diff --git a/lua/tinygit.lua b/lua/tinygit.lua
index c124983..b5c1fc0 100644
--- a/lua/tinygit.lua
+++ b/lua/tinygit.lua
@@ -221,6 +221,10 @@ end
 
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
+---Saves the content of a `vim.ui.input` modal that was aborted with `<Esc>`,
+---so it can be restored.
+local lastAbortedInputText = nil
+
 ---If there are staged changes, commit them.
 ---If there aren't, add all changes (`git add -A`) and then commit.
 ---@param prefillMsg? string
@@ -230,7 +234,11 @@ function M.smartCommit(opts, prefillMsg)
 
 	vim.cmd("silent update")
 	if not opts then opts = {} end
-	if not prefillMsg then prefillMsg = "" end
+	if not prefillMsg and not lastAbortedInputText then
+		prefillMsg = ""
+	elseif not prefillMsg and lastAbortedInputText then
+		prefillMsg = lastAbortedInputText
+	end
 
 	setGitCommitAppearance()
 	vim.ui.input({ prompt = "󰊢 Commit Message", default = prefillMsg }, function(commitMsg)
@@ -249,6 +257,8 @@ function M.smartCommit(opts, prefillMsg)
 		local stderr = fn.system { "git", "commit", "-m", newMsg }
 		if nonZeroExit(stderr) then return end
 
+		lastAbortedInputText = nil -- empty it, so it isn't prefilled
+
 		local body = ('"%s"'):format(newMsg)
 		if opts.push then body = body .. "\nPushing…" end
 		notify(body, "info", "Smart-Commit")