diff --git a/include/ghostty.h b/include/ghostty.h
index f4836f210..41e3b3fe2 100644
--- a/include/ghostty.h
+++ b/include/ghostty.h
@@ -430,6 +430,11 @@ typedef struct {
   const char* title;
 } ghostty_action_set_title_s;
 
+// apprt.action.Pwd.C
+typedef struct {
+  const char* pwd;
+} ghostty_action_pwd_s;
+
 // terminal.MouseShape
 typedef enum {
   GHOSTTY_MOUSE_SHAPE_DEFAULT,
@@ -552,6 +557,7 @@ typedef enum {
   GHOSTTY_ACTION_RENDER_INSPECTOR,
   GHOSTTY_ACTION_DESKTOP_NOTIFICATION,
   GHOSTTY_ACTION_SET_TITLE,
+  GHOSTTY_ACTION_PWD,
   GHOSTTY_ACTION_MOUSE_SHAPE,
   GHOSTTY_ACTION_MOUSE_VISIBILITY,
   GHOSTTY_ACTION_MOUSE_OVER_LINK,
@@ -576,6 +582,7 @@ typedef union {
   ghostty_action_inspector_e inspector;
   ghostty_action_desktop_notification_s desktop_notification;
   ghostty_action_set_title_s set_title;
+  ghostty_action_pwd_s pwd;
   ghostty_action_mouse_shape_e mouse_shape;
   ghostty_action_mouse_visibility_e mouse_visibility;
   ghostty_action_mouse_over_link_s mouse_over_link;
@@ -705,7 +712,6 @@ void ghostty_surface_complete_clipboard_request(ghostty_surface_t,
                                                 const char*,
                                                 void*,
                                                 bool);
-uintptr_t ghostty_surface_pwd(ghostty_surface_t, char*, uintptr_t);
 bool ghostty_surface_has_selection(ghostty_surface_t);
 uintptr_t ghostty_surface_selection(ghostty_surface_t, char*, uintptr_t);
 
diff --git a/macos/Sources/Features/Terminal/TerminalView.swift b/macos/Sources/Features/Terminal/TerminalView.swift
index 768f57d30..8fc1ae1ec 100644
--- a/macos/Sources/Features/Terminal/TerminalView.swift
+++ b/macos/Sources/Features/Terminal/TerminalView.swift
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ struct TerminalView<ViewModel: TerminalViewModel>: View {
     // Various state values sent back up from the currently focused terminals.
     @FocusedValue(\.ghosttySurfaceView) private var focusedSurface
     @FocusedValue(\.ghosttySurfaceTitle) private var surfaceTitle
+    @FocusedValue(\.ghosttySurfacePwd) private var surfacePwd
     @FocusedValue(\.ghosttySurfaceZoomed) private var zoomedSplit
     @FocusedValue(\.ghosttySurfaceCellSize) private var cellSize
 
@@ -65,14 +66,11 @@ struct TerminalView<ViewModel: TerminalViewModel>: View {
 
         return title
     }
-    
-    // The proxy icon URL for our window
-    private var proxyIconURL: URL? {
-        guard let proxyURLString = focusedSurface?.pwd else {
-            return nil
-        }
-        // Use fileURLWithPath initializer for file paths
-        return URL(fileURLWithPath: proxyURLString)
+
+    // The pwd of the focused surface as a URL
+    private var pwdURL: URL? {
+        guard let surfacePwd else { return nil }
+        return URL(fileURLWithPath: surfacePwd)
     }
     
     var body: some View {
@@ -88,7 +86,7 @@ struct TerminalView<ViewModel: TerminalViewModel>: View {
                 if (Ghostty.info.mode == GHOSTTY_BUILD_MODE_DEBUG || Ghostty.info.mode == GHOSTTY_BUILD_MODE_RELEASE_SAFE) {
                     DebugBuildWarningView()
                 }
-                
+
                 Ghostty.TerminalSplit(node: $viewModel.surfaceTree)
                     .environmentObject(ghostty)
                     .focused($focused)
@@ -99,7 +97,7 @@ struct TerminalView<ViewModel: TerminalViewModel>: View {
                     .onChange(of: title) { newValue in
                         self.delegate?.titleDidChange(to: newValue)
                     }
-                    .onChange(of: proxyIconURL) { newValue in
+                    .onChange(of: pwdURL) { newValue in
                         self.delegate?.pwdDidChange(to: newValue)
                     }
                     .onChange(of: cellSize) { newValue in
diff --git a/macos/Sources/Ghostty/Ghostty.App.swift b/macos/Sources/Ghostty/Ghostty.App.swift
index 07acf0f91..489493ad3 100644
--- a/macos/Sources/Ghostty/Ghostty.App.swift
+++ b/macos/Sources/Ghostty/Ghostty.App.swift
@@ -488,6 +488,9 @@ extension Ghostty {
             case GHOSTTY_ACTION_SET_TITLE:
                 setTitle(app, target: target, v: action.action.set_title)
 
