diff --git a/vasl_templates/webapp/static/snippets.js b/vasl_templates/webapp/static/snippets.js
index 2320d24..0516abd 100644
--- a/vasl_templates/webapp/static/snippets.js
+++ b/vasl_templates/webapp/static/snippets.js
@@ -435,6 +435,9 @@ function make_snippet( $btn, params, extra_params, show_date_warnings )
     snippet = strReplaceAll( snippet, "{{USER_FILES}}", APP_URL_BASE+"/user" ) ;
     snippet = strReplaceAll( snippet, "{{CHAPTER_H}}", APP_URL_BASE+"/chapter-h" ) ;
 
+    // tidy up the final snippet
+    snippet = snippet.replace( /[^\S\r\n]+$/gm, "" ) ; // nb: trim trailing whitespace
+
     return {
         content: snippet,
         template_id: template_id,
diff --git a/vasl_templates/webapp/tests/test_extras_templates.py b/vasl_templates/webapp/tests/test_extras_templates.py
index 7706be9..6305ee1 100644
--- a/vasl_templates/webapp/tests/test_extras_templates.py
+++ b/vasl_templates/webapp/tests/test_extras_templates.py
@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@ def test_edit_extras_template( webapp, webdriver ):
     # generate the template (we should still be using the old template)
     snippet_btn = find_child( "button.generate", content )
     snippet_btn.click()
-    wait_for_clipboard( 2, "param = ", contains=True )
+    wait_for_clipboard( 2, "param =", contains=True )
 
     # switch to another template, then back again
     _select_extras_template( webdriver, "extras/full" )
@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ def test_edit_extras_template( webapp, webdriver ):
     # generate the template (we should be using the new template)
     snippet_btn = find_child( "button.generate", content )
     snippet_btn.click()
-    wait_for_clipboard( 2, "added = added-val\nparam = ", contains=True )
+    wait_for_clipboard( 2, "added = added-val\nparam =", contains=True )
 
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------