diff --git a/lib/Command/AwaitTaskTrait.php b/lib/Command/AwaitTaskTrait.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a8abf6c3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/Command/AwaitTaskTrait.php
@@ -0,0 +1,109 @@
+<?php
+
+/**
+ * SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2026 Nextcloud GmbH and Nextcloud contributors
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: AGPL-3.0-or-later
+ */
+
+namespace OCA\ContextChat\Command;
+
+use OCP\TaskProcessing\Exception\Exception as TaskProcessingException;
+use OCP\TaskProcessing\Exception\NotFoundException;
+use OCP\TaskProcessing\IManager;
+use OCP\TaskProcessing\Task;
+use Symfony\Component\Console\Output\OutputInterface;
+use Symfony\Component\Console\SignalRegistry\SignalRegistry;
+
+/**
+ * Schedules a task, waits for it to reach a terminal state and prints its result.
+ *
+ * The scheduled task is cancelled when the command is interrupted, so a task is
+ * never left running after the console process is gone. Classes using this trait
+ * must implement {@see \Symfony\Component\Console\Command\SignalableCommandInterface}.
+ */
+trait AwaitTaskTrait {
+	private ?IManager $awaitManager = null;
+	private ?OutputInterface $awaitOutput = null;
+	private ?int $awaitTaskId = null;
+
+	/**
+	 * @return list<int>
+	 */
+	public function getSubscribedSignals(): array {
+		// mirror Symfony's own precondition: subscribing without a signal registry throws
+		if (!\defined('SIGINT') || !SignalRegistry::isSupported()) {
+			return [];
+		}
+
+		return [SIGINT, SIGTERM];
+	}
+
+	public function handleSignal(int $signal, int|false $previousExitCode = 0): int|false {
+		$taskId = $this->awaitTaskId;
+		$this->awaitTaskId = null;
+
+		if ($taskId !== null && $this->awaitManager !== null) {
+			try {
+				$this->awaitManager->cancelTask($taskId);
+				$this->awaitOutput?->writeln('<comment>Cancelled task ' . $taskId . '</comment>');
+			} catch (TaskProcessingException $e) {
+				$this->awaitOutput?->writeln('<error>Failed to cancel task ' . $taskId . ': ' . $e->getMessage() . '</error>');
+			}
+		}
+
+		// the task produced no result, so never report success to the caller
+		return 128 + $signal;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Schedules the task and blocks until it reaches a terminal state.
+	 *
+	 * @return int the exit code of the command
+	 */
+	private function scheduleAndAwaitTask(IManager $manager, Task $task, OutputInterface $output): int {
+		$this->awaitManager = $manager;
+		$this->awaitOutput = $output;
+
+		$manager->scheduleTask($task);
+		$taskId = $task->getId();
+		if ($taskId === null) {
+			$output->writeln('<error>Task schedule failed, taskId is null</error>');
+			return 1;
+		}
+		$this->awaitTaskId = $taskId;
+
+		try {
+			// STATUS_UNKNOWN is terminal as well: the task will never make progress from there
+			$terminalStatuses = [
+				Task::STATUS_SUCCESSFUL,
+				Task::STATUS_FAILED,
+				Task::STATUS_CANCELLED,
+				Task::STATUS_UNKNOWN,
+			];
+
+			while (!in_array(($task = $manager->getTask($taskId))->getStatus(), $terminalStatuses, true)) {
+				sleep(2);
+			}
+		} catch (NotFoundException $e) {
+			$output->writeln('<error>Task ' . $taskId . ' has disappeared: ' . $e->getMessage() . '</error>');
+			return 1;
+		} finally {
+			$this->awaitTaskId = null;
+		}
+
+		switch ($task->getStatus()) {
+			case Task::STATUS_SUCCESSFUL:
+				$output->writeln(var_export($task->getOutput(), true));
+				return 0;
+			case Task::STATUS_CANCELLED:
+				$output->writeln('<comment>Task ' . $taskId . ' was cancelled</comment>');
+				return 1;
+			case Task::STATUS_UNKNOWN:
+				$output->writeln('<error>Task ' . $taskId . ' is in an unknown state</error>');
+				return 1;
+			default:
+				$output->writeln('<error>' . ($task->getErrorMessage() ?? '(empty error message)') . '</error>');
+				return 1;
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/lib/Command/Prompt.php b/lib/Command/Prompt.php
index f343d74a..85fee0e2 100644
--- a/lib/Command/Prompt.php
+++ b/lib/Command/Prompt.php
@@ -12,12 +12,15 @@
 use OCP\TaskProcessing\IManager;
 use OCP\TaskProcessing\Task;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Command\Command;
+use Symfony\Component\Console\Command\SignalableCommandInterface;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Input\InputArgument;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Input\InputInterface;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Input\InputOption;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Output\OutputInterface;
 
