diff --git a/packages/coding-agent/CHANGELOG.md b/packages/coding-agent/CHANGELOG.md
index 4a790ddfa..55a5a62fb 100644
--- a/packages/coding-agent/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/packages/coding-agent/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,10 @@
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Added
+
+- Added Ctrl+D draft persistence: pressing Ctrl+D with text in the editor now exits the app and saves the unsent text as a per-session draft. Resuming the same session (e.g. via `--resume`) restores the draft into the editor (one-shot, removed after restore).
+
 ## [14.6.4] - 2026-05-03
 ### Added
 
diff --git a/packages/coding-agent/src/modes/components/custom-editor.ts b/packages/coding-agent/src/modes/components/custom-editor.ts
index 2d424c971..5bb32b601 100644
--- a/packages/coding-agent/src/modes/components/custom-editor.ts
+++ b/packages/coding-agent/src/modes/components/custom-editor.ts
@@ -197,12 +197,11 @@ export class CustomEditor extends Editor {
 			return;
 		}
 
-		// Intercept configured exit shortcut (only when editor is empty)
+		// Intercept configured exit shortcut. Always consume the shortcut so it
+		// never reaches the parent handler; firing onExit is the controller's
+		// chance to snapshot the current text as a draft before shutting down.
 		if (this.#matchesAction(data, "app.exit")) {
-			if (this.getText().length === 0 && this.onExit) {
-				this.onExit();
-			}
-			// Always consume exit shortcut (don't pass to parent)
+			this.onExit?.();
 			return;
 		}
 
diff --git a/packages/coding-agent/src/modes/controllers/input-controller.ts b/packages/coding-agent/src/modes/controllers/input-controller.ts
index dfcbbf934..6313c1a69 100644
--- a/packages/coding-agent/src/modes/controllers/input-controller.ts
+++ b/packages/coding-agent/src/modes/controllers/input-controller.ts
@@ -403,7 +403,9 @@ export class InputController {
 	}
 
 	handleCtrlD(): void {
-		// Only called when editor is empty (enforced by CustomEditor)
+		// Editor text (if any) is snapshotted at the start of shutdown() and
+		// persisted as a draft for the next resume. Empty text is also fine —
+		// shutdown clears any stale sidecar in that case.
 		void this.ctx.shutdown();
 	}
 
diff --git a/packages/coding-agent/src/modes/interactive-mode.ts b/packages/coding-agent/src/modes/interactive-mode.ts
index 9701ddb11..aaaa67974 100644
--- a/packages/coding-agent/src/modes/interactive-mode.ts
+++ b/packages/coding-agent/src/modes/interactive-mode.ts
@@ -445,6 +445,20 @@ export class InteractiveMode implements InteractiveModeContext {
 		// Restore mode from session (e.g. plan mode on resume)
 		await this.#restoreModeFromSession();
 
+		// Restore unsent editor draft from previous session shutdown (Ctrl+D).
+		// One-shot: consumeDraft removes the sidecar after read so the next
+		// resume does not re-restore the same text.
+		try {
+			const draft = await this.sessionManager.consumeDraft();
+			if (draft && !this.editor.getText()) {
+				this.editor.setText(draft);
+				this.updateEditorBorderColor();
+				this.ui.requestRender();
+			}
+		} catch (err) {
+			logger.warn("Failed to restore session draft", { error: String(err) });
+		}
+
 		// Subscribe to agent events
 		this.#subscribeToAgent();
 
@@ -1189,8 +1203,18 @@ export class InteractiveMode implements InteractiveModeContext {
 		if (this.#isShuttingDown) return;
 		this.#isShuttingDown = true;
 
+		// Snapshot the editor before any teardown empties it. Persisting the draft
+		// here covers Ctrl+D shutdown with non-empty text; for /exit the editor is
+		// already cleared so saveDraft("") just removes any stale sidecar.
+		const draftText = this.editor.getText();
+
 		// Flush pending session writes before shutdown
 		await this.sessionManager.flush();
+		try {
+			await this.sessionManager.saveDraft(draftText);
+		} catch (err) {
+			logger.warn("Failed to save session draft", { error: String(err) });
+		}
 		this.#btwController.dispose();
 
