ReadAllText(opts.XnDefinition));
+            Console.WriteLine(xnSource);
+            var masterRule = (Rule)XnParser.RuleObject.Parse(xnSource);
             var doc = XDocument.Load(opts.Input, LoadOptions.PreserveWhitespace);
             var encoding = XmlRoundtripWriter.DetectEncoding(File.ReadAllBytes(opts.Input));
             var sloc = new SourceLocation(opts.Input, encoding);