fix

Cargo.toml

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ resolver = "3"
 members = [
     "crates/pikl-core",
     "crates/pikl-tui",
+    "crates/pikl-gui",
     "crates/pikl",
     "crates/pikl-test-macros",
 ]

README.md

@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ pins the version and pulls in rust-analyzer + clippy.
 
 ## Current Status
 
-Phases 1 through 3 are complete. pikl works as a TUI menu with:
+Phases 1 through 6 are complete. pikl works as a TUI menu with:
 - Fuzzy, exact, regex, and inverse filtering with `|` pipeline chaining
 - Vim navigation (j/k, gg/G, Ctrl+D/U, Ctrl+F/B, modes)
 - Structured JSON I/O with sublabel, icon, group, and arbitrary metadata
@@ -140,6 +140,31 @@ Phases 1 through 3 are complete. pikl works as a TUI menu with:
 - Format templates (`--format '{label} - {sublabel}'`)
 - Field-scoped filtering (`--filter-fields`, `meta.res:3840` syntax)
 - Headless scripting via `--action-fd`
+- Multi-select with undo/redo and visual line mode
+- Table mode for CSV/TSV input with auto-generated or custom columns
+- IPC control via Unix socket (`--ipc`, `--session`)
+- Session filter history with Ctrl+P/Ctrl+N recall
+
+### IPC example
+
+Run pikl with IPC in one terminal, control it from another:
+
+```sh
+# terminal 1: start pikl with IPC enabled
+echo -e "alpha\nbeta\ngamma\ndelta" | pikl --ipc --session demo
+
+# terminal 2: query state over the socket
+echo '{"action":"get_state","id":"1"}' \
+  | socat - UNIX-CONNECT:/run/user/$(id -u)/pikl-demo.sock
+
+# terminal 2: add items dynamically
+echo '{"action":"add_items","items":["epsilon","zeta"]}' \
+  | socat -t 0.1 - UNIX-CONNECT:/run/user/$(id -u)/pikl-demo.sock
+```
+
+There's an interactive remote control demo at
+[examples/ipc-remote.sh](examples/ipc-remote.sh)
+(see [examples/ipc-remote.md](examples/ipc-remote.md) for the walkthrough).
 
 ## Platform Support
 

crates/pikl-core/src/model/event.rs

@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@
 
 use std::sync::Arc;
 
+use serde::ser::SerializeSeq;
+use serde::Serialize;
 use serde_json::Value;
 
 use crate::hook::HookResponse;
@@ -53,6 +55,65 @@ pub enum Action {
     RemoveItems(Vec<usize>),
     ProcessHookResponse(HookResponse),
     CloseMenu,
+    StreamingDone,
+}
+
+/// Modifier keys held during an action. Serializes as an
+/// array of strings (e.g. `["shift", "ctrl"]`). Empty
+/// modifiers serialize as `[]`.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq, Default)]
+pub struct Modifiers {
+    pub shift: bool,
+    pub ctrl: bool,
+    pub alt: bool,
+}
+
+impl Modifiers {
+    /// True when no modifiers are held.
+    pub fn is_empty(&self) -> bool {
+        !self.shift && !self.ctrl && !self.alt
+    }
+}
+
+impl Serialize for Modifiers {
+    fn serialize<S: serde::Serializer>(&self, serializer: S) -> Result<S::Ok, S::Error> {
+        let count = self.shift as usize + self.ctrl as usize + self.alt as usize;
+        let mut seq = serializer.serialize_seq(Some(count))?;
+        if self.shift {
+            seq.serialize_element("shift")?;
+        }
+        if self.ctrl {
+            seq.serialize_element("ctrl")?;
+        }
+        if self.alt {
+            seq.serialize_element("alt")?;
+        }
+        seq.end()
+    }
+}
+
+/// An [`Action`] paired with the modifier keys that were
+/// held when it was triggered. Frontends produce these,
+/// the menu engine consumes them.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq)]
+pub struct ModifiedAction {
+    pub action: Action,
+    pub modifiers: Modifiers,
+}
+
+impl ModifiedAction {
+    /// Wrap an action with default (empty) modifiers.
+    pub fn new(action: Action) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            action,
+            modifiers: Modifiers::default(),
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Wrap an action with specific modifiers.
+    pub fn with_modifiers(action: Action, modifiers: Modifiers) -> Self {
+        Self { action, modifiers }
+    }
 }
 
 /// Broadcast from the menu loop to all subscribers
@@ -81,6 +142,8 @@ pub struct ViewState {
     pub mode: Mode,
     pub selection_count: usize,
     pub multi_enabled: bool,
+    /// True while stdin is still streaming items in.
+    pub streaming: bool,
     /// Column headers for table mode. None when not in
     /// table mode.
     pub columns: Option<Vec<ColumnHeader>>,
@@ -119,7 +182,92 @@ pub struct VisibleItem {
 #[must_use]
 #[derive(Debug)]
 pub enum MenuResult {
-    Selected { items: Vec<(Value, usize)> },
+    Selected {
-    Quicklist { items: Vec<(Value, usize)> },
+        items: Vec<(Value, usize)>,
-    Cancelled,
+        filter_text: String,
+        modifiers: Modifiers,
+    },
+    Quicklist {
+        items: Vec<(Value, usize)>,
+        filter_text: String,
+        modifiers: Modifiers,
+    },
+    Cancelled {
+        modifiers: Modifiers,
+    },
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+    use serde_json::json;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn modifiers_empty_serializes_as_empty_array() {
+        let mods = Modifiers::default();
+        let json = serde_json::to_value(&mods).unwrap_or_default();
+        assert_eq!(json, json!([]));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn modifiers_single_serializes() {
+        let mods = Modifiers {
+            shift: true,
+            ctrl: false,
+            alt: false,
+        };
+        let json = serde_json::to_value(&mods).unwrap_or_default();
+        assert_eq!(json, json!(["shift"]));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn modifiers_multiple_serializes() {
+        let mods = Modifiers {
+            shift: true,
+            ctrl: true,
+            alt: false,
+        };
+        let json = serde_json::to_value(&mods).unwrap_or_default();
+        assert_eq!(json, json!(["shift", "ctrl"]));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn modifiers_all_serializes() {
+        let mods = Modifiers {
+            shift: true,
+            ctrl: true,
+            alt: true,
+        };
+        let json = serde_json::to_value(&mods).unwrap_or_default();
+        assert_eq!(json, json!(["shift", "ctrl", "alt"]));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn modifiers_is_empty() {
+        assert!(Modifiers::default().is_empty());
+        assert!(!Modifiers {
+            shift: true,
+            ctrl: false,
+            alt: false
+        }
+        .is_empty());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn modified_action_new_has_empty_modifiers() {
+        let ma = ModifiedAction::new(Action::Confirm);
+        assert!(ma.modifiers.is_empty());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn modified_action_with_modifiers() {
+        let mods = Modifiers {
+            shift: true,
+            ctrl: false,
+            alt: false,
+        };
+        let ma = ModifiedAction::with_modifiers(Action::Confirm, mods);
+        assert!(ma.modifiers.shift);
+        assert!(!ma.modifiers.ctrl);
+    }
 }

crates/pikl-core/src/model/output.rs

@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@ use serde::Serialize;
 use serde::ser::SerializeMap;
 use serde_json::Value;
 
+use crate::event::Modifiers;
+
 /// What the user did to produce this output.
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq, Serialize)]
 #[serde(rename_all = "snake_case")]
@@ -25,27 +27,35 @@ pub struct OutputItem {
     pub value: Value,
     pub action: OutputAction,
     pub index: usize,
+    pub modifiers: Modifiers,
 }
 
 impl Serialize for OutputItem {
     fn serialize<S: serde::Serializer>(&self, serializer: S) -> Result<S::Ok, S::Error> {
+        let has_mods = !self.modifiers.is_empty();
         match &self.value {
             Value::Object(map) => {
                 // Flatten: merge object fields with action/index
-                let mut s = serializer.serialize_map(Some(map.len() + 2))?;
+                let mut s = serializer.serialize_map(None)?;
                 for (k, v) in map {
                     s.serialize_entry(k, v)?;
                 }
                 s.serialize_entry("action", &self.action)?;
                 s.serialize_entry("index", &self.index)?;
+                if has_mods {
+                    s.serialize_entry("modifiers", &self.modifiers)?;
+                }
                 s.end()
             }
             _ => {
                 // Non-object: put value in a "value" field
-                let mut s = serializer.serialize_map(Some(3))?;
+                let mut s = serializer.serialize_map(None)?;
                 s.serialize_entry("value", &self.value)?;
                 s.serialize_entry("action", &self.action)?;
                 s.serialize_entry("index", &self.index)?;
+                if has_mods {
+                    s.serialize_entry("modifiers", &self.modifiers)?;
+                }
                 s.end()
             }
         }
@@ -63,6 +73,7 @@ mod tests {
             value: json!({"label": "Firefox", "url": "https://firefox.com"}),
             action: OutputAction::Select,
             index: 3,
+            modifiers: Modifiers::default(),
         };
         let json = serde_json::to_value(&item).unwrap_or_default();
         assert_eq!(json["label"], "Firefox");
@@ -77,6 +88,7 @@ mod tests {
             value: json!("hello"),
             action: OutputAction::Select,
             index: 0,
+            modifiers: Modifiers::default(),
         };
         let json = serde_json::to_value(&item).unwrap_or_default();
         assert_eq!(json["value"], "hello");
@@ -90,6 +102,7 @@ mod tests {
             value: json!(null),
             action: OutputAction::Cancel,
             index: 0,
+            modifiers: Modifiers::default(),
         };
         let json = serde_json::to_value(&item).unwrap_or_default();
         assert_eq!(json["action"], "cancel");
@@ -101,6 +114,7 @@ mod tests {
             value: json!("test"),
             action: OutputAction::Quicklist,
             index: 2,
+            modifiers: Modifiers::default(),
         };
         let json = serde_json::to_value(&item).unwrap_or_default();
         assert_eq!(json["action"], "quicklist");
@@ -113,6 +127,7 @@ mod tests {
             value: json!("alpha"),
             action: OutputAction::Select,
             index: 0,
+            modifiers: Modifiers::default(),
         };
         let serialized = serde_json::to_string(&item).unwrap_or_default();
         assert!(
@@ -120,4 +135,61 @@ mod tests {
             "output should contain the value text: {serialized}"
         );
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn output_item_omits_empty_modifiers() {
+        let item = OutputItem {
+            value: json!("test"),
+            action: OutputAction::Select,
+            index: 0,
+            modifiers: Modifiers::default(),
+        };
+        let json = serde_json::to_value(&item).unwrap_or_default();
+        assert!(json.get("modifiers").is_none(), "empty modifiers should be omitted");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn output_item_includes_modifiers_when_present() {
+        let item = OutputItem {
+            value: json!("test"),
+            action: OutputAction::Select,
+            index: 0,
+            modifiers: Modifiers {
+                shift: true,
+                ctrl: false,
+                alt: false,
+            },
+        };
+        let json = serde_json::to_value(&item).unwrap_or_default();
+        assert_eq!(json["modifiers"], json!(["shift"]));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn output_item_object_with_modifiers() {
+        let item = OutputItem {
+            value: json!({"label": "Firefox"}),
+            action: OutputAction::Select,
+            index: 0,
+            modifiers: Modifiers {
+                shift: true,
+                ctrl: true,
+                alt: false,
+            },
+        };
+        let json = serde_json::to_value(&item).unwrap_or_default();
+        assert_eq!(json["label"], "Firefox");
+        assert_eq!(json["modifiers"], json!(["shift", "ctrl"]));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn output_item_object_omits_empty_modifiers() {
+        let item = OutputItem {
+            value: json!({"label": "Firefox"}),
+            action: OutputAction::Select,
+            index: 0,
+            modifiers: Modifiers::default(),
+        };
+        let json = serde_json::to_value(&item).unwrap_or_default();
+        assert!(json.get("modifiers").is_none());
+    }
 }

crates/pikl-core/src/runtime/debounce.rs

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ use tokio::sync::mpsc;
 use tokio::task::JoinHandle;
 use tracing::Instrument;
 
-use crate::event::Action;
+use crate::event::{Action, ModifiedAction};
 use crate::hook::{HookEvent, HookEventKind, HookHandler, HookResponse};
 
 /// Debounce mode for a hook event kind.
@@ -30,13 +30,13 @@ pub enum DebounceMode {
 /// behavior. Each event kind can have its own mode.
 pub struct DebouncedDispatcher {
     handler: Arc<dyn HookHandler>,
-    _action_tx: mpsc::Sender<Action>,
+    _action_tx: mpsc::Sender<ModifiedAction>,
     modes: HashMap<HookEventKind, DebounceMode>,
     in_flight: HashMap<HookEventKind, JoinHandle<()>>,
 }
 
 impl DebouncedDispatcher {
-    pub fn new(handler: Arc<dyn HookHandler>, action_tx: mpsc::Sender<Action>) -> Self {
+    pub fn new(handler: Arc<dyn HookHandler>, action_tx: mpsc::Sender<ModifiedAction>) -> Self {
         Self {
             handler,
             _action_tx: action_tx,
@@ -149,6 +149,7 @@ pub fn hook_response_to_action(resp: HookResponse) -> Action {
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
     use crate::error::PiklError;
+    use crate::event::Modifiers;
     use serde_json::json;
     use std::sync::Mutex;
 
@@ -217,12 +218,15 @@ mod tests {
         // Rapid-fire filter events
         dispatcher.dispatch(HookEvent::Filter {
             text: "a".to_string(),
+            modifiers: Modifiers::default(),
         });
         dispatcher.dispatch(HookEvent::Filter {
             text: "ab".to_string(),
+            modifiers: Modifiers::default(),
         });
         dispatcher.dispatch(HookEvent::Filter {
             text: "abc".to_string(),
+            modifiers: Modifiers::default(),
         });
 
         // Advance past debounce window. sleep(0) processes
@@ -251,12 +255,14 @@ mod tests {
         dispatcher.dispatch(HookEvent::Hover {
             item: json!("a"),
             index: 0,
+            modifiers: Modifiers::default(),
         });
         // Wait a bit, then send second hover which cancels first
         tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_millis(50)).await;
         dispatcher.dispatch(HookEvent::Hover {
             item: json!("b"),
             index: 1,
+            modifiers: Modifiers::default(),
         });
 
         // Advance past debounce for the second event

crates/pikl-core/src/runtime/hook.rs

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 use serde_json::Value;
 
 use crate::error::PiklError;
+use crate::event::Modifiers;
 
 /// A lifecycle event emitted by the menu engine. Handler
 /// hooks receive these as JSON lines on stdin. The `event`
@@ -16,11 +17,33 @@ use crate::error::PiklError;
 pub enum HookEvent {
     Open,
     Close,
-    Hover { item: Value, index: usize },
+    Hover {
-    Select { item: Value, index: usize },
+        item: Value,
-    Cancel,
+        index: usize,
-    Filter { text: String },
+        #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Modifiers::is_empty")]
-    Quicklist { items: Vec<Value>, count: usize },
+        modifiers: Modifiers,
+    },
+    Select {
+        item: Value,
+        index: usize,
+        #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Modifiers::is_empty")]
+        modifiers: Modifiers,
+    },
+    Cancel {
+        #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Modifiers::is_empty")]
+        modifiers: Modifiers,
+    },
+    Filter {
+        text: String,
+        #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Modifiers::is_empty")]
+        modifiers: Modifiers,
+    },
+    Quicklist {
+        items: Vec<Value>,
+        count: usize,
+        #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Modifiers::is_empty")]
+        modifiers: Modifiers,
+    },
 }
 
 /// Discriminant for [`HookEvent`], used as a key for
@@ -44,7 +67,7 @@ impl HookEvent {
             HookEvent::Close => HookEventKind::Close,
             HookEvent::Hover { .. } => HookEventKind::Hover,
             HookEvent::Select { .. } => HookEventKind::Select,
-            HookEvent::Cancel => HookEventKind::Cancel,
+            HookEvent::Cancel { .. } => HookEventKind::Cancel,
             HookEvent::Filter { .. } => HookEventKind::Filter,
             HookEvent::Quicklist { .. } => HookEventKind::Quicklist,
         }
@@ -116,11 +139,14 @@ mod tests {
         let event = HookEvent::Hover {
             item: json!({"label": "test"}),
             index: 5,
+            modifiers: Modifiers::default(),
         };
         let json = serde_json::to_value(&event).unwrap_or_default();
         assert_eq!(json["event"], "hover");
         assert_eq!(json["item"]["label"], "test");
         assert_eq!(json["index"], 5);
+        // Empty modifiers should be omitted
+        assert!(json.get("modifiers").is_none());
     }
 
     #[test]
@@ -128,6 +154,7 @@ mod tests {
         let event = HookEvent::Select {
             item: json!("hello"),
             index: 0,
+            modifiers: Modifiers::default(),
         };
         let json = serde_json::to_value(&event).unwrap_or_default();
         assert_eq!(json["event"], "select");
@@ -137,14 +164,19 @@ mod tests {
 
     #[test]
     fn event_cancel_serializes() {
-        let json = serde_json::to_value(&HookEvent::Cancel).unwrap_or_default();
+        let json = serde_json::to_value(&HookEvent::Cancel {
+            modifiers: Modifiers::default(),
+        })
+        .unwrap_or_default();
         assert_eq!(json["event"], "cancel");
+        assert!(json.get("modifiers").is_none());
     }
 
     #[test]
     fn event_filter_serializes() {
         let event = HookEvent::Filter {
             text: "foo".to_string(),
+            modifiers: Modifiers::default(),
         };
         let json = serde_json::to_value(&event).unwrap_or_default();
         assert_eq!(json["event"], "filter");
@@ -160,7 +192,8 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(
             HookEvent::Hover {
                 item: json!(null),
-                index: 0
+                index: 0,
+                modifiers: Modifiers::default(),
             }
             .kind(),
             HookEventKind::Hover
@@ -168,15 +201,23 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(
             HookEvent::Select {
                 item: json!(null),
-                index: 0
+                index: 0,
+                modifiers: Modifiers::default(),
             }
             .kind(),
             HookEventKind::Select
         );
-        assert_eq!(HookEvent::Cancel.kind(), HookEventKind::Cancel);
+        assert_eq!(
+            HookEvent::Cancel {
+                modifiers: Modifiers::default()
+            }
+            .kind(),
+            HookEventKind::Cancel
+        );
         assert_eq!(
             HookEvent::Filter {
-                text: String::new()
+                text: String::new(),
+                modifiers: Modifiers::default(),
             }
             .kind(),
             HookEventKind::Filter
@@ -291,6 +332,7 @@ mod tests {
         let event = HookEvent::Quicklist {
             items: vec![json!("alpha"), json!("beta")],
             count: 2,
+            modifiers: Modifiers::default(),
         };
         let json = serde_json::to_value(&event).unwrap_or_default();
         assert_eq!(json["event"], "quicklist");
@@ -303,6 +345,7 @@ mod tests {
         let event = HookEvent::Quicklist {
             items: vec![],
             count: 0,
+            modifiers: Modifiers::default(),
         };
         assert_eq!(event.kind(), HookEventKind::Quicklist);
     }
@@ -314,6 +357,7 @@ mod tests {
         let event = HookEvent::Hover {
             item: json!({"label": "Firefox", "url": "https://firefox.com"}),
             index: 2,
+            modifiers: Modifiers::default(),
         };
         let serialized = serde_json::to_string(&event).unwrap_or_default();
         let parsed: Value = serde_json::from_str(&serialized).unwrap_or_default();
@@ -321,4 +365,35 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(parsed["item"]["label"], "Firefox");
         assert_eq!(parsed["index"], 2);
     }
+
+    // -- Modifier serialization in hook events --
+
+    #[test]
+    fn event_select_with_modifiers() {
+        let event = HookEvent::Select {
+            item: json!("test"),
+            index: 0,
+            modifiers: Modifiers {
+                shift: true,
+                ctrl: false,
+                alt: false,
+            },
+        };
+        let json = serde_json::to_value(&event).unwrap_or_default();
+        assert_eq!(json["modifiers"], json!(["shift"]));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn event_cancel_with_modifiers() {
+        let event = HookEvent::Cancel {
+            modifiers: Modifiers {
+                shift: true,
+                ctrl: true,
+                alt: false,
+            },
+        };
+        let json = serde_json::to_value(&event).unwrap_or_default();
+        assert_eq!(json["event"], "cancel");
+        assert_eq!(json["modifiers"], json!(["shift", "ctrl"]));
+    }
 }

crates/pikl-core/src/runtime/input.rs

@@ -8,6 +8,15 @@ use tokio::io::AsyncBufReadExt;
 use crate::error::PiklError;
 use crate::item::Item;
 
+/// Parse a single line into a JSON Value. Tries JSON first,
+/// falls back to wrapping as a string. Used by the streaming
+/// stdin reader in the CLI binary, which sends raw Values
+/// via `Action::AddItems`.
+pub fn parse_line_to_value(line: &str) -> serde_json::Value {
+    serde_json::from_str::<serde_json::Value>(line)
+        .unwrap_or_else(|_| serde_json::Value::String(line.to_string()))
+}
+
 /// Try to parse a line as JSON. Falls back to wrapping
 /// it as a plain-text string. The `label_key` controls
 /// which JSON key is used as the display label for object
@@ -116,4 +125,39 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(items.len(), 1);
         assert_eq!(items[0].label(), "quoted string");
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parse_line_to_value_plain_text() {
+        let v = parse_line_to_value("hello world");
+        assert_eq!(v, serde_json::Value::String("hello world".to_string()));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parse_line_to_value_json_object() {
+        let v = parse_line_to_value(r#"{"label": "foo", "count": 42}"#);
+        assert!(v.is_object());
+        assert_eq!(v["label"], "foo");
+        assert_eq!(v["count"], 42);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parse_line_to_value_invalid_json() {
+        let v = parse_line_to_value("{not valid json}");
+        assert_eq!(
+            v,
+            serde_json::Value::String("{not valid json}".to_string())
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parse_line_to_value_json_string() {
+        let v = parse_line_to_value(r#""quoted""#);
+        assert_eq!(v, serde_json::Value::String("quoted".to_string()));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parse_line_to_value_json_number() {
+        let v = parse_line_to_value("42");
+        assert_eq!(v, serde_json::json!(42));
+    }
 }

crates/pikl-core/src/runtime/menu.rs

@@ -11,7 +11,10 @@ use tracing::{debug, info, trace};
 
 use crate::debounce::{DebouncedDispatcher, hook_response_to_action};
 use crate::error::PiklError;
-use crate::event::{Action, ColumnHeader, MenuEvent, MenuResult, Mode, ViewState, VisibleItem};
+use crate::event::{
+    Action, ColumnHeader, MenuEvent, MenuResult, ModifiedAction, Modifiers, Mode, ViewState,
+    VisibleItem,
+};
 use crate::hook::{HookEvent, HookHandler};
 use crate::model::traits::MutableMenu;
 use crate::navigation::Viewport;
@@ -147,13 +150,15 @@ pub struct MenuRunner<M: MutableMenu> {
     viewport: Viewport,
     filter_text: Arc<str>,
     mode: Mode,
-    action_rx: mpsc::Receiver<Action>,
+    action_rx: mpsc::Receiver<ModifiedAction>,
     event_tx: broadcast::Sender<MenuEvent>,
     dispatcher: Option<DebouncedDispatcher>,
     previous_cursor: Option<usize>,
     generation: u64,
     selection: SelectionState,
     visual_anchor: Option<usize>,
+    streaming: bool,
+    last_modifiers: Modifiers,
 }
 
 impl<M: MutableMenu> MenuRunner<M> {
@@ -161,7 +166,7 @@ impl<M: MutableMenu> MenuRunner<M> {
     /// Returns the runner and an action sender. Call
     /// [`subscribe`](Self::subscribe) to get an event handle,
     /// then [`run`](Self::run) to start the event loop.
-    pub fn new(menu: M) -> (Self, mpsc::Sender<Action>) {
+    pub fn new(menu: M) -> (Self, mpsc::Sender<ModifiedAction>) {
         let (action_tx, action_rx) = mpsc::channel(256);
         // 1024 slots: large enough that a burst of rapid state changes
         // (e.g. streaming AddItems + filter updates) won't cause lag for
@@ -180,6 +185,8 @@ impl<M: MutableMenu> MenuRunner<M> {
             generation: 0,
             selection: SelectionState::new(),
             visual_anchor: None,
+            streaming: false,
+            last_modifiers: Modifiers::default(),
         };
         (runner, action_tx)
     }
@@ -190,13 +197,19 @@ impl<M: MutableMenu> MenuRunner<M> {
         self.event_tx.subscribe()
     }
 
+    /// Get a clone of the event broadcast sender. Useful for
+    /// IPC servers that need to create their own subscribers.
+    pub fn event_sender(&self) -> broadcast::Sender<MenuEvent> {
+        self.event_tx.clone()
+    }
+
     /// Set a hook handler. Wraps it in a DebouncedDispatcher
     /// with no debounce (all events fire immediately). Use
     /// [`set_dispatcher`] for custom debounce settings.
     pub fn set_hook_handler(
         &mut self,
         handler: Arc<dyn HookHandler>,
-        action_tx: mpsc::Sender<Action>,
+        action_tx: mpsc::Sender<ModifiedAction>,
     ) {
         let dispatcher = DebouncedDispatcher::new(handler, action_tx);
         self.dispatcher = Some(dispatcher);
@@ -306,6 +319,7 @@ impl<M: MutableMenu> MenuRunner<M> {
             mode: self.mode,
             selection_count: self.selection.count(),
             multi_enabled: self.selection.multi_enabled,
+            streaming: self.streaming,
             columns,
             generation: self.generation,
         }
@@ -348,6 +362,7 @@ impl<M: MutableMenu> MenuRunner<M> {
                 self.emit_hook(HookEvent::Hover {
                     item: value,
                     index: orig_idx,
+                    modifiers: self.last_modifiers,
                 });
             }
         }
@@ -551,6 +566,11 @@ impl<M: MutableMenu> MenuRunner<M> {
                 self.apply_action(action)
             }
             Action::CloseMenu => ActionOutcome::Closed,
+            Action::StreamingDone => {
+                debug!("streaming done");
+                self.streaming = false;
+                ActionOutcome::Broadcast
+            }
         }
     }
 
@@ -560,6 +580,11 @@ impl<M: MutableMenu> MenuRunner<M> {
         self.mode = mode;
     }
 
