diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 69cac156521..a723a5be882 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 - TUI/Input: enable multiline-paste burst coalescing on macOS Terminal.app and iTerm so pasted blocks no longer submit line-by-line as separate messages. (#18809) Thanks @fwends.
 - TUI/RTL: isolate right-to-left script lines (Arabic/Hebrew ranges) with Unicode bidi isolation marks in TUI text sanitization so RTL assistant output no longer renders in reversed visual order in terminal chat panes. (#21936) Thanks @Asm3r96.
 - TUI/Status: request immediate renders after setting `sending`/`waiting` activity states so in-flight runs always show visible progress indicators instead of appearing idle until completion. (#21549) Thanks @13Guinness.
+- TUI/Input: arm Ctrl+C exit timing when clearing non-empty composer text and add a SIGINT fallback path so double Ctrl+C exits remain responsive during active runs instead of requiring an extra press or appearing stuck. (#23407) Thanks @tinybluedev.
 - Agents/Fallbacks: treat JSON payloads with `type: "api_error"` + `"Internal server error"` as transient failover errors so Anthropic 500-style failures trigger model fallback. (#23193) Thanks @jarvis-lane.
 - Agents/Transcripts: validate assistant tool-call names (syntax/length + registered tool allowlist) before transcript persistence and during replay sanitization so malformed failover tool names no longer poison sessions with repeated provider HTTP 400 errors. (#23324) Thanks @johnsantry.
 - Agents/Compaction: strip stale assistant usage snapshots from pre-compaction turns when replaying history after a compaction summary so context-token estimation no longer reuses pre-compaction totals and immediately re-triggers destructive follow-up compactions. (#19127) Thanks @tedwatson.
diff --git a/src/tui/tui-command-handlers.test.ts b/src/tui/tui-command-handlers.test.ts
index c71ae8907d8..bb73f295344 100644
--- a/src/tui/tui-command-handlers.test.ts
+++ b/src/tui/tui-command-handlers.test.ts
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ function createHarness(params?: {
     applySessionInfoFromPatch: vi.fn(),
     noteLocalRunId: vi.fn(),
     forgetLocalRunId: vi.fn(),
+    requestExit: vi.fn(),
   });
 
   return {
@@ -91,6 +92,7 @@ describe("tui command handlers", () => {
       formatSessionKey: vi.fn(),
       applySessionInfoFromPatch: vi.fn(),
       noteLocalRunId: vi.fn(),
+      requestExit: vi.fn(),
     });
 
     const pending = handleCommand("/context");
diff --git a/src/tui/tui-command-handlers.ts b/src/tui/tui-command-handlers.ts
index 1695169bcdd..f259b71a9ea 100644
--- a/src/tui/tui-command-handlers.ts
+++ b/src/tui/tui-command-handlers.ts
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ type CommandHandlerContext = {
   applySessionInfoFromPatch: (result: SessionsPatchResult) => void;
   noteLocalRunId: (runId: string) => void;
   forgetLocalRunId?: (runId: string) => void;
+  requestExit: () => void;
 };
 
 export function createCommandHandlers(context: CommandHandlerContext) {
@@ -65,6 +66,7 @@ export function createCommandHandlers(context: CommandHandlerContext) {
     applySessionInfoFromPatch,
     noteLocalRunId,
     forgetLocalRunId,
+    requestExit,
   } = context;
 
   const setAgent = async (id: string) => {
@@ -451,9 +453,7 @@ export function createCommandHandlers(context: CommandHandlerContext) {
         break;
       case "exit":
       case "quit":
-        client.stop();
-        tui.stop();
-        process.exit(0);
+        requestExit();
         break;
       default:
         await sendMessage(raw);
diff --git a/src/tui/tui.test.ts b/src/tui/tui.test.ts
index 2ba2ba6ef0c..61b367b08d3 100644
--- a/src/tui/tui.test.ts
+++ b/src/tui/tui.test.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
 import { getSlashCommands, parseCommand } from "./commands.js";
 import {
   createBackspaceDeduper,
+  resolveCtrlCAction,
   resolveFinalAssistantText,
   resolveGatewayDisconnectState,
   resolveTuiSessionKey,
@@ -120,3 +121,26 @@ describe("createBackspaceDeduper", () => {
     expect(dedupe("\x1b[A")).toBe("\x1b[A");
   });
 });
+
+describe("resolveCtrlCAction", () => {
+  it("clears input and arms exit on first ctrl+c when editor has text", () => {
+    expect(resolveCtrlCAction({ hasInput: true, now: 2000, lastCtrlCAt: 0 })).toEqual({
+      action: "clear",
+      nextLastCtrlCAt: 2000,
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("exits on second ctrl+c within the exit window", () => {
+    expect(resolveCtrlCAction({ hasInput: false, now: 2800, lastCtrlCAt: 2000 })).toEqual({
+      action: "exit",
+      nextLastCtrlCAt: 2000,
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("shows warning when exit window has elapsed", () => {
+    expect(resolveCtrlCAction({ hasInput: false, now: 3501, lastCtrlCAt: 2000 })).toEqual({
+      action: "warn",
+      nextLastCtrlCAt: 3501,
+    });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/tui/tui.ts b/src/tui/tui.ts
index 33c3287ccf4..4474267af5b 100644
--- a/src/tui/tui.ts
+++ b/src/tui/tui.ts
@@ -246,6 +246,33 @@ export function createBackspaceDeduper(params?: { dedupeWindowMs?: number; now?:
   };
 }
 
