diff --git a/internal/snippetmetadata/snippetmetadata.go b/internal/snippetmetadata/snippetmetadata.go
index 5b4a7c9bf52..69852c7d8e3 100644
--- a/internal/snippetmetadata/snippetmetadata.go
+++ b/internal/snippetmetadata/snippetmetadata.go
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 package snippetmetadata
 
 import (
+	"bytes"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
@@ -49,10 +50,18 @@ func readMetadata(path string) (map[string]any, error) {
 // writeMetadata formats and writes the given metadata as a JSON file at the
 // given path.
 func writeMetadata(path string, metadata map[string]any) error {
-	content, err := json.MarshalIndent(metadata, "", "  ")
-	if err != nil {
+	var buf bytes.Buffer
+	enc := json.NewEncoder(&buf)
+	enc.SetEscapeHTML(false)
+	enc.SetIndent("", "  ")
+	if err := enc.Encode(metadata); err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("error encoding snippet metadata file %s: %w", path, err)
 	}
+	content := buf.Bytes()
+	// Trim the trailing newline added by Encode to match the generator's format.
+	if len(content) > 0 && content[len(content)-1] == '\n' {
+		content = content[:len(content)-1]
+	}
 	if err := os.WriteFile(path, content, 0644); err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("error writing snippet metadata file %s: %w", path, err)
 	}
diff --git a/internal/snippetmetadata/snippetmetadata_test.go b/internal/snippetmetadata/snippetmetadata_test.go
index 936b0b7ab96..c31b9cc279c 100644
--- a/internal/snippetmetadata/snippetmetadata_test.go
+++ b/internal/snippetmetadata/snippetmetadata_test.go
@@ -410,3 +410,62 @@ func copyInputFileToTemp(t *testing.T, inputFile string) string {
 	}
 	return path
 }
+
+func TestHTMLCharsNoEscape(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, test := range []struct {
+		name  string
+		input string
+		run   func(string) error
+		want  string
+	}{
+		{
+			name: "updateLibraryVersion",
+			input: `{
+  "clientLibrary": {
+    "someFieldWithHTML": "a > b & c < d",
+    "version": "1.0.0"
+  }
+}`,
+			run: func(path string) error {
+				return updateLibraryVersion(path, "1.2.0")
+			},
+			want: `{
+  "clientLibrary": {
+    "someFieldWithHTML": "a > b & c < d",
+    "version": "1.2.0"
+  }
+}`,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "reformat",
+			input: `{
+  "someFieldWithHTML": "a > b & c < d"
+}`,
+			run: func(path string) error {
+				return reformat(path)
+			},
+			want: `{
+  "someFieldWithHTML": "a > b & c < d"
+}`,
+		},
+	} {
+		t.Run(test.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Parallel()
+			dir := t.TempDir()
+			path := filepath.Join(dir, "snippet_metadata.json")
+			if err := os.WriteFile(path, []byte(test.input), 0644); err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			if err := test.run(path); err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			got, err := os.ReadFile(path)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			if diff := cmp.Diff(test.want, string(got)); diff != "" {
+				t.Errorf("mismatch (-want +got):\n%s", diff)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}