+    /// Mark the menu as actively streaming items from stdin.
+    pub fn set_streaming(&mut self, v: bool) {
+        self.streaming = v;
+    }
+
     /// Run the menu event loop. Consumes actions and
     /// broadcasts events.
     ///
@@ -585,7 +610,9 @@ impl<M: MutableMenu> MenuRunner<M> {
         // Emit Open event
         self.emit_hook(HookEvent::Open);
 
-        while let Some(action) = self.action_rx.recv().await {
+        while let Some(modified) = self.action_rx.recv().await {
+            let ModifiedAction { action, modifiers } = modified;
+            self.last_modifiers = modifiers;
             let is_filter_update = matches!(&action, Action::UpdateFilter(_));
 
             match self.apply_action(action) {
@@ -595,7 +622,10 @@ impl<M: MutableMenu> MenuRunner<M> {
                     // Emit Filter event if the filter changed
                     if is_filter_update {
                         let text = self.filter_text.to_string();
-                        self.emit_hook(HookEvent::Filter { text });
+                        self.emit_hook(HookEvent::Filter {
+                            text,
+                            modifiers: self.last_modifiers,
+                        });
                     }
 
                     // Check for cursor movement -> Hover
@@ -609,13 +639,18 @@ impl<M: MutableMenu> MenuRunner<M> {
                         self.emit_hook(HookEvent::Select {
                             item: value.clone(),
                             index: *index,
+                            modifiers: self.last_modifiers,
                         });
                     }
                     // Emit Close event
                     self.emit_hook(HookEvent::Close);
 
                     let _ = self.event_tx.send(MenuEvent::Selected(items.clone()));
-                    return Ok(MenuResult::Selected { items });
+                    return Ok(MenuResult::Selected {
+                        items,
+                        filter_text: self.filter_text.to_string(),
+                        modifiers: self.last_modifiers,
+                    });
                 }
                 ActionOutcome::Quicklist { items } => {
                     let values: Vec<Value> = items.iter().map(|(v, _)| v.clone()).collect();
@@ -624,26 +659,37 @@ impl<M: MutableMenu> MenuRunner<M> {
                     self.emit_hook(HookEvent::Quicklist {
                         items: values.clone(),
                         count,
+                        modifiers: self.last_modifiers,
                     });
                     self.emit_hook(HookEvent::Close);
 
                     let _ = self.event_tx.send(MenuEvent::Quicklist(values));
-                    return Ok(MenuResult::Quicklist { items });
+                    return Ok(MenuResult::Quicklist {
+                        items,
+                        filter_text: self.filter_text.to_string(),
+                        modifiers: self.last_modifiers,
+                    });
                 }
                 ActionOutcome::Cancelled => {
                     info!("menu cancelled");
-                    self.emit_hook(HookEvent::Cancel);
+                    self.emit_hook(HookEvent::Cancel {
+                        modifiers: self.last_modifiers,
+                    });
                     self.emit_hook(HookEvent::Close);
 
                     let _ = self.event_tx.send(MenuEvent::Cancelled);
-                    return Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled);
+                    return Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled {
+                        modifiers: self.last_modifiers,
+                    });
                 }
                 ActionOutcome::Closed => {
                     info!("menu closed by hook");
                     self.emit_hook(HookEvent::Close);
 
                     let _ = self.event_tx.send(MenuEvent::Cancelled);
-                    return Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled);
+                    return Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled {
+                        modifiers: Modifiers::default(),
+                    });
                 }
                 ActionOutcome::NoOp => {}
             }
@@ -651,7 +697,9 @@ impl<M: MutableMenu> MenuRunner<M> {
 
         // Sender dropped
         self.emit_hook(HookEvent::Close);
-        Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled)
+        Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled {
+            modifiers: Modifiers::default(),
+        })
     }
 }
 
@@ -663,7 +711,7 @@ mod tests {
     use crate::model::traits::Menu;
     use crate::runtime::json_menu::JsonMenu;
 
-    fn test_menu() -> (MenuRunner<JsonMenu>, mpsc::Sender<Action>) {
+    fn test_menu() -> (MenuRunner<JsonMenu>, mpsc::Sender<ModifiedAction>) {
         let items = vec![
             Item::from_plain_text("alpha"),
             Item::from_plain_text("beta"),
@@ -793,9 +841,9 @@ mod tests {
         }
 
         // Cancel to exit
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::Cancel).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Cancel)).await;
-        let result = handle.await.unwrap_or(Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled));
+        let result = handle.await.unwrap_or(Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled { modifiers: Modifiers::default() }));
-        assert!(matches!(result, Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled)));
+        assert!(matches!(result, Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled { .. })));
     }
 
     #[tokio::test]
@@ -809,7 +857,7 @@ mod tests {
         let _ = rx.recv().await;
 
         // Filter to "al"
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::UpdateFilter("al".to_string())).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::UpdateFilter("al".to_string()))).await;
         if let Ok(MenuEvent::StateChanged(vs)) = rx.recv().await {
             assert_eq!(vs.total_items, 4);
             // alpha should match "al"
@@ -817,7 +865,7 @@ mod tests {
             assert_eq!(&*vs.filter_text, "al");
         }
 
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::Cancel).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Cancel)).await;
         let _ = handle.await;
     }
 
@@ -832,20 +880,20 @@ mod tests {
         let _ = rx.recv().await;
 
         // Need to send resize first so viewport has height
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::Resize { height: 10 }).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Resize { height: 10 })).await;
         let _ = rx.recv().await;
 
         // Move down and confirm
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::MoveDown(1)).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::MoveDown(1))).await;
         let _ = rx.recv().await;
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::Confirm).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Confirm)).await;
 
         // Should get Selected event
         if let Ok(MenuEvent::Selected(items)) = rx.recv().await {
             assert_eq!(items[0].0.as_str(), Some("beta"));
         }
 
-        let result = handle.await.unwrap_or(Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled));
+        let result = handle.await.unwrap_or(Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled { modifiers: Modifiers::default() }));
         assert!(matches!(result, Ok(MenuResult::Selected { .. })));
     }
 
@@ -859,18 +907,18 @@ mod tests {
         let _ = rx.recv().await; // initial
 
         // Filter to something that matches nothing
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::UpdateFilter("zzzzz".to_string())).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::UpdateFilter("zzzzz".to_string()))).await;
         if let Ok(MenuEvent::StateChanged(vs)) = rx.recv().await {
             assert_eq!(vs.total_filtered, 0);
         }
 
         // Confirm should be no-op
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::Confirm).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Confirm)).await;
 
         // Cancel to exit (should still work)
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::Cancel).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Cancel)).await;
-        let result = handle.await.unwrap_or(Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled));
+        let result = handle.await.unwrap_or(Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled { modifiers: Modifiers::default() }));
-        assert!(matches!(result, Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled)));
+        assert!(matches!(result, Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled { .. })));
     }
 
     #[tokio::test]
@@ -883,8 +931,8 @@ mod tests {
         // Drop the only sender.
         drop(tx);
 
-        let result = handle.await.unwrap_or(Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled));
+        let result = handle.await.unwrap_or(Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled { modifiers: Modifiers::default() }));
-        assert!(matches!(result, Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled)));
+        assert!(matches!(result, Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled { .. })));
     }
 
     // -- End-to-end output correctness --
@@ -897,18 +945,18 @@ mod tests {
         let handle = tokio::spawn(async move { menu.run().await });
 
         let _ = rx.recv().await; // initial state
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::Resize { height: 10 }).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Resize { height: 10 })).await;
         let _ = rx.recv().await;
 
         // Confirm at cursor 0, should get "alpha"
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::Confirm).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Confirm)).await;
 
         let event = rx.recv().await;
         assert!(
             matches!(&event, Ok(MenuEvent::Selected(items)) if items[0].0.as_str() == Some("alpha"))
         );
 
-        let result = handle.await.unwrap_or(Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled));
+        let result = handle.await.unwrap_or(Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled { modifiers: Modifiers::default() }));
         assert!(
             matches!(result, Ok(MenuResult::Selected { ref items, .. }) if items[0].0.as_str() == Some("alpha"))
         );
@@ -922,17 +970,17 @@ mod tests {
         let handle = tokio::spawn(async move { menu.run().await });
 
         let _ = rx.recv().await; // initial
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::Resize { height: 10 }).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Resize { height: 10 })).await;
         let _ = rx.recv().await;
 
         // Move down twice -> cursor at index 2 -> "gamma"
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::MoveDown(1)).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::MoveDown(1))).await;
         let _ = rx.recv().await;
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::MoveDown(1)).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::MoveDown(1))).await;
         let _ = rx.recv().await;
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::Confirm).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Confirm)).await;
 
-        let result = handle.await.unwrap_or(Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled));
+        let result = handle.await.unwrap_or(Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled { modifiers: Modifiers::default() }));
         assert!(
             matches!(result, Ok(MenuResult::Selected { ref items, .. }) if items[0].0.as_str() == Some("gamma"))
         );
@@ -946,20 +994,20 @@ mod tests {
         let handle = tokio::spawn(async move { menu.run().await });
 
         let _ = rx.recv().await; // initial
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::Resize { height: 10 }).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Resize { height: 10 })).await;
         let _ = rx.recv().await;
 
         // Filter to "del", should match "delta"
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::UpdateFilter("del".to_string())).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::UpdateFilter("del".to_string()))).await;
         if let Ok(MenuEvent::StateChanged(vs)) = rx.recv().await {
             assert!(vs.total_filtered >= 1);
             assert_eq!(vs.visible_items[0].label, "delta");
         }
 
         // Confirm, should select "delta"
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::Confirm).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Confirm)).await;
 
-        let result = handle.await.unwrap_or(Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled));
+        let result = handle.await.unwrap_or(Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled { modifiers: Modifiers::default() }));
         assert!(
             matches!(result, Ok(MenuResult::Selected { ref items, .. }) if items[0].0.as_str() == Some("delta"))
         );
@@ -973,14 +1021,14 @@ mod tests {
         let handle = tokio::spawn(async move { menu.run().await });
 
         let _ = rx.recv().await; // initial
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::Resize { height: 10 }).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Resize { height: 10 })).await;
         let _ = rx.recv().await;
 
         // Add a new item
         let _ = tx
-            .send(Action::AddItems(vec![serde_json::Value::String(
+            .send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::AddItems(vec![
-                "epsilon".to_string(),
+                serde_json::Value::String("epsilon".to_string()),
-            )]))
+            ])))
             .await;
         if let Ok(MenuEvent::StateChanged(vs)) = rx.recv().await {
             assert_eq!(vs.total_items, 5);
@@ -988,15 +1036,15 @@ mod tests {
         }
 
         // Filter to "eps", only epsilon should match
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::UpdateFilter("eps".to_string())).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::UpdateFilter("eps".to_string()))).await;
         if let Ok(MenuEvent::StateChanged(vs)) = rx.recv().await {
             assert!(vs.total_filtered >= 1);
             assert_eq!(vs.visible_items[0].label, "epsilon");
         }
 
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::Confirm).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Confirm)).await;
 
-        let result = handle.await.unwrap_or(Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled));
+        let result = handle.await.unwrap_or(Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled { modifiers: Modifiers::default() }));
         assert!(
             matches!(result, Ok(MenuResult::Selected { ref items, .. }) if items[0].0.as_str() == Some("epsilon"))
         );
@@ -1011,13 +1059,13 @@ mod tests {
 
         let _ = rx.recv().await; // initial
 
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::Cancel).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Cancel)).await;
 
         // Should get Cancelled event
         assert!(matches!(rx.recv().await, Ok(MenuEvent::Cancelled)));
 
-        let result = handle.await.unwrap_or(Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled));
+        let result = handle.await.unwrap_or(Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled { modifiers: Modifiers::default() }));
-        assert!(matches!(result, Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled)));
+        assert!(matches!(result, Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled { .. })));
     }
 
     // -- Ordering invariant tests --
@@ -1040,14 +1088,14 @@ mod tests {
         let handle = tokio::spawn(async move { menu.run().await });
 
         let _ = rx.recv().await; // initial
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::Resize { height: 50 }).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Resize { height: 50 })).await;
         let _ = rx.recv().await;
 
         // Back-to-back, no waiting between these
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::UpdateFilter("ban".to_string())).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::UpdateFilter("ban".to_string()))).await;
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::Confirm).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Confirm)).await;
 
-        let result = handle.await.unwrap_or(Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled));
+        let result = handle.await.unwrap_or(Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled { modifiers: Modifiers::default() }));
         // Must get "banana". Filter was applied before confirm ran.
         assert!(matches!(
             result,
@@ -1064,16 +1112,16 @@ mod tests {
         let handle = tokio::spawn(async move { menu.run().await });
 
         let _ = rx.recv().await; // initial
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::Resize { height: 50 }).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Resize { height: 50 })).await;
         let _ = rx.recv().await;
 
         // Three moves down back-to-back, then confirm
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::MoveDown(1)).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::MoveDown(1))).await;
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::MoveDown(1)).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::MoveDown(1))).await;
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::MoveDown(1)).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::MoveDown(1))).await;
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::Confirm).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Confirm)).await;
 
-        let result = handle.await.unwrap_or(Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled));
+        let result = handle.await.unwrap_or(Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled { modifiers: Modifiers::default() }));
         // Cursor at index 3 -> "delta"
         assert!(matches!(
             result,
@@ -1157,19 +1205,19 @@ mod tests {
         let handle = tokio::spawn(async move { menu.run().await });
 
         let _ = rx.recv().await; // initial
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::Resize { height: 50 }).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Resize { height: 50 })).await;
         let _ = rx.recv().await;
 
         // All back-to-back
         let _ = tx
-            .send(Action::AddItems(vec![serde_json::Value::String(
+            .send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::AddItems(vec![
-                "zephyr".to_string(),
+                serde_json::Value::String("zephyr".to_string()),
-            )]))
+            ])))
             .await;
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::UpdateFilter("zep".to_string())).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::UpdateFilter("zep".to_string()))).await;
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::Confirm).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Confirm)).await;
 
-        let result = handle.await.unwrap_or(Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled));
+        let result = handle.await.unwrap_or(Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled { modifiers: Modifiers::default() }));
         // Must find "zephyr". It was added before the filter ran.
         assert!(matches!(
             result,
@@ -1328,10 +1376,10 @@ mod tests {
 
         // Skip initial state
         let _ = rx.recv().await;
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::Resize { height: 10 }).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Resize { height: 10 })).await;
         let _ = rx.recv().await;
 
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::Quicklist).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Quicklist)).await;
 
         if let Ok(MenuEvent::Quicklist(values)) = rx.recv().await {
             assert_eq!(values.len(), 4);
@@ -1339,7 +1387,7 @@ mod tests {
             panic!("expected Quicklist event");
         }
 
-        let result = handle.await.unwrap_or(Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled));
+        let result = handle.await.unwrap_or(Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled { modifiers: Modifiers::default() }));
         assert!(matches!(result, Ok(MenuResult::Quicklist { .. })));
     }
 
@@ -1351,16 +1399,16 @@ mod tests {
         let handle = tokio::spawn(async move { menu.run().await });
 
         let _ = rx.recv().await; // initial
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::Resize { height: 10 }).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Resize { height: 10 })).await;
         let _ = rx.recv().await;
 
         // Filter then quicklist back-to-back
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::UpdateFilter("al".to_string())).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::UpdateFilter("al".to_string()))).await;
-        let _ = tx.send(Action::Quicklist).await;
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Quicklist)).await;
 
-        let result = handle.await.unwrap_or(Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled));
+        let result = handle.await.unwrap_or(Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled { modifiers: Modifiers::default() }));
         match result {
-            Ok(MenuResult::Quicklist { items }) => {
+            Ok(MenuResult::Quicklist { items, .. }) => {
                 // "alpha" matches "al"
                 assert!(!items.is_empty());
                 for (v, _) in &items {
@@ -1404,6 +1452,7 @@ mod tests {
         m.apply_action(Action::UpdateFilter("al".to_string()));
         m.emit_hook(HookEvent::Filter {
             text: "al".to_string(),
+            modifiers: Modifiers::default(),
         });
         m.apply_action(Action::MoveDown(1));
         m.check_cursor_hover();
@@ -1417,6 +1466,142 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(events.contains(&HookEventKind::Filter));
     }
 
+    // -- Modifier flow-through tests --
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn modifiers_flow_through_to_selected_result() {
+        let (menu, tx) = test_menu();
+        let mut rx = menu.subscribe();
+        let handle = tokio::spawn(async move { menu.run().await });
+
+        let _ = rx.recv().await; // initial
+        let _ = tx
+            .send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Resize { height: 10 }))
+            .await;
+        let _ = rx.recv().await;
+
+        // Confirm with shift held
+        let shift = Modifiers {
+            shift: true,
+            ctrl: false,
+            alt: false,
+        };
+        let _ = tx
+            .send(ModifiedAction::with_modifiers(Action::Confirm, shift))
+            .await;
+
+        let result = handle
+            .await
+            .unwrap_or(Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled {
+                modifiers: Modifiers::default(),
+            }));
+        match result {
+            Ok(MenuResult::Selected { modifiers, .. }) => {
+                assert!(modifiers.shift, "shift should be set on result");
+                assert!(!modifiers.ctrl);
+                assert!(!modifiers.alt);
+            }
+            other => panic!("expected Selected with shift, got {other:?}"),
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn modifiers_flow_through_to_cancelled_result() {
+        let (menu, tx) = test_menu();
+        let _rx = menu.subscribe();
+        let handle = tokio::spawn(async move { menu.run().await });
+
+        let mods = Modifiers {
+            shift: false,
+            ctrl: true,
+            alt: true,
+        };
+        let _ = tx
+            .send(ModifiedAction::with_modifiers(Action::Cancel, mods))
+            .await;
+
+        let result = handle
+            .await
+            .unwrap_or(Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled {
+                modifiers: Modifiers::default(),
+            }));
+        match result {
+            Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled { modifiers }) => {
+                assert!(!modifiers.shift);
+                assert!(modifiers.ctrl, "ctrl should be set");
+                assert!(modifiers.alt, "alt should be set");
+            }
+            other => panic!("expected Cancelled with ctrl+alt, got {other:?}"),
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn no_modifiers_result_has_empty_modifiers() {
+        let (menu, tx) = test_menu();
+        let mut rx = menu.subscribe();
+        let handle = tokio::spawn(async move { menu.run().await });
+
+        let _ = rx.recv().await; // initial
+        let _ = tx
+            .send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Resize { height: 10 }))
+            .await;
+        let _ = rx.recv().await;
+
+        // Confirm without modifiers
+        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Confirm)).await;
+
+        let result = handle
+            .await
+            .unwrap_or(Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled {
+                modifiers: Modifiers::default(),
+            }));
+        match result {
+            Ok(MenuResult::Selected { modifiers, .. }) => {
+                assert!(
+                    modifiers.is_empty(),
+                    "modifiers should be empty when none held"
+                );
+            }
+            other => panic!("expected Selected with empty mods, got {other:?}"),
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn quicklist_carries_modifiers() {
+        let (menu, tx) = test_menu();
+        let mut rx = menu.subscribe();
+        let handle = tokio::spawn(async move { menu.run().await });
+
+        let _ = rx.recv().await; // initial
+        let _ = tx
+            .send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Resize { height: 10 }))
+            .await;
+        let _ = rx.recv().await;
+
+        let mods = Modifiers {
+            shift: true,
+            ctrl: false,
+            alt: true,
+        };
+        let _ = tx
+            .send(ModifiedAction::with_modifiers(Action::Quicklist, mods))
+            .await;
+
+        let result = handle
+            .await
+            .unwrap_or(Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled {
+                modifiers: Modifiers::default(),
+            }));
+        match result {
+            Ok(MenuResult::Quicklist { modifiers, .. }) => {
+                assert!(modifiers.shift);
+                assert!(!modifiers.ctrl);
+                assert!(modifiers.alt);
+            }
+            other => panic!("expected Quicklist with shift+alt, got {other:?}"),
+        }
+    }
+
     // -- SelectionState unit tests --
 
     #[test]
@@ -1812,4 +1997,54 @@ mod tests {
         // City "toronto" (7) vs header "City" (4): width = 7
         assert_eq!(cols[2].width, 7);
     }
+
+    // -- Streaming tests --
+
+    #[test]
+    fn streaming_done_sets_streaming_false() {
+        let (mut m, _tx) = test_menu();
+        m.set_streaming(true);
+        m.run_filter();
+        assert!(m.build_view_state().streaming);
+        let outcome = m.apply_action(Action::StreamingDone);
+        assert!(matches!(outcome, ActionOutcome::Broadcast));
+        assert!(!m.build_view_state().streaming);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn add_items_on_empty_streaming_menu() {
+        let (mut m, _tx) = MenuRunner::new(JsonMenu::new(vec![], "label".to_string()));
+        m.set_streaming(true);
+        m.run_filter();
+        m.apply_action(Action::Resize { height: 20 });
+
+        assert_eq!(m.menu.total(), 0);
+        assert!(m.build_view_state().streaming);
+
+        m.apply_action(Action::AddItems(vec![
+            Value::String("one".into()),
+            Value::String("two".into()),
+        ]));
+        assert_eq!(m.menu.total(), 2);
+        assert_eq!(m.menu.filtered_count(), 2);
+
+        // Confirm on non-empty streaming menu works
+        let outcome = m.apply_action(Action::Confirm);
+        assert!(matches!(outcome, ActionOutcome::Selected { .. }));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn confirm_on_empty_streaming_menu_is_noop() {
+        let (mut m, _tx) = MenuRunner::new(JsonMenu::new(vec![], "label".to_string()));
+        m.set_streaming(true);
+        m.run_filter();
+        let outcome = m.apply_action(Action::Confirm);
+        assert!(matches!(outcome, ActionOutcome::NoOp));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn view_state_streaming_defaults_false() {
+        let mut m = ready_menu();
+        assert!(!m.build_view_state().streaming);
+    }
 }

crates/pikl-core/src/script/action_fd/mod.rs

@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ pub mod parse;
 use tokio::sync::mpsc;
 
 use crate::error::PiklError;
-use crate::event::Action;
+use crate::event::{Action, ModifiedAction, Modifiers};
 
 pub use error::{ScriptError, ScriptErrorKind};
 pub use parse::{load_script, parse_action};
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ pub use parse::{load_script, parse_action};
 /// A parsed action from an action-fd script.
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq)]
 pub enum ScriptAction {
-    Core(Action),
+    Core(Action, Modifiers),
     ShowUi,
     ShowTui,
     ShowGui,
@@ -41,14 +41,14 @@ pub enum ShowAction {
 /// Returns the Show* variant if the script ends with one, or None.
 pub async fn run_script(
     script: Vec<ScriptAction>,
-    tx: &mpsc::Sender<Action>,
+    tx: &mpsc::Sender<ModifiedAction>,
 ) -> Result<Option<ShowAction>, PiklError> {
     let mut show = None;
 
     for action in script {
         match action {
-            ScriptAction::Core(action) => {
+            ScriptAction::Core(action, modifiers) => {
-                tx.send(action)
+                tx.send(ModifiedAction { action, modifiers })
                     .await
                     .map_err(|_| PiklError::ChannelClosed)?;
             }
@@ -69,9 +69,9 @@ mod tests {
     #[tokio::test]
     async fn run_script_sends_actions_in_order() {
         let script = vec![
-            ScriptAction::Core(Action::UpdateFilter("hello".to_string())),
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::UpdateFilter("hello".to_string()), Modifiers::default()),
-            ScriptAction::Core(Action::MoveDown(1)),
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::MoveDown(1), Modifiers::default()),
-            ScriptAction::Core(Action::Confirm),
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::Confirm, Modifiers::default()),
         ];
         let (tx, mut rx) = mpsc::channel(16);
         let result = run_script(script, &tx).await;
@@ -79,14 +79,14 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(result.unwrap_or(Some(ShowAction::Ui)), None);
 
         // Verify order
-        assert!(matches!(rx.recv().await, Some(Action::UpdateFilter(s)) if s == "hello"));
+        assert!(matches!(rx.recv().await, Some(ModifiedAction { action: Action::UpdateFilter(s), .. }) if s == "hello"));
-        assert!(matches!(rx.recv().await, Some(Action::MoveDown(1))));
+        assert!(matches!(rx.recv().await, Some(ModifiedAction { action: Action::MoveDown(1), .. })));
-        assert!(matches!(rx.recv().await, Some(Action::Confirm)));
+        assert!(matches!(rx.recv().await, Some(ModifiedAction { action: Action::Confirm, .. })));
     }
 
     #[tokio::test]
     async fn run_script_returns_none_without_show() {
-        let script = vec![ScriptAction::Core(Action::Confirm)];
+        let script = vec![ScriptAction::Core(Action::Confirm, Modifiers::default())];
         let (tx, _rx) = mpsc::channel(16);
         let result = run_script(script, &tx).await;
         assert!(result.is_ok());
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ mod tests {
     #[tokio::test]
     async fn run_script_returns_show_action() {
         let script = vec![
-            ScriptAction::Core(Action::UpdateFilter("test".to_string())),
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::UpdateFilter("test".to_string()), Modifiers::default()),
             ScriptAction::ShowUi,
         ];
         let (tx, _rx) = mpsc::channel(16);

crates/pikl-core/src/script/action_fd/parse.rs

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 
 use std::io::BufRead;
 
-use crate::event::{Action, Mode};
+use crate::event::{Action, Mode, Modifiers};
 
 use super::ScriptAction;
 use super::error::{ScriptError, ScriptErrorKind};
@@ -82,6 +82,30 @@ fn parse_positive_u16(
     }
 }
 
+/// Parse modifier prefixes from the start of a trimmed line.
+/// Returns (modifiers, remaining_line).
+fn parse_modifier_prefix(line: &str) -> Result<(Modifiers, &str), Option<String>> {
+    let mut mods = Modifiers::default();
+    let mut rest = line;
+
+    while let Some(stripped) = rest.strip_prefix('+') {
+        // Find the end of this modifier token (next space or '+')
+        let end = stripped
+            .find([' ', '+'])
+            .unwrap_or(stripped.len());
+        let token = &stripped[..end];
+        match token {
+            "shift" => mods.shift = true,
+            "ctrl" => mods.ctrl = true,
+            "alt" => mods.alt = true,
+            other => return Err(Some(format!("unknown modifier '+{other}'"))),
+        }
+        rest = stripped[end..].trim_start();
+    }
+
+    Ok((mods, rest))
+}
+
 /// Parse a single line into a ScriptAction.
 pub fn parse_action(line_number: usize, line: &str) -> Result<ScriptAction, ScriptError> {
     let trimmed = line.trim();
@@ -90,41 +114,66 @@ pub fn parse_action(line_number: usize, line: &str) -> Result<ScriptAction, Scri
         return Ok(ScriptAction::Comment);
     }
 
