diff --git a/src/Surface.zig b/src/Surface.zig
index 63af42680..6189aae8e 100644
--- a/src/Surface.zig
+++ b/src/Surface.zig
@@ -155,6 +155,9 @@ selection_scroll_active: bool = false,
 /// the wall clock time that has elapsed between timestamps.
 command_timer: ?std.time.Instant = null,
 
+/// Search state
+search: ?Search = null,
+
 /// The effect of an input event. This can be used by callers to take
 /// the appropriate action after an input event. For example, key
 /// input can be forwarded to the OS for further processing if it
@@ -174,6 +177,26 @@ pub const InputEffect = enum {
     closed,
 };
 
+/// The search state for the surface.
+const Search = struct {
+    state: terminal.search.Thread,
+    thread: std.Thread,
+
+    pub fn deinit(self: *Search) void {
+        // Notify the thread to stop
+        self.state.stop.notify() catch |err| log.err(
+            "error notifying search thread to stop, may stall err={}",
+            .{err},
+        );
+
+        // Wait for the OS thread to quit
+        self.thread.join();
+
+        // Now it is safe to deinit the state
+        self.state.deinit();
+    }
+};
+
 /// Mouse state for the surface.
 const Mouse = struct {
     /// The last tracked mouse button state by button.
@@ -728,6 +751,9 @@ pub fn init(
 }
 
 pub fn deinit(self: *Surface) void {
+    // Stop search thread
+    if (self.search) |*s| s.deinit();
+
     // Stop rendering thread
     {
         self.renderer_thread.stop.notify() catch |err|
@@ -1301,6 +1327,12 @@ fn reportColorScheme(self: *Surface, force: bool) void {
     self.io.queueMessage(.{ .write_stable = output }, .unlocked);
 }
 
+fn searchCallback(event: terminal.search.Thread.Event, ud: ?*anyopaque) void {
+    const self: *Surface = @ptrCast(@alignCast(ud.?));
+    _ = self;
+    _ = event;
+}
+
 /// Call this when modifiers change. This is safe to call even if modifiers
 /// match the previous state.
 ///
@@ -4770,6 +4802,49 @@ pub fn performBindingAction(self: *Surface, action: input.Binding.Action) !bool
             self.renderer_state.terminal.fullReset();
         },
 
+        .search => |text| search: {
+            const s: *Search = if (self.search) |*s| s else init: {
+                // If we're stopping the search and we had no prior search,
+                // then there is nothing to do.
+                if (text.len == 0) break :search;
+
+                // We need to assign directly to self.search because we need
+                // a stable pointer back to the thread state.
+                self.search = .{
+                    .state = try .init(self.alloc, .{
+                        .mutex = self.renderer_state.mutex,
+                        .terminal = self.renderer_state.terminal,
+                        .event_cb = &searchCallback,
+                        .event_userdata = self,
+                    }),
+                    .thread = undefined,
+                };
+                const s: *Search = &self.search.?;
+                errdefer s.state.deinit();
+
+                s.thread = try .spawn(
+                    .{},
+                    terminal.search.Thread.threadMain,
+                    .{&s.state},
+                );
+                s.thread.setName("search") catch {};
+
+                break :init s;
+            };
+
+            // Zero-length text means stop searching.
+            if (text.len == 0) {
+                s.deinit();
+                self.search = null;
+                break :search;
+            }
+
+            _ = s.state.mailbox.push(
+                .{ .change_needle = text },
+                .forever,
+            );
+        },
+
         .copy_to_clipboard => |format| {
             // We can read from the renderer state without holding
             // the lock because only we will write to this field.
diff --git a/src/input/Binding.zig b/src/input/Binding.zig
index c9f3a7343..1b681e725 100644
--- a/src/input/Binding.zig
+++ b/src/input/Binding.zig
@@ -332,6 +332,10 @@ pub const Action = union(enum) {
     /// to 14.5 points.
     set_font_size: f32,
 
+    /// Start a search for the given text. If the text is empty, then
+    /// the search is canceled. If a previous search is active, it is replaced.
+    search: []const u8,
+
     /// Clear the screen and all scrollback.
     clear_screen,
 
@@ -1152,6 +1156,7 @@ pub const Action = union(enum) {
             .esc,
             .text,
             .cursor_key,
+            .search,
             .reset,
             .copy_to_clipboard,
             .copy_url_to_clipboard,
diff --git a/src/input/command.zig b/src/input/command.zig
index b6f75080d..11f65cea3 100644
--- a/src/input/command.zig
+++ b/src/input/command.zig
@@ -604,6 +604,7 @@ fn actionCommands(action: Action.Key) []const Command {
         .csi,
         .esc,
         .cursor_key,
+        .search,
         .set_font_size,
         .scroll_to_row,
         .scroll_page_fractional,
diff --git a/src/terminal/search/Thread.zig b/src/terminal/search/Thread.zig
index fdd5f81bc..a35d658b3 100644
--- a/src/terminal/search/Thread.zig
+++ b/src/terminal/search/Thread.zig
@@ -591,6 +591,7 @@ const Search = struct {
         // Check our total match data
         const total = screen_search.matchesLen();
         if (total != self.last_total) {
+            log.debug("notifying total matches={}", .{total});
             self.last_total = total;
             cb(.{ .total_matches = total }, ud);
         }
@@ -626,11 +627,13 @@ const Search = struct {
                 };
             }
 
+            log.debug("notifying viewport matches len={}", .{results.items.len});
             cb(.{ .viewport_matches = results.items }, ud);
         }
 
         // Send our complete notification if we just completed.
         if (!self.last_complete and self.isComplete()) {
+            log.debug("notifying search complete", .{});
             self.last_complete = true;
             cb(.complete, ud);
         }