 		// Emit shutdown event to hooks
diff --git a/packages/coding-agent/src/session/session-manager.ts b/packages/coding-agent/src/session/session-manager.ts
index 63363d413..b08d539ac 100644
--- a/packages/coding-agent/src/session/session-manager.ts
+++ b/packages/coding-agent/src/session/session-manager.ts
@@ -2182,6 +2182,63 @@ export class SessionManager {
 		return manager.getPath(id);
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * Path to the unsent-input draft sidecar for the current session. Lives inside
+	 * the artifacts directory so it is removed together with the session on
+	 * `dropSession`. Returns null when the session has no on-disk identity.
+	 */
+	#getDraftPath(): string | null {
+		const dir = this.getArtifactsDir();
+		return dir ? path.join(dir, "draft.txt") : null;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Persist (or clear) the current editor draft so the next resume of this
+	 * session can restore it. Empty text deletes any stale draft. No-op when the
+	 * session is not persisted.
+	 */
+	async saveDraft(text: string): Promise<void> {
+		const draftPath = this.#getDraftPath();
+		if (!draftPath || !this.persist) return;
+		if (text.length === 0) {
+			try {
+				await this.storage.unlink(draftPath);
+			} catch (err) {
+				if (!isEnoent(err)) throw err;
+			}
+			return;
+		}
+		// Force the session header onto disk so resume can find the file we are
+		// attaching this draft to. Without this, a session whose first message
+		// never produced an assistant reply would persist a draft next to a
+		// session file that does not exist on disk.
+		await this.ensureOnDisk();
+		await this.storage.writeText(draftPath, text);
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Read and remove the saved draft. Returns the previously-saved text, or
+	 * null when no draft is pending. Single-shot: a successful read removes the
+	 * sidecar so a subsequent resume does not re-restore the same text.
+	 */
+	async consumeDraft(): Promise<string | null> {
+		const draftPath = this.#getDraftPath();
+		if (!draftPath) return null;
+		let text: string;
+		try {
+			text = await this.storage.readText(draftPath);
+		} catch (err) {
+			if (isEnoent(err)) return null;
+			throw err;
+		}
+		try {
+			await this.storage.unlink(draftPath);
+		} catch (err) {
+			if (!isEnoent(err)) throw err;
+		}
+		return text;
+	}
+
 	/** The source that set the session name: "user" (manual /rename or RPC) or "auto" (generated title). */
 	get titleSource(): "auto" | "user" | undefined {
 		return this.#titleSource;
diff --git a/packages/coding-agent/test/session-manager/draft.test.ts b/packages/coding-agent/test/session-manager/draft.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a3aab3f4f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/coding-agent/test/session-manager/draft.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from "bun:test";
+import * as path from "node:path";
+import { SessionManager } from "@oh-my-pi/pi-coding-agent/session/session-manager";
+import { isEnoent, TempDir } from "@oh-my-pi/pi-utils";
+
+async function fileExists(p: string): Promise<boolean> {
+	try {
+		await Bun.file(p).stat();
+		return true;
+	} catch (err) {
+		if (isEnoent(err)) return false;
+		throw err;
+	}
+}
+
+describe("SessionManager draft", () => {
+	it("round-trips text through saveDraft + consumeDraft", async () => {
+		using tempDir = TempDir.createSync("@pi-session-draft-roundtrip-");
+		const session = SessionManager.create(tempDir.path(), tempDir.path());
+		session.appendMessage({ role: "user", content: "hello", timestamp: 1 });
+		await session.flush();
+
+		await session.saveDraft("unsent text");
+
+		// consumeDraft is single-shot: returns the text and removes the sidecar.
+		expect(await session.consumeDraft()).toBe("unsent text");
+		expect(await session.consumeDraft()).toBeNull();
+	});
+
+	it("places the draft inside the artifacts directory so dropSession cleans it", async () => {
+		using tempDir = TempDir.createSync("@pi-session-draft-location-");
+		const session = SessionManager.create(tempDir.path(), tempDir.path());
+		session.appendMessage({ role: "user", content: "hello", timestamp: 1 });
+		await session.flush();
+
+		await session.saveDraft("inside artifacts");
+
+		const artifactsDir = session.getArtifactsDir();
+		expect(artifactsDir).not.toBeNull();
+		const draftPath = path.join(artifactsDir!, "draft.txt");
+		expect(await fileExists(draftPath)).toBe(true);
+
+		const sessionFile = session.getSessionFile();
+		if (!sessionFile) throw new Error("Expected session file");
+		await session.dropSession(sessionFile);
+
+		expect(await fileExists(draftPath)).toBe(false);
+	});
+
+	it("removes any stale draft when saving an empty string", async () => {
+		using tempDir = TempDir.createSync("@pi-session-draft-empty-");
+		const session = SessionManager.create(tempDir.path(), tempDir.path());
+		session.appendMessage({ role: "user", content: "hello", timestamp: 1 });
+		await session.flush();
+
+		await session.saveDraft("first attempt");
+		await session.saveDraft("");
+
+		expect(await session.consumeDraft()).toBeNull();
+	});
+
+	it("forces the session header onto disk so resume can find the draft owner", async () => {
+		using tempDir = TempDir.createSync("@pi-session-draft-ensure-on-disk-");
+		const session = SessionManager.create(tempDir.path(), tempDir.path());
+		// No assistant reply yet: without ensureOnDisk the session file would not
+		// exist, leaving an orphan draft sidecar that --resume can never reach.
+		session.appendMessage({ role: "user", content: "draft only", timestamp: 1 });
+
+		await session.saveDraft("queued for next time");
+
+		const sessionFile = session.getSessionFile();
+		if (!sessionFile) throw new Error("Expected session file");
+		expect(await fileExists(sessionFile)).toBe(true);
+	});
+
+	it("is a no-op for in-memory sessions", async () => {
+		const session = SessionManager.inMemory();
+
+		await session.saveDraft("ignored");
+		expect(await session.consumeDraft()).toBeNull();
+	});
+});