diff --git a/pkg/gocui/view.go b/pkg/gocui/view.go
index 10e620cd4..2961447f6 100644
--- a/pkg/gocui/view.go
+++ b/pkg/gocui/view.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 package gocui
 
 import (
+	"bytes"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"slices"
@@ -693,6 +694,23 @@ type lineType struct {
 	// matches the current width; nil means nothing is cached yet.
 	wrappedCells   [][]cell
 	wrappedColumns int
+
+	// asWritten is the text of the line as its writer wrote it, escape sequences
+	// left out, kept from the first character on that the cells spell differently:
+	// a tab, which the cells hold as the spaces it fills, or a carriage return,
+	// which they hold as the overwrite it caused. nil while the cells spell the
+	// line as it was written, as they do for most lines.
+	asWritten []byte
+}
+
+// textAsWritten returns the line's text as its writer wrote it, escape sequences
+// left out. A reader that parses a view's content rather than showing it wants
+// this form; the cells' text is for showing.
+func (l *lineType) textAsWritten() string {
+	if l.asWritten != nil {
+		return string(l.asWritten)
+	}
+	return l.cells.String()
 }
 
 // trailingFillAttributes describes the fg/bg colors that draw() should
@@ -950,8 +968,7 @@ func (v *View) SetWritePos(x, y int) {
 		y = 0
 	}
 
-	v.buf.wx = x
-	v.buf.wy = y
+	v.buf.seekWrite(x, y)
 
 	// Changing the write position makes a pending newline obsolete
 	v.buf.pendingNewline = false
@@ -1035,6 +1052,35 @@ func (b *viewBuffer) writeCells(cells []cell) {
 	b.wx += len(cells)
 }
 
+// seekWrite moves the write cursor to (x, y). Writing there starts the line over,
+// so whatever it kept of its text as written is dropped; the text a line keeps is
+// the text written to it from its start. A carriage return continues a line
+// instead, and moves the cursor without this (see write).
+func (b *viewBuffer) seekWrite(x, y int) {
+	b.wx = x
+	b.wy = y
+	if y < len(b.lines) {
+		b.lines[y].asWritten = nil
+	}
+}
+
+// startAsWritten begins keeping the current line's text as written (see
+// lineType.asWritten), at the first character the cells won't spell the same way.
+// Up to here they spell it exactly, so their text is what was written so far.
+func (b *viewBuffer) startAsWritten() {
+	if line := &b.lines[b.wy]; line.asWritten == nil {
+		line.asWritten = append([]byte{}, line.cells.String()...)
+	}
+}
+
+// noteAsWritten records text the writer wrote to the current line, once the line
+// keeps its text as written at all.
+func (b *viewBuffer) noteAsWritten(text []byte) {
+	if line := &b.lines[b.wy]; line.asWritten != nil {
+		line.asWritten = append(line.asWritten, text...)
+	}
+}
+
 // Write appends a byte slice into the view's internal buffer. Because
 // View implements the io.Writer interface, it can be passed as parameter
 // of functions like fmt.Fprintf, fmt.Fprintln, io.Copy, etc. Clear must
@@ -1081,8 +1127,7 @@ func (b *viewBuffer) write(v *View, p []byte) {
 	}
 
 	advanceToNextLine := func() {
-		b.wx = 0
-		b.wy++
+		b.seekWrite(0, b.wy+1)
 		if b.wy >= len(b.lines) {
 			b.lines = append(b.lines, lineType{})
 		}
@@ -1115,6 +1160,10 @@ func (b *viewBuffer) write(v *View, p []byte) {
 			b.ei.notifyRowAdvance()
 		case characterEquals(chr, '\r'):
 			finishLine()
+			// The cells will hold what follows as an overwrite of what came
+			// before; the text as written keeps the return itself.
+			b.startAsWritten()
+			b.noteAsWritten(chr)
 			b.wx = 0
 			b.ei.notifyColumnReset()
 		default:
@@ -1231,7 +1280,8 @@ func (b *viewBuffer) parseInput(v *View, ch []byte, width int, x int, _ int) (bo
 
 	isEscape, err := b.ei.parseOne(ch)
 	if err != nil {
-		for _, chr := range b.ei.characters() {
+		characters := b.ei.characters()
+		for _, chr := range characters {
 			c := cell{
 				fgColor: v.FgColor,
 				bgColor: v.BgColor,
@@ -1240,6 +1290,7 @@ func (b *viewBuffer) parseInput(v *View, ch []byte, width int, x int, _ int) (bo
 			}
 			cells = append(cells, c)
 		}
+		b.noteAsWritten([]byte(strings.Join(characters, "")))
 		b.ei.reset()
 	} else {
 		repeatCount := 1
@@ -1265,10 +1316,15 @@ func (b *viewBuffer) parseInput(v *View, ch []byte, width int, x int, _ int) (bo
 			repeatCount = cf.n
 			ch = []byte{' '}
 			width = 1
+			b.noteAsWritten(bytes.Repeat(ch, repeatCount))
 		} else if isEscape {
 			// do not output anything
 			return truncateLine, nil
 		} else if characterEquals(ch, '\t') {
+			// The cells hold a tab as the spaces it fills; the text as written
+			// keeps the tab itself.
+			b.startAsWritten()
+			b.noteAsWritten(ch)
 			// fill tab-sized space
 			tabWidth := v.TabWidth
 			if tabWidth < 1 {
@@ -1277,6 +1333,8 @@ func (b *viewBuffer) parseInput(v *View, ch []byte, width int, x int, _ int) (bo
 			ch = []byte{' '}
 			width = 1
 			repeatCount = tabWidth - (x % tabWidth)
+		} else {
+			b.noteAsWritten(ch)
 		}
 		c := cell{
 			fgColor:   b.ei.curFgColor,
@@ -1860,6 +1918,24 @@ func (v *View) BufferLines() []string {
 	return lines
 }
 
