diff --git a/tui/src/main.rs b/tui/src/main.rs
index 4c5e4f1..5231523 100644
--- a/tui/src/main.rs
+++ b/tui/src/main.rs
@@ -198,7 +198,8 @@ async fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn Error>> {
                 InputMode::Normal => match input {
                     Key::Char('i') | Key::Char('/') => {
                         app.input_mode = InputMode::Editing;
-                        app.input.push('/');
+                        // only add the slash on slash command start
+                        if Key::Char('/') == input { app.input.push('/'); }
                         events.disable_exit_key();
                     }
                     Key::Char('q') => {
@@ -213,16 +214,22 @@ async fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn Error>> {
                 },
                 InputMode::Editing => match input {
                     Key::Char('\n') => {
-                        let cmd = Command::from(app.input.drain(..).collect());
-                        app.messages.push(match cmd {
-                            // only for networked commands do we need to touch cache
-                            Command::Channel(id) => app.cache.switch_channel(id).await,
-                            Command::Server(host) => app.cache.switch_server(&host).await,
-                            Command::Message(msg) => app.cache.send_message(&msg).await,
-                            Command::ListHost => app.cache.list_hosts(),
-                            Command::ListChannel => app.cache.list_channels(),
-                            _ => cmd
-                        });
+                        let raw: String = app.input.drain(..).collect();
+                        let trimmed = raw.trim();
+
+                        // ensure that we don't bother with empty input
+                        if trimmed.len() != 0 {
+                            let cmd = Command::from(trimmed);
+                            app.messages.push(match cmd {
+                                // only for networked commands do we need to touch cache
+                                Command::Channel(id) => app.cache.switch_channel(id).await,
+                                Command::Server(host) => app.cache.switch_server(&host).await,
+                                Command::Message(msg) => app.cache.send_message(&msg).await,
+                                Command::ListHost => app.cache.list_hosts(),
+                                Command::ListChannel => app.cache.list_channels(),
+                                _ => cmd
+                            });
+                        }
                     }
                     Key::Char(c) => {
                         app.input.push(c);