-    let (cmd, arg) = match trimmed.split_once(' ') {
+    // Parse optional modifier prefixes (+shift, +ctrl, +alt)
+    let (modifiers, rest) = parse_modifier_prefix(trimmed).map_err(|msg| ScriptError {
+        line: line_number,
+        source_line: line.to_string(),
+        kind: ScriptErrorKind::InvalidArgument {
+            action: String::new(),
+            message: msg.unwrap_or_default(),
+        },
+    })?;
+
+    if rest.is_empty() {
+        return Err(ScriptError {
+            line: line_number,
+            source_line: line.to_string(),
+            kind: ScriptErrorKind::InvalidArgument {
+                action: String::new(),
+                message: "modifier prefix without an action".to_string(),
+            },
+        });
+    }
+
+    let (cmd, arg) = match rest.split_once(' ') {
         Some((c, a)) => (c, Some(a)),
-        None => (trimmed, None),
+        None => (rest, None),
+    };
+
+    let core = |action: Action| -> Result<ScriptAction, ScriptError> {
+        Ok(ScriptAction::Core(action, modifiers))
     };
 
     match cmd {
         "filter" => {
             let text = arg.unwrap_or("");
-            Ok(ScriptAction::Core(Action::UpdateFilter(text.to_string())))
+            core(Action::UpdateFilter(text.to_string()))
         }
         "move-up" => {
             let n = parse_count(line_number, line, "move-up", arg)?;
-            Ok(ScriptAction::Core(Action::MoveUp(n)))
+            core(Action::MoveUp(n))
         }
         "move-down" => {
             let n = parse_count(line_number, line, "move-down", arg)?;
-            Ok(ScriptAction::Core(Action::MoveDown(n)))
+            core(Action::MoveDown(n))
         }
-        "move-to-top" => Ok(ScriptAction::Core(Action::MoveToTop)),
+        "move-to-top" => core(Action::MoveToTop),
-        "move-to-bottom" => Ok(ScriptAction::Core(Action::MoveToBottom)),
+        "move-to-bottom" => core(Action::MoveToBottom),
         "page-up" => {
             let n = parse_count(line_number, line, "page-up", arg)?;
-            Ok(ScriptAction::Core(Action::PageUp(n)))
+            core(Action::PageUp(n))
         }
         "page-down" => {
             let n = parse_count(line_number, line, "page-down", arg)?;
-            Ok(ScriptAction::Core(Action::PageDown(n)))
+            core(Action::PageDown(n))
         }
         "half-page-up" => {
             let n = parse_count(line_number, line, "half-page-up", arg)?;
-            Ok(ScriptAction::Core(Action::HalfPageUp(n)))
+            core(Action::HalfPageUp(n))
         }
         "half-page-down" => {
             let n = parse_count(line_number, line, "half-page-down", arg)?;
-            Ok(ScriptAction::Core(Action::HalfPageDown(n)))
+            core(Action::HalfPageDown(n))
         }
         "set-mode" => {
             let Some(mode_str) = arg else {
@@ -136,9 +185,9 @@ pub fn parse_action(line_number: usize, line: &str) -> Result<ScriptAction, Scri
                 ));
             };
             match mode_str.trim() {
-                "insert" => Ok(ScriptAction::Core(Action::SetMode(Mode::Insert))),
+                "insert" => core(Action::SetMode(Mode::Insert)),
-                "normal" => Ok(ScriptAction::Core(Action::SetMode(Mode::Normal))),
+                "normal" => core(Action::SetMode(Mode::Normal)),
-                "visual" => Ok(ScriptAction::Core(Action::SetMode(Mode::Visual))),
+                "visual" => core(Action::SetMode(Mode::Visual)),
                 other => Err(invalid_arg(
                     line_number,
                     line,
@@ -147,20 +196,21 @@ pub fn parse_action(line_number: usize, line: &str) -> Result<ScriptAction, Scri
                 )),
             }
         }
-        "toggle-select" => Ok(ScriptAction::Core(Action::ToggleSelect)),
+        "toggle-select" => core(Action::ToggleSelect),
-        "select-all" => Ok(ScriptAction::Core(Action::SelectAll)),
+        "select-all" => core(Action::SelectAll),
-        "deselect-all" => Ok(ScriptAction::Core(Action::ClearSelections)),
+        "deselect-all" => core(Action::ClearSelections),
-        "undo-selection" => Ok(ScriptAction::Core(Action::UndoSelection)),
+        "undo-selection" => core(Action::UndoSelection),
-        "redo-selection" => Ok(ScriptAction::Core(Action::RedoSelection)),
+        "redo-selection" => core(Action::RedoSelection),
-        "confirm" => Ok(ScriptAction::Core(Action::Confirm)),
+        "confirm" => core(Action::Confirm),
-        "cancel" => Ok(ScriptAction::Core(Action::Cancel)),
+        "cancel" => core(Action::Cancel),
         "resize" => {
             let height = parse_positive_u16(line_number, line, "resize", arg)?;
-            Ok(ScriptAction::Core(Action::Resize { height }))
+            core(Action::Resize { height })
         }
         "show-ui" => Ok(ScriptAction::ShowUi),
         "show-tui" => Ok(ScriptAction::ShowTui),
         "show-gui" => Ok(ScriptAction::ShowGui),
+        "streaming-done" => core(Action::StreamingDone),
         _ => Err(ScriptError {
             line: line_number,
             source_line: line.to_string(),
@@ -243,7 +293,7 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(result.is_ok());
         assert_eq!(
             result.unwrap_or(ScriptAction::Comment),
-            ScriptAction::Core(Action::UpdateFilter("hello world".to_string()))
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::UpdateFilter("hello world".to_string()), Modifiers::default())
         );
     }
 
@@ -253,7 +303,7 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(result.is_ok());
         assert_eq!(
             result.unwrap_or(ScriptAction::Comment),
-            ScriptAction::Core(Action::UpdateFilter(String::new()))
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::UpdateFilter(String::new()), Modifiers::default())
         );
     }
 
@@ -261,27 +311,27 @@ mod tests {
     fn parse_movement_actions() {
         assert_eq!(
             parse_action(1, "move-up").unwrap_or(ScriptAction::Comment),
-            ScriptAction::Core(Action::MoveUp(1))
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::MoveUp(1), Modifiers::default())
         );
         assert_eq!(
             parse_action(1, "move-down").unwrap_or(ScriptAction::Comment),
-            ScriptAction::Core(Action::MoveDown(1))
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::MoveDown(1), Modifiers::default())
         );
         assert_eq!(
             parse_action(1, "move-to-top").unwrap_or(ScriptAction::Comment),
-            ScriptAction::Core(Action::MoveToTop)
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::MoveToTop, Modifiers::default())
         );
         assert_eq!(
             parse_action(1, "move-to-bottom").unwrap_or(ScriptAction::Comment),
-            ScriptAction::Core(Action::MoveToBottom)
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::MoveToBottom, Modifiers::default())
         );
         assert_eq!(
             parse_action(1, "page-up").unwrap_or(ScriptAction::Comment),
-            ScriptAction::Core(Action::PageUp(1))
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::PageUp(1), Modifiers::default())
         );
         assert_eq!(
             parse_action(1, "page-down").unwrap_or(ScriptAction::Comment),
-            ScriptAction::Core(Action::PageDown(1))
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::PageDown(1), Modifiers::default())
         );
     }
 
@@ -289,19 +339,19 @@ mod tests {
     fn parse_movement_with_count() {
         assert_eq!(
             parse_action(1, "move-up 5").unwrap_or(ScriptAction::Comment),
-            ScriptAction::Core(Action::MoveUp(5))
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::MoveUp(5), Modifiers::default())
         );
         assert_eq!(
             parse_action(1, "move-down 3").unwrap_or(ScriptAction::Comment),
-            ScriptAction::Core(Action::MoveDown(3))
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::MoveDown(3), Modifiers::default())
         );
         assert_eq!(
             parse_action(1, "page-up 2").unwrap_or(ScriptAction::Comment),
-            ScriptAction::Core(Action::PageUp(2))
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::PageUp(2), Modifiers::default())
         );
         assert_eq!(
             parse_action(1, "page-down 10").unwrap_or(ScriptAction::Comment),
-            ScriptAction::Core(Action::PageDown(10))
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::PageDown(10), Modifiers::default())
         );
     }
 
@@ -323,11 +373,11 @@ mod tests {
     fn parse_confirm_cancel() {
         assert_eq!(
             parse_action(1, "confirm").unwrap_or(ScriptAction::Comment),
-            ScriptAction::Core(Action::Confirm)
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::Confirm, Modifiers::default())
         );
         assert_eq!(
             parse_action(1, "cancel").unwrap_or(ScriptAction::Comment),
-            ScriptAction::Core(Action::Cancel)
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::Cancel, Modifiers::default())
         );
     }
 
@@ -335,7 +385,7 @@ mod tests {
     fn parse_resize_valid() {
         assert_eq!(
             parse_action(1, "resize 25").unwrap_or(ScriptAction::Comment),
-            ScriptAction::Core(Action::Resize { height: 25 })
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::Resize { height: 25 }, Modifiers::default())
         );
     }
 
@@ -404,19 +454,19 @@ mod tests {
     fn parse_half_page_actions() {
         assert_eq!(
             parse_action(1, "half-page-up").unwrap_or(ScriptAction::Comment),
-            ScriptAction::Core(Action::HalfPageUp(1))
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::HalfPageUp(1), Modifiers::default())
         );
         assert_eq!(
             parse_action(1, "half-page-down").unwrap_or(ScriptAction::Comment),
-            ScriptAction::Core(Action::HalfPageDown(1))
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::HalfPageDown(1), Modifiers::default())
         );
         assert_eq!(
             parse_action(1, "half-page-up 3").unwrap_or(ScriptAction::Comment),
-            ScriptAction::Core(Action::HalfPageUp(3))
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::HalfPageUp(3), Modifiers::default())
         );
         assert_eq!(
             parse_action(1, "half-page-down 2").unwrap_or(ScriptAction::Comment),
-            ScriptAction::Core(Action::HalfPageDown(2))
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::HalfPageDown(2), Modifiers::default())
         );
     }
 
@@ -430,11 +480,11 @@ mod tests {
     fn parse_set_mode() {
         assert_eq!(
             parse_action(1, "set-mode insert").unwrap_or(ScriptAction::Comment),
-            ScriptAction::Core(Action::SetMode(Mode::Insert))
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::SetMode(Mode::Insert), Modifiers::default())
         );
         assert_eq!(
             parse_action(1, "set-mode normal").unwrap_or(ScriptAction::Comment),
-            ScriptAction::Core(Action::SetMode(Mode::Normal))
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::SetMode(Mode::Normal), Modifiers::default())
         );
     }
 
@@ -447,7 +497,7 @@ mod tests {
     fn parse_set_mode_invalid() {
         assert_eq!(
             parse_action(1, "set-mode visual").unwrap_or(ScriptAction::Comment),
-            ScriptAction::Core(Action::SetMode(Mode::Visual))
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::SetMode(Mode::Visual), Modifiers::default())
         );
     }
 
@@ -518,7 +568,7 @@ mod tests {
             ParsedLine {
                 line_number: 1,
                 source: "filter test".into(),
-                action: ScriptAction::Core(Action::UpdateFilter("test".into())),
+                action: ScriptAction::Core(Action::UpdateFilter("test".into()), Modifiers::default()),
             },
             ParsedLine {
                 line_number: 2,
@@ -540,7 +590,7 @@ mod tests {
             ParsedLine {
                 line_number: 2,
                 source: "confirm".into(),
-                action: ScriptAction::Core(Action::Confirm),
+                action: ScriptAction::Core(Action::Confirm, Modifiers::default()),
             },
         ];
         let err = validate_show_last(&actions).unwrap_err();
@@ -554,7 +604,7 @@ mod tests {
             ParsedLine {
                 line_number: 1,
                 source: "filter x".into(),
-                action: ScriptAction::Core(Action::UpdateFilter("x".into())),
+                action: ScriptAction::Core(Action::UpdateFilter("x".into()), Modifiers::default()),
             },
             ParsedLine {
                 line_number: 2,
@@ -564,7 +614,7 @@ mod tests {
             ParsedLine {
                 line_number: 3,
                 source: "confirm".into(),
-                action: ScriptAction::Core(Action::Confirm),
+                action: ScriptAction::Core(Action::Confirm, Modifiers::default()),
             },
         ];
         let err = validate_show_last(&actions).unwrap_err();
@@ -588,12 +638,12 @@ mod tests {
             ParsedLine {
                 line_number: 1,
                 source: "filter x".into(),
-                action: ScriptAction::Core(Action::UpdateFilter("x".into())),
+                action: ScriptAction::Core(Action::UpdateFilter("x".into()), Modifiers::default()),
             },
             ParsedLine {
                 line_number: 2,
                 source: "confirm".into(),
-                action: ScriptAction::Core(Action::Confirm),
+                action: ScriptAction::Core(Action::Confirm, Modifiers::default()),
             },
         ];
         assert!(validate_show_last(&actions).is_ok());
@@ -658,23 +708,31 @@ mod tests {
     fn parse_selection_actions() {
         assert_eq!(
             parse_action(1, "toggle-select").unwrap_or(ScriptAction::Comment),
-            ScriptAction::Core(Action::ToggleSelect)
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::ToggleSelect, Modifiers::default())
         );
         assert_eq!(
             parse_action(1, "select-all").unwrap_or(ScriptAction::Comment),
-            ScriptAction::Core(Action::SelectAll)
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::SelectAll, Modifiers::default())
         );
         assert_eq!(
             parse_action(1, "deselect-all").unwrap_or(ScriptAction::Comment),
-            ScriptAction::Core(Action::ClearSelections)
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::ClearSelections, Modifiers::default())
         );
         assert_eq!(
             parse_action(1, "undo-selection").unwrap_or(ScriptAction::Comment),
-            ScriptAction::Core(Action::UndoSelection)
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::UndoSelection, Modifiers::default())
         );
         assert_eq!(
             parse_action(1, "redo-selection").unwrap_or(ScriptAction::Comment),
-            ScriptAction::Core(Action::RedoSelection)
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::RedoSelection, Modifiers::default())
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parse_streaming_done() {
+        assert_eq!(
+            parse_action(1, "streaming-done").unwrap_or(ScriptAction::Comment),
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::StreamingDone, Modifiers::default())
         );
     }
 
@@ -690,11 +748,11 @@ mod tests {
         // Extra whitespace around the mode value should be trimmed
         assert_eq!(
             parse_action(1, "set-mode  insert ").unwrap_or(ScriptAction::Comment),
-            ScriptAction::Core(Action::SetMode(Mode::Insert))
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::SetMode(Mode::Insert), Modifiers::default())
         );
         assert_eq!(
             parse_action(1, "set-mode  normal ").unwrap_or(ScriptAction::Comment),
-            ScriptAction::Core(Action::SetMode(Mode::Normal))
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::SetMode(Mode::Normal), Modifiers::default())
         );
     }
 
@@ -705,16 +763,96 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(result.is_ok());
         let actions = result.unwrap_or_default();
         assert_eq!(actions.len(), 5);
-        assert_eq!(actions[0], ScriptAction::Core(Action::HalfPageUp(2)));
+        assert_eq!(actions[0], ScriptAction::Core(Action::HalfPageUp(2), Modifiers::default()));
         assert_eq!(
             actions[1],
-            ScriptAction::Core(Action::SetMode(Mode::Normal))
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::SetMode(Mode::Normal), Modifiers::default())
         );
         assert_eq!(
             actions[2],
-            ScriptAction::Core(Action::SetMode(Mode::Insert))
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::SetMode(Mode::Insert), Modifiers::default())
         );
-        assert_eq!(actions[3], ScriptAction::Core(Action::HalfPageDown(1)));
+        assert_eq!(actions[3], ScriptAction::Core(Action::HalfPageDown(1), Modifiers::default()));
-        assert_eq!(actions[4], ScriptAction::Core(Action::Confirm));
+        assert_eq!(actions[4], ScriptAction::Core(Action::Confirm, Modifiers::default()));
+    }
+
+    // -- Modifier prefix tests --
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parse_shift_prefix() {
+        let result = parse_action(1, "+shift confirm");
+        assert!(result.is_ok());
+        let expected_mods = Modifiers {
+            shift: true,
+            ctrl: false,
+            alt: false,
+        };
+        assert_eq!(
+            result.unwrap_or(ScriptAction::Comment),
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::Confirm, expected_mods)
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parse_multiple_modifier_prefixes() {
+        let result = parse_action(1, "+ctrl+alt move-down 3");
+        assert!(result.is_ok());
+        let expected_mods = Modifiers {
+            shift: false,
+            ctrl: true,
+            alt: true,
+        };
+        assert_eq!(
+            result.unwrap_or(ScriptAction::Comment),
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::MoveDown(3), expected_mods)
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parse_all_modifier_prefixes() {
+        let result = parse_action(1, "+shift+ctrl+alt cancel");
+        assert!(result.is_ok());
+        let expected_mods = Modifiers {
+            shift: true,
+            ctrl: true,
+            alt: true,
+        };
+        assert_eq!(
+            result.unwrap_or(ScriptAction::Comment),
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::Cancel, expected_mods)
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parse_unknown_modifier_is_error() {
+        let result = parse_action(1, "+super confirm");
+        assert!(result.is_err());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parse_modifier_without_action_is_error() {
+        let result = parse_action(1, "+shift");
+        assert!(result.is_err());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parse_no_modifier_prefix_has_empty_modifiers() {
+        let result = parse_action(1, "confirm");
+        assert!(result.is_ok());
+        assert_eq!(
+            result.unwrap_or(ScriptAction::Comment),
+            ScriptAction::Core(Action::Confirm, Modifiers::default())
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parse_modifier_with_space_separated() {
+        // "+shift confirm" should work
+        let result = parse_action(1, "+shift confirm");
+        assert!(result.is_ok());
+        if let Ok(ScriptAction::Core(_, mods)) = result {
+            assert!(mods.shift);
+            assert!(!mods.ctrl);
+        }
     }
 }

crates/pikl-gui/Cargo.toml

@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+[package]
+name = "pikl-gui"
+description = "GUI frontend for pikl-menu (iced-based, with platform-specific windowing)."
+version.workspace = true
+edition.workspace = true
+license.workspace = true
+
+[lints]
+workspace = true
+
+[dependencies]
+pikl-core = { path = "../pikl-core" }
+iced = { version = "0.14", features = ["tokio"] }
+tokio = { version = "1", features = ["sync", "macros", "rt"] }
+tracing = "0.1"
+
+[target.'cfg(target_os = "linux")'.dependencies]
+iced_layershell = "0.15"

