GHOSTTY_QUICK_TERMINAL is not set for new splits in the quick terminal

[andelink]

Issue Description

When I open a new quick terminal with the toggle_quick_terminal action, I apply some specific prompt/theme configuration based on the presence of GHOSTTY_QUICK_TERMINAL=1. This works as expected for the initial surface terminal, but when I initialize a new split with the new_split action, the resulting terminal does not have GHOSTTY_QUICK_TERMINAL set.

Expected Behavior

I was expecting all splits within the quick terminal to have GHOSTTY_QUICK_TERMINAL=1 set.

Actual Behavior

Splits within the quick terminal do not have GHOSTTY_QUICK_TERMINAL set.

Reproduction Steps

1. Open Ghostty. Run printenv GHOSTTY_QUICK_TERMINAL to verify it is unset in a normal window.
2. Open the quick terminal (toggle_quick_terminal) and run printenv GHOSTTY_QUICK_TERMINAL to verify it is set.
3. In the quick terminal, open a new split (new_split) and run printenv GHOSTTY_QUICK_TERMINAL to verify it is unset (a non-zero exit code).

Ghostty Logs

No response

Ghostty Version

Ghostty 1.3.2-main+d3bd22408

Version
  - version: 1.3.2-main+d3bd22408
  - channel: tip
Build Config
  - Zig version   : 0.15.2
  - build mode    : .ReleaseFast
  - app runtime   : .none
  - font engine   : .coretext
  - renderer      : renderer.generic.Renderer(renderer.Metal)
  - libxev        : kqueue

OS Version Information

macOS 26.3.1 (25D2128) (Tahoe)

(Linux only) Display Server

None

(Linux only) Desktop Environment/Window Manager

No response

Minimal Ghostty Configuration

keybind = global:cmd+shift+grave_accent=toggle_quick_terminal

Additional Relevant Configuration

No response

I acknowledge that:

• I have reviewed the FAQ and confirm that my issue is NOT among them.
• I have searched the Ghostty repository (both open and closed Discussions and Issues) and confirm this is not a duplicate of an existing issue or discussion.
• I have checked the "Preview" tab on all text fields to ensure that everything looks right, and have wrapped all configuration and code in code blocks with a group of three backticks (```) on separate lines.

[andelink]

I have been unable to find a workaround for this using AppleScript. The quick terminal does not appear to be defined as a separate Ghostty window:

# In normal Ghostty window
❯ osascript -s s - <<EOF
tell application "Ghostty"
  get every window
end tell
EOF
{window id "window-86aaa9500" of application "Ghostty"}

# In quick terminal
❯ osascript -s s - <<EOF
tell application "Ghostty"
  get every window
end tell
EOF
{window id "window-86aaa9500" of application "Ghostty"}

[pluiedev]

Cannot repro this on GTK. Maybe this is a macOS-only bug?

[andelink]

Hmm, I've only used Ghostty on macOS. Cannot comment on GTK

[52dyd]

I ran into the same issue and traced the root cause: on macOS, GHOSTTY_QUICK_TERMINAL is injected as a per-surface one-shot config in animateIn(), unlike GTK where defaultTermioEnv() dynamically checks window.isQuickTerminal() — a per-window property. Splits don't inherit env_vars from the initial surface.

I've proposed a fix and opened a vouch request here: #12840 — a 6-line override of newSplit() in QuickTerminalController.