diff --git a/kitty/boss.py b/kitty/boss.py
index e9424d2a9..e1121cfbb 100755
--- a/kitty/boss.py
+++ b/kitty/boss.py
@@ -468,6 +468,9 @@ class Boss:
             args, rest = parse_args(data['args'][1:], result_class=CLIOptions)
             args.args = rest
             opts = create_opts(args)
+            if args.session == '-':
+                from .session import PreReadSession
+                args.session = PreReadSession(data['stdin'])
             if not os.path.isabs(args.directory):
                 args.directory = os.path.join(data['cwd'], args.directory)
             for session in create_sessions(opts, args, respect_cwd=True):
diff --git a/kitty/main.py b/kitty/main.py
index c95710b3d..660c02af4 100644
--- a/kitty/main.py
+++ b/kitty/main.py
@@ -56,9 +56,12 @@ def set_custom_ibeam_cursor() -> None:
 def talk_to_instance(args: CLIOptions) -> None:
     import json
     import socket
+    stdin = ''
+    if args.session == '-':
+        stdin = sys.stdin.read()
     data = {'cmd': 'new_instance', 'args': tuple(sys.argv),
             'startup_id': os.environ.get('DESKTOP_STARTUP_ID'),
-            'cwd': os.getcwd()}
+            'cwd': os.getcwd(), 'stdin': stdin}
     notify_socket = None
     if args.wait_for_single_instance_window_close:
         address = f'\0{appname}-os-window-close-notify-{os.getpid()}-{os.geteuid()}'