fix(ui): make ctrl+c clear input before quitting

Change Ctrl+C behavior to match other terminal AI tools (claude, codex, pi):
- First Ctrl+C clears the current input when text is present
- Second Ctrl+C (within 3 seconds) quits the application
- Ctrl+C on empty input quits immediately
- 3-second auto-reset timer clears the 'pressed once' state
- Flag also resets after message submission

Updates placeholder text and help message to reflect new behavior.

Fixes #13

internal/ui/core/events.go

@@ -25,6 +25,11 @@ type SubmitMsg struct {
 // presses ESC a second time, the canceling state is reset to false.
 type CancelTimerExpiredMsg struct{}
 
+// CtrlCResetMsg is sent after a short delay when the user presses Ctrl+C to
+// clear input. If the user doesn't press Ctrl+C again within the timeout,
+// the ctrlCPressedOnce flag is reset so the next Ctrl+C will clear again.
+type CtrlCResetMsg struct{}
+
 // --- Tree session events ---
 
 // TreeNodeSelectedMsg is sent when the user selects a node in the tree selector.

internal/ui/input.go

@@ -859,6 +859,21 @@ func (s *InputComponent) PendingImageCount() int {
 	return len(s.pendingImages)
 }
 
+// Clear clears the textarea content and resets related state. Returns true if
+// there was content to clear, false if the input was already empty.
+func (s *InputComponent) Clear() bool {
+	hadContent := s.textarea.Value() != ""
+	s.textarea.SetValue("")
+	s.textarea.CursorEnd()
+	s.lastValue = ""
+	s.showPopup = false
+	s.argMode = false
+	s.fileMode = false
+	s.browsingHistory = false
+	s.savedInput = ""
+	return hadContent
+}
+
 // applyFileCompletion replaces the @prefix in the textarea with the selected
 // file or MCP resource suggestion. For directories, it keeps the popup open
 // for further drilling. For files and resources, it closes the popup and adds

internal/ui/model.go

@@ -720,6 +720,10 @@ type AppModel struct {
 	// disables alt screen to restore the terminal properly.
 	quitting bool
 
+	// ctrlCPressedOnce tracks if Ctrl+C was pressed once to clear input.
+	// A second Ctrl+C (or Ctrl+C when input is empty) will quit the app.
+	ctrlCPressedOnce bool
+
 	// streamingBashOutput holds the current streaming bash output lines.
 	// Lines are accumulated as they arrive and displayed in the stream region.
 	streamingBashOutput []string
@@ -869,7 +873,7 @@ func NewAppModel(appCtrl AppController, opts AppModelOptions) *AppModel {
 	m.messages = []MessageItem{}
 
 	// Wire up child components now that we have the concrete implementations.
-	m.input = NewInputComponent(width, "Enter your prompt (Type /help for commands, Ctrl+C to quit)", appCtrl)
+	m.input = NewInputComponent(width, "Enter your prompt (Type /help for commands, Ctrl+C to clear input, Ctrl+C again to quit)", appCtrl)
 
 	// Wire up cwd for @file autocomplete.
 	if ic, ok := m.input.(*InputComponent); ok && opts.Cwd != "" {
@@ -1283,6 +1287,19 @@ func (m *AppModel) Update(msg tea.Msg) (tea.Model, tea.Cmd) {
 				m.overlayResponseCh = nil
 				m.overlay = nil
 			}
+
+			// Check if we should clear input first (on first Ctrl+C when input has content).
+			if m.state == stateInput && !m.ctrlCPressedOnce {
+				if ic, ok := m.input.(*InputComponent); ok {
+					if hadContent := ic.Clear(); hadContent {
+						// Input was cleared. Set flag so next Ctrl+C will quit.
+						m.ctrlCPressedOnce = true
+						// Start reset timer so the flag clears after 3 seconds.
+						return m, ctrlCResetCmd()
+					}
+				}
+			}
+
 			// Set quitting flag so View() disables alt screen for clean exit.
 			m.quitting = true
 			// Graceful quit: app.Close() is deferred in cmd/root.go.
@@ -1564,10 +1581,16 @@ func (m *AppModel) Update(msg tea.Msg) (tea.Model, tea.Cmd) {
 	case uicore.CancelTimerExpiredMsg:
 		m.canceling = false
 
+	// ── Ctrl+C reset timer expired ────────────────────────────────────────────
+	case uicore.CtrlCResetMsg:
+		m.ctrlCPressedOnce = false
+
 	// ── Input submitted ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 	case uicore.SubmitMsg:
 		// Re-enable auto-scroll when user submits a new message.
 		m.scrollList.autoScroll = true
+		// Reset Ctrl+C flag so next Ctrl+C clears input instead of quitting.
+		m.ctrlCPressedOnce = false
 
 		// Handle slash commands locally — they should never reach app.Run().
 		// Parse once: split on the first space so argument-bearing commands
@@ -3422,7 +3445,7 @@ func (m *AppModel) printHelpMessage() {
 		"- `!command`: Run shell command, output included in LLM context\n" +
 		"- `!!command`: Run shell command, output excluded from LLM context\n\n" +
 		"**Keys:**\n" +
-		"- `Ctrl+C`: Exit at any time\n" +
+		"- `Ctrl+C`: Clear input (press again to exit)\n" +
 		"- `ESC` (x2): Cancel ongoing LLM generation\n" +
 		"- `Ctrl+X s`: Steer — redirect the agent mid-turn (injected between tool calls)\n" +
 		"- `Ctrl+X e`: Open `$EDITOR` to compose/edit your prompt\n" +
@@ -4509,6 +4532,14 @@ func cancelTimerCmd() tea.Cmd {
 	})
 }
 