crates/pikl-gui/src/lib.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,681 @@
+//! GUI frontend for pikl-menu. Platform-aware: uses Wayland
+//! layer-shell on Linux, native window overlay on macOS.
+
+use std::sync::{Mutex, OnceLock};
+
+use iced::keyboard::key::Named;
+use iced::keyboard::{Key, Modifiers};
+use iced::widget::{column, container, row, scrollable, text, text_input, Column};
+use iced::{Color, Element, Font, Length, Subscription, Task, Theme};
+use tokio::sync::{broadcast, mpsc};
+
+#[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
+use iced_layershell::to_layer_message;
+
+use pikl_core::event::{
+    Action, MenuEvent, ModifiedAction, Modifiers as PiklModifiers, Mode, ViewState, VisibleItem,
+};
+
+/// Number of visible items in the list viewport.
+const VIEWPORT_HEIGHT: u16 = 20;
+
+/// GUI error type. Wraps platform-specific errors from the
+/// iced backends into a single Display-able type.
+#[derive(Debug)]
+pub struct GuiError(String);
+
+impl std::fmt::Display for GuiError {
+    fn fmt(&self, f: &mut std::fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> std::fmt::Result {
+        f.write_str(&self.0)
+    }
+}
+
+impl std::error::Error for GuiError {}
+
+/// Pending key state for multi-key sequences (e.g. `gg`).
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq)]
+enum PendingKey {
+    None,
+    G,
+}
+
+/// Messages for the iced application. On Linux the
+/// `#[to_layer_message]` macro adds layer-shell variants
+/// that the wildcard arm in `update` handles.
+#[cfg_attr(target_os = "linux", to_layer_message)]
+#[derive(Debug, Clone)]
+enum Message {
+    /// A state snapshot arrived from the core engine.
+    StateChanged(ViewState),
+    /// The core signalled that the menu is done.
+    Done,
+    /// Text input changed (insert mode filter).
+    FilterChanged(String),
+    /// A keyboard event from iced.
+    KeyPressed(Key, Modifiers),
+    /// Fire-and-forget action sent, nothing to do.
+    Sent,
+}
+
+/// Global slot for the bridge receiver. Used by the
+/// subscription fn pointer since `Subscription::run`
+/// doesn't accept closures.
+static BRIDGE_RX: OnceLock<Mutex<Option<mpsc::Receiver<Message>>>> = OnceLock::new();
+
+/// Global slot for the action sender. Moved into the Pikl
+/// struct during boot (called exactly once by iced).
+static ACTION_TX: OnceLock<Mutex<Option<mpsc::Sender<ModifiedAction>>>> = OnceLock::new();
+
+/// Top-level GUI state.
+struct Pikl {
+    /// Channel to send actions into the core engine.
+    action_tx: mpsc::Sender<ModifiedAction>,
+    /// Current view snapshot from core.
+    view_state: Option<ViewState>,
+    /// Local copy of filter text for the text input widget.
+    filter_text: String,
+    /// Current input mode (synced from core).
+    mode: Mode,
+    /// Pending key for multi-key sequences.
+    pending: PendingKey,
+    /// Whether multi-select is enabled (synced from core).
+    multi_enabled: bool,
+    /// Visual mode anchor index.
+    visual_anchor: Option<usize>,
+    /// Last generation seen, to skip duplicate broadcasts.
+    last_generation: u64,
+    /// Whether we've focused the input after the first render.
+    initial_focus_done: bool,
+    /// ID for the filter text input widget.
+    filter_input_id: iced::widget::Id,
+}
+
+/// Boot closure shared between platforms. Creates the initial
+/// Pikl state and returns a focus task for the filter input.
+fn boot() -> (Pikl, Task<Message>) {
+    let input_id = iced::widget::Id::unique();
+    let atx = ACTION_TX
+        .get()
+        .and_then(|m| m.lock().unwrap_or_else(|e| e.into_inner()).take())
+        .unwrap_or_else(|| {
+            let (tx, _) = mpsc::channel::<ModifiedAction>(1);
+            tx
+        });
+    let pikl = Pikl {
+        action_tx: atx,
+        view_state: None,
+        filter_text: String::new(),
+        mode: Mode::Insert,
+        pending: PendingKey::None,
+        multi_enabled: false,
+        visual_anchor: None,
+        last_generation: 0,
+        initial_focus_done: false,
+        filter_input_id: input_id.clone(),
+    };
+    (pikl, iced::widget::operation::focus(input_id))
+}
+
+// ── Platform: Wayland layer-shell (Linux) ──────────────
+
+#[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
+pub fn run(
+    action_tx: mpsc::Sender<ModifiedAction>,
+    event_rx: broadcast::Receiver<MenuEvent>,
+) -> Result<(), GuiError> {
+    use iced_layershell::build_pattern::application as layer_application;
+    use iced_layershell::reexport::{Anchor, KeyboardInteractivity, Layer};
+    use iced_layershell::settings::{LayerShellSettings, Settings};
+
+    setup_bridge(action_tx, event_rx);
+
+    layer_application(boot, "pikl", update, view)
+        .settings(Settings {
+            layer_settings: LayerShellSettings {
+                layer: Layer::Overlay,
+                anchor: Anchor::Top | Anchor::Left | Anchor::Right,
+                size: Some((0, 600)),
+                keyboard_interactivity: KeyboardInteractivity::Exclusive,
+                exclusive_zone: -1,
+                margin: (200, 400, 0, 400),
+                ..Default::default()
+            },
+            ..Default::default()
+        })
+        .subscription(subscription)
+        .theme(theme)
+        .run()
+        .map_err(|e| GuiError(format!("{e}")))
+}
+
+// ── Platform: native window overlay (macOS) ────────────
+
+#[cfg(target_os = "macos")]
+pub fn run(
+    action_tx: mpsc::Sender<ModifiedAction>,
+    event_rx: broadcast::Receiver<MenuEvent>,
+) -> Result<(), GuiError> {
+    setup_bridge(action_tx, event_rx);
+
+    iced::application(boot, update, view)
+        .title("pikl")
+        .window_size((800, 600))
+        .centered()
+        .decorations(false)
+        .level(iced::window::Level::AlwaysOnTop)
+        .subscription(subscription)
+        .theme(theme)
+        .run()
+        .map_err(|e| GuiError(format!("{e}")))
+}
+
+// ── Shared setup ───────────────────────────────────────
+
+/// Send initial resize to core, spawn the bridge thread,
+/// and stash channels in global slots.
+fn setup_bridge(
+    action_tx: mpsc::Sender<ModifiedAction>,
+    event_rx: broadcast::Receiver<MenuEvent>,
+) {
+    // try_send rather than blocking_send: this is the first
+    // message on a fresh channel so it always has capacity,
+    // and try_send works regardless of whether we're inside
+    // a tokio runtime context (macOS calls this from the
+    // main thread outside block_on).
+    let _ = action_tx.try_send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Resize {
+        height: VIEWPORT_HEIGHT,
+    }));
+
+    let (bridge_tx, bridge_rx) = mpsc::channel::<Message>(64);
+    std::thread::spawn(move || {
+        bridge_core_events(event_rx, bridge_tx);
+    });
+
+    let _ = BRIDGE_RX.set(Mutex::new(Some(bridge_rx)));
+    let _ = ACTION_TX.set(Mutex::new(Some(action_tx)));
+}
+
+/// Read core events from the broadcast channel and forward
+/// them as Messages. Runs on a dedicated thread with its
+/// own tokio runtime so it works regardless of whether the
+/// caller's runtime is still alive.
+fn bridge_core_events(
+    mut event_rx: broadcast::Receiver<MenuEvent>,
+    bridge_tx: mpsc::Sender<Message>,
+) {
+    let rt = match tokio::runtime::Builder::new_current_thread()
+        .enable_all()
+        .build()
+    {
+        Ok(rt) => rt,
+        Err(_) => return,
+    };
+    rt.block_on(async {
+        loop {
+            match event_rx.recv().await {
+                Ok(MenuEvent::StateChanged(vs)) => {
+                    if bridge_tx.send(Message::StateChanged(vs)).await.is_err() {
+                        break;
+                    }
+                }
+                Ok(
+                    MenuEvent::Selected(_)
+                    | MenuEvent::Quicklist(_)
+                    | MenuEvent::Cancelled,
+                ) => {
+                    let _ = bridge_tx.send(Message::Done).await;
+                    break;
+                }
+                Err(broadcast::error::RecvError::Lagged(n)) => {
+                    tracing::warn!(skipped = n, "GUI fell behind on state broadcasts");
+                }
+                Err(broadcast::error::RecvError::Closed) => {
+                    let _ = bridge_tx.send(Message::Done).await;
+                    break;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    });
+}
+
+// ── Update / View / Subscription ───────────────────────
+
+fn update(state: &mut Pikl, message: Message) -> Task<Message> {
+    #[allow(unreachable_patterns)]
+    match message {
+        Message::StateChanged(vs) => {
+            if vs.generation == state.last_generation {
+                return Task::none();
+            }
+            state.last_generation = vs.generation;
+
+            if &*vs.filter_text != state.filter_text.as_str() {
+                state.filter_text = vs.filter_text.to_string();
+            }
+            if vs.mode != state.mode {
+                state.mode = vs.mode;
+                state.pending = PendingKey::None;
+            }
+            state.multi_enabled = vs.multi_enabled;
+            state.view_state = Some(vs);
+
+            // Re-focus the input on the first state update.
+            // The boot focus task can fire before the widget
+            // tree exists, so this catches the case where the
+            // input starts unfocused.
+            if !state.initial_focus_done {
+                state.initial_focus_done = true;
+                iced::widget::operation::focus(state.filter_input_id.clone())
+            } else {
+                Task::none()
+            }
+        }
+        Message::Done => iced::exit(),
+        Message::FilterChanged(new_text) => {
+            if state.mode != Mode::Insert {
+                return Task::none();
+            }
+            state.filter_text = new_text.clone();
+            let tx = state.action_tx.clone();
+            Task::perform(
+                async move {
+                    let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::UpdateFilter(new_text))).await;
+                },
+                |_| Message::Sent,
+            )
+        }
+        Message::KeyPressed(key, modifiers) => handle_key(state, key, modifiers),
+        Message::Sent => Task::none(),
+        _ => Task::none(),
+    }
+}
+
+fn view(state: &Pikl) -> Element<'_, Message> {
+    let filter_input = text_input("filter...", &state.filter_text)
+        .id(state.filter_input_id.clone())
+        .on_input(Message::FilterChanged)
+        .padding(8)
+        .size(16)
+        .font(Font::MONOSPACE);
+
+    let mode_indicator = match state.mode {
+        Mode::Insert => "[I]",
+        Mode::Normal => "[N]",
+        Mode::Visual => "[V]",
+    };
+
+    let counts = if let Some(vs) = &state.view_state {
+        let streaming = if vs.streaming { "..." } else { "" };
+        let sel = if vs.selection_count > 0 {
+            format!("  [{}]", vs.selection_count)
+        } else {
+            String::new()
+        };
+        format!(
+            "{}/{}{streaming}{sel}",
+            vs.total_filtered, vs.total_items
+        )
+    } else {
+        String::from("0/0")
+    };
+
+    let prompt_row = row![
+        text(mode_indicator)
+            .font(Font::MONOSPACE)
+            .size(16)
+            .color(Color::from_rgb(0.4, 0.8, 1.0)),
+        filter_input,
+        text(counts)
+            .font(Font::MONOSPACE)
+            .size(14)
+            .color(Color::from_rgb(0.5, 0.5, 0.5)),
+    ]
+    .spacing(8)
+    .align_y(iced::Alignment::Center)
+    .padding(4);
+
+    let items_list: Element<Message> = if let Some(vs) = &state.view_state {
+        let items: Vec<Element<Message>> = vs
+            .visible_items
+            .iter()
+            .enumerate()
+            .map(|(i, vi)| render_item(state, i, vi, vs))
+            .collect();
+
+        scrollable(
+            Column::with_children(items)
+                .spacing(0)
+                .width(Length::Fill),
+        )
+        .height(Length::Fill)
+        .into()
+    } else {
+        text("loading...").font(Font::MONOSPACE).size(14).into()
+    };
+
+    container(
+        column![prompt_row, items_list]
+            .spacing(0)
+            .width(Length::Fill),
+    )
+    .style(|_theme| container::Style {
+        background: Some(iced::Background::Color(Color::from_rgb(
+            0.12, 0.12, 0.15,
+        ))),
+        ..Default::default()
+    })
+    .width(Length::Fill)
+    .height(Length::Fill)
+    .into()
+}
+
+fn theme(_state: &Pikl) -> Theme {
+    Theme::Dark
+}
+
+fn render_item<'a>(
+    state: &Pikl,
+    index: usize,
+    vi: &VisibleItem,
+    vs: &ViewState,
+) -> Element<'a, Message> {
+    let is_cursor = index == vs.cursor;
+    let in_visual = if vs.mode == Mode::Visual {
+        state.visual_anchor.is_some_and(|anchor| {
+            let min = anchor.min(vs.cursor);
+            let max = anchor.max(vs.cursor);
+            (min..=max).contains(&index)
+        })
+    } else {
+        false
+    };
+
+    let display_text = vi.formatted_text.as_deref().unwrap_or(vi.label.as_str());
+
+    let label = if state.multi_enabled {
+        let marker = if vi.selected { "* " } else { "  " };
+        format!("{marker}{display_text}")
+    } else {
+        display_text.to_string()
+    };
+
+    let text_color = if vi.selected {
+        Color::from_rgb(0.4, 0.9, 0.4)
+    } else if is_cursor || in_visual {
+        Color::from_rgb(0.95, 0.95, 0.95)
+    } else {
+        Color::from_rgb(0.8, 0.8, 0.8)
+    };
+
+    let bg_color = if is_cursor {
+        Color::from_rgb(0.25, 0.25, 0.35)
+    } else if in_visual {
+        Color::from_rgb(0.15, 0.2, 0.35)
+    } else {
+        Color::TRANSPARENT
+    };
+
+    container(
+        text(label)
+            .font(Font::MONOSPACE)
+            .size(15)
+            .color(text_color),
+    )
+    .style(move |_theme| container::Style {
+        background: Some(iced::Background::Color(bg_color)),
+        ..Default::default()
+    })
+    .padding([4, 10])
+    .width(Length::Fill)
+    .into()
+}
+
+fn subscription(_state: &Pikl) -> Subscription<Message> {
+    let keyboard_sub = iced::event::listen_with(|event, _status, _id| match event {
+        iced::Event::Keyboard(iced::keyboard::Event::KeyPressed {
+            key,
+            modifiers,
+            ..
+        }) => Some(Message::KeyPressed(key, modifiers)),
+        _ => None,
+    });
+
+    let core_sub = Subscription::run(core_event_stream);
+
+    Subscription::batch([keyboard_sub, core_sub])
+}
+
+/// Stream factory for the core event subscription. Takes the
+/// bridge receiver from the global slot and yields Messages
+/// until the channel closes.
+fn core_event_stream() -> impl iced::futures::Stream<Item = Message> {
+    let rx = BRIDGE_RX
+        .get()
+        .and_then(|m| m.lock().unwrap_or_else(|e| e.into_inner()).take());
+
+    iced::futures::stream::unfold(rx, |state| async move {
+        let mut rx = state?;
+        match rx.recv().await {
+            Some(msg) => Some((msg, Some(rx))),
+            None => Some((Message::Done, None)),
+        }
+    })
+}
+
+// ── Keyboard handling ──────────────────────────────────
+
+/// Convert iced keyboard modifiers to pikl Modifiers.
+fn iced_modifiers(m: &iced::keyboard::Modifiers) -> PiklModifiers {
+    PiklModifiers {
+        shift: m.shift(),
+        ctrl: m.control(),
+        alt: m.alt(),
+    }
+}
+
+/// Handle a keyboard event and return the appropriate task.
+fn handle_key(state: &mut Pikl, key: Key, modifiers: Modifiers) -> Task<Message> {
+    let action = match state.mode {
+        Mode::Insert => map_insert_key(state, &key, &modifiers),
+        Mode::Normal => map_normal_key(state, &key, &modifiers),
+        Mode::Visual => map_visual_key(state, &key, &modifiers),
+    };
+
+    if let Some(action) = action {
+        if let Action::SetMode(m) = &action {
+            if *m == Mode::Visual {
+                if let Some(vs) = &state.view_state {
+                    state.visual_anchor = Some(vs.cursor);
+                }
+            } else if state.mode == Mode::Visual {
+                state.visual_anchor = None;
+            }
+            state.mode = *m;
+            state.pending = PendingKey::None;
+        }
+
+        let focus_task = if matches!(action, Action::SetMode(Mode::Insert)) {
+            iced::widget::operation::focus(state.filter_input_id.clone())
+        } else {
+            Task::none()
+        };
+
+        let tx = state.action_tx.clone();
+        let mods = iced_modifiers(&modifiers);
+        let send_task = Task::perform(
+            async move {
+                let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::with_modifiers(action, mods)).await;
+            },
+            |_| Message::Sent,
+        );
+
+        Task::batch([send_task, focus_task])
+    } else {
+        Task::none()
+    }
+}
+
+/// Map keys in insert mode. Returns None for keys that the
+/// text_input widget handles (regular characters, backspace).
+fn map_insert_key(state: &mut Pikl, key: &Key, modifiers: &Modifiers) -> Option<Action> {
+    let ctrl = modifiers.control();
+
+    match key {
+        Key::Named(Named::Escape) => Some(Action::Cancel),
+        Key::Named(Named::Enter) => Some(Action::Confirm),
+        Key::Named(Named::ArrowUp) => Some(Action::MoveUp(1)),
+        Key::Named(Named::ArrowDown) => Some(Action::MoveDown(1)),
+        Key::Named(Named::PageUp) => Some(Action::PageUp(1)),
+        Key::Named(Named::PageDown) => Some(Action::PageDown(1)),
+        Key::Named(Named::Tab) if state.multi_enabled => {
+            let tx = state.action_tx.clone();
+            let mods = iced_modifiers(modifiers);
+            tokio::spawn(async move {
+                let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::with_modifiers(Action::ToggleSelect, mods)).await;
+                let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::with_modifiers(Action::MoveDown(1), mods)).await;
+            });
+            None
+        }
+        Key::Character(c) if ctrl && c.as_str() == "p" => Some(Action::MoveUp(1)),
+        Key::Character(c) if ctrl && c.as_str() == "n" => {
+            Some(Action::SetMode(Mode::Normal))
+        }
+        Key::Character(c) if ctrl && c.as_str() == "q" => Some(Action::Quicklist),
+        _ => None,
+    }
+}
+
+/// Map keys in normal mode.
+fn map_normal_key(state: &mut Pikl, key: &Key, modifiers: &Modifiers) -> Option<Action> {
+    let ctrl = modifiers.control();
+
+    if state.pending == PendingKey::G {
+        state.pending = PendingKey::None;
+        if let Key::Character(c) = key
+            && c.as_str() == "g"
+            && !ctrl
+        {
+            return Some(Action::MoveToTop);
+        }
+    }
+
+    match key {
+        Key::Character(c) if !ctrl => match c.as_str() {
+            "j" => Some(Action::MoveDown(1)),
+            "k" => Some(Action::MoveUp(1)),
+            "G" => Some(Action::MoveToBottom),
+            "g" => {
+                state.pending = PendingKey::G;
+                None
+            }
+            "/" => Some(Action::SetMode(Mode::Insert)),
+            "q" => Some(Action::Cancel),
+            "V" => Some(Action::SetMode(Mode::Visual)),
+            "U" => Some(Action::ClearSelections),
+            "u" => Some(Action::UndoSelection),
+            " " if state.multi_enabled => {
+                let tx = state.action_tx.clone();
+                let mods = iced_modifiers(modifiers);
+                tokio::spawn(async move {
+                    let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::with_modifiers(Action::ToggleSelect, mods)).await;
+                    let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::with_modifiers(Action::MoveDown(1), mods)).await;
+                });
+                None
+            }
+            _ => None,
+        },
+        Key::Character(c) if ctrl => match c.as_str() {
+            "d" => Some(Action::HalfPageDown(1)),
+            "u" => Some(Action::HalfPageUp(1)),
+            "f" => Some(Action::PageDown(1)),
+            "b" => Some(Action::PageUp(1)),
+            "e" => Some(Action::SetMode(Mode::Insert)),
+            "q" => Some(Action::Quicklist),
+            "r" => Some(Action::RedoSelection),
+            _ => None,
+        },
+        Key::Named(Named::Enter) => Some(Action::Confirm),
+        Key::Named(Named::Escape) => Some(Action::Cancel),
+        Key::Named(Named::ArrowUp) => Some(Action::MoveUp(1)),
+        Key::Named(Named::ArrowDown) => Some(Action::MoveDown(1)),
+        Key::Named(Named::Tab) if state.multi_enabled => {
+            let tx = state.action_tx.clone();
+            let mods = iced_modifiers(modifiers);
+            tokio::spawn(async move {
+                let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::with_modifiers(Action::ToggleSelect, mods)).await;
+                let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::with_modifiers(Action::MoveDown(1), mods)).await;
+            });
+            None
+        }
+        _ => None,
+    }
+}
+
+/// Map keys in visual mode.
+fn map_visual_key(state: &mut Pikl, key: &Key, modifiers: &Modifiers) -> Option<Action> {
+    let ctrl = modifiers.control();
+
+    if state.pending == PendingKey::G {
+        state.pending = PendingKey::None;
+        if let Key::Character(c) = key
+            && c.as_str() == "g"
+            && !ctrl
+        {
+            return Some(Action::MoveToTop);
+        }
+    }
+
+    match key {
+        Key::Character(c) if !ctrl => match c.as_str() {
+            "j" => Some(Action::MoveDown(1)),
+            "k" => Some(Action::MoveUp(1)),
+            "G" => Some(Action::MoveToBottom),
+            "g" => {
+                state.pending = PendingKey::G;
+                None
+            }
+            "V" => Some(Action::SetMode(Mode::Normal)),
+            " " => {
+                if let (Some(anchor), Some(vs)) =
+                    (state.visual_anchor, &state.view_state)
+                {
+                    let tx = state.action_tx.clone();
+                    let start = anchor;
+                    let end = vs.cursor;
+                    let mods = iced_modifiers(modifiers);
+                    tokio::spawn(async move {
+                        let _ = tx
+                            .send(ModifiedAction::with_modifiers(Action::SelectRange { start, end }, mods))
+                            .await;
+                        let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::with_modifiers(Action::SetMode(Mode::Normal), mods)).await;
+                    });
+                }
+                state.visual_anchor = None;
+                None
+            }
+            _ => None,
+        },
+        Key::Named(Named::Enter) => {
+            if let (Some(anchor), Some(vs)) =
+                (state.visual_anchor, &state.view_state)
+            {
+                let tx = state.action_tx.clone();
+                let start = anchor;
+                let end = vs.cursor;
+                let mods = iced_modifiers(modifiers);
+                tokio::spawn(async move {
+                    let _ = tx
+                        .send(ModifiedAction::with_modifiers(Action::SelectRange { start, end }, mods))
+                        .await;
+                    let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::with_modifiers(Action::SetMode(Mode::Normal), mods)).await;
+                });
+            }
+            state.visual_anchor = None;
+            None
+        }
+        Key::Named(Named::ArrowDown) => Some(Action::MoveDown(1)),
+        Key::Named(Named::ArrowUp) => Some(Action::MoveUp(1)),
+        Key::Named(Named::Escape) => Some(Action::Cancel),
+        _ => None,
+    }
+}

crates/pikl-test-macros/src/codegen.rs

@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ fn gen_module(module: &TestModule) -> syn::Result<TokenStream> {
             TestKind::Filter => gen_filter(case, &module.fixtures)?,
             TestKind::Nav => gen_nav(case, &module.fixtures)?,
             TestKind::Menu => gen_menu(case, &module.fixtures)?,
+            TestKind::Ipc => gen_ipc(case, &module.fixtures)?,
         };
         test_fns.push(tokens);
     }
@@ -58,11 +59,20 @@ fn gen_imports(kind: TestKind) -> TokenStream {
         TestKind::Menu => {
             quote! {
                 use pikl_core::item::Item;
-                use pikl_core::event::{Action, MenuEvent, MenuResult};
+                use pikl_core::event::{Action, MenuEvent, MenuResult, ModifiedAction};
                 use pikl_core::menu::MenuRunner;
                 use pikl_core::json_menu::JsonMenu;
             }
         }
+        TestKind::Ipc => {
+            quote! {
+                use pikl_core::item::Item;
+                use pikl_core::event::{Action, MenuEvent, MenuResult, ModifiedAction};
+                use pikl_core::menu::MenuRunner;
+                use pikl_core::json_menu::JsonMenu;
+                use crate::ipc::server::IpcServer;
+            }
+        }
     }
 }
 
@@ -179,8 +189,8 @@ fn build_headless_script(actions: &[ActionExpr]) -> String {
                 script.push_str(line);
                 script.push('\n');
             }
-            ActionExpr::AddItems(_) => {
+            ActionExpr::AddItems(_) | ActionExpr::IpcSend(_) | ActionExpr::IpcExpect(_) => {
-                // Not applicable for headless. Items come from stdin.
+                // Not applicable for headless.
             }
         }
     }
@@ -191,18 +201,12 @@ fn build_headless_script(actions: &[ActionExpr]) -> String {
 // Filter
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-/// Generate a filter unit test: create items, push them
-/// into a `FuzzyFilter`, set the query, and assert on
-/// matched labels.
 fn gen_filter(case: &TestCase, fixtures: &Fixtures) -> syn::Result<TokenStream> {
     let test_name = &case.name;
-
     let item_exprs = gen_item_constructors(fixtures);
-
     let query = case.query.as_deref().unwrap_or("");
 
     let mut asserts = Vec::new();
-
     if let Some(ref expected) = case.match_labels {
         asserts.push(quote! {
             let labels: Vec<&str> = (0..f.matched_count())
@@ -235,11 +239,8 @@ fn gen_filter(case: &TestCase, fixtures: &Fixtures) -> syn::Result<TokenStream>
 // Nav
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-/// Generate a navigation unit test: create a viewport, run
-/// movement actions, and assert on cursor/offset.
 fn gen_nav(case: &TestCase, fixtures: &Fixtures) -> syn::Result<TokenStream> {
     let test_name = &case.name;
-
     let (height, count) = fixtures.viewport.unwrap_or((10, 20));
     let height_lit = height;
     let count_lit = count;
@@ -247,22 +248,14 @@ fn gen_nav(case: &TestCase, fixtures: &Fixtures) -> syn::Result<TokenStream> {
     let action_calls = gen_nav_actions(&case.actions)?;
 
     let mut asserts = Vec::new();
-
     if let Some(cursor) = case.cursor {
         asserts.push(quote! {
-            assert_eq!(
+            assert_eq!(v.cursor(), #cursor, "expected cursor {}, got {}", #cursor, v.cursor());
-                v.cursor(), #cursor,
-                "expected cursor {}, got {}", #cursor, v.cursor()
-            );
         });
     }
-
     if let Some(offset) = case.offset {
         asserts.push(quote! {
-            assert_eq!(
+            assert_eq!(v.scroll_offset(), #offset, "expected offset {}, got {}", #offset, v.scroll_offset());
-                v.scroll_offset(), #offset,
-                "expected offset {}, got {}", #offset, v.scroll_offset()
-            );
         });
     }
 
@@ -278,8 +271,6 @@ fn gen_nav(case: &TestCase, fixtures: &Fixtures) -> syn::Result<TokenStream> {
     })
 }
 
-/// Convert DSL action names to `Viewport` method calls
-/// (e.g. `move-down` becomes `v.move_down()`).
 fn gen_nav_actions(actions: &[ActionExpr]) -> syn::Result<Vec<TokenStream>> {
     let mut calls = Vec::new();
     for action in actions {
@@ -288,12 +279,8 @@ fn gen_nav_actions(actions: &[ActionExpr]) -> syn::Result<Vec<TokenStream>> {
                 let method = Ident::new(&name.replace('-', "_"), Span::call_site());
                 let needs_count = matches!(
                     name.as_str(),
-                    "move-up"
+                    "move-up" | "move-down" | "page-up" | "page-down"
-                        | "move-down"
+                        | "half-page-up" | "half-page-down"
-                        | "page-up"
-                        | "page-down"
-                        | "half-page-up"
-                        | "half-page-down"
                 );
                 if needs_count {
                     calls.push(quote! { v.#method(1); });
@@ -304,10 +291,7 @@ fn gen_nav_actions(actions: &[ActionExpr]) -> syn::Result<Vec<TokenStream>> {
             _ => {
                 return Err(syn::Error::new(
                     Span::call_site(),
-                    format!(
+                    format!("nav tests only support simple actions, got: {:?}", action_debug(action)),
-                        "nav tests only support simple actions, got: {:?}",
-                        action_debug(action)
-                    ),
                 ));
             }
         }
@@ -319,73 +303,12 @@ fn gen_nav_actions(actions: &[ActionExpr]) -> syn::Result<Vec<TokenStream>> {
 // Menu
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-/// Generate an async menu state machine test: create a menu,
-/// send actions, and assert on the final result (selected
-/// item or cancellation).
 fn gen_menu(case: &TestCase, fixtures: &Fixtures) -> syn::Result<TokenStream> {
     let test_name = &case.name;
     let item_exprs = gen_item_constructors(fixtures);
-
     let label_key = fixtures.label_key.as_deref().unwrap_or("label");
-
     let action_sends = gen_menu_actions(&case.actions)?;
-
+    let result_assert = gen_result_assert(case, label_key)?;
-    let result_assert = if case.cancelled {
-        quote! {
-            assert!(
-                matches!(result, Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled)),
-                "expected Cancelled, got: {:?}", result.as_ref().map(|r| format!("{:?}", r))
-            );
-        }
-    } else if let Some(ref expected) = case.selected {
-        quote! {
-            match &result {
-                Ok(MenuResult::Selected { items, .. }) => {
-                    assert!(!items.is_empty(), "expected Selected with items, got empty");
-                    let value = &items[0].0;
-                    let got = value.as_str()
-                        .or_else(|| value.get(#label_key).and_then(|v| v.as_str()))
-                        .unwrap_or("");
-                    assert_eq!(
-                        got, #expected,
-                        "expected selected {:?}, got value: {:?}", #expected, value
-                    );
-                }
-                other => panic!("expected Selected, got: {:?}", other),
-            }
-        }
-    } else if let Some(ref expected) = case.selected_items {
-        quote! {
-            match &result {
-                Ok(MenuResult::Selected { items, .. }) => {
-                    let mut labels: Vec<&str> = items.iter()
-                        .filter_map(|(v, _)| v.as_str()
-                            .or_else(|| v.get(#label_key).and_then(|v| v.as_str())))
-                        .collect();
-                    labels.sort();
-                    let mut expected = vec![#(#expected),*];
-                    expected.sort();
-                    assert_eq!(
-                        labels, expected,
-                        "expected selected_items {:?}, got {:?}", expected, labels
-                    );
-                }
-                other => panic!("expected Selected, got: {:?}", other),
-            }
-        }
-    } else {
-        return Err(syn::Error::new(
-            case.name.span(),
-            format!(
-                "menu test '{}' has no result assertion (expected selected, selected_items, or cancelled)",
-                case.name
-            ),
-        ));
-    };
-
-    // If test expects cancellation via sender drop (no cancel action, no confirm),
-    // we need to drop tx after sending actions.
-    let drop_sender = quote! { drop(tx); };
 
     let multi_setup = if fixtures.multi == Some(true) {
         quote! { menu.set_multi(true); }
@@ -402,54 +325,43 @@ fn gen_menu(case: &TestCase, fixtures: &Fixtures) -> syn::Result<TokenStream> {
             let mut rx = menu.subscribe();
             let handle = tokio::spawn(async move { menu.run().await });
 
-            // Wait for initial state broadcast.
+            let _ = rx.recv().await;
+            let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Resize { height: 50 })).await;
             let _ = rx.recv().await;
 
-            // Give the viewport some height so confirms work.
-            let _ = tx.send(Action::Resize { height: 50 }).await;
-            let _ = rx.recv().await;
-
-            // Send all actions.
             #(#action_sends)*
 
-            // Drop sender so menu loop can exit.
+            drop(tx);
-            #drop_sender
 
-            let result = handle.await.unwrap_or(Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled));
+            let result = handle.await.unwrap_or(Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled { modifiers: pikl_core::event::Modifiers::default() }));
             #result_assert
         }
     })
 }
 
-/// Convert DSL actions to `tx.send(Action::...)` calls for
-/// menu tests.
 fn gen_menu_actions(actions: &[ActionExpr]) -> syn::Result<Vec<TokenStream>> {
     let mut sends = Vec::new();
     for action in actions {
         let expr = match action {
             ActionExpr::Simple(name) => {
                 let variant = menu_action_variant(name)?;
-                quote! { let _ = tx.send(#variant).await; }
+                quote! { let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(#variant)).await; }
             }
             ActionExpr::Filter(query) => {
-                quote! {
+                quote! { let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::UpdateFilter(#query.to_string()))).await; }
-                    let _ = tx.send(Action::UpdateFilter(#query.to_string())).await;
-                }
             }
             ActionExpr::AddItems(items) => {
                 let item_exprs: Vec<TokenStream> = items
                     .iter()
                     .map(|s| quote! { serde_json::Value::String(#s.to_string()) })
                     .collect();
-                quote! {
+                quote! { let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::AddItems(vec![#(#item_exprs),*]))).await; }
-                    let _ = tx.send(Action::AddItems(vec![#(#item_exprs),*])).await;
-                }
             }
             ActionExpr::Raw(_) => {
-                return Err(syn::Error::new(
+                return Err(syn::Error::new(Span::call_site(), "raw actions are only supported in headless tests"));
-                    Span::call_site(),
+            }
-                    "raw actions are only supported in headless tests",
+            ActionExpr::IpcSend(_) | ActionExpr::IpcExpect(_) => {
-                ));
+                return Err(syn::Error::new(Span::call_site(), "ipc actions are only supported in ipc tests"));
             }
         };
         sends.push(expr);
@@ -457,8 +369,6 @@ fn gen_menu_actions(actions: &[ActionExpr]) -> syn::Result<Vec<TokenStream>> {
     Ok(sends)
 }
 