+type CtrlCAction = "clear" | "warn" | "exit";
+
+export function resolveCtrlCAction(params: {
+  hasInput: boolean;
+  now: number;
+  lastCtrlCAt: number;
+  exitWindowMs?: number;
+}): { action: CtrlCAction; nextLastCtrlCAt: number } {
+  const exitWindowMs = Math.max(1, Math.floor(params.exitWindowMs ?? 1000));
+  if (params.hasInput) {
+    return {
+      action: "clear",
+      nextLastCtrlCAt: params.now,
+    };
+  }
+  if (params.now - params.lastCtrlCAt <= exitWindowMs) {
+    return {
+      action: "exit",
+      nextLastCtrlCAt: params.lastCtrlCAt,
+    };
+  }
+  return {
+    action: "warn",
+    nextLastCtrlCAt: params.now,
+  };
+}
+
 export async function runTui(opts: TuiOptions) {
   const config = loadConfig();
   const initialSessionInput = (opts.session ?? "").trim();
@@ -272,6 +299,7 @@ export async function runTui(opts: TuiOptions) {
   let autoMessageSent = false;
   let sessionInfo: SessionInfo = {};
   let lastCtrlCAt = 0;
+  let exitRequested = false;
   let activityStatus = "idle";
   let connectionStatus = "connecting";
   let statusTimeout: NodeJS.Timeout | null = null;
@@ -736,6 +764,16 @@ export async function runTui(opts: TuiOptions) {
     clearLocalRunIds,
   });
 
+  const requestExit = () => {
+    if (exitRequested) {
+      return;
+    }
+    exitRequested = true;
+    client.stop();
+    tui.stop();
+    process.exit(0);
+  };
+
   const { handleCommand, sendMessage, openModelSelector, openAgentSelector, openSessionSelector } =
     createCommandHandlers({
       client,
@@ -756,6 +794,7 @@ export async function runTui(opts: TuiOptions) {
       formatSessionKey,
       noteLocalRunId,
       forgetLocalRunId,
+      requestExit,
     });
 
   const { runLocalShellLine } = createLocalShellRunner({
@@ -779,27 +818,32 @@ export async function runTui(opts: TuiOptions) {
   editor.onEscape = () => {
     void abortActive();
   };
-  editor.onCtrlC = () => {
+  const handleCtrlC = () => {
     const now = Date.now();
-    if (editor.getText().trim().length > 0) {
+    const decision = resolveCtrlCAction({
+      hasInput: editor.getText().trim().length > 0,
+      now,
+      lastCtrlCAt,
+    });
+    lastCtrlCAt = decision.nextLastCtrlCAt;
+    if (decision.action === "clear") {
       editor.setText("");
-      setActivityStatus("cleared input");
+      setActivityStatus("cleared input; press ctrl+c again to exit");
       tui.requestRender();
       return;
     }
-    if (now - lastCtrlCAt < 1000) {
-      client.stop();
-      tui.stop();
-      process.exit(0);
+    if (decision.action === "exit") {
+      requestExit();
+      return;
     }
-    lastCtrlCAt = now;
     setActivityStatus("press ctrl+c again to exit");
     tui.requestRender();
   };
+  editor.onCtrlC = () => {
+    handleCtrlC();
+  };
   editor.onCtrlD = () => {
-    client.stop();
-    tui.stop();
-    process.exit(0);
+    requestExit();
   };
   editor.onCtrlO = () => {
     toolsExpanded = !toolsExpanded;
@@ -874,12 +918,22 @@ export async function runTui(opts: TuiOptions) {
   updateHeader();
   setConnectionStatus("connecting");
   updateFooter();
+  const sigintHandler = () => {
+    handleCtrlC();
+  };
+  const sigtermHandler = () => {
+    requestExit();
+  };
+  process.on("SIGINT", sigintHandler);
+  process.on("SIGTERM", sigtermHandler);
   tui.start();
   client.start();
   await new Promise<void>((resolve) => {
-    const finish = () => resolve();
+    const finish = () => {
+      process.removeListener("SIGINT", sigintHandler);
+      process.removeListener("SIGTERM", sigtermHandler);
+      resolve();
+    };
     process.once("exit", finish);
-    process.once("SIGINT", finish);
-    process.once("SIGTERM", finish);
   });
 }