+// LinesAsWritten returns the lines of the view's internal buffer as their writer
+// wrote them, escape sequences left out, where BufferLines returns them as the
+// cells spell them. The two differ where the cells can't spell what was written:
+// a tab, which they hold as the spaces it fills, and a carriage return, which
+// they hold as the overwrite it caused. A reader that parses the content rather
+// than showing it wants this form. git, for one, terminates a path containing a
+// space with a tab in a diff header, and a parser of the diff has to see the tab.
+func (v *View) LinesAsWritten() []string {
+	v.writeMutex.Lock()
+	defer v.writeMutex.Unlock()
+
+	lines := make([]string, len(v.buf.lines))
+	for i := range v.buf.lines {
+		lines[i] = v.buf.lines[i].textAsWritten()
+	}
+	return lines
+}
+
 // BufferLineForViewLine maps a view line index (which counts wrapped lines) to
 // the index of the corresponding line in the unwrapped internal buffer (as
 // returned by BufferLines). Several view lines map to the same buffer line when
diff --git a/pkg/gocui/view_test.go b/pkg/gocui/view_test.go
index f559e562b..57d18abde 100644
--- a/pkg/gocui/view_test.go
+++ b/pkg/gocui/view_test.go
@@ -124,6 +124,83 @@ func TestOverwriteLinesAfterContentEndingInANewline(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Equal(t, []string{"x", "b"}, v.BufferLines())
 }
 
+func TestLinesAsWritten(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name              string
+		stringsToWrite    []string
+		expectedShown     []string
+		expectedAsWritten []string
+	}{
+		{
+			name:              "a line the cells spell as written",
+			stringsToWrite:    []string{"abc\n"},
+			expectedShown:     []string{"abc"},
+			expectedAsWritten: []string{"abc"},
+		},
+		{
+			name:              "a tab is kept rather than the spaces it fills",
+			stringsToWrite:    []string{"a\tb\n"},
+			expectedShown:     []string{"a   b"},
+			expectedAsWritten: []string{"a\tb"},
+		},
+		{
+			name:              "a carriage return is kept rather than the overwrite it causes",
+			stringsToWrite:    []string{"abc\rde\n"},
+			expectedShown:     []string{"dec"},
+			expectedAsWritten: []string{"abc\rde"},
+		},
+		{
+			// git writes a CRLF file's lines as "+foo\r", the color reset, "\n".
+			name:              "escape sequences are left out",
+			stringsToWrite:    []string{"\x1b[32m+foo\r\x1b[m\n"},
+			expectedShown:     []string{"+foo"},
+			expectedAsWritten: []string{"+foo\r"},
+		},
+		{
+			// ConPTY writes a run of spaces as a cursor-forward escape.
+			name:              "a cursor-forward escape stands for the spaces it skips",
+			stringsToWrite:    []string{"\ta\x1b[2Cb\n"},
+			expectedShown:     []string{"    a  b"},
+			expectedAsWritten: []string{"\ta  b"},
+		},
+		{
+			name:              "a line written in two parts",
+			stringsToWrite:    []string{"a\t", "b\n"},
+			expectedShown:     []string{"a   b"},
+			expectedAsWritten: []string{"a\tb"},
+		},
+		{
+			name:              "only the lines with a tab or a return are kept separately",
+			stringsToWrite:    []string{"x\n", "y\tz\n", "w\n"},
+			expectedShown:     []string{"x", "y   z", "w"},
+			expectedAsWritten: []string{"x", "y\tz", "w"},
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, test := range tests {
+		t.Run(test.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			v := NewView("name", 0, 0, 20, 10, OutputNormal)
+			for _, s := range test.stringsToWrite {
+				v.writeString(s)
+			}
+			assert.Equal(t, test.expectedShown, v.BufferLines())
+			assert.Equal(t, test.expectedAsWritten, v.LinesAsWritten())
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestLinesAsWrittenOfAnOverwrittenLine(t *testing.T) {
+	v := NewView("name", 0, 0, 20, 10, OutputNormal)
+	v.writeString("a\tb\nc\td")
+
+	// Overwriting a line starts it over: what it kept of its earlier text goes,
+	// and the line below is left alone.
+	v.OverwriteLines(0, "xy")
+
+	assert.Equal(t, []string{"xy", "c   d"}, v.BufferLines())
+	assert.Equal(t, []string{"xy", "c\td"}, v.LinesAsWritten())
+}
+
 func TestUpdatedCursorAndOrigin(t *testing.T) {
 	tests := []struct {
 		prevOrigin     int