-/// Map a DSL action name like `"move-down"` to the
-/// corresponding `Action::MoveDown` token stream.
 fn menu_action_variant(name: &str) -> syn::Result<TokenStream> {
     let tokens = match name {
         "confirm" => quote! { Action::Confirm },
@@ -480,37 +390,213 @@ fn menu_action_variant(name: &str) -> syn::Result<TokenStream> {
         "undo-selection" => quote! { Action::UndoSelection },
         "redo-selection" => quote! { Action::RedoSelection },
         _ => {
-            return Err(syn::Error::new(
+            return Err(syn::Error::new(Span::call_site(), format!("unknown menu action: '{name}'")));
-                Span::call_site(),
-                format!("unknown menu action: '{name}'"),
-            ));
         }
     };
     Ok(tokens)
 }
 
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// IPC
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+/// Generate an async IPC integration test: create a menu,
+/// start an IPC server, connect via Unix socket, and send/
+/// receive JSON commands.
+fn gen_ipc(case: &TestCase, fixtures: &Fixtures) -> syn::Result<TokenStream> {
+    let test_name = &case.name;
+    let test_name_str = test_name.to_string();
+    let item_exprs = gen_item_constructors(fixtures);
+    let label_key = fixtures.label_key.as_deref().unwrap_or("label");
+
+    let multi_setup = if fixtures.multi == Some(true) {
+        quote! { menu.set_multi(true); }
+    } else {
+        quote! {}
+    };
+
+    let has_expect = case.actions.iter().any(|a| matches!(a, ActionExpr::IpcExpect(_)));
+    let has_result = case.selected.is_some() || case.selected_items.is_some() || case.cancelled;
+    if !has_expect && !has_result {
+        return Err(syn::Error::new(
+            case.name.span(),
+            format!(
+                "ipc test '{}' has no assertions (expected ipc-expect, selected, selected_items, or cancelled)",
+                case.name
+            ),
+        ));
+    }
+
+    let ipc_actions = gen_ipc_actions(&case.actions)?;
+
+    let result_assert = if has_result {
+        gen_result_assert(case, label_key)?
+    } else {
+        quote! { let _ = result; }
+    };
+
+    Ok(quote! {
+        #[tokio::test]
+        async fn #test_name() {
+            use tokio::io::{AsyncBufReadExt, AsyncWriteExt, BufReader};
+            use tokio::net::UnixStream;
+            use std::time::Duration;
+
+            let items = vec![#(#item_exprs),*];
+            let (mut menu, tx) = MenuRunner::new(JsonMenu::new(items, #label_key.to_string()));
+            #multi_setup
+            let event_sender = menu.event_sender();
+            let ipc_event_rx = menu.subscribe();
+
+            let handle = tokio::spawn(async move { menu.run().await });
+
+            let _ = tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Resize { height: 50 })).await;
+            tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_millis(30)).await;
+
+            // Start IPC server on a temp socket
+            let socket_path = std::env::temp_dir().join(
+                format!("pikl-ipc-{}-{}.sock", std::process::id(), #test_name_str)
+            );
+            let _ = std::fs::remove_file(&socket_path);
+
+            let ipc_server = IpcServer::new(
+                socket_path.clone(), tx.clone(), event_sender,
+            );
+            assert!(ipc_server.start(ipc_event_rx).is_ok(), "failed to start IPC server");
+
+            tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_millis(10)).await;
+            let stream = match UnixStream::connect(&socket_path).await {
+                Ok(s) => s,
+                Err(e) => {
+                    drop(tx);
+                    drop(ipc_server);
+                    let _ = handle.await;
+                    assert!(false, "failed to connect to IPC socket: {e}");
+                    return;
+                }
+            };
+            let (read_half, write_half) = stream.into_split();
+            let mut reader = BufReader::new(read_half);
+            let mut writer = write_half;
+
+            #(#ipc_actions)*
+
+            drop(writer);
+            drop(tx);
+            drop(ipc_server);
+            let result = handle.await.unwrap_or(Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled { modifiers: pikl_core::event::Modifiers::default() }));
+            #result_assert
+        }
+    })
+}
+
+fn gen_ipc_actions(actions: &[ActionExpr]) -> syn::Result<Vec<TokenStream>> {
+    let mut stmts = Vec::new();
+    for action in actions {
+        match action {
+            ActionExpr::IpcSend(line) => {
+                stmts.push(quote! {
+                    assert!(writer.write_all(#line.as_bytes()).await.is_ok(), "ipc write failed");
+                    assert!(writer.write_all(b"\n").await.is_ok(), "ipc write newline failed");
+                    assert!(writer.flush().await.is_ok(), "ipc flush failed");
+                    tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_millis(30)).await;
+                });
+            }
+            ActionExpr::IpcExpect(expected) => {
+                stmts.push(quote! {
+                    {
+                        let mut __resp = String::new();
+                        let __read = tokio::time::timeout(
+                            Duration::from_secs(5),
+                            reader.read_line(&mut __resp)
+                        ).await;
+                        assert!(__read.is_ok(), "IPC response timed out after 5s");
+                        let __n = __read.unwrap_or(Ok(0)).unwrap_or(0);
+                        assert!(__n > 0, "IPC connection closed before response");
+                        assert!(
+                            __resp.contains(#expected),
+                            "expected IPC response to contain {:?}, got: {}",
+                            #expected, __resp.trim()
+                        );
+                    }
+                });
+            }
+            _ => {
+                return Err(syn::Error::new(
+                    Span::call_site(),
+                    format!("ipc tests only support ipc-send and ipc-expect actions, got: {:?}", action_debug(action)),
+                ));
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    Ok(stmts)
+}
+
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // Shared helpers
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-/// Generate `Item::from_plain_text("...")` expressions for
-/// each item in the fixtures.
 fn gen_item_constructors(fixtures: &Fixtures) -> Vec<TokenStream> {
     match &fixtures.items {
-        Some(items) => items
+        Some(items) => items.iter().map(|s| quote! { Item::from_plain_text(#s) }).collect(),
-            .iter()
-            .map(|s| quote! { Item::from_plain_text(#s) })
-            .collect(),
         None => Vec::new(),
     }
 }
 
-/// Format an action expression for use in error messages.
 fn action_debug(action: &ActionExpr) -> String {
     match action {
         ActionExpr::Simple(name) => name.clone(),
         ActionExpr::Filter(q) => format!("filter \"{q}\""),
         ActionExpr::Raw(r) => format!("raw \"{r}\""),
         ActionExpr::AddItems(items) => format!("add-items {:?}", items),
+        ActionExpr::IpcSend(s) => format!("ipc-send \"{s}\""),
+        ActionExpr::IpcExpect(s) => format!("ipc-expect \"{s}\""),
+    }
+}
+
+/// Generate the result assertion for menu/ipc tests.
+fn gen_result_assert(case: &TestCase, label_key: &str) -> syn::Result<TokenStream> {
+    if case.cancelled {
+        Ok(quote! {
+            assert!(
+                matches!(result, Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled { .. })),
+                "expected Cancelled, got: {:?}", result.as_ref().map(|r| format!("{:?}", r))
+            );
+        })
+    } else if let Some(ref expected) = case.selected {
+        Ok(quote! {
+            match &result {
+                Ok(MenuResult::Selected { items, .. }) => {
+                    assert!(!items.is_empty(), "expected Selected with items, got empty");
+                    let value = &items[0].0;
+                    let got = value.as_str()
+                        .or_else(|| value.get(#label_key).and_then(|v| v.as_str()))
+                        .unwrap_or("");
+                    assert_eq!(got, #expected, "expected selected {:?}, got value: {:?}", #expected, value);
+                }
+                other => panic!("expected Selected, got: {:?}", other),
+            }
+        })
+    } else if let Some(ref expected) = case.selected_items {
+        Ok(quote! {
+            match &result {
+                Ok(MenuResult::Selected { items, .. }) => {
+                    let mut labels: Vec<&str> = items.iter()
+                        .filter_map(|(v, _)| v.as_str()
+                            .or_else(|| v.get(#label_key).and_then(|v| v.as_str())))
+                        .collect();
+                    labels.sort();
+                    let mut expected = vec![#(#expected),*];
+                    expected.sort();
+                    assert_eq!(labels, expected, "expected selected_items {:?}, got {:?}", expected, labels);
+                }
+                other => panic!("expected Selected, got: {:?}", other),
+            }
+        })
+    } else {
+        Err(syn::Error::new(
+            case.name.span(),
+            format!("test '{}' has no result assertion (expected selected, selected_items, or cancelled)", case.name),
+        ))
     }
 }

crates/pikl-test-macros/src/parse.rs

@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ pub enum TestKind {
     Filter,
     Nav,
     Menu,
+    Ipc,
 }
 
 pub struct Fixtures {
@@ -58,6 +59,10 @@ pub enum ActionExpr {
     Raw(String),
     /// `add-items ["a", "b", "c"]`
     AddItems(Vec<String>),
+    /// `ipc-send "json line"` — send a JSON command over the IPC socket
+    IpcSend(String),
+    /// `ipc-expect "text"` — read a response line and assert it contains text
+    IpcExpect(String),
 }
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -300,6 +305,14 @@ fn parse_action_expr(input: ParseStream) -> syn::Result<ActionExpr> {
             let items = parse_string_list(input)?;
             Ok(ActionExpr::AddItems(items))
         }
+        "ipc-send" => {
+            let val: LitStr = input.parse()?;
+            Ok(ActionExpr::IpcSend(val.value()))
+        }
+        "ipc-expect" => {
+            let val: LitStr = input.parse()?;
+            Ok(ActionExpr::IpcExpect(val.value()))
+        }
         _ => Ok(ActionExpr::Simple(name)),
     }
 }
@@ -317,9 +330,10 @@ fn parse_kind(input: ParseStream) -> syn::Result<TestKind> {
         "filter" => Ok(TestKind::Filter),
         "nav" => Ok(TestKind::Nav),
         "menu" => Ok(TestKind::Menu),
+        "ipc" => Ok(TestKind::Ipc),
         other => Err(syn::Error::new(
             ident.span(),
-            format!("unknown test kind '{other}', expected headless, filter, nav, or menu"),
+            format!("unknown test kind '{other}', expected headless, filter, nav, menu, or ipc"),
         )),
     }
 }

crates/pikl-tui/src/lib.rs

@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ use ratatui::text::{Line, Span};
 use ratatui::widgets::{List, ListItem, Paragraph};
 use tokio::sync::{broadcast, mpsc};
 
-use pikl_core::event::{Action, MenuEvent, Mode, ViewState};
+use pikl_core::event::{Action, MenuEvent, ModifiedAction, Modifiers, Mode, ViewState};
 
 /// Pending key state for multi-key sequences (e.g. `gg`).
 /// TUI-local, not part of core state.
@@ -32,13 +32,23 @@ pub fn restore_terminal() {
     let _ = crossterm::execute!(std::io::stderr(), crossterm::terminal::LeaveAlternateScreen);
 }
 
+/// Convert crossterm key modifiers to pikl Modifiers.
+fn crossterm_modifiers(km: KeyModifiers) -> Modifiers {
+    Modifiers {
+        shift: km.contains(KeyModifiers::SHIFT),
+        ctrl: km.contains(KeyModifiers::CONTROL),
+        alt: km.contains(KeyModifiers::ALT),
+    }
+}
+
 /// Start the TUI. Enters the alternate screen, runs the
 /// event loop, and restores the terminal on exit. Translates
 /// crossterm key events into [`Action`]s and renders
 /// [`ViewState`] snapshots.
 pub async fn run(
-    action_tx: mpsc::Sender<Action>,
+    action_tx: mpsc::Sender<ModifiedAction>,
     mut event_rx: broadcast::Receiver<MenuEvent>,
+    filter_history: Option<Vec<String>>,
 ) -> std::io::Result<()> {
     crossterm::terminal::enable_raw_mode()?;
     crossterm::execute!(std::io::stderr(), crossterm::terminal::EnterAlternateScreen,)?;
@@ -53,7 +63,7 @@ pub async fn run(
         let _ = crossterm::event::read()?;
     }
 
-    let result = run_inner(&action_tx, &mut event_rx, &mut terminal).await;
+    let result = run_inner(&action_tx, &mut event_rx, &mut terminal, filter_history).await;
 
     // Always clean up terminal, even on error
     restore_terminal();
@@ -64,17 +74,18 @@ pub async fn run(
 /// Inner event loop. Separated from [`run`] so terminal
 /// cleanup always happens even if this returns an error.
 async fn run_inner(
-    action_tx: &mpsc::Sender<Action>,
+    action_tx: &mpsc::Sender<ModifiedAction>,
     event_rx: &mut broadcast::Receiver<MenuEvent>,
     terminal: &mut Terminal<CrosstermBackend<std::io::Stderr>>,
+    filter_history: Option<Vec<String>>,
 ) -> std::io::Result<()> {
     // Send initial resize
     let size = terminal.size()?;
     let list_height = size.height.saturating_sub(1);
     if action_tx
-        .send(Action::Resize {
+        .send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Resize {
             height: list_height,
-        })
+        }))
         .await
         .is_err()
     {
@@ -95,6 +106,11 @@ async fn run_inner(
     let mut multi_enabled = false;
     let mut visual_anchor: Option<usize> = None;
 
+    // Session filter history cycling state
+    let history = filter_history.unwrap_or_default();
+    let mut history_cursor: Option<usize> = None;
+    let mut pre_history_text: Option<String> = None;
+
     loop {
         if let Some(ref vs) = view_state {
             let ft = filter_text.clone();
@@ -112,6 +128,62 @@ async fn run_inner(
                 let event = event_result?;
                 match event {
                     Event::Key(key) => {
+                        // History cycling: Ctrl+P/Ctrl+N in insert mode
+                        // with a non-empty history list.
+                        if mode == Mode::Insert && !history.is_empty() {
+                            let history_handled = match (key.code, key.modifiers) {
+                                (KeyCode::Char('p'), KeyModifiers::CONTROL) | (KeyCode::Up, _) => {
+                                    if pre_history_text.is_none() {
+                                        pre_history_text = Some(filter_text.clone());
+                                    }
+                                    let new_cursor = match history_cursor {
+                                        Some(c) if c > 0 => c - 1,
+                                        Some(_) => 0,
+                                        None => history.len() - 1,
+                                    };
+                                    history_cursor = Some(new_cursor);
+                                    filter_text.clone_from(&history[new_cursor]);
+                                    let _ = action_tx
+                                        .send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::UpdateFilter(filter_text.clone())))
+                                        .await;
+                                    true
+                                }
+                                (KeyCode::Char('n'), KeyModifiers::CONTROL) => {
+                                    if let Some(c) = history_cursor {
+                                        if c + 1 < history.len() {
+                                            history_cursor = Some(c + 1);
+                                            filter_text.clone_from(&history[c + 1]);
+                                        } else {
+                                            // Past the end: restore original text
+                                            history_cursor = None;
+                                            if let Some(ref saved) = pre_history_text {
+                                                filter_text.clone_from(saved);
+                                            }
+                                            pre_history_text = None;
+                                        }
+                                        let _ = action_tx
+                                            .send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::UpdateFilter(filter_text.clone())))
+                                            .await;
+                                        true
+                                    } else {
+                                        // Not cycling, fall through to normal Ctrl+N
+                                        false
+                                    }
+                                }
+                                _ => {
+                                    // Any other key resets history cycling
+                                    if history_cursor.is_some() {
+                                        history_cursor = None;
+                                        pre_history_text = None;
+                                    }
+                                    false
+                                }
+                            };
+                            if history_handled {
+                                continue;
+                            }
+                        }
+
                         // Handle multi-action keys (Tab, Space in normal/visual)
                         // before the single-action map_key_event path.
                         let handled = handle_multi_action_key(
@@ -133,14 +205,14 @@ async fn run_inner(
                                 mode = *m;
                                 pending = PendingKey::None;
                             }
-                            if action_tx.send(action).await.is_err() {
+                            if action_tx.send(ModifiedAction::with_modifiers(action, crossterm_modifiers(key.modifiers))).await.is_err() {
                                 break; // core is gone
                             }
                         }
                     }
                     Event::Resize(_, h) => {
                         let list_height = h.saturating_sub(1);
-                        if action_tx.send(Action::Resize { height: list_height }).await.is_err() {
+                        if action_tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Resize { height: list_height })).await.is_err() {
                             break;
                         }
                     }
@@ -196,7 +268,7 @@ async fn handle_multi_action_key(
     multi_enabled: bool,
     visual_anchor: &mut Option<usize>,
     view_state: &Option<ViewState>,
-    action_tx: &mpsc::Sender<Action>,
+    action_tx: &mpsc::Sender<ModifiedAction>,
 ) -> bool {
     match mode {
         Mode::Insert => {
@@ -205,13 +277,15 @@ async fn handle_multi_action_key(
             }
             match key.code {
                 KeyCode::Tab => {
-                    let _ = action_tx.send(Action::ToggleSelect).await;
+                    let mods = crossterm_modifiers(key.modifiers);
-                    let _ = action_tx.send(Action::MoveDown(1)).await;
+                    let _ = action_tx.send(ModifiedAction::with_modifiers(Action::ToggleSelect, mods)).await;
+                    let _ = action_tx.send(ModifiedAction::with_modifiers(Action::MoveDown(1), mods)).await;
                     true
                 }
                 KeyCode::BackTab => {
-                    let _ = action_tx.send(Action::ToggleSelect).await;
+                    let mods = crossterm_modifiers(key.modifiers);
-                    let _ = action_tx.send(Action::MoveUp(1)).await;
+                    let _ = action_tx.send(ModifiedAction::with_modifiers(Action::ToggleSelect, mods)).await;
+                    let _ = action_tx.send(ModifiedAction::with_modifiers(Action::MoveUp(1), mods)).await;
                     true
                 }
                 _ => false,
@@ -225,18 +299,21 @@ async fn handle_multi_action_key(
                 (KeyCode::Char(' '), m)
                     if !m.intersects(KeyModifiers::CONTROL | KeyModifiers::ALT) =>
                 {
-                    let _ = action_tx.send(Action::ToggleSelect).await;
+                    let mods = crossterm_modifiers(key.modifiers);
-                    let _ = action_tx.send(Action::MoveDown(1)).await;
+                    let _ = action_tx.send(ModifiedAction::with_modifiers(Action::ToggleSelect, mods)).await;
+                    let _ = action_tx.send(ModifiedAction::with_modifiers(Action::MoveDown(1), mods)).await;
                     true
                 }
                 (KeyCode::Tab, _) => {
-                    let _ = action_tx.send(Action::ToggleSelect).await;
+                    let mods = crossterm_modifiers(key.modifiers);
-                    let _ = action_tx.send(Action::MoveDown(1)).await;
+                    let _ = action_tx.send(ModifiedAction::with_modifiers(Action::ToggleSelect, mods)).await;
+                    let _ = action_tx.send(ModifiedAction::with_modifiers(Action::MoveDown(1), mods)).await;
                     true
                 }
                 (KeyCode::BackTab, _) => {
-                    let _ = action_tx.send(Action::ToggleSelect).await;
+                    let mods = crossterm_modifiers(key.modifiers);
-                    let _ = action_tx.send(Action::MoveUp(1)).await;
+                    let _ = action_tx.send(ModifiedAction::with_modifiers(Action::ToggleSelect, mods)).await;
+                    let _ = action_tx.send(ModifiedAction::with_modifiers(Action::MoveUp(1), mods)).await;
                     true
                 }
                 _ => false,
@@ -247,18 +324,19 @@ async fn handle_multi_action_key(
                 (KeyCode::Char(' '), m) | (KeyCode::Enter, m)
                     if !m.intersects(KeyModifiers::ALT) =>
                 {
+                    let mods = crossterm_modifiers(key.modifiers);
                     // Apply visual selection
                     if let (Some(anchor), Some(vs)) = (*visual_anchor, view_state) {
                         let cursor = vs.cursor;
                         let _ = action_tx
-                            .send(Action::SelectRange {
+                            .send(ModifiedAction::with_modifiers(Action::SelectRange {
                                 start: anchor,
                                 end: cursor,
-                            })
+                            }, mods))
                             .await;
                     }
                     *visual_anchor = None;
-                    let _ = action_tx.send(Action::SetMode(Mode::Normal)).await;
+                    let _ = action_tx.send(ModifiedAction::with_modifiers(Action::SetMode(Mode::Normal), mods)).await;
                     true
                 }
                 _ => false,
@@ -311,7 +389,10 @@ fn render_menu(
         ),
         Span::raw(filter_text),
         Span::styled(
-            format!("  {filtered_count}/{total_count}"),
+            format!(
+                "  {filtered_count}/{total_count}{}",
+                if vs.streaming { "..." } else { "" }
+            ),
             Style::default().fg(Color::DarkGray),
         ),
     ];
@@ -628,6 +709,7 @@ mod tests {
             mode: Mode::Insert,
             selection_count: 0,
             multi_enabled: false,
+            streaming: false,
             columns: None,
             generation: 1,
         }
@@ -1103,6 +1185,7 @@ mod tests {
             mode: Mode::Insert,
             selection_count: 0,
             multi_enabled: false,
+            streaming: false,
             columns: None,
             generation: 1,
         };
@@ -1112,6 +1195,29 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(prompt.contains("0/0"));
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn streaming_indicator_shows_ellipsis() {
+        let mut vs = sample_view_state();
+        vs.streaming = true;
+        let backend = render_to_backend(40, 5, &vs, "");
+        let prompt = line_text(&backend, 0);
+        assert!(
+            prompt.contains("..."),
+            "streaming indicator should show '...': {prompt}"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn no_streaming_indicator_when_done() {
+        let vs = sample_view_state();
+        let backend = render_to_backend(40, 5, &vs, "");
+        let prompt = line_text(&backend, 0);
+        assert!(
+            !prompt.contains("..."),
+            "should not show '...' when not streaming: {prompt}"
+        );
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn narrow_viewport_truncates() {
         let vs = sample_view_state();
@@ -1206,6 +1312,7 @@ mod tests {
             mode: Mode::Insert,
             selection_count: 0,
             multi_enabled: false,
+            streaming: false,
             columns: Some(vec![
                 ColumnHeader {
                     display_name: "name".into(),

crates/pikl/Cargo.toml

@@ -15,8 +15,10 @@ path = "src/main.rs"
 [dependencies]
 pikl-core = { path = "../pikl-core" }
 pikl-tui = { path = "../pikl-tui" }
+pikl-gui = { path = "../pikl-gui" }
 clap = { version = "4", features = ["derive"] }
-tokio = { version = "1", features = ["rt-multi-thread", "process", "signal", "io-util"] }
+tokio = { version = "1", features = ["rt-multi-thread", "process", "signal", "io-util", "net"] }
+serde = { version = "1", features = ["derive"] }
 serde_json = "1"
 tracing = "0.1"
 tracing-subscriber = "0.3"

crates/pikl/src/handler.rs

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ use tokio::process::Command;
 use tokio::sync::mpsc;
 
 use pikl_core::error::PiklError;
-use pikl_core::event::Action;
+use pikl_core::event::{Action, ModifiedAction};
 use pikl_core::hook::{HookEvent, HookEventKind, HookHandler, parse_hook_response};
 