+            case GHOSTTY_ACTION_PWD:
+                pwdChanged(app, target: target, v: action.action.pwd)
+
             case GHOSTTY_ACTION_OPEN_CONFIG:
                 ghostty_config_open()
 
@@ -943,6 +946,26 @@ extension Ghostty {
             }
         }
 
+        private static func pwdChanged(
+            _ app: ghostty_app_t,
+            target: ghostty_target_s,
+            v: ghostty_action_pwd_s) {
+            switch (target.tag) {
+            case GHOSTTY_TARGET_APP:
+                Ghostty.logger.warning("pwd change does nothing with an app target")
+                return
+
+            case GHOSTTY_TARGET_SURFACE:
+                guard let surface = target.target.surface else { return }
+                guard let surfaceView = self.surfaceView(from: surface) else { return }
+                guard let pwd = String(cString: v.pwd!, encoding: .utf8) else { return }
+                surfaceView.pwd = pwd
+
+            default:
+                assertionFailure()
+            }
+        }
+
         private static func setMouseShape(
             _ app: ghostty_app_t,
             target: ghostty_target_s,
diff --git a/macos/Sources/Ghostty/SurfaceView.swift b/macos/Sources/Ghostty/SurfaceView.swift
index 738c6331f..25fa99a2e 100644
--- a/macos/Sources/Ghostty/SurfaceView.swift
+++ b/macos/Sources/Ghostty/SurfaceView.swift
@@ -92,6 +92,7 @@ extension Ghostty {
                     Surface(view: surfaceView, size: geo.size)
                         .focused($surfaceFocus)
                         .focusedValue(\.ghosttySurfaceTitle, surfaceView.title)
+                        .focusedValue(\.ghosttySurfacePwd, surfaceView.pwd)
                         .focusedValue(\.ghosttySurfaceView, surfaceView)
                         .focusedValue(\.ghosttySurfaceCellSize, surfaceView.cellSize)
                     #if canImport(AppKit)
@@ -512,9 +513,7 @@ extension FocusedValues {
     struct FocusedGhosttySurface: FocusedValueKey {
         typealias Value = Ghostty.SurfaceView
     }
-}
 
-extension FocusedValues {
     var ghosttySurfaceTitle: String? {
         get { self[FocusedGhosttySurfaceTitle.self] }
         set { self[FocusedGhosttySurfaceTitle.self] = newValue }
@@ -523,9 +522,16 @@ extension FocusedValues {
     struct FocusedGhosttySurfaceTitle: FocusedValueKey {
         typealias Value = String
     }
-}
 
-extension FocusedValues {
+    var ghosttySurfacePwd: String? {
+        get { self[FocusedGhosttySurfacePwd.self] }
+        set { self[FocusedGhosttySurfacePwd.self] = newValue }
+    }
+
+    struct FocusedGhosttySurfacePwd: FocusedValueKey {
+        typealias Value = String
+    }
+
     var ghosttySurfaceZoomed: Bool? {
         get { self[FocusedGhosttySurfaceZoomed.self] }
         set { self[FocusedGhosttySurfaceZoomed.self] = newValue }
@@ -534,9 +540,7 @@ extension FocusedValues {
     struct FocusedGhosttySurfaceZoomed: FocusedValueKey {
         typealias Value = Bool
     }
-}
 
