diff --git a/tui/src/app.test.ts b/tui/src/app.test.ts
index fa6f52834..8f055ca23 100644
--- a/tui/src/app.test.ts
+++ b/tui/src/app.test.ts
@@ -2379,7 +2379,7 @@ describe("NanobotTui layout", () => {
     expect(exited).toEqual(["chat"])
   })
 
-  test("exits immediately when Ctrl+C is pressed on an idle empty composer", async () => {
+  test("exits after Ctrl+C input dispatch completes on an idle empty composer", async () => {
     setup = await createRenderer({ width: 72, height: 20, screenMode: "alternate-screen" })
     let closed = false
     const transport = client()
@@ -2393,7 +2393,9 @@ describe("NanobotTui layout", () => {
 
     setup.mockInput.pressCtrlC()
 
-    expect(closed).toBe(true)
+    expect(closed).toBe(false)
+    expect(setup.renderer.isDestroyed).toBe(false)
+    await waitUntil(() => closed)
     expect(setup.renderer.isDestroyed).toBe(true)
   })
 
diff --git a/tui/src/app.ts b/tui/src/app.ts
index a2a1d32e3..dcb530a69 100644
--- a/tui/src/app.ts
+++ b/tui/src/app.ts
@@ -1653,7 +1653,10 @@ export class NanobotTui {
         this.clearComposer()
         this.status.content = this.readyStatus()
       } else {
-        this.quit()
+        // Finish dispatching the raw ETX before destroy() restores terminal input.
+        // Releasing the terminal from inside this callback can leak the same Ctrl+C
+        // to the parent shell on Windows terminals.
+        setTimeout(() => this.quit(), 0)
       }
       return
     }