 /// A persistent handler hook process. Spawns a child process,
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ pub struct ShellHandlerHook {
 
 impl ShellHandlerHook {
     /// Build from CLI flags. Returns None if no handler hooks are configured.
-    pub fn from_cli(cli: &crate::Cli, action_tx: mpsc::Sender<Action>) -> Option<Self> {
+    pub fn from_cli(cli: &crate::Cli, action_tx: mpsc::Sender<ModifiedAction>) -> Option<Self> {
         let mut handlers: Vec<(HookEventKind, &str)> = Vec::new();
 
         if let Some(ref cmd) = cli.on_open {
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ impl HookHandler for ShellHandlerHook {
 async fn run_handler_process(
     command: &str,
     mut event_rx: mpsc::Receiver<HookEvent>,
-    action_tx: mpsc::Sender<Action>,
+    action_tx: mpsc::Sender<ModifiedAction>,
 ) -> Result<(), PiklError> {
     let mut child = Command::new("sh")
         .arg("-c")
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ async fn run_handler_process(
         let mut lines = stdout_reader.lines();
         while let Ok(Some(line)) = lines.next_line().await {
             if let Some(resp) = parse_hook_response(&line) {
-                let action = Action::ProcessHookResponse(resp);
+                let action = ModifiedAction::new(Action::ProcessHookResponse(resp));
                 if reader_action_tx.send(action).await.is_err() {
                     break;
                 }

crates/pikl/src/ipc/integration.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,120 @@
+//! IPC integration tests. Uses the proc macro DSL to set up
+//! a menu, start an IPC server, and interact over a Unix socket.
+
+use pikl_test_macros::pikl_tests;
+
+pikl_tests! {
+    ipc mod ipc_get_state {
+        items: ["alpha", "beta", "gamma"];
+
+        test get_state_returns_item_count {
+            actions: [
+                ipc-send r#"{"action":"get_state","id":"1"}"#,
+                ipc-expect r#""total_items":3"#,
+            ]
+        }
+
+        test get_state_returns_filter_text {
+            actions: [
+                ipc-send r#"{"action":"get_state","id":"1"}"#,
+                ipc-expect r#""filter_text":"""#,
+            ]
+        }
+    }
+
+    ipc mod ipc_set_filter {
+        items: ["alpha", "beta", "gamma"];
+
+        test set_filter_then_get_state {
+            actions: [
+                ipc-send r#"{"action":"set_filter","text":"al"}"#,
+                ipc-send r#"{"action":"get_state","id":"1"}"#,
+                ipc-expect r#""total_filtered":1"#,
+            ]
+        }
+    }
+
+    ipc mod ipc_add_items {
+        items: ["alpha", "beta"];
+
+        test add_items_increases_count {
+            actions: [
+                ipc-send r#"{"action":"add_items","items":["delta","epsilon"]}"#,
+                ipc-send r#"{"action":"get_state","id":"1"}"#,
+                ipc-expect r#""total_items":4"#,
+            ]
+        }
+    }
+
+    ipc mod ipc_navigation {
+        items: ["alpha", "beta", "gamma"];
+
+        test move_down_changes_cursor {
+            actions: [
+                ipc-send r#"{"action":"move_down"}"#,
+                ipc-send r#"{"action":"get_state","id":"1"}"#,
+                ipc-expect r#""cursor":1"#,
+            ]
+        }
+
+        test move_to_bottom_then_state {
+            actions: [
+                ipc-send r#"{"action":"move_to_bottom"}"#,
+                ipc-send r#"{"action":"get_state","id":"1"}"#,
+                ipc-expect r#""cursor":2"#,
+            ]
+        }
+    }
+
+    ipc mod ipc_confirm {
+        items: ["alpha", "beta", "gamma"];
+
+        test confirm_selects_cursor_item {
+            actions: [
+                ipc-send r#"{"action":"confirm"}"#,
+            ]
+            selected: "alpha"
+        }
+
+        test move_then_confirm {
+            actions: [
+                ipc-send r#"{"action":"move_down"}"#,
+                ipc-send r#"{"action":"confirm"}"#,
+            ]
+            selected: "beta"
+        }
+    }
+
+    ipc mod ipc_cancel {
+        items: ["alpha", "beta"];
+
+        test cancel_via_ipc {
+            actions: [
+                ipc-send r#"{"action":"cancel"}"#,
+            ]
+            cancelled
+        }
+    }
+
+    ipc mod ipc_selection {
+        items: ["alpha", "beta", "gamma"];
+
+        test get_selection_initially_empty {
+            actions: [
+                ipc-send r#"{"action":"get_selection","id":"1"}"#,
+                ipc-expect r#""indices":[]"#,
+            ]
+        }
+    }
+
+    ipc mod ipc_errors {
+        items: ["alpha"];
+
+        test bad_json_returns_error {
+            actions: [
+                ipc-send r#"not valid json"#,
+                ipc-expect r#""error":"#,
+            ]
+        }
+    }
+}

crates/pikl/src/ipc/mod.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+//! IPC module. Provides external control of pikl via Unix socket.
+//! Newline-delimited JSON protocol. Off by default, enabled with `--ipc`.
+
+pub mod protocol;
+pub mod server;
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod integration;
+
+use std::path::PathBuf;
+
+use pikl_core::error::PiklError;
+
+/// Compute the socket path for a pikl IPC session.
+///
+/// Named session: `/run/user/$UID/pikl-{session}.sock`
+/// No session: `/run/user/$UID/pikl-{pid}.sock`
+pub fn socket_path(session: Option<&str>) -> Result<PathBuf, PiklError> {
+    let uid = unsafe { libc::getuid() };
+    let run_dir = PathBuf::from(format!("/run/user/{uid}"));
+    if !run_dir.exists() {
+        return Err(PiklError::Io(std::io::Error::new(
+            std::io::ErrorKind::NotFound,
+            format!("/run/user/{uid} does not exist"),
+        )));
+    }
+    let name = match session {
+        Some(s) => format!("pikl-{s}.sock"),
+        None => format!("pikl-{}.sock", std::process::id()),
+    };
+    Ok(run_dir.join(name))
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn socket_path_with_session() {
+        let path = socket_path(Some("test"));
+        // Should succeed on Linux systems with /run/user/$UID
+        if let Ok(p) = path {
+            assert!(p.to_string_lossy().contains("pikl-test.sock"));
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn socket_path_without_session() {
+        let path = socket_path(None);
+        if let Ok(p) = path {
+            let pid = std::process::id();
+            assert!(p.to_string_lossy().contains(&format!("pikl-{pid}.sock")));
+        }
+    }
+}

crates/pikl/src/ipc/protocol.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,212 @@
+//! IPC protocol types. Newline-delimited JSON over Unix socket.
+//! Write commands are fire-and-forget, read commands use an `id`
+//! field for request/response correlation.
+
+use pikl_core::event::{Action, Mode, ViewState};
+use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
+use serde_json::Value;
+
+/// Command sent from an IPC client to pikl.
+#[derive(Debug, Deserialize)]
+#[serde(tag = "action", rename_all = "snake_case")]
+pub enum IpcCommand {
+    // -- Write commands (no response) --
+    AddItems { items: Vec<Value> },
+    ReplaceItems { items: Vec<Value> },
+    RemoveItems { indices: Vec<usize> },
+    SetFilter { text: String },
+    MoveUp,
+    MoveDown,
+    MoveToTop,
+    MoveToBottom,
+    PageUp,
+    PageDown,
+    ToggleSelect,
+    SelectAll,
+    ClearSelections,
+    Confirm,
+    Cancel,
+    Close,
+
+    // -- Read commands (require id) --
+    GetState { id: String },
+    GetSelection { id: String },
+
+    // -- Subscription --
+    Subscribe { events: Vec<String> },
+    Unsubscribe,
+}
+
+/// Response sent from pikl to an IPC client.
+#[derive(Debug, Serialize)]
+#[serde(tag = "type", rename_all = "snake_case")]
+pub enum IpcResponse {
+    State {
+        id: String,
+        filter_text: String,
+        cursor: usize,
+        total_items: usize,
+        total_filtered: usize,
+        mode: String,
+        selection_count: usize,
+    },
+    Selection {
+        id: String,
+        indices: Vec<usize>,
+    },
+    Event {
+        event: String,
+        #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
+        data: Option<Value>,
+    },
+    Error {
+        #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
+        id: Option<String>,
+        error: String,
+    },
+}
+
+/// Convert a write-type IpcCommand into a core Action.
+/// Returns None for read/subscribe commands (handled by the server).
+pub fn ipc_command_to_action(cmd: &IpcCommand) -> Option<Action> {
+    match cmd {
+        IpcCommand::AddItems { items } => Some(Action::AddItems(items.clone())),
+        IpcCommand::ReplaceItems { items } => Some(Action::ReplaceItems(items.clone())),
+        IpcCommand::RemoveItems { indices } => Some(Action::RemoveItems(indices.clone())),
+        IpcCommand::SetFilter { text } => Some(Action::UpdateFilter(text.clone())),
+        IpcCommand::MoveUp => Some(Action::MoveUp(1)),
+        IpcCommand::MoveDown => Some(Action::MoveDown(1)),
+        IpcCommand::MoveToTop => Some(Action::MoveToTop),
+        IpcCommand::MoveToBottom => Some(Action::MoveToBottom),
+        IpcCommand::PageUp => Some(Action::PageUp(1)),
+        IpcCommand::PageDown => Some(Action::PageDown(1)),
+        IpcCommand::ToggleSelect => Some(Action::ToggleSelect),
+        IpcCommand::SelectAll => Some(Action::SelectAll),
+        IpcCommand::ClearSelections => Some(Action::ClearSelections),
+        IpcCommand::Confirm => Some(Action::Confirm),
+        IpcCommand::Cancel => Some(Action::Cancel),
+        IpcCommand::Close => Some(Action::CloseMenu),
+        IpcCommand::GetState { .. }
+        | IpcCommand::GetSelection { .. }
+        | IpcCommand::Subscribe { .. }
+        | IpcCommand::Unsubscribe => None,
+    }
+}
+
+/// Build an IpcResponse::State from a cached ViewState.
+pub fn view_state_to_response(id: String, vs: &ViewState) -> IpcResponse {
+    let mode = match vs.mode {
+        Mode::Insert => "insert",
+        Mode::Normal => "normal",
+        Mode::Visual => "visual",
+    };
+    IpcResponse::State {
+        id,
+        filter_text: vs.filter_text.to_string(),
+        cursor: vs.cursor,
+        total_items: vs.total_items,
+        total_filtered: vs.total_filtered,
+        mode: mode.to_string(),
+        selection_count: vs.selection_count,
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn deserialize_write_commands() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
+        let cases = vec![
+            (r#"{"action":"move_up"}"#, "MoveUp"),
+            (r#"{"action":"move_down"}"#, "MoveDown"),
+            (r#"{"action":"move_to_top"}"#, "MoveToTop"),
+            (r#"{"action":"move_to_bottom"}"#, "MoveToBottom"),
+            (r#"{"action":"page_up"}"#, "PageUp"),
+            (r#"{"action":"page_down"}"#, "PageDown"),
+            (r#"{"action":"toggle_select"}"#, "ToggleSelect"),
+            (r#"{"action":"select_all"}"#, "SelectAll"),
+            (r#"{"action":"clear_selections"}"#, "ClearSelections"),
+            (r#"{"action":"confirm"}"#, "Confirm"),
+            (r#"{"action":"cancel"}"#, "Cancel"),
+            (r#"{"action":"close"}"#, "Close"),
+        ];
+
+        for (json, name) in cases {
+            let cmd: IpcCommand = serde_json::from_str(json)?;
+            assert!(
+                ipc_command_to_action(&cmd).is_some(),
+                "{name} should produce an action"
+            );
+        }
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn deserialize_set_filter() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
+        let json = r#"{"action":"set_filter","text":"hello"}"#;
+        let cmd: IpcCommand = serde_json::from_str(json)?;
+        let action = ipc_command_to_action(&cmd);
+        assert!(matches!(action, Some(Action::UpdateFilter(ref t)) if t == "hello"));
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn deserialize_add_items() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
+        let json = r#"{"action":"add_items","items":["foo","bar"]}"#;
+        let cmd: IpcCommand = serde_json::from_str(json)?;
+        let action = ipc_command_to_action(&cmd);
+        assert!(matches!(action, Some(Action::AddItems(ref items)) if items.len() == 2));
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn deserialize_remove_items() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
+        let json = r#"{"action":"remove_items","indices":[0,2]}"#;
+        let cmd: IpcCommand = serde_json::from_str(json)?;
+        let action = ipc_command_to_action(&cmd);
+        assert!(matches!(action, Some(Action::RemoveItems(ref idx)) if idx == &[0, 2]));
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn deserialize_replace_items() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
+        let json = r#"{"action":"replace_items","items":["a","b","c"]}"#;
+        let cmd: IpcCommand = serde_json::from_str(json)?;
+        let action = ipc_command_to_action(&cmd);
+        assert!(matches!(action, Some(Action::ReplaceItems(ref items)) if items.len() == 3));
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn deserialize_get_state() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
+        let json = r#"{"action":"get_state","id":"req1"}"#;
+        let cmd: IpcCommand = serde_json::from_str(json)?;
+        assert!(ipc_command_to_action(&cmd).is_none());
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn deserialize_get_selection() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
+        let json = r#"{"action":"get_selection","id":"req2"}"#;
+        let cmd: IpcCommand = serde_json::from_str(json)?;
+        assert!(ipc_command_to_action(&cmd).is_none());
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn deserialize_subscribe() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
+        let json = r#"{"action":"subscribe","events":["hover","filter"]}"#;
+        let cmd: IpcCommand = serde_json::from_str(json)?;
+        assert!(ipc_command_to_action(&cmd).is_none());
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn deserialize_unsubscribe() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
+        let json = r#"{"action":"unsubscribe"}"#;
+        let cmd: IpcCommand = serde_json::from_str(json)?;
+        assert!(ipc_command_to_action(&cmd).is_none());
+        Ok(())
+    }
+}

crates/pikl/src/ipc/server.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,331 @@
+//! IPC server. Accepts Unix socket connections and translates
+//! JSON commands into Actions. Each client gets its own task.
+
+use std::path::PathBuf;
+use std::sync::Arc;
+
+use tokio::io::{AsyncBufReadExt, AsyncWriteExt, BufReader};
+use tokio::net::UnixListener;
+use tokio::sync::{broadcast, mpsc, watch, RwLock};
+use tracing::{info, warn};
+
+use pikl_core::event::{MenuEvent, ModifiedAction, ViewState};
+
+use super::protocol::{ipc_command_to_action, view_state_to_response, IpcCommand, IpcResponse};
+
+/// IPC server that listens on a Unix socket and bridges
+/// external commands into the menu's action channel.
+/// Dropping the server cancels all background tasks and
+/// removes the socket file.
+pub struct IpcServer {
+    socket_path: PathBuf,
+    action_tx: mpsc::Sender<ModifiedAction>,
+    state: Arc<RwLock<Option<ViewState>>>,
+    event_tx: broadcast::Sender<MenuEvent>,
+    /// Dropping the sender signals all tasks to shut down.
+    _shutdown_tx: watch::Sender<bool>,
+}
+
+impl IpcServer {
+    pub fn new(
+        socket_path: PathBuf,
+        action_tx: mpsc::Sender<ModifiedAction>,
+        event_tx: broadcast::Sender<MenuEvent>,
+    ) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            socket_path,
+            action_tx,
+            state: Arc::new(RwLock::new(None)),
+            event_tx,
+            _shutdown_tx: watch::channel(false).0,
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Start listening. Spawns background tasks for state caching
+    /// and connection handling. Returns immediately.
+    pub fn start(&self, event_rx: broadcast::Receiver<MenuEvent>) -> Result<(), std::io::Error> {
+        // Remove stale socket from a previous crash
+        if self.socket_path.exists() {
+            std::fs::remove_file(&self.socket_path)?;
+        }
+
+        let listener = {
+            let std_listener = std::os::unix::net::UnixListener::bind(&self.socket_path)?;
+            std_listener.set_nonblocking(true)?;
+            UnixListener::from_std(std_listener)?
+        };
+
+        // Set socket permissions to 0o700 (owner only)
+        #[cfg(unix)]
+        {
+            use std::os::unix::fs::PermissionsExt;
+            let perms = std::fs::Permissions::from_mode(0o700);
+            std::fs::set_permissions(&self.socket_path, perms)?;
+        }
+
+        info!(path = %self.socket_path.display(), "IPC server listening");
+
+        // State cache task: keep a copy of the latest ViewState
+        let state = Arc::clone(&self.state);
+        let mut cache_rx = event_rx;
+        let mut shutdown_rx = self._shutdown_tx.subscribe();
+        tokio::spawn(async move {
+            loop {
+                tokio::select! {
+                    event = cache_rx.recv() => {
+                        match event {
+                            Ok(MenuEvent::StateChanged(vs)) => {
+                                *state.write().await = Some(vs);
+                            }
+                            Ok(
+                                MenuEvent::Selected(_)
+                                | MenuEvent::Quicklist(_)
+                                | MenuEvent::Cancelled,
+                            ) => break,
+                            Err(broadcast::error::RecvError::Lagged(n)) => {
+                                warn!(skipped = n, "IPC state cache fell behind");
+                            }
+                            Err(broadcast::error::RecvError::Closed) => break,
+                        }
+                    }
+                    _ = shutdown_rx.changed() => break,
+                }
+            }
+        });
+
+        // Accept loop
+        let action_tx = self.action_tx.clone();
+        let state = Arc::clone(&self.state);
+        let event_tx = self.event_tx.clone();
+        let mut shutdown_rx = self._shutdown_tx.subscribe();
+        tokio::spawn(async move {
+            loop {
+                tokio::select! {
+                    result = listener.accept() => {
+                        match result {
+                            Ok((stream, _addr)) => {
+                                let action_tx = action_tx.clone();
+                                let state = Arc::clone(&state);
+                                let event_tx = event_tx.clone();
+                                tokio::spawn(async move {
+                                    if let Err(e) =
+                                        handle_connection(stream, action_tx, state, event_tx).await
+                                    {
+                                        warn!(%e, "IPC connection error");
+                                    }
+                                });
+                            }
+                            Err(e) => {
+                                if e.kind() == std::io::ErrorKind::InvalidInput {
+                                    break;
+                                }
+                                warn!(%e, "IPC accept error");
+                            }
+                        }
+                    }
+                    _ = shutdown_rx.changed() => break,
+                }
+            }
+        });
+
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+}
+
+impl Drop for IpcServer {
+    fn drop(&mut self) {
+        let _ = std::fs::remove_file(&self.socket_path);
+    }
+}
+
+/// Handle a single client connection. Reads JSON lines,
+/// dispatches actions, sends responses.
+async fn handle_connection(
+    stream: tokio::net::UnixStream,
+    action_tx: mpsc::Sender<ModifiedAction>,
+    state: Arc<RwLock<Option<ViewState>>>,
+    event_tx: broadcast::Sender<MenuEvent>,
+) -> Result<(), std::io::Error> {
+    let (read_half, mut write_half) = stream.into_split();
+    let mut reader = BufReader::new(read_half);
+    let mut line = String::new();
+
+    loop {
+        line.clear();
+        let n = reader.read_line(&mut line).await?;
+        if n == 0 {
+            break; // client disconnected
+        }
+
+        let trimmed = line.trim();
+        if trimmed.is_empty() {
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        let cmd: IpcCommand = match serde_json::from_str(trimmed) {
+            Ok(c) => c,
+            Err(e) => {
+                warn!(input = trimmed, %e, "bad IPC command");
+                let resp = IpcResponse::Error {
+                    id: None,
+                    error: format!("invalid JSON: {e}"),
+                };
+                write_response(&mut write_half, &resp).await?;
+                continue;
+            }
+        };
+
+        match cmd {
+            // Write commands: convert to action, send, no response
+            ref c if ipc_command_to_action(c).is_some() => {
+                if let Some(action) = ipc_command_to_action(&cmd) {
+                    let _ = action_tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(action)).await;
+                }
+            }
+
+            // Read: get_state
+            IpcCommand::GetState { ref id } => {
+                let guard = state.read().await;
+                let resp = match &*guard {
+                    Some(vs) => view_state_to_response(id.clone(), vs),
+                    None => IpcResponse::Error {
+                        id: Some(id.clone()),
+                        error: "no state available yet".to_string(),
+                    },
+                };
+                write_response(&mut write_half, &resp).await?;
+            }
+
+            // Read: get_selection
+            IpcCommand::GetSelection { ref id } => {
+                let guard = state.read().await;
+                let resp = match &*guard {
+                    Some(vs) => {
+                        let indices: Vec<usize> = vs
+                            .visible_items
+                            .iter()
+                            .filter(|vi| vi.selected)
+                            .map(|vi| vi.index)
+                            .collect();
+                        IpcResponse::Selection {
+                            id: id.clone(),
+                            indices,
+                        }
+                    }
+                    None => IpcResponse::Error {
+                        id: Some(id.clone()),
+                        error: "no state available yet".to_string(),
+                    },
+                };
+                write_response(&mut write_half, &resp).await?;
+            }
+
+            // Subscribe: forward matching events as JSON lines
+            IpcCommand::Subscribe { ref events } => {
+                let event_filter: Vec<String> =
+                    events.iter().map(|s| s.to_lowercase()).collect();
+                let mut sub_rx = event_tx.subscribe();
+                // Spawn a forwarding task. It runs until the client
+                // disconnects (write fails) or the menu closes.
+                let mut write_half_clone = write_half;
+                tokio::spawn(async move {
+                    loop {
+                        match sub_rx.recv().await {
+                            Ok(MenuEvent::StateChanged(vs)) => {
+                                if event_filter.contains(&"state".to_string()) {
+                                    let resp = IpcResponse::Event {
+                                        event: "state".to_string(),
+                                        data: Some(serde_json::json!({
+                                            "filter_text": vs.filter_text.to_string(),
+                                            "cursor": vs.cursor,
+                                            "total_items": vs.total_items,
+                                            "total_filtered": vs.total_filtered,
+                                            "selection_count": vs.selection_count,
+                                        })),
+                                    };
+                                    if write_response(&mut write_half_clone, &resp)
+                                        .await
+                                        .is_err()
+                                    {
+                                        break;
+                                    }
+                                }
+                            }
+                            Ok(MenuEvent::Selected(items)) => {
+                                if event_filter.contains(&"select".to_string()) {
+                                    let resp = IpcResponse::Event {
+                                        event: "select".to_string(),
+                                        data: Some(serde_json::json!({
+                                            "items": items.iter()
+                                                .map(|(v, i)| serde_json::json!({"value": v, "index": i}))
+                                                .collect::<Vec<_>>()
+                                        })),
+                                    };
+                                    if write_response(&mut write_half_clone, &resp)
+                                        .await
+                                        .is_err()
+                                    {
+                                        break;
+                                    }
+                                }
+                                break;
+                            }
+                            Ok(MenuEvent::Quicklist(items)) => {
+                                if event_filter.contains(&"quicklist".to_string()) {
+                                    let resp = IpcResponse::Event {
+                                        event: "quicklist".to_string(),
+                                        data: Some(serde_json::json!({"items": items})),
+                                    };
+                                    if write_response(&mut write_half_clone, &resp)
+                                        .await
+                                        .is_err()
+                                    {
+                                        break;
+                                    }
+                                }
+                                break;
+                            }
+                            Ok(MenuEvent::Cancelled) => {
+                                if event_filter.contains(&"cancel".to_string()) {
+                                    let resp = IpcResponse::Event {
+                                        event: "cancel".to_string(),
+                                        data: None,
+                                    };
+                                    let _ =
+                                        write_response(&mut write_half_clone, &resp).await;
+                                }
+                                break;
+                            }
+                            Err(broadcast::error::RecvError::Lagged(_)) => continue,
+                            Err(broadcast::error::RecvError::Closed) => break,
+                        }
+                    }
+                });
+                // Subscribe takes over the write half, so we
+                // can't continue reading. The connection is now
+                // subscription-only until it closes.
+                return Ok(());
+            }
+
+            IpcCommand::Unsubscribe => {
+                // Nothing to do if not subscribed
+            }
+
+            _ => {}
+        }
+    }
+
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+/// Write a JSON response as a single line.
+async fn write_response(
+    writer: &mut tokio::net::unix::OwnedWriteHalf,
+    resp: &IpcResponse,
+) -> Result<(), std::io::Error> {
+    let json = serde_json::to_string(resp).map_err(|e| std::io::Error::other(e.to_string()))?;
+    writer.write_all(json.as_bytes()).await?;
+    writer.write_all(b"\n").await?;
+    writer.flush().await
+}

crates/pikl/src/main.rs

@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 mod handler;
 mod hook;
+mod ipc;
+mod session;
 
 use std::io::{BufReader, IsTerminal, Write};
 use std::sync::Arc;
@@ -11,10 +13,10 @@ use pikl_core::column::ColumnConfig;
 use pikl_core::csv_input::{self, InputFormat};
 use pikl_core::debounce::{DebounceMode, DebouncedDispatcher};
 use pikl_core::error::PiklError;
-use pikl_core::event::{Action, MenuResult, Mode};
+use pikl_core::event::{Action, MenuResult, ModifiedAction, Mode};
 use pikl_core::format::FormatTemplate;
 use pikl_core::hook::{HookEventKind, HookHandler};
-use pikl_core::input::read_items_sync;
+use pikl_core::input::{parse_line_to_value, read_items_sync};
 use pikl_core::item::Item;
 use pikl_core::json_menu::JsonMenu;
 use pikl_core::menu::MenuRunner;
@@ -25,6 +27,39 @@ use serde_json::Value;
 use handler::ShellHandlerHook;
 use hook::ShellExecHandler;
 
+/// Which frontend to launch.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq)]
+enum FrontendMode {
+    Tui,
+    Gui,
+}
+
+/// Resolve `--mode` flag into a concrete frontend. "auto"
+/// picks GUI when a graphical environment is detected:
+/// `$WAYLAND_DISPLAY` on Linux, always on macOS. Falls
+/// back to TUI otherwise.
+fn resolve_frontend_mode(mode_str: &str) -> Option<FrontendMode> {
+    match mode_str {
+        "tui" => Some(FrontendMode::Tui),
+        "gui" => Some(FrontendMode::Gui),
+        "auto" => {
+            #[cfg(target_os = "macos")]
+            {
+                Some(FrontendMode::Gui)
+            }
+            #[cfg(not(target_os = "macos"))]
+            {
+                if std::env::var_os("WAYLAND_DISPLAY").is_some() {
+                    Some(FrontendMode::Gui)
+                } else {
+                    Some(FrontendMode::Tui)
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        _ => None,
+    }
+}
+
 #[derive(Parser)]
 #[command(
     name = "pikl",
@@ -137,6 +172,18 @@ struct Cli {
     /// Columns to display in table mode (e.g. "label,meta.age:Age")
     #[arg(long, value_name = "COLS")]
     columns: Option<String>,
+
+    /// Enable IPC control via Unix socket
+    #[arg(long)]
+    ipc: bool,
+
+    /// Session name (enables filter history, names the IPC socket)
+    #[arg(long)]
+    session: Option<String>,
+
+    /// Frontend mode: tui, gui, or auto (default: auto)
+    #[arg(long, value_name = "MODE", default_value = "auto")]
+    mode: String,
 }
 
 fn main() {
@@ -191,10 +238,6 @@ fn main() {
         std::process::exit(2);
     }
 
-    let timeout = cli
-        .stdin_timeout
-        .unwrap_or(if script.is_some() { 30 } else { 0 });
-
     let input_format = match InputFormat::from_str_opt(&cli.input_format) {
         Some(f) => f,
         None => {
@@ -207,8 +250,39 @@ fn main() {
         }
     };
 
-    let (items, csv_headers) = match read_stdin_with_timeout(timeout, &cli.label_key, input_format)
+    // Detect streaming mode: piped stdin, no action-fd, not CSV/TSV.
-    {
+    let streaming = script.is_none()
+        && !std::io::stdin().is_terminal()
+        && !matches!(input_format, InputFormat::Csv | InputFormat::Tsv);
+
+    // Save the original stdin fd for the streaming reader before
+    // we dup2 /dev/tty onto fd 0.
+    #[cfg(unix)]
+    let saved_stdin_fd: Option<i32> = if streaming {
+        let fd = unsafe { libc::dup(libc::STDIN_FILENO) };
+        if fd < 0 {
+            let _ = writeln!(
+                std::io::stderr().lock(),
+                "pikl: failed to dup stdin: {}",
+                std::io::Error::last_os_error()
+            );
+            std::process::exit(2);
+        }
+        Some(fd)
+    } else {
+        None
+    };
+
+    let (items, csv_headers) = if streaming {
+        // Streaming mode: start with empty items, read in background later.
+        (Vec::new(), None)
+    } else {
+        let timeout = cli
+            .stdin_timeout
+            .unwrap_or(if script.is_some() { 30 } else { 0 });
+
+        let (items, csv_headers) =
+            match read_stdin_with_timeout(timeout, &cli.label_key, input_format) {
                 Ok(r) => r,
                 Err(e) => {
                     let _ = writeln!(std::io::stderr().lock(), "pikl: {e}");
@@ -223,6 +297,8 @@ fn main() {
             );
             std::process::exit(2);
         }
+        (items, csv_headers)
+    };
 
     // Resolve column config: explicit --columns, or auto-generate from CSV headers
     let column_config = if let Some(ref cols) = cli.columns {
@@ -240,8 +316,23 @@ fn main() {
         std::process::exit(2);
     });
 
