[DOCS] Interrupting a prompt before any response should be documented: input is automatically restored for editing and resubmission

Documentation Type

Missing documentation (feature not documented)

Documentation Location

https://code.claude.com/docs/en/interactive-mode

Section/Topic

"General controls" keyboard shortcut table (Ctrl+C row) and/or a new note in the interrupt/cancel section

Current Documentation

From the "General controls" table in interactive-mode:

| Ctrl+C | Cancel current input or generation | Standard interrupt |

From how-claude-code-works.md:

You can interrupt Claude at any point. If it's going down the wrong path, just type your correction and press Enter. Claude will stop what it's doing and adjust its approach based on your input.

From best-practices.md:

* Esc: stop Claude mid-action with the Esc key. Context is preserved, so you can redirect.

None of these pages mention the specific behavior introduced in v2.1.83: when you interrupt a prompt before Claude has produced any response, the original input text is automatically restored so you can edit and resubmit it.

What's Wrong or Missing?

As of Claude Code v2.1.83, interrupting a prompt before Claude has begun responding automatically restores the original input to the prompt field. This lets users immediately edit and resubmit without retyping their prompt.

This is meaningfully different from the general "interrupt and steer" workflow already documented (which applies mid-response and does not restore input). The two cases now have distinct behaviors:

• Interrupt after response has started: input field is empty; you type a new correction or follow-up.
• Interrupt before any response (new in v2.1.83): input field is restored with the original prompt text, ready to edit and resubmit.

This distinction is not documented anywhere in the current docs. Users who discover the Ctrl+C interrupt behavior from the shortcut table have no way to know about this recovery convenience when they cancel early.

A related but separate behavior (pressing Up arrow after interrupting Claude restores the interrupted prompt and rewinds the conversation) was documented in an earlier changelog entry (v2.1.75), but the "before any response" automatic restore is a distinct, newer behavior.

Suggested Improvement

Update the Ctrl+C row in the "General controls" table in interactive-mode.md to reflect the two-case behavior, or add a note immediately below the table:

Option A — expand the table description:

| Ctrl+C | Cancel current input or generation. If cancelled before any response begins, your original input is automatically restored for editing and resubmission. | Standard interrupt |

Option B — add a note below the General controls table:

Tip: If you press Ctrl+C before Claude has produced any response, your original input is automatically restored in the prompt field so you can edit and resubmit without retyping.

Additionally, the "Interrupt and steer" section of how-claude-code-works.md and the Esc bullet in best-practices.md could each note this early-cancel restore behavior.

Impact

Medium - Makes feature difficult to understand

Additional Context

Source: Changelog v2.1.83

"Interrupting a prompt before any response now automatically restores your input so you can edit and resubmit"

Affected pages:

• https://code.claude.com/docs/en/interactive-mode (primary — keyboard shortcuts reference)
• https://code.claude.com/docs/en/how-claude-code-works (secondary — "Interrupt and steer" section)
• https://code.claude.com/docs/en/best-practices (secondary — Esc bullet in tight feedback loops section)

Related (but distinct) documented behavior: Up arrow after interrupting Claude mid-response restores the interrupted prompt and rewinds the conversation (documented in changelog v2.1.75 / interactive-mode.md Up/Down arrows row). The new v2.1.83 behavior is automatic and applies specifically when no response has started yet.