-extension FocusedValues {
     var ghosttySurfaceCellSize: OSSize? {
         get { self[FocusedGhosttySurfaceCellSize.self] }
         set { self[FocusedGhosttySurfaceCellSize.self] = newValue }
diff --git a/macos/Sources/Ghostty/SurfaceView_AppKit.swift b/macos/Sources/Ghostty/SurfaceView_AppKit.swift
index 512a5239b..6f72f74cc 100644
--- a/macos/Sources/Ghostty/SurfaceView_AppKit.swift
+++ b/macos/Sources/Ghostty/SurfaceView_AppKit.swift
@@ -14,6 +14,10 @@ extension Ghostty {
         // to the app level and it is set from there.
         @Published var title: String = "👻"
 
+        // The current pwd of the surface as defined by the pty. This can be
+        // changed with escape codes.
+        @Published var pwd: String? = nil
+
         // The cell size of this surface. This is set by the core when the
         // surface is first created and any time the cell size changes (i.e.
         // when the font size changes). This is used to allow windows to be
@@ -71,17 +75,6 @@ extension Ghostty {
             return ghostty_surface_needs_confirm_quit(surface)
         }
 
-        /// Returns the pwd of the surface if it has one.
-        var pwd: String? {
-            guard let surface = self.surface else { return nil }
-            let v = String(unsafeUninitializedCapacity: 1024) {
-                Int(ghostty_surface_pwd(surface, $0.baseAddress, UInt($0.count)))
-            }
-
-            if (v.count == 0) { return nil }
-            return v
-        }
-
         // Returns the inspector instance for this surface, or nil if the
         // surface has been closed.
         var inspector: ghostty_inspector_t? {
diff --git a/macos/Sources/Ghostty/SurfaceView_UIKit.swift b/macos/Sources/Ghostty/SurfaceView_UIKit.swift
index 1c2357960..8ac08d0bd 100644
--- a/macos/Sources/Ghostty/SurfaceView_UIKit.swift
+++ b/macos/Sources/Ghostty/SurfaceView_UIKit.swift
@@ -12,6 +12,9 @@ extension Ghostty {
         // to the app level and it is set from there.
         @Published var title: String = "👻"
 
+        // The current pwd of the surface.
+        @Published var pwd: String? = nil
+
         // The cell size of this surface. This is set by the core when the
         // surface is first created and any time the cell size changes (i.e.
         // when the font size changes). This is used to allow windows to be
diff --git a/src/Surface.zig b/src/Surface.zig
index 10ecfd8f1..cd23a81da 100644
--- a/src/Surface.zig
+++ b/src/Surface.zig
@@ -856,6 +856,20 @@ pub fn handleMessage(self: *Surface, msg: Message) !void {
             },
         },
 
+        .pwd_change => |w| {
+            defer w.deinit();
+
+            // We always allocate for this because we need to null-terminate.
+            const str = try self.alloc.dupeZ(u8, w.slice());
+            defer self.alloc.free(str);
+
+            try self.rt_app.performAction(
+                .{ .surface = self },
+                .pwd,
+                .{ .pwd = str },
+            );
+        },
+
         .close => self.close(),
 
         // Close without confirmation.
diff --git a/src/apprt/action.zig b/src/apprt/action.zig
index feb2e2ba4..1f954c37c 100644
--- a/src/apprt/action.zig
+++ b/src/apprt/action.zig
@@ -151,6 +151,9 @@ pub const Action = union(Key) {
     /// Set the title of the target.
     set_title: SetTitle,
 
+    /// The current working directory has changed for the target terminal.
+    pwd: Pwd,
+
     /// Set the mouse cursor shape.
     mouse_shape: terminal.MouseShape,
 
@@ -215,6 +218,7 @@ pub const Action = union(Key) {
         render_inspector,
         desktop_notification,
         set_title,
+        pwd,
         mouse_shape,
         mouse_visibility,
         mouse_over_link,
@@ -417,6 +421,21 @@ pub const SetTitle = struct {
     }
 };
 
+pub const Pwd = struct {
+    pwd: [:0]const u8,
+
+    // Sync with: ghostty_action_set_pwd_s
+    pub const C = extern struct {
+        pwd: [*:0]const u8,
+    };
+
+    pub fn cval(self: Pwd) C {
+        return .{
+            .pwd = self.pwd.ptr,
+        };
+    }
+};
+
 /// The desktop notification to show.
 pub const DesktopNotification = struct {
     title: [:0]const u8,
diff --git a/src/apprt/embedded.zig b/src/apprt/embedded.zig
index 4d45166aa..9f0b2a2a4 100644
--- a/src/apprt/embedded.zig
+++ b/src/apprt/embedded.zig
@@ -1428,25 +1428,6 @@ pub const CAPI = struct {
         return selection.len;
     }
 