+    // Resolve frontend mode
+    let frontend_mode = match resolve_frontend_mode(&cli.mode) {
+        Some(m) => m,
+        None => {
+            let _ = writeln!(
+                std::io::stderr().lock(),
+                "pikl: unknown --mode '{}', expected auto, tui, or gui",
+                cli.mode
+            );
+            std::process::exit(2);
+        }
+    };
+
     // Reopen stdin from /dev/tty before entering async context.
+    // Only needed for TUI mode (GUI doesn't read from the terminal).
     if script.is_none()
+        && frontend_mode == FrontendMode::Tui
         && let Err(e) = reopen_stdin_from_tty()
     {
         let _ = writeln!(std::io::stderr().lock(), "pikl: {e}");
@@ -262,13 +353,57 @@ fn main() {
         }
     };
 
+    // Load session filter history if --session is set
+    let mut history = cli.session.as_ref().and_then(|name| {
+        match session::FilterHistory::load(name) {
+            Ok(h) => Some(h),
+            Err(e) => {
+                tracing::warn!(%e, "failed to load session history");
+                None
+            }
+        }
+    });
+
     // STEP 4: Branch on headless vs interactive
+    #[cfg(unix)]
+    let saved_fd = saved_stdin_fd;
+    #[cfg(not(unix))]
+    let saved_fd: Option<i32> = None;
+
     let result = if let Some(script) = script {
         rt.block_on(run_headless(items, &cli, script, start_mode, column_config))
+    } else if cfg!(target_os = "macos") && frontend_mode == FrontendMode::Gui {
+        // macOS requires the GUI event loop on the main thread
+        // (AppKit/winit constraint). We can't run it inside
+        // block_on, so the GUI gets the main thread and tokio
+        // work is spawned onto the runtime's worker threads.
+        run_gui_main_thread(
+            &rt, items, &cli, start_mode, column_config, streaming, saved_fd,
+        )
     } else {
-        rt.block_on(run_interactive(items, &cli, start_mode, column_config))
+        let history_entries = history.as_ref().map(|h| h.entries().to_vec());
+        rt.block_on(run_interactive(
+            items,
+            &cli,
+            start_mode,
+            column_config,
+            history_entries,
+            streaming,
+            saved_fd,
+            frontend_mode,
+        ))
     };
 
+    // Save filter text to session history on confirm
+    if let Some(ref mut h) = history
+        && let Ok(MenuResult::Selected { ref filter_text, .. })
+        | Ok(MenuResult::Quicklist { ref filter_text, .. }) = result
+    {
+        let _ = h.append(filter_text).inspect_err(|e| {
+            tracing::warn!(%e, "failed to save session history");
+        });
+    }
+
     // STEP 5: Handle result
     handle_result(result, &cli);
 }
@@ -292,7 +427,7 @@ fn build_menu(items: Vec<Item>, cli: &Cli, column_config: Option<ColumnConfig>)
 /// Build the composite hook handler from CLI flags, if any hooks are specified.
 fn build_hook_handler(
     cli: &Cli,
-    action_tx: &tokio::sync::mpsc::Sender<Action>,
+    action_tx: &tokio::sync::mpsc::Sender<ModifiedAction>,
 ) -> Option<(Arc<dyn HookHandler>, DebouncedDispatcher)> {
     let exec_handler = ShellExecHandler::from_cli(cli);
     let handler_hook = ShellHandlerHook::from_cli(cli, action_tx.clone());
@@ -385,7 +520,9 @@ async fn run_headless(
     let event_rx = menu.subscribe();
 
     // Default headless viewport
-    let _ = action_tx.send(Action::Resize { height: 50 }).await;
+    let _ = action_tx
+        .send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Resize { height: 50 }))
+        .await;
 
     let menu_handle = tokio::spawn(menu.run());
 
@@ -398,7 +535,7 @@ async fn run_headless(
 
         match show_action {
             ShowAction::Ui | ShowAction::Tui | ShowAction::Gui => {
-                let tui_handle = tokio::spawn(pikl_tui::run(action_tx, event_rx));
+                let tui_handle = tokio::spawn(pikl_tui::run(action_tx, event_rx, None));
                 let result = menu_handle
                     .await
                     .map_err(|e| PiklError::Io(std::io::Error::other(e.to_string())))??;
@@ -422,11 +559,16 @@ async fn run_interactive(
     cli: &Cli,
     start_mode: Mode,
     column_config: Option<ColumnConfig>,
+    filter_history: Option<Vec<String>>,
+    streaming: bool,
+    saved_stdin_fd: Option<i32>,
+    frontend_mode: FrontendMode,
 ) -> Result<MenuResult, PiklError> {
     let (mut menu, action_tx) = MenuRunner::new(build_menu(items, cli, column_config));
     menu.set_initial_mode(start_mode);
     menu.set_multi(cli.multi);
     menu.set_selection_order(cli.selection_order);
+    menu.set_streaming(streaming);
 
     if let Some((_handler, dispatcher)) = build_hook_handler(cli, &action_tx) {
         menu.set_dispatcher(dispatcher);
@@ -434,21 +576,249 @@ async fn run_interactive(
 
     let event_rx = menu.subscribe();
 
+    // Start IPC server if requested
+    let _ipc_server = if cli.ipc {
+        let sock_path = ipc::socket_path(cli.session.as_deref())?;
+        let server = ipc::server::IpcServer::new(
+            sock_path,
+            action_tx.clone(),
+            menu.event_sender(),
+        );
+        let ipc_event_rx = menu.subscribe();
+        server
+            .start(ipc_event_rx)
+            .map_err(PiklError::Io)?;
+        Some(server)
+    } else {
+        None
+    };
+
     // Handle SIGINT/SIGTERM: restore terminal and exit cleanly.
     let signal_tx = action_tx.clone();
+    let signal_frontend = frontend_mode;
     tokio::spawn(async move {
-        if let Ok(()) = tokio::signal::ctrl_c().await {
+        match tokio::signal::unix::signal(tokio::signal::unix::SignalKind::terminate()) {
-            pikl_tui::restore_terminal();
+            Ok(mut sigterm) => {
-            let _ = signal_tx.send(Action::Cancel).await;
+                tokio::select! {
+                    _ = tokio::signal::ctrl_c() => {}
+                    _ = sigterm.recv() => {}
                 }
+            }
+            Err(e) => {
+                tracing::warn!(%e, "failed to register SIGTERM handler, falling back to SIGINT only");
+                let _ = tokio::signal::ctrl_c().await;
+            }
+        }
+        if signal_frontend == FrontendMode::Tui {
+            pikl_tui::restore_terminal();
+        }
+        let _ = signal_tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Cancel)).await;
     });
 
-    let tui_handle = tokio::spawn(async move { pikl_tui::run(action_tx, event_rx).await });
+    // Spawn background stdin reader for streaming mode.
+    if let Some(fd) = saved_stdin_fd {
+        let stream_tx = action_tx.clone();
+        tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || {
+            #[cfg(unix)]
+            {
+                use std::io::BufRead;
+                use std::os::unix::io::FromRawFd;
+
+                let file = unsafe { std::fs::File::from_raw_fd(fd) };
+                let mut reader = std::io::BufReader::new(file);
+                let mut batch = Vec::with_capacity(100);
+                let mut line = String::new();
+
+                loop {
+                    line.clear();
+                    match reader.read_line(&mut line) {
+                        Ok(0) => break,
+                        Ok(_) => {
+                            let trimmed = line.trim_end();
+                            if !trimmed.is_empty() {
+                                batch.push(parse_line_to_value(trimmed));
+                            }
+                            if (batch.len() >= 100 || reader.buffer().is_empty())
+                                && !batch.is_empty()
+                            {
+                                let _ = stream_tx.blocking_send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::AddItems(
+                                    std::mem::take(&mut batch),
+                                )));
+                            }
+                        }
+                        Err(e) => {
+                            tracing::warn!(%e, "stdin read error");
+                            break;
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
+                if !batch.is_empty() {
+                    let _ = stream_tx.blocking_send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::AddItems(batch)));
+                }
+                let _ = stream_tx.blocking_send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::StreamingDone));
+            }
+        });
+    }
+
+    match frontend_mode {
+        FrontendMode::Tui => {
+            let tui_handle = tokio::spawn(async move {
+                pikl_tui::run(action_tx, event_rx, filter_history).await
+            });
 
             let result = menu.run().await;
-
             let _ = tui_handle.await;
             result
+        }
+        FrontendMode::Gui => {
+            // Spawn the core event loop on a background task.
+            let menu_handle = tokio::spawn(menu.run());
+
+            // On Linux, spawn_blocking is fine since Wayland doesn't
+            // have the main-thread restriction.
+            let gui_handle = tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || {
+                pikl_gui::run(action_tx, event_rx)
+                    .map_err(|e| PiklError::Io(std::io::Error::other(e.to_string())))
+            });
+
+            if let Err(e) = gui_handle.await {
+                return Err(PiklError::Io(std::io::Error::other(e.to_string())));
+            }
+
+            // Wait for core to finish.
+            match menu_handle.await {
+                Ok(result) => result,
+                Err(e) => Err(PiklError::Io(std::io::Error::other(e.to_string()))),
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// Run GUI on the main thread for macOS. AppKit requires
+/// the event loop on the main thread, so we can't use
+/// block_on (which would nest the iced event loop inside
+/// tokio's reactor). Instead, spawn all background work
+/// onto the runtime's worker threads and run the GUI
+/// directly.
+fn run_gui_main_thread(
+    rt: &tokio::runtime::Runtime,
+    items: Vec<Item>,
+    cli: &Cli,
+    start_mode: Mode,
+    column_config: Option<ColumnConfig>,
+    streaming: bool,
+    saved_stdin_fd: Option<i32>,
+) -> Result<MenuResult, PiklError> {
+    let (mut menu, action_tx) = MenuRunner::new(build_menu(items, cli, column_config));
+    menu.set_initial_mode(start_mode);
+    menu.set_multi(cli.multi);
+    menu.set_selection_order(cli.selection_order);
+    menu.set_streaming(streaming);
+
+    if let Some((_handler, dispatcher)) = build_hook_handler(cli, &action_tx) {
+        menu.set_dispatcher(dispatcher);
+    }
+
+    let event_rx = menu.subscribe();
+
+    // Start IPC server if requested
+    let _ipc_server = if cli.ipc {
+        let sock_path = ipc::socket_path(cli.session.as_deref())?;
+        let server = ipc::server::IpcServer::new(
+            sock_path,
+            action_tx.clone(),
+            menu.event_sender(),
+        );
+        let ipc_event_rx = menu.subscribe();
+        server.start(ipc_event_rx).map_err(PiklError::Io)?;
+        Some(server)
+    } else {
+        None
+    };
+
+    // Enter the runtime context so tokio::spawn works
+    // without being inside block_on.
+    let _guard = rt.enter();
+
+    // Signal handler
+    let signal_tx = action_tx.clone();
+    tokio::spawn(async move {
+        match tokio::signal::unix::signal(tokio::signal::unix::SignalKind::terminate()) {
+            Ok(mut sigterm) => {
+                tokio::select! {
+                    _ = tokio::signal::ctrl_c() => {}
+                    _ = sigterm.recv() => {}
+                }
+            }
+            Err(e) => {
+                tracing::warn!(%e, "failed to register SIGTERM handler, falling back to SIGINT only");
+                let _ = tokio::signal::ctrl_c().await;
+            }
+        }
+        let _ = signal_tx.send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::Cancel)).await;
+    });
+
+    // Streaming stdin reader
+    if let Some(fd) = saved_stdin_fd {
+        let stream_tx = action_tx.clone();
+        tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || {
+            #[cfg(unix)]
+            {
+                use std::io::BufRead;
+                use std::os::unix::io::FromRawFd;
+
+                let file = unsafe { std::fs::File::from_raw_fd(fd) };
+                let mut reader = std::io::BufReader::new(file);
+                let mut batch = Vec::with_capacity(100);
+                let mut line = String::new();
+
+                loop {
+                    line.clear();
+                    match reader.read_line(&mut line) {
+                        Ok(0) => break,
+                        Ok(_) => {
+                            let trimmed = line.trim_end();
+                            if !trimmed.is_empty() {
+                                batch.push(parse_line_to_value(trimmed));
+                            }
+                            if (batch.len() >= 100 || reader.buffer().is_empty())
+                                && !batch.is_empty()
+                            {
+                                let _ = stream_tx.blocking_send(ModifiedAction::new(
+                                    Action::AddItems(std::mem::take(&mut batch)),
+                                ));
+                            }
+                        }
+                        Err(e) => {
+                            tracing::warn!(%e, "stdin read error");
+                            break;
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
+                if !batch.is_empty() {
+                    let _ =
+                        stream_tx.blocking_send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::AddItems(batch)));
+                }
+                let _ =
+                    stream_tx.blocking_send(ModifiedAction::new(Action::StreamingDone));
+            }
+        });
+    }
+
+    // Core menu on a background task
+    let menu_handle = tokio::spawn(menu.run());
+
+    // GUI on the main thread (the whole point of this function)
+    pikl_gui::run(action_tx, event_rx)
+        .map_err(|e| PiklError::Io(std::io::Error::other(e.to_string())))?;
+
+    // GUI exited. Collect the menu result.
+    rt.block_on(async {
+        match menu_handle.await {
+            Ok(result) => result,
+            Err(e) => Err(PiklError::Io(std::io::Error::other(e.to_string()))),
+        }
+    })
 }
 
 /// Process the menu result: print output to stdout and
@@ -456,13 +826,16 @@ async fn run_interactive(
 fn handle_result(result: Result<MenuResult, PiklError>, cli: &Cli) {
     let mut out = std::io::stdout().lock();
     match result {
-        Ok(MenuResult::Selected { items }) => {
+        Ok(MenuResult::Selected {
+            items, modifiers, ..
+        }) => {
             if cli.structured {
                 for (value, index) in items {
                     let output = OutputItem {
                         value,
                         action: OutputAction::Select,
                         index,
+                        modifiers,
                     };
                     let _ = write_output_json(&mut out, &output);
                 }
@@ -472,13 +845,16 @@ fn handle_result(result: Result<MenuResult, PiklError>, cli: &Cli) {
                 }
             }
         }
-        Ok(MenuResult::Quicklist { items }) => {
+        Ok(MenuResult::Quicklist {
+            items, modifiers, ..
+        }) => {
             if cli.structured {
                 for (value, index) in items {
                     let output = OutputItem {
                         value,
                         action: OutputAction::Quicklist,
                         index,
+                        modifiers,
                     };
                     let _ = write_output_json(&mut out, &output);
                 }
@@ -488,12 +864,13 @@ fn handle_result(result: Result<MenuResult, PiklError>, cli: &Cli) {
                 }
             }
         }
-        Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled) => {
+        Ok(MenuResult::Cancelled { modifiers }) => {
             if cli.structured {
                 let output = OutputItem {
                     value: Value::Null,
                     action: OutputAction::Cancel,
                     index: 0,
+                    modifiers,
                 };
                 let _ = write_output_json(&mut out, &output);
             }

crates/pikl/src/session.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,210 @@
+//! Session filter history. Stores and recalls previous filter
+//! strings per named session. History is append-only to a file
+//! in `~/.local/state/pikl/sessions/`.
+
+use std::fs;
+use std::io::Write;
+use std::path::PathBuf;
+
+use pikl_core::error::PiklError;
+
+/// Filter history for a named session. Each entry is a filter
+/// string the user confirmed with. Ctrl+P/Ctrl+N cycle through
+/// these in the TUI.
+pub struct FilterHistory {
+    entries: Vec<String>,
+    file_path: PathBuf,
+}
+
+impl FilterHistory {
+    /// Load history for the given session name. Creates an empty
+    /// history if the file doesn't exist yet.
+    pub fn load(session_name: &str) -> Result<Self, PiklError> {
+        let file_path = history_path(session_name)?;
+
+        let entries = if file_path.exists() {
+            let content = fs::read_to_string(&file_path)?;
+            content
+                .lines()
+                .filter(|l| !l.is_empty())
+                .map(String::from)
+                .collect()
+        } else {
+            Vec::new()
+        };
+
+        Ok(Self { entries, file_path })
+    }
+
+    /// Append a filter string to the history. Skips empty strings
+    /// and duplicates of the last entry.
+    pub fn append(&mut self, filter: &str) -> Result<(), PiklError> {
+        if filter.is_empty() {
+            return Ok(());
+        }
+        if self.entries.last().is_some_and(|last| last == filter) {
+            return Ok(());
+        }
+
+        // Create parent dirs if needed
+        if let Some(parent) = self.file_path.parent() {
+            fs::create_dir_all(parent)?;
+        }
+
+        let mut file = fs::OpenOptions::new()
+            .create(true)
+            .append(true)
+            .open(&self.file_path)?;
+        writeln!(file, "{filter}")?;
+
+        self.entries.push(filter.to_string());
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    /// Read-only access to history entries.
+    pub fn entries(&self) -> &[String] {
+        &self.entries
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+impl FilterHistory {
+    /// Test-only constructor that uses an explicit file path
+    /// instead of deriving one from HOME.
+    fn with_path(file_path: PathBuf) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            entries: Vec::new(),
+            file_path,
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// Build the history file path for a session name.
+/// Uses `$HOME/.local/state/pikl/sessions/{name}.history`.
+fn history_path(session_name: &str) -> Result<PathBuf, PiklError> {
+    let home = std::env::var("HOME").map_err(|_| {
+        PiklError::Io(std::io::Error::new(
+            std::io::ErrorKind::NotFound,
+            "HOME environment variable not set",
+        ))
+    })?;
+    Ok(PathBuf::from(home)
+        .join(".local/state/pikl/sessions")
+        .join(format!("{session_name}.history")))
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+    use std::fs;
+
+    /// Create a temp directory and return a history file path inside it.
+    fn temp_history_path(name: &str) -> PathBuf {
+        let dir = std::env::temp_dir().join(format!("pikl-test-session-{name}"));
+        let _ = fs::create_dir_all(&dir);
+        dir.join("test.history")
+    }
+
+    /// Clean up the temp directory after a test.
+    fn cleanup(path: &PathBuf) {
+        if let Some(parent) = path.parent() {
+            let _ = fs::remove_dir_all(parent);
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn load_missing_file_returns_empty() {
+        let path = temp_history_path("missing");
+        // Make sure it doesn't exist
+        let _ = fs::remove_file(&path);
+
+        let hist = FilterHistory::with_path(path.clone());
+        assert!(hist.entries().is_empty());
+        cleanup(&path);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn append_and_load_roundtrip() -> Result<(), PiklError> {
+        let path = temp_history_path("roundtrip");
+        let _ = fs::remove_file(&path);
+
+        let mut hist = FilterHistory::with_path(path.clone());
+        hist.append("hello")?;
+        hist.append("world")?;
+
+        // Re-read from disk by constructing a new history that
+        // loads the file content.
+        let content = fs::read_to_string(&path)?;
+        let loaded: Vec<String> = content
+            .lines()
+            .filter(|l| !l.is_empty())
+            .map(String::from)
+            .collect();
+
+        assert_eq!(loaded, vec!["hello", "world"]);
+        cleanup(&path);
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn append_skips_empty_string() -> Result<(), PiklError> {
+        let path = temp_history_path("skip-empty");
+        let _ = fs::remove_file(&path);
+
+        let mut hist = FilterHistory::with_path(path.clone());
+        hist.append("")?;
+
+        assert!(hist.entries().is_empty());
+        assert!(!path.exists());
+        cleanup(&path);
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn append_deduplicates_consecutive() -> Result<(), PiklError> {
+        let path = temp_history_path("dedup-consecutive");
+        let _ = fs::remove_file(&path);
+
+        let mut hist = FilterHistory::with_path(path.clone());
+        hist.append("foo")?;
+        hist.append("foo")?;
+
+        assert_eq!(hist.entries(), &["foo"]);
+        cleanup(&path);
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn append_allows_nonconsecutive_duplicates() -> Result<(), PiklError> {
+        let path = temp_history_path("nonconsecutive");
+        let _ = fs::remove_file(&path);
+
+        let mut hist = FilterHistory::with_path(path.clone());
+        hist.append("foo")?;
+        hist.append("bar")?;
+        hist.append("foo")?;
+
+        assert_eq!(hist.entries(), &["foo", "bar", "foo"]);
+        cleanup(&path);
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn entries_returns_all() -> Result<(), PiklError> {
+        let path = temp_history_path("entries-all");
+        let _ = fs::remove_file(&path);
+
+        let mut hist = FilterHistory::with_path(path.clone());
+        hist.append("alpha")?;
+        hist.append("beta")?;
+        hist.append("gamma")?;
+
+        let entries = hist.entries();
+        assert_eq!(entries.len(), 3);
+        assert_eq!(entries[0], "alpha");
+        assert_eq!(entries[1], "beta");
+        assert_eq!(entries[2], "gamma");
+        cleanup(&path);
+        Ok(())
+    }
+}

crates/pikl/tests/headless.rs

@@ -68,6 +68,96 @@ fn headless_actions_after_show_ui_exits_2() {
     );
 }
 
+// -- Modifier prefix integration tests --
+
+#[test]
+fn modifier_prefix_in_structured_output() {
+    let (stdout, _stderr, code) = common::run_pikl(
+        "alpha\nbeta\n",
+        "+shift confirm\n",
+        &["--structured"],
+    );
+    assert_eq!(code, 0, "expected exit 0, stderr: {_stderr}");
+    assert!(
+        stdout.contains(r#""modifiers":["shift"]"#),
+        "expected modifiers array in structured output, got: {stdout}"
+    );
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn no_modifier_omits_field_in_structured_output() {
+    let (stdout, _stderr, code) = common::run_pikl(
+        "alpha\nbeta\n",
+        "confirm\n",
+        &["--structured"],
+    );
+    assert_eq!(code, 0, "expected exit 0, stderr: {_stderr}");
+    assert!(
+        !stdout.contains("modifiers"),
+        "expected no modifiers field when none held, got: {stdout}"
+    );
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn multiple_modifier_prefixes_in_structured() {
+    let (stdout, _stderr, code) = common::run_pikl(
+        "alpha\nbeta\n",
+        "+ctrl+alt confirm\n",
+        &["--structured"],
+    );
+    assert_eq!(code, 0, "expected exit 0, stderr: {_stderr}");
+    assert!(
+        stdout.contains(r#""modifiers":["ctrl","alt"]"#),
+        "expected ctrl+alt modifiers, got: {stdout}"
+    );
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn modifier_prefix_cancel_structured() {
+    let (stdout, _stderr, code) = common::run_pikl(
+        "alpha\n",
+        "+shift cancel\n",
+        &["--structured"],
+    );
+    assert_eq!(code, 1, "expected exit 1 on cancel");
+    assert!(
+        stdout.contains(r#""modifiers":["shift"]"#),
+        "expected modifiers on cancel output, got: {stdout}"
+    );
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn modifier_prefix_does_not_affect_plain_output() {
+    let (stdout, _stderr, code) = common::run_pikl(
+        "alpha\nbeta\n",
+        "+shift confirm\n",
+        &[],
+    );
+    assert_eq!(code, 0, "expected exit 0, stderr: {_stderr}");
+    assert!(
+        !stdout.contains("modifiers"),
+        "plain output should not contain modifiers, got: {stdout}"
+    );
+    assert!(
+        stdout.contains("alpha"),
+        "expected alpha in plain output, got: {stdout}"
+    );
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn unknown_modifier_prefix_exits_2() {
+    let (_stdout, stderr, code) = common::run_pikl(
+        "alpha\n",
+        "+super confirm\n",
+        &[],
+    );
+    assert_eq!(code, 2, "expected exit 2 on unknown modifier");
+    assert!(
+        stderr.contains("unknown modifier"),
+        "expected unknown modifier error, got: {stderr}"
+    );
+}
+
 // -- CSV/TSV integration tests --
 
 #[test]

crates/pikl/tests/headless_dsl.rs

@@ -331,4 +331,29 @@ pikl_tests! {
             exit: 0
         }
     }
+
+    headless mod modifier_prefix {
+        items: ["alpha", "beta", "gamma"];
+
+        test shift_confirm_plain_output_unchanged {
+            // Modifier prefixes don't affect plain text output.
+            actions: [raw "+shift confirm"]
+            stdout: "alpha"
+            exit: 0
+        }
+
+        test unknown_modifier_errors {
+            actions: [raw "+meta confirm"]
+            stderr contains: "unknown modifier"
+            exit: 2
+        }
+
+        test modifier_with_movement {
+            // Modifiers on navigation don't change behavior,
+            // but they should parse and not break anything.
+            actions: [raw "+shift move-down", confirm]
+            stdout: "beta"
+            exit: 0
+        }
+    }
 }

docs/DESIGN.md

@@ -48,6 +48,43 @@ metadata that came in, plus selection context:
 {"label": "beach_sunset.jpg", "sublabel": "/home/maple/walls/nature/", "meta": {"size": "2.4MB"}, "action": "select", "index": 3}
 ```
 
+When `--structured` is used, the output JSON includes a
+`modifiers` field if any modifier keys (shift, ctrl, alt)
+were held during confirmation. The value is an array of
+strings:
+
+```jsonl
+{"label": "firefox", "action": "select", "index": 0, "modifiers": ["shift"]}
+{"label": "alacritty", "action": "select", "index": 2, "modifiers": ["ctrl", "alt"]}
+```
+
+When no modifiers are held, the field is omitted entirely.
+Plain text output is unchanged: modifiers only appear in
+structured JSON.
+
+### Working with Structured Output
+
+Check for shift modifier with jq:
+
+```sh
+pikl --structured | jq 'if (.modifiers // [] | contains(["shift"])) then "alternate" else "default" end'
+```
+
+Extract a field:
+
+```sh
+pikl --structured | jq -r '.label'
+```
+
+Branch on modifiers in a script:
+
+```sh
+result=$(echo -e "a\nb\nc" | pikl --structured)
+if echo "$result" | jq -e '.modifiers // [] | contains(["shift"])' > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+    echo "shift was held"
+fi
+```
+
 ### Streaming
 
 Input can arrive over time. The list populates progressively
@@ -96,6 +133,12 @@ There are two ways to respond to them: **exec hooks** and
 | `on-filter` | Filter text changes | Dynamic item reloading |
 | `on-toggle` | User toggles an item's selection | Visual feedback (deferred) |
 
+Hook event JSON includes a `modifiers` field on `select`,
+`cancel`, `filter`, `hover`, and `quicklist` events when
+modifier keys were held. Same format as structured output:
+an array of strings like `["shift"]` or `["ctrl", "alt"]`.
+Omitted when no modifiers are active.
+
 ### Exec Hooks (fire-and-forget)
 
 `--on-<event>-exec` spawns a subprocess for each event.
@@ -519,13 +562,19 @@ A few built-in themes ship with pikl. `--theme monokai` or
 
 ## Sessions
 
-`--session name` persists the menu's state (filter text,
+`--session name` enables filter history across invocations.
-scroll position, selections) across
-invocations. State lives in
-`~/.local/state/pikl/sessions/`.
-
 No `--session` = ephemeral, nothing saved.
 
+When a session is active, every filter that leads to a
+selection (single, multi, or quicklist) is appended to
+`~/.local/state/pikl/sessions/{name}.history`. Empty
+filters and consecutive duplicates are skipped.
+
+On startup with a session name, the history file is loaded.
+Ctrl+P / Ctrl+N in insert mode cycles through previous
+filters. Selecting a history entry replaces the current
+filter text.
+
 Session names are just strings, use shell expansion for
 dynamic names:
 
@@ -534,8 +583,8 @@ pikl --session "walls-$(hostname)"
 pikl --session "logs-$USER"
 ```
 
-Session history is a log file alongside the state. Other
+Sessions are lightweight by design. No item persistence,
-tools can tail it for observability.
+no scroll position, no selections. Just filter recall.
 