-class Prompt extends Command {
+class Prompt extends Command implements SignalableCommandInterface {
+	use AwaitTaskTrait;
+
 	private const CONTEXT_CHAT_TASK_TYPE_ID = Application::APP_ID . ':context_chat';
 
 	public function __construct(
@@ -106,22 +109,6 @@ protected function execute(InputInterface $input, OutputInterface $output): int
 			], 'context_chat', $userId);
 		}
 
-		$this->taskProcessingManager->scheduleTask($task);
-		$taskId = $task->getId();
-		if ($taskId === null) {
-			$output->writeln('<error>Task schedule failed, taskId is null</error>');
-			return 1;
-		}
-
-		while (!in_array(($task = $this->taskProcessingManager->getTask($taskId))->getStatus(), [Task::STATUS_FAILED, Task::STATUS_SUCCESSFUL], true)) {
-			sleep(2);
-		}
-		if ($task->getStatus() === Task::STATUS_SUCCESSFUL) {
-			$output->writeln(var_export($task->getOutput(), true));
-			return 0;
-		} else {
-			$output->writeln('<error>' . ($task->getErrorMessage() ?? '(empty error message)') . '</error>');
-			return 1;
-		}
+		return $this->scheduleAndAwaitTask($this->taskProcessingManager, $task, $output);
 	}
 }
diff --git a/lib/Command/Search.php b/lib/Command/Search.php
index f5bb156f..af713624 100644
--- a/lib/Command/Search.php
+++ b/lib/Command/Search.php
@@ -12,12 +12,15 @@
 use OCP\TaskProcessing\IManager;
 use OCP\TaskProcessing\Task;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Command\Command;
+use Symfony\Component\Console\Command\SignalableCommandInterface;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Input\InputArgument;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Input\InputInterface;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Input\InputOption;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Output\OutputInterface;
 
-class Search extends Command {
+class Search extends Command implements SignalableCommandInterface {
+	use AwaitTaskTrait;
+
 	private const SEARCH_TASK_TYPE_ID = Application::APP_ID . ':context_chat_search';
 
 	public function __construct(
@@ -59,6 +62,14 @@ protected function execute(InputInterface $input, OutputInterface $output): int
 		$limit = $input->getOption('limit');
 		$contextProviders = $input->getOption('context-providers');
 
+		if ($limit !== null) {
+			$limit = filter_var($limit, FILTER_VALIDATE_INT);
+			if ($limit === false || $limit < 1) {
+				$output->writeln('<error>The limit option must be a positive integer</error>');
+				return 1;
+			}
+		}
+
 		if (!empty($contextProviders)) {
 			$contextProviders = preg_replace('/\s*,+\s*/', ',', $contextProviders);
 			if ($contextProviders === null) {
@@ -87,22 +98,6 @@ protected function execute(InputInterface $input, OutputInterface $output): int
 			], Application::APP_ID, $userId);
 		}
 
-		$this->taskProcessingManager->scheduleTask($task);
-		$taskId = $task->getId();
-		if ($taskId === null) {
-			$output->writeln('<error>Task schedule failed, taskId is null</error>');
-			return 1;
-		}
-
-		while (!in_array(($task = $this->taskProcessingManager->getTask($taskId))->getStatus(), [Task::STATUS_FAILED, Task::STATUS_SUCCESSFUL], true)) {
-			sleep(2);
-		}
-		if ($task->getStatus() === Task::STATUS_SUCCESSFUL) {
-			$output->writeln(var_export($task->getOutput(), true));
-			return 0;
-		} else {
-			$output->writeln('<error>' . ($task->getErrorMessage() ?? '(empty error message)') . '</error>');
-			return 1;
-		}
+		return $this->scheduleAndAwaitTask($this->taskProcessingManager, $task, $output);
 	}
 }