diff --git a/kitty/rc/send_text.py b/kitty/rc/send_text.py
index a51e48b04..fe2fa9dcc 100644
--- a/kitty/rc/send_text.py
+++ b/kitty/rc/send_text.py
@@ -65,6 +65,7 @@ Do not send text to the active window, even if it is one of the matched windows.
 
         def pipe() -> Generator[Dict, None, None]:
             if sys.stdin.isatty():
+                ret['exclude_active'] = True
                 import select
                 fd = sys.stdin.fileno()
                 keep_going = True