 ## Watched Sources
 
@@ -552,18 +601,96 @@ named pipe.
 
 ## IPC
 
-While running, pikl-menu listens on a Unix socket
+Opt-in external control via Unix socket. Enabled with
-(`/run/user/$UID/pikl-$PID.sock`). External tools can:
+`--ipc`. Off by default: pikl is ephemeral and shouldn't
+have side effects unless asked.
 
-- Push new items
+Socket path:
-- Remove items
+- Named session: `/run/user/$UID/pikl-{session}.sock`
-- Update item fields
+- No session: `/run/user/$UID/pikl-{pid}.sock`
-- Set the filter text
-- Read current selection
-- Close the menu
 
-Protocol is newline-delimited JSON. Simple enough to use
+The socket path is logged via tracing on startup and
-with `socat` or any language's Unix socket support.
+cleaned up on exit.
+
+### Protocol
+
+Newline-delimited JSON, one message per line. Simple
+enough for `socat` or any language with Unix sockets.
+
+### Client-to-pikl Commands
+
+**Write commands** (fire-and-forget, no response):
+
+| Action | Payload | Effect |
+|---|---|---|
+| `add_items` | `{"items": [...]}` | Append items |
+| `replace_items` | `{"items": [...]}` | Replace all items |
+| `remove_items` | `{"indices": [...]}` | Remove by index |
+| `set_filter` | `{"text": "..."}` | Set filter text |
+| `move_up` | (none) | Navigate up |
+| `move_down` | (none) | Navigate down |
+| `move_to_top` | (none) | Jump to top |
+| `move_to_bottom` | (none) | Jump to bottom |
+| `page_up` | (none) | Page up |
+| `page_down` | (none) | Page down |
+| `toggle_select` | (none) | Toggle current item |
+| `select_all` | (none) | Select all items |
+| `clear_selections` | (none) | Clear selections |
+| `confirm` | (none) | Confirm selection |
+| `cancel` | (none) | Cancel menu |
+| `close` | (none) | Close menu |
+
+**Read commands** (require `id` field, response echoes it):
+
+| Action | Response |
+|---|---|
+| `get_state` | `{"id": "...", "state": {"filter": "...", "cursor": 3, "total_items": 150, "total_filtered": 12, "selection_count": 0, "mode": "insert"}}` |
+| `get_selection` | `{"id": "...", "selection": [{"label": "...", "index": 3}, ...]}` |
+
+**Event subscription:**
+
+| Action | Payload | Effect |
+|---|---|---|
+| `subscribe` | `{"events": ["hover", "filter", ...]}` | Start receiving events |
+| `unsubscribe` | (none) | Stop receiving events |
+
+Subscribed events are pushed as
+`{"event": "hover", "item": {...}, "index": 3}` lines.
+
+### Multiple Connections
+
+Multiple clients can connect simultaneously. Each gets
+independent subscription state. All writes are serialized
+through the same action channel.
+
+### Auth
+
+Unix socket permissions (user-only access). No additional
+authentication.
+
+### Architecture
+
+IPC is just another frontend. It deserializes JSON
+messages into `Action` variants and sends them through the
+same `mpsc` channel as the TUI or action-fd. Event
+subscriptions tap into the `broadcast` channel. No special
+core changes needed.
+
+### Examples
+
+```sh
+# Push items into a running pikl
+echo '{"action": "add_items", "items": [{"label": "new"}]}' \
+  | socat - UNIX-CONNECT:/run/user/1000/pikl-mypicker.sock
+
+# Read current state
+echo '{"action": "get_state", "id": "1"}' \
+  | socat - UNIX-CONNECT:/run/user/1000/pikl-mypicker.sock
+
+# Subscribe to hover events
+echo '{"action": "subscribe", "events": ["hover"]}' \
+  | socat - UNIX-CONNECT:/run/user/1000/pikl-mypicker.sock
+```
 
 ## Exit Codes
 
@@ -644,8 +771,8 @@ sequentially regardless of where they came from.
 | TUI | Terminal keypresses (crossterm) | Yes | 1 |
 | GUI | GUI events (iced) | Yes | 8 |
 | Action-fd | Pre-validated script from a file descriptor | No (unless `show-ui`) | 1.5 |
-| IPC | Unix socket, JSON protocol | Yes (bidirectional) | 6 |
+| IPC | Unix socket, newline-delimited JSON | Yes (bidirectional) | 6 |
-| Lua | LuaJIT script via mlua | Yes (stateful, conditional) | Post-6 |
+| Lua | Embedded LuaJIT via mlua (in-process) | Yes (stateful, conditional) | Post-6 |
 
 This framing means new interaction modes don't require core
 changes: they're just new frontends that push actions.
@@ -686,6 +813,18 @@ Available actions:
 | `show-tui` | (none) | Hand off to TUI specifically |
 | `show-gui` | (none) | Hand off to GUI specifically |
 
+Actions can include modifier key prefixes with `+`:
+
+```
++shift confirm
++ctrl+alt move-down 3
+```
+
+Valid modifiers: `shift`, `ctrl`, `alt`. Multiple modifiers
+chain with `+`. Lines without a `+` prefix work exactly as
+before. This lets scripts signal intent to hooks and
+structured output the same way a user holding Shift would.
+
 `show-ui` auto-detects the appropriate interactive frontend
 (Wayland: GUI, X11: GUI, otherwise: TUI). `show-tui` and
 `show-gui` are explicit overrides. All three must be the
@@ -821,12 +960,15 @@ complexity:
    extend pikl without touching Rust.
 4. **IPC** (phase 6): bidirectional JSON over Unix socket.
    External tools can read state and send actions while pikl
-   runs interactively. Good for tool integration.
+   runs interactively. Language-agnostic: anything that can
-5. **Lua** (post phase 6): embedded LuaJIT via mlua. Full
+   write JSON to a socket works.
-   stateful scripting: subscribe to events, branch on state,
+5. **Lua** (post phase 6): embedded LuaJIT via mlua.
-   loops, the works. The Lua runtime is just another
+   In-process scripting for complex hooks and behaviour.
-   frontend pushing Actions and subscribing to MenuEvents.
+   Direct access to the action/event system, no socket
-   For anything complex enough to need a real language.
+   overhead. Think Neovim's Lua layer: you're extending the
+   tool, not talking to it from outside. IPC and Lua are
+   separate integration points. IPC is for external
+   processes. Lua is for embedded logic.
 
 No custom DSL. Action-fd stays simple forever. The jump
 from "I need conditionals" to "use Lua" is intentional:
@@ -848,16 +990,10 @@ with the full writeup.
 
 ## Open Questions
 
-- Should marks/registers persist across sessions or only
-  within a session?
 - Accessibility: screen reader support for TUI mode?
 - Should `--watch` support inotify on Linux and FSEvents on
   macOS, or use `notify` crate to abstract?
 - Maximum practical item count before we need virtual
   scrolling? (Probably around 100k)
-- Should hooks run in a pool or strictly sequential?
-  Resolved: exec hooks are one subprocess per event.
-  Handler hooks are persistent processes. Debounce and
-  cancel-stale manage concurrency.
 - Plugin system via WASM for custom filter strategies?
   (Probably way later if ever)

docs/DEVPLAN.md

@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ through hooks and structured I/O. A handler hook can
 receive hover events and emit commands to modify menu
 state.
 
-## Phase 4: Multi-Select
+## Phase 4: Multi-Select ✓
 
 Selection with undo/redo. No marks or registers: filtering
 already handles navigation, and selections surviving filter
@@ -212,38 +212,93 @@ CSV/TSV input parsing and columnar table rendering.
 **Done when:** `echo "name,age\nalice,30\nbob,25" | pikl --input-format csv`
 renders a navigable table with headers.
 
-## Phase 6: Sessions & IPC
+## Phase 6: IPC & Session History
 
-Persistence and external control.
+Two independent features bundled together. IPC adds live
+external control over a Unix socket. Session history gives
+lightweight filter recall for repeated workflows.
+
+### IPC (External Control)
+
+Opt-in Unix socket server for live control of a running
+pikl instance by external processes.
 
 **Deliverables:**
-- `--session name` for state persistence
+- `--ipc` flag to enable the socket listener (off by
-- Session state: filter, scroll position, selections
+  default, pikl is ephemeral and shouldn't have side
-- Session history log file
+  effects unless asked)
-- Unix socket IPC while running
+- Socket path: `/run/user/$UID/pikl-{session}.sock`
-- IPC commands: push/remove/update items, set filter,
+  (named session) or `/run/user/$UID/pikl-{pid}.sock`
-  read selection, close
+  (no session name)
-- Protocol: newline-delimited JSON
+- Socket path logged via tracing on startup
+- Cleanup on exit (normal, cancel, SIGTERM)
+- Protocol: newline-delimited JSON, one message per line
+- Write commands: `add_items`, `replace_items`,
+  `remove_items`, `set_filter`, `confirm`, `cancel`,
+  `close`, plus navigation actions (`move_up`,
+  `move_down`, `move_to_top`, `move_to_bottom`,
+  `page_up`, `page_down`, `toggle_select`, `select_all`,
+  `clear_selections`)
+- Read commands: `get_state` (filter, cursor, counts,
+  mode), `get_selection` (selected items). Both require
+  an `id` field, response echoes it back.
+- Event subscription: `subscribe` with event type list,
+  `unsubscribe` to stop. Subscribed events pushed as
+  `{"event": "...", ...}` lines.
+- Multiple simultaneous client connections
+- Auth: Unix socket permissions (user-only)
+- IPC is just another frontend: deserializes JSON into
+  Actions, optionally subscribes to MenuEvent broadcast
 
-**Done when:** You can close and reopen a session and find
+**Not in scope:**
-your state intact. External scripts can push items into a
+- `get_items` (full item list read, potentially large)
-running pikl instance.
+- Auto-enable with `--session`
+- Auth beyond Unix socket permissions
 
-## Phase 7: Streaming & Watched Sources
+### Session Filter History
-
-Live, dynamic menus.
 
 **Deliverables:**
-- Async/streaming stdin (items arrive over time, list
+- `--session name` flag
-  updates progressively)
+- On any confirm (single, multi, quicklist), append
-- Streaming output (on-hover events emitted to stdout)
+  current filter text to
-- `--watch path` for file/directory watching
+  `~/.local/state/pikl/sessions/{name}.history`
-- `--watch-extensions` filter
+- Skip empty filters and consecutive duplicates
-- notify crate integration (inotify on Linux, FSEvents
+- Load history on startup if session file exists
-  on macOS)
+- Ctrl+P / Ctrl+N in insert mode to cycle through
+  filter history
+- Selecting a history entry replaces the current filter
+  text
+- Per-session only, no global history
 
-**Done when:** `find / -name '*.log' | pikl` populates
+**Done when:** An external script can connect to a running
-progressively. A watched directory updates the list live.
+pikl instance over the socket, push items, read state, and
+subscribe to events. A named session remembers filter
+history across invocations.
+
+## Phase 7: Streaming Stdin ✓
+
+Auto-detected streaming when stdin is a pipe (not action-fd,
+not CSV/TSV). The menu opens immediately with zero items and
+streams them in as they arrive.
+
+`--watch` was dropped from this phase. External tools like
+`inotifywait -m ~/walls | pikl` compose naturally with
+streaming stdin. No built-in file watcher needed.
+
+**Deliverables:**
+- Auto-detected streaming stdin (items arrive over time,
+  list updates progressively)
+- `StreamingDone` action signals end of input
+- `streaming` flag on ViewState for frontend indicators
+- TUI shows `...` suffix on the count while streaming
+- Background reader with batched `AddItems` (up to 100
+  items per batch, flushes immediately for slow sources)
+- `streaming-done` action-fd command for test scripts
+- No new CLI flags: streaming is auto-detected
+
+**Done when:** `seq 1 10000 | pikl` opens immediately and
+items stream in. Slow sources show items appearing one at
+a time with a `...` indicator.
 
 ## Phase 8: GUI Frontend (Wayland + X11)
 
@@ -294,7 +349,14 @@ navigate directories without spawning new processes.
   pass `-la` to it. The output would include both the
   selected item and the user-supplied arguments.
 
-  Open questions:
+  **Partially resolved:** modifier key support has landed.
+  Structured output and hook events now carry a `modifiers`
+  field when shift/ctrl/alt are held during confirmation.
+  This covers the signaling side: scripts can detect
+  Shift+Enter and branch on it. The free-text argument
+  input (where does the user type `-la`?) is still open.
+
+  Remaining open questions:
   - UX flow: does the filter text become the args on
     Shift+Enter? Or does Shift+Enter open a second input
     field for args after selection? The filter-as-args
@@ -308,9 +370,6 @@ navigate directories without spawning new processes.
     matches exactly one item just confirm that item (current
     behaviour), or should it also treat any "extra" text
     as args? Probably not, too implicit.
-  - Keybind: Shift+Enter is natural, but some terminals
-    don't distinguish it from Enter. May need a fallback
-    like Ctrl+Enter or a normal-mode keybind.
 
   This is a core feature (new keybind, new output field),
   not just a launcher script concern. Fits naturally after
@@ -357,3 +416,4 @@ commitment, no order.
   to run per-keystroke" problem for the app launcher.
   Could be a `pikl index` subcommand or a standalone
   helper script.
+- Need vars in hooks like `--on-hover 'echo $out'`.

docs/use-cases/wallpaper-picker.md

@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ bind = $mod, B, exec, wallpicker copy
 | Hook debouncing | 3 | Don't flood hyprctl |
 | Fuzzy filtering | 2 | Filter by filename |
 | Manifest files | 3 | Reusable config |
-| Watched sources | 7 | Live update on new files |
+| Streaming stdin | 7 | Progressive load from find |
 | Sessions | 6 | Remember last position |
 
 ## Open Questions

examples/demo.sh

@@ -379,6 +379,48 @@ Gentoo,rolling,openrc
 CSV
 }
 
+# ── Phase 6 demos ────────────────────────────────────────
+
+ipc_demo() {
+    echo "IPC demo: pikl runs here with --ipc enabled." >&2
+    echo "Open a second terminal and run:" >&2
+    echo "  ./examples/ipc-remote.sh demo" >&2
+    echo "" >&2
+    echo "Use the remote to navigate, filter, add items, and query state." >&2
+    echo "Press Enter or q in the remote to exit." >&2
+    echo "" >&2
+    cat <<'ITEMS' | pikl --ipc --session demo --multi
+{"label": "Arch Linux", "category": "rolling", "init": "systemd"}
+{"label": "NixOS", "category": "rolling", "init": "systemd"}
+{"label": "Void Linux", "category": "rolling", "init": "runit"}
+{"label": "Debian", "category": "stable", "init": "systemd"}
+{"label": "Alpine", "category": "stable", "init": "openrc"}
+{"label": "Fedora", "category": "semi-rolling", "init": "systemd"}
+{"label": "Gentoo", "category": "rolling", "init": "openrc"}
+ITEMS
+}
+
+modifier_keys_demo() {
+    echo "Modifier key demo. Use --structured to see modifiers in output." >&2
+    echo "Press Enter normally, then try Shift+Enter or Ctrl+Enter." >&2
+    echo "Compare the JSON output: modifiers only appear when held." >&2
+    echo "" >&2
+    cat <<'ITEMS' | pikl --structured
+{"label": "Firefox", "url": "https://firefox.com"}
+{"label": "Neovim", "url": "https://neovim.io"}
+{"label": "Alacritty", "url": "https://alacritty.org"}
+{"label": "mpv", "url": "https://mpv.io"}
+ITEMS
+}
+
+session_demo() {
+    echo "Session filter history: select with a filter, exit, relaunch." >&2
+    echo "Press Ctrl+P to recall your previous filter." >&2
+    echo "" >&2
+    printf "apple\nbanana\ncherry\ndate\nelderberry\nfig\ngrape\nhoneydew\n" \
+        | pikl --session fruit
+}
+
 # ── Scenario menu ─────────────────────────────────────────
 
 scenarios=(
@@ -411,6 +453,10 @@ scenarios=(
     "CSV + multi-select"
     "CSV + field filter"
     "---"
+    "IPC remote control"
+    "Session filter history"
+    "Modifier keys (structured output)"
+    "---"
     "on-select-exec hook (legacy)"
 )
 
@@ -441,6 +487,9 @@ run_scenario() {
         *"CSV with --columns"*)     csv_columns_alias ;;
         *"CSV + multi"*)            csv_multi_select ;;
         *"CSV + field"*)            csv_filter ;;
+        *"IPC remote"*)             ipc_demo ;;
+        *"Session filter"*)         session_demo ;;
+        *"Modifier keys"*)          modifier_keys_demo ;;
         *"on-select-exec"*)         on_select_hook ;;
         "---")
             echo "that's a separator, not a scenario" >&2

examples/ipc-remote.md

@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+# IPC Remote Control
+
+Interactive demo of pikl's IPC socket. Run pikl in one terminal, control it
+from another. Watch the menu respond in real time.
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+- `socat` for socket I/O (`pacman -S socat` / `brew install socat`)
+- `python3` for pretty-printing JSON responses (optional, falls back to raw output)
+
+## Quick start
+
+**Terminal 1:** start pikl with IPC enabled.
+
+```sh
+echo -e "alpha\nbeta\ngamma\ndelta\nepsilon" | pikl --ipc --session demo
+```
+
+**Terminal 2:** connect the remote control.
+
+```sh
+./examples/ipc-remote.sh demo
+```
+
+## What you can do
+
+The remote gives you single-key commands:
+
+| Key | Action |
+|-----|--------|
+| `j` / `k` | Move cursor down / up |
+| `g` / `G` | Jump to top / bottom |
+| `f` | Set filter text (then type the query) |
+| `F` | Clear filter |
+| `Space` | Toggle select on current item |
+| `a` | Select all |
+| `c` | Clear selections |
+| `s` | Print current menu state (JSON) |
+| `S` | Print current selection (JSON) |
+| `+` | Add new items interactively |
+| `r` | Replace all items |
+| `Enter` | Confirm selection (exits pikl) |
+| `q` | Cancel (exits pikl) |
+| `x` | Exit remote without affecting pikl |
+
+## Things to try
+
+1. Press `j` a few times and watch the cursor move in the pikl terminal.
+2. Press `s` to see the state, including cursor position and item count.
+3. Press `f`, type `al`, and watch the filter narrow the list.
+4. Press `F` to clear the filter.
+5. Press `+` and add a few items. They appear in the pikl terminal immediately.
+6. Press `Space` a couple times to toggle selections, then `S` to see what's selected.
+7. Press `Enter` to confirm. pikl exits and prints the selection.
+
+## How it works
+
+The remote sends newline-delimited JSON commands to pikl's Unix socket using
+`socat`. Write commands (move, filter, add items) are fire-and-forget. Read
+commands (get_state, get_selection) wait for a JSON response.
+
+The socket path for a named session is `/run/user/$UID/pikl-{session}.sock`.
+Without `--session`, pikl uses the PID: `/run/user/$UID/pikl-{pid}.sock`.
+
+## Using socat directly
+
+You don't need the remote script. Any tool that speaks Unix sockets works:
+
+```sh
+# Query state
+echo '{"action":"get_state","id":"1"}' | socat - UNIX-CONNECT:/run/user/$(id -u)/pikl-demo.sock
+
+# Move cursor down
+echo '{"action":"move_down"}' | socat -t 0.1 - UNIX-CONNECT:/run/user/$(id -u)/pikl-demo.sock
+
+# Add items
+echo '{"action":"add_items","items":["foo","bar"]}' | socat -t 0.1 - UNIX-CONNECT:/run/user/$(id -u)/pikl-demo.sock
+```

examples/ipc-remote.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,178 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# IPC remote control for pikl-menu.
+#
+# Connects to a running pikl instance over its Unix socket and
+# lets you send commands interactively. You see the effects in
+# the pikl terminal in real time.
+#
+# Usage:
+#   Terminal 1:  echo -e "alpha\nbeta\ngamma\ndelta" | pikl --ipc --session demo
+#   Terminal 2:  ./examples/ipc-remote.sh demo
+#
+# Requires: socat (for socket I/O)
+#
+# The session name is optional. Without it, you'll need to pass
+# the full socket path as the first argument.
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+# ── Socket path ──────────────────────────────────────────
+
+resolve_socket() {
+    local arg="${1:-}"
+    if [[ -z "$arg" ]]; then
+        echo "usage: ipc-remote.sh <session-name | socket-path>" >&2
+        exit 2
+    fi
+
+    # If it looks like a path, use it directly
+    if [[ "$arg" == */* || "$arg" == *.sock ]]; then
+        echo "$arg"
+        return
+    fi
+
+    # Otherwise treat it as a session name
+    local uid
+    uid=$(id -u)
+    echo "/run/user/${uid}/pikl-${arg}.sock"
+}
+
+SOCK=$(resolve_socket "${1:-}")
+
+if [[ ! -S "$SOCK" ]]; then
+    echo "socket not found: $SOCK" >&2
+    echo "" >&2
+    echo "make sure pikl is running with --ipc:" >&2
+    echo "  echo -e 'alpha\nbeta\ngamma' | pikl --ipc --session demo" >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+if ! command -v socat >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    echo "socat is required but not installed." >&2
+    echo "install it with your package manager (pacman -S socat, brew install socat, etc.)" >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# ── IPC helpers ──────────────────────────────────────────
+
+ipc_send() {
+    echo "$1" | socat - "UNIX-CONNECT:${SOCK}" 2>/dev/null
+}
+
+ipc_fire() {
+    # Fire-and-forget: send command, don't wait for response
+    echo "$1" | socat -t 0.1 - "UNIX-CONNECT:${SOCK}" 2>/dev/null || true
+}
+
+# ── Commands ─────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+cmd_state() {
+    local resp
+    resp=$(ipc_send '{"action":"get_state","id":"q"}')
+    echo "$resp" | python3 -m json.tool 2>/dev/null || echo "$resp"
+}
+
+cmd_selection() {
+    local resp
+    resp=$(ipc_send '{"action":"get_selection","id":"q"}')
+    echo "$resp" | python3 -m json.tool 2>/dev/null || echo "$resp"
+}
+
+cmd_move_down()     { ipc_fire '{"action":"move_down"}'; }
+cmd_move_up()       { ipc_fire '{"action":"move_up"}'; }
+cmd_top()           { ipc_fire '{"action":"move_to_top"}'; }
+cmd_bottom()        { ipc_fire '{"action":"move_to_bottom"}'; }
+cmd_page_down()     { ipc_fire '{"action":"page_down"}'; }
+cmd_page_up()       { ipc_fire '{"action":"page_up"}'; }
+cmd_toggle()        { ipc_fire '{"action":"toggle_select"}'; }
+cmd_select_all()    { ipc_fire '{"action":"select_all"}'; }
+cmd_clear()         { ipc_fire '{"action":"clear_selections"}'; }
+cmd_confirm()       { ipc_fire '{"action":"confirm"}'; }
+cmd_cancel()        { ipc_fire '{"action":"cancel"}'; }
+
+cmd_filter() {
+    local text="${1:-}"
+    if [[ -z "$text" ]]; then
+        read -rp "filter text: " text
+    fi
+    ipc_fire "{\"action\":\"set_filter\",\"text\":\"${text}\"}"
+}
+
+cmd_add() {
+    local items="${1:-}"
+    if [[ -z "$items" ]]; then
+        echo "enter items to add (one per line, empty line to finish):"
+        local lines=()
+        while IFS= read -rp "> " line; do
+            [[ -z "$line" ]] && break
+            lines+=("\"${line}\"")
+        done
+        items=$(IFS=,; echo "${lines[*]}")
+    fi
+    ipc_fire "{\"action\":\"add_items\",\"items\":[${items}]}"
+}
+
+cmd_replace() {
+    echo "enter new items (one per line, empty line to finish):"
+    local lines=()
+    while IFS= read -rp "> " line; do
+        [[ -z "$line" ]] && break
+        lines+=("\"${line}\"")
+    done
+    local items
+    items=$(IFS=,; echo "${lines[*]}")
+    ipc_fire "{\"action\":\"replace_items\",\"items\":[${items}]}"
+}
+
+# ── Interactive loop ─────────────────────────────────────
+
+show_help() {
+    cat <<'HELP'
+
+  pikl IPC remote control
+  ───────────────────────
+  j / down    move cursor down         k / up     move cursor up
+  g           jump to top              G          jump to bottom
+  f <text>    set filter               F          clear filter
+  space       toggle select            a          select all
+  c           clear selections         s          get state
+  S           get selection
+  +           add items                r          replace all items
+  enter       confirm selection        q          cancel menu
+  ?           show this help           x          exit remote
+
+HELP
+}
+
+main() {
+    echo "connected to: $SOCK"
+    show_help
+
+    while true; do
+        read -rp "ipc> " -n1 key || break
+        echo ""
+
+        case "$key" in
+            j)      cmd_move_down ;;
+            k)      cmd_move_up ;;
+            g)      cmd_top ;;
+            G)      cmd_bottom ;;
+            f)      read -rp "filter: " text; cmd_filter "$text" ;;
+            F)      cmd_filter "" ;;
+            " ")    cmd_toggle ;;
+            a)      cmd_select_all ;;
+            c)      cmd_clear ;;
+            s)      cmd_state ;;
+            S)      cmd_selection ;;
+            +)      cmd_add ;;
+            r)      cmd_replace ;;
+            "")     cmd_confirm; echo "confirmed."; break ;;
+            q)      cmd_cancel; echo "cancelled."; break ;;
+            x)      echo "bye."; break ;;
+            "?")    show_help ;;
+            *)      echo "unknown key '$key'. press ? for help." ;;
+        esac
+    done
+}
+
+main