+quit while preserving the input

source/main.c

@@ -7,8 +7,9 @@
 #include "storage.h"
 #include "tui.h"
 
-bool do_run = true;
-bool do_execute = false;
+bool do_run     = true;     // do run program
+bool do_execute = false;    // do execute resulting command
+bool do_select  = true;     // do overwrite input with selection
 
 void init(void);
 void deinit(void);
@@ -106,8 +107,14 @@ signed main(const int argc, const char * const * const argv) {
     }
     pthread_join(query_thread, NULL);
 
-    query(get_input_line(), 1, selection_offset + selection_relative);
-    export_result(get_entry().command);
+    const char * command;
+    if (do_select) {
+      query(get_input_line(), 1, selection_offset + selection_relative);
+      command = get_entry().command;
+    } else {
+      command = get_input_line();
+    }
+    export_result(command);
 
     deinit();
 

source/tui.c

@@ -6,8 +6,6 @@
 
 #include "caret_notater.h"
 
-extern bool do_execute;
-
 /* I fucking hate readline.
  * Apparently the only way to set an initial value is using a hook.
  * What makes this extra painful is that readline cannot be explicitly
@@ -240,6 +238,8 @@ void tui_refresh(void) {
 
 void tui_take_input(void) {
     extern bool do_run;
+    extern bool do_execute;
+    extern bool do_select;
     const size_t paging_size = entry_lines / 2;
 
 	input = wgetch(stdscr);
@@ -302,7 +302,13 @@ void tui_take_input(void) {
         // quit and insert current selection
         case '\t': {
             do_execute = false;
-            do_run = false;
+            do_run     = false;
+        } break;
+        // quit and preserve input
+        case ESC: {
+            do_select  = false;
+            do_execute = false;
+            do_run     = false;
         } break;
         // edit cursor left
         case KEY_LEFT: {