diff --git a/src/coffee/controllers/item_page_controller.coffee b/src/coffee/controllers/item_page_controller.coffee
index 2426c5af8..f161be91d 100644
--- a/src/coffee/controllers/item_page_controller.coffee
+++ b/src/coffee/controllers/item_page_controller.coffee
@@ -145,14 +145,26 @@ module.exports = class ItemPageController extends PageController
         if not @model.item?
             return w.reject new Error 'must have an item'
 
-        @client.fetchFile file:GitHub.file.itemDescription modSlug:@_itemSlug.mod, itemSlug:@_itemSlug.item
-            .then (fileRecord)=>
-                @_editingFile = fileRecord
-                @model.item.parse fileRecord.content
+        @client.fetchFile path:GitHub.file.itemDescription modSlug:@_itemSlug.mod, itemSlug:@_itemSlug.item
+            .then (response)=>
+                @_editingFile = response.json.data
+                @model.item.parse @_editingFile.content
                 @_descriptionController.model = @model.item.description
 
     _endEditingDescription: ->
-        return w(true).delay(1000)
+        oldDescription = @model.item.description
+        @model.item.description = @_descriptionController.model
+
+        args =
+            content: @model.item.unparse()
+            message: "User-submitted text for #{@model.item.name}"
+            path:    GitHub.file.itemDescription modSlug:@_itemSlug.mod, itemSlug:@_itemSlug.item
+            sha:     @_editingFile.sha
+
+        @client.updateFile args
+            .catch (e)=>
+                @model.item.description = oldDescription
+                throw e
 
     _refreshByline: ->
         mod = @model.item?.modVersion?.mod
diff --git a/src/coffee/controllers/markdown_section_controller.coffee b/src/coffee/controllers/markdown_section_controller.coffee
index 7dd2a59d6..570b24959 100644
--- a/src/coffee/controllers/markdown_section_controller.coffee
+++ b/src/coffee/controllers/markdown_section_controller.coffee
@@ -79,7 +79,6 @@ module.exports = class MarkdownSectionController extends BaseController
     onSaveClicked: (event)->
         event.preventDefault()
 
-        nextState = State.viewing
         @state = State.waiting
         @_endEditing()
             .then =>
@@ -87,10 +86,9 @@ module.exports = class MarkdownSectionController extends BaseController
             .catch (e)=>
                 logger.error "failed to end editing: #{e}"
                 @state = State.appologizing
-                nextState = State.editing
             .delay @confirmDuration
             .then =>
-                @state = nextState
+                @state = State.viewing
 
     onTextChanged: (event)->
         event.preventDefault()
diff --git a/src/coffee/models/item.coffee b/src/coffee/models/item.coffee
index 444962f77..590adb456 100644
--- a/src/coffee/models/item.coffee
+++ b/src/coffee/models/item.coffee
@@ -45,6 +45,11 @@ module.exports = class Item extends BaseModel
             return if this.name < that.name then -1 else +1
         return 0
 
+    unparse: ->
+        ItemParser = require './item_parser' # to avoid require cycles
+        @_parser ?= new ItemParser model:this
+        return @_parser.unparse()
+
     # Property Methods #############################################################################
 
     getIsCraftable: ->
diff --git a/src/coffee/models/parser_versions/item_parser_v1.coffee b/src/coffee/models/parser_versions/item_parser_v1.coffee
index 251bce482..6cc05e8c2 100644
--- a/src/coffee/models/parser_versions/item_parser_v1.coffee
+++ b/src/coffee/models/parser_versions/item_parser_v1.coffee
@@ -17,17 +17,23 @@ module.exports = class ItemParserV1 extends CommandParserVersionBase
         @_buildItem rawData, model
 
     _unparseModel: (builder, model)->
+        builder.line 'schema: ', 1
+        builder.line()
+
         @_unparseItem builder, model
 
     # Command Methods ##############################################################################
 
     _command_description: (textParts...)->
-        @_rawData.description ?= ''
+        if not @_rawData.description?
+            @_rawData.description = ''
+        else
+            @_rawData.description += '\n'
         @_rawData.description += textParts.join ', '
 
     _command_officialUrl: (officialUrl)->
         if @_rawData.officialUrl? then throw new Error 'duplicate declaration of "officialUrl"'
-        if officialUrl.length is 0 then throw new Error 'officialUrl cannot be empty'
+        if not officialUrl? or (officialUrl.length is 0) then throw new Error 'officialUrl cannot be empty'
         @_rawData.officialUrl = officialUrl
 
     _command_video: (youTubeId, nameParts...)->
@@ -41,6 +47,26 @@ module.exports = class ItemParserV1 extends CommandParserVersionBase
     # Object Building Methods ######################################################################
 