-    /// Copies the surface working directory into the provided buffer and
-    /// returns the copied size. If the buffer is too small, there is no pwd,
-    /// or there is an error, then 0 is returned.
-    export fn ghostty_surface_pwd(surface: *Surface, buf: [*]u8, cap: usize) usize {
-        const pwd_ = surface.core_surface.pwd(global.alloc) catch |err| {
-            log.warn("error getting pwd err={}", .{err});
-            return 0;
-        };
-        const pwd = pwd_ orelse return 0;
-        defer global.alloc.free(pwd);
-
-        // If the buffer is too small, return no pwd.
-        if (pwd.len > cap) return 0;
-
-        // Copy into the buffer and return the length
-        @memcpy(buf[0..pwd.len], pwd);
-        return pwd.len;
-    }
-
     /// Tell the surface that it needs to schedule a render
     export fn ghostty_surface_refresh(surface: *Surface) void {
         surface.refresh();
diff --git a/src/apprt/glfw.zig b/src/apprt/glfw.zig
index 638f52bab..54c53139c 100644
--- a/src/apprt/glfw.zig
+++ b/src/apprt/glfw.zig
@@ -224,6 +224,7 @@ pub const App = struct {
             .cell_size,
             .renderer_health,
             .color_change,
+            .pwd,
             => log.info("unimplemented action={}", .{action}),
         }
     }
diff --git a/src/apprt/gtk/App.zig b/src/apprt/gtk/App.zig
index fa73c2436..2f76d8064 100644
--- a/src/apprt/gtk/App.zig
+++ b/src/apprt/gtk/App.zig
@@ -486,6 +486,7 @@ pub fn performAction(
         .render_inspector,
         .renderer_health,
         .color_change,
+        .pwd,
         => log.warn("unimplemented action={}", .{action}),
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/apprt/surface.zig b/src/apprt/surface.zig
index 07eb1d466..58faa9633 100644
--- a/src/apprt/surface.zig
+++ b/src/apprt/surface.zig
@@ -76,6 +76,9 @@ pub const Message = union(enum) {
         color: terminal.color.RGB,
     },
 
+    /// The terminal has reported a change in the working directory.
+    pwd_change: WriteReq,
+
     pub const ReportTitleStyle = enum {
         csi_21_t,
 
diff --git a/src/termio/message.zig b/src/termio/message.zig
index 22b72235b..c88a12f14 100644
--- a/src/termio/message.zig
+++ b/src/termio/message.zig
@@ -194,9 +194,9 @@ pub fn MessageData(comptime Elem: type, comptime small_size: comptime_int) type
         }
 
         /// Returns a const slice of the data pointed to by this request.
-        pub fn slice(self: Self) []const Elem {
-            return switch (self) {
-                .small => |v| v.data[0..v.len],
+        pub fn slice(self: *const Self) []const Elem {
+            return switch (self.*) {
+                .small => |*v| v.data[0..v.len],
                 .stable => |v| v,
                 .alloc => |v| v.data,
             };
diff --git a/src/termio/stream_handler.zig b/src/termio/stream_handler.zig
index fa887932a..66c8359bd 100644
--- a/src/termio/stream_handler.zig
+++ b/src/termio/stream_handler.zig
@@ -1139,6 +1139,14 @@ pub const StreamHandler = struct {
         log.debug("terminal pwd: {s}", .{path});
         try self.terminal.setPwd(path);
 
+        // Report it to the surface. If creating our write request fails
+        // then we just ignore it.
+        if (apprt.surface.Message.WriteReq.init(self.alloc, path)) |req| {
+            self.surfaceMessageWriter(.{ .pwd_change = req });
+        } else |err| {
+            log.warn("error notifying surface of pwd change err={}", .{err});
+        }
+
         // If we haven't seen a title, use our pwd as the title.
         if (!self.seen_title) {
             try self.changeWindowTitle(path);