+// ctrlCResetCmd returns a tea.Cmd that fires CtrlCResetMsg after 3s.
+// This resets the ctrlCPressedOnce flag so the next Ctrl+C will clear input again.
+func ctrlCResetCmd() tea.Cmd {
+	return tea.Tick(3*time.Second, func(_ time.Time) tea.Msg {
+		return uicore.CtrlCResetMsg{}
+	})
+}
+
 // --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // Interactive prompt support
 // --------------------------------------------------------------------------

internal/ui/model_test.go

@@ -873,6 +873,123 @@ func TestCtrlC_producesQuit(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// TestCtrlC_clearsInput_firstPress tests that Ctrl+C clears input on first
+// press when there's content, and requires a second press to quit.
+func TestCtrlC_clearsInput_firstPress(t *testing.T) {
+	// Create a real InputComponent to test the clear behavior
+	ctrl := &stubAppController{}
+	m, _, _ := newTestAppModel(ctrl)
+
+	// Replace with real InputComponent that has content
+	input := NewInputComponent(80, "test", ctrl)
+	input.textarea.SetValue("some text content")
+	m.input = input
+
+	// First Ctrl+C should clear input, not quit
+	_, cmd := m.Update(tea.KeyPressMsg{Code: 'c', Mod: tea.ModCtrl})
+
+	// Should have cleared the input
+	if input.textarea.Value() != "" {
+		t.Fatalf("expected input to be cleared, got %q", input.textarea.Value())
+	}
+
+	// Should have set ctrlCPressedOnce flag
+	if !m.ctrlCPressedOnce {
+		t.Fatal("expected ctrlCPressedOnce to be true after first Ctrl+C")
+	}
+
+	// The command should be a ctrlCResetCmd (not tea.Quit)
+	if cmd == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected a command after first Ctrl+C, got nil")
+	}
+	msg := cmd()
+	if _, ok := msg.(core.CtrlCResetMsg); !ok {
+		t.Fatalf("expected CtrlCResetMsg, got %T", msg)
+	}
+
+	// Second Ctrl+C should now quit
+	_, cmd = m.Update(tea.KeyPressMsg{Code: 'c', Mod: tea.ModCtrl})
+	if cmd == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected tea.Quit cmd on second Ctrl+C, got nil")
+	}
+	msg = cmd()
+	if _, ok := msg.(tea.QuitMsg); !ok {
+		t.Fatalf("expected QuitMsg on second Ctrl+C, got %T", msg)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestCtrlC_resetAfterSubmit tests that the Ctrl+C flag is reset after
+// submitting a message, so the next Ctrl+C clears input again.
+func TestCtrlC_resetAfterSubmit(t *testing.T) {
+	// Use newTestAppModel but replace the input with a real InputComponent
+	ctrl := &stubAppController{}
+	m, _, _ := newTestAppModel(ctrl)
+
+	// Replace with real InputComponent
+	input := NewInputComponent(80, "test", ctrl)
+	input.textarea.SetValue("content")
+	m.input = input
+
+	// First Ctrl+C clears input
+	updated, _ := m.Update(tea.KeyPressMsg{Code: 'c', Mod: tea.ModCtrl})
+	m = updated.(*AppModel)
+	if input.textarea.Value() != "" {
+		t.Fatal("expected input to be cleared")
+	}
+
+	// Flag should be set
+	if !m.ctrlCPressedOnce {
+		t.Fatal("expected ctrlCPressedOnce to be true after first Ctrl+C")
+	}
+
+	// Simulate CtrlCResetMsg being processed (timer expired)
+	updated, _ = m.Update(core.CtrlCResetMsg{})
+	m = updated.(*AppModel)
+
+	// Flag should be reset
+	if m.ctrlCPressedOnce {
+		t.Fatal("expected ctrlCPressedOnce to be false after CtrlCResetMsg")
+	}
+
+	// Add new content to input
+	input.textarea.SetValue("new content")
+
+	// Next Ctrl+C should clear again (not quit) because flag was reset
+	_, cmd := m.Update(tea.KeyPressMsg{Code: 'c', Mod: tea.ModCtrl})
+	if input.textarea.Value() != "" {
+		t.Fatalf("expected input to be cleared again, got %q", input.textarea.Value())
+	}
+	if cmd == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected a command after Ctrl+C, got nil")
+	}
+	msg := cmd()
+	if _, ok := msg.(core.CtrlCResetMsg); !ok {
+		t.Fatalf("expected CtrlCResetMsg, got %T", msg)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestCtrlC_emptyInput_quitsImmediately tests that Ctrl+C quits immediately
+// when the input is empty (no content to clear).
+func TestCtrlC_emptyInput_quitsImmediately(t *testing.T) {
+	ctrl := &stubAppController{}
+	m, _, _ := newTestAppModel(ctrl)
+
+	// Replace with real InputComponent (empty by default)
+	input := NewInputComponent(80, "test", ctrl)
+	m.input = input
+
+	// Ctrl+C on empty input should quit immediately
+	_, cmd := m.Update(tea.KeyPressMsg{Code: 'c', Mod: tea.ModCtrl})
+
+	if cmd == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected tea.Quit cmd on empty input, got nil")
+	}
+	msg := cmd()
+	if _, ok := msg.(tea.QuitMsg); !ok {
+		t.Fatalf("expected QuitMsg, got %T", msg)
+	}
+}
+
 // --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // submitMsg during stateWorking (queue path)
 // --------------------------------------------------------------------------