     _buildItem: (rawData, model)->
-        model.description = rawData.description if rawData.description
-        model.officialUrl = rawData.officialUrl if rawData.officialUrl
-        model.videos      = rawData.videos      if rawData.videos
+        model.description = rawData.description if rawData.description?
+        model.officialUrl = rawData.officialUrl if rawData.officialUrl?
+        model.videos      = rawData.videos      if rawData.videos?
+
+    # Un-parsing Methods ###########################################################################
+
+    _unparseItem: (builder, model)->
+        if model.officialUrl?
+            builder.line 'officialUrl: ', model.officialUrl
+            builder.line()
+
+        if model.description?
+            if model.description.indexOf('\n') isnt -1
+                builder.line 'description: <<-END'
+                builder.line model.description
+                builder.line 'END'
+            else
+                builder.line 'description: ', model.description
+        builder.line()
+
+        for video in model.videos
+            builder.line 'video: ', video.youTubeId, ', ', video.name
+        builder.line()
diff --git a/test/parser_versions/item_version_parser_v1.test.coffee b/test/parser_versions/item_version_parser_v1.test.coffee
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..386aaf272
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/parser_versions/item_version_parser_v1.test.coffee
@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+###
+Crafting Guide - item_parser_v1.test.coffee
+
+Copyright (c) 2015 by Redwood Labs
+All rights reserved.
+###
+
+Item                     = require '../../src/coffee/models/item'
+ItemParserV1             = require '../../src/coffee/models/parser_versions/item_parser_v1'
+_                        = require 'underscore'
+
+########################################################################################################################
+
+baseText = item = parser = null
+
+########################################################################################################################
+
+describe 'item_parser_v1.coffee', ->
+
+    beforeEach ->
+        item   = new Item name:'alpha'
+        parser = new ItemParserV1 model:item
+
+    describe 'officialUrl', ->
+
+        it 'may be omitted', ->
+            parser.parse 'schema: 1\nvideo: youtubeid, Video Alpha\ndescription: Bravo, Charlie'
+            expect(item.officialUrl).to.be.null
+
+        it 'is assigned properly when given', ->
+            parser.parse 'schema: 1\nofficialUrl: http://testurl.com'
+            item.officialUrl.should.equal 'http://testurl.com'
+
+        it 'does not allow duplicate declarations', ->
+            func = -> parser.parse 'schema: 1\nofficialUrl: http://testurl.com\nofficialUrl: http://testurl2.com'
+            expect(func).to.throw Error, 'duplicate'
+
+        it 'does not allow an empty value if given', ->
+            func = -> parser.parse 'schema: 1\nofficialUrl:'
+            expect(func).to.throw Error, 'empty'
+
+    describe 'description', ->
+
+        it 'may be omitted', ->
+            parser.parse 'schema: 1\nvideo: youTubeId, Video Alpha\nofficialUrl: http://testurl.com'
+            expect(item.description).to.be.null
+
+        it 'is assigned properly when given', ->
+            parser.parse 'schema: 1\ndescription: Alpha Bravo Charlie'
+            item.description.should.equal 'Alpha Bravo Charlie'
+
+        it 'can be a heredoc', ->
+            parser.parse 'schema: 1\ndescription: <<-END\nAlpha\nBravo\nCharlie\nEND'
+            item.description.should.equal 'Alpha\nBravo\nCharlie'
+
+        it 'concatenates multiple declarations', ->
+            parser.parse 'schema: 1\ndescription: Alpha\ndescription: Bravo'
+            item.description.should.equal 'Alpha\nBravo'
+
+    describe 'video', ->
+
+        it 'may be omitted', ->
+            parser.parse 'schema: 1\nofficialUrl: http://testurl.com\ndescription: Alpha Bravo Charlie'
+            item.videos.should.eql []
+
+        it 'is assigned properly when given', ->
+            parser.parse 'schema: 1\nvideo: youtubeid, Alpha Bravo'
+            item.videos[0].should.eql youTubeId:'youtubeid', name:'Alpha Bravo'
+            item.videos.length.should.equal 1
+
+        it 'may be included multiple times', ->
+            parser.parse 'schema: 1\nvideo: youtubeid1, Alpha\nvideo: youtubeid2, Bravo'
+            item.videos[0].should.eql youTubeId:'youtubeid1', name:'Alpha'
+            item.videos[1].should.eql youTubeId:'youtubeid2', name:'Bravo'
+            item.videos.length.should.equal 2
+
+        it 'requires a YouTubeId and name', ->
+            func = -> parser.parse 'schema: 1\nvideo: alpha'
+            expect(func).to.throw Error, 'requires a name'
+
+    describe 'unparsing', ->
+
+        it 'can round-trip a fully described item', ->
+            text = """
+                schema: 1
+
+                officialUrl: http://testurl.com
+
+                description: <<-END
+                Alpha
+                Bravo
+                END
+
+                video: youtubeid1, Alpha Bravo
+                video: youtubeid2, Charlie Delta
+
+
+            """
+            parser.parse text
+            parser.unparse().should.equal text