diff --git a/github-code-search.ts b/github-code-search.ts
index 902aac8..3625dc0 100644
--- a/github-code-search.ts
+++ b/github-code-search.ts
@@ -465,15 +465,22 @@ async function searchAction(
     // Race against a 2 s timeout so slow networks never delay the exit.
     // Fix: use AbortController so the in-flight fetch is actually cancelled on timeout.
     const updateAbortController = new AbortController();
+    // Fix: the losing Promise.race branch's timer is never cleared, and by default
+    // keeps the process alive until it fires — causing a ~2 s exit delay on every
+    // non-interactive run even when checkForUpdate resolves instantly. unref() lets
+    // the process exit as soon as the real work is done; clearTimeout on the winning
+    // path avoids a stray abort() firing after we've already moved on.
+    let updateCheckTimer!: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout>;
     const latestTag = await Promise.race([
       checkForUpdate(VERSION, GITHUB_TOKEN, updateAbortController.signal),
-      new Promise<null>((res) =>
-        setTimeout(() => {
+      new Promise<null>((res) => {
+        updateCheckTimer = setTimeout(() => {
           updateAbortController.abort();
           res(null);
-        }, 2000),
-      ),
+        }, 2000).unref();
+      }),
     ]).catch(() => null);
+    clearTimeout(updateCheckTimer);
     if (latestTag) {
       const w = 55;
       // Fix: compute all widths from totalWidth so corners always align.
diff --git a/src/tui.ts b/src/tui.ts
index 850fc3a..a629768 100644
--- a/src/tui.ts
+++ b/src/tui.ts
@@ -308,6 +308,9 @@ export async function runInteractive(
     if (statsDebounceTimer !== null) clearTimeout(statsDebounceTimer);
     process.stdin.setRawMode(false);
     process.off("SIGWINCH", onResize);
+    // Unref stdin so the pending `for await` read can't keep the event loop
+    // alive while breaking out of the loop awaits the stream's teardown.
+    process.stdin.unref();
     // Set flag to break out of the event loop and allow stdout buffer to flush
     // before process termination. process.exit() may terminate too early.
     shouldExit = true;
@@ -659,6 +662,9 @@ export async function runInteractive(
       process.stdout.write(ANSI_CLEAR);
       process.stdin.setRawMode(false);
       process.off("SIGWINCH", onResize);
+      // Unref stdin so the pending `for await` read can't keep the event loop
+      // alive while breaking out of the loop awaits the stream's teardown.
+      process.stdin.unref();
       if (statsDebounceTimer !== null) clearTimeout(statsDebounceTimer);
       console.log(
         buildOutput(groups, query, org, excludedRepos, excludedExtractRefs, format, outputType, {