diff --git a/src/template/text.go b/src/template/text.go
index 65e09a85..a4d5399d 100644
--- a/src/template/text.go
+++ b/src/template/text.go
@@ -77,13 +77,16 @@ func (t *Text) cleanTemplate() {
 		*knownVariables = append(*knownVariables, splitted[0])
 		return splitted[0], true
 	}
+
 	knownVariables := []string{"Root", "PWD", "Folder", "Shell", "ShellVersion", "UserName", "HostName", "Env", "Data", "Code", "OS", "WSL", "Segments"}
-	matches := regex.FindAllNamedRegexMatch(`(?: |{|\()(?P<var>(\.[a-zA-Z_][a-zA-Z0-9]*)+)`, t.Template)
+	matches := regex.FindAllNamedRegexMatch(`(?: |{|\()(?P<VAR>(\.[a-zA-Z_][a-zA-Z0-9]*)+)`, t.Template)
 	for _, match := range matches {
-		if variable, OK := unknownVariable(match["var"], &knownVariables); OK {
+		if variable, OK := unknownVariable(match["VAR"], &knownVariables); OK {
 			pattern := fmt.Sprintf(`\.%s\b`, variable)
 			dataVar := fmt.Sprintf(".Data.%s", variable)
 			t.Template = regex.ReplaceAllString(pattern, t.Template, dataVar)
 		}
 	}
+	// allow literal dots in template
+	t.Template = strings.ReplaceAll(t.Template, `\.`, ".")
 }
diff --git a/website/docs/configuration/templates.mdx b/website/docs/configuration/templates.mdx
index a5f0d96d..dacaae4c 100644
--- a/website/docs/configuration/templates.mdx
+++ b/website/docs/configuration/templates.mdx
@@ -40,6 +40,15 @@ New-Alias -Name 'Set-PoshContext' -Value 'Set-EnvVar' -Scope Global -Force
 
 ## Template logic
 
+:::tip
+Oh My Posh replaces all unknown `.Var` variables in the template with the right references. If you need a literal `.Var`, use `\.Var`
+in the template.
+
+```json
+"template": " \\.NET \uE77F "
+```
+:::
+
 <!-- markdownlint-disable MD013 -->
 | Template                                                             | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
 | -------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |