diff --git a/kittens/diff/main.py b/kittens/diff/main.py
index 2fc9b45b6..4e836f514 100644
--- a/kittens/diff/main.py
+++ b/kittens/diff/main.py
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ import sys
 import traceback
 from functools import partial
 from gettext import gettext as _
-from threading import Thread
 
 from kitty.cli import parse_args
 from kitty.key_encoding import ESCAPE
@@ -28,14 +27,7 @@ class DiffHandler(Handler):
         self.report_traceback_on_exit = None
 
     def create_collection(self):
-        try:
-            self.collection = create_collection(self.left, self.right)
-        except Exception:
-            self.report_traceback_on_exit = traceback.format_exc()
-            self.quit_loop(1)
-        else:
-            self.state = READY
-        self.wakeup()
+        self.start_job('diff', create_collection, self.left, self.right)
 
     def init_terminal_state(self):
         self.write(set_line_wrapping(False))
@@ -45,9 +37,7 @@ class DiffHandler(Handler):
         Handler.initialize(self, *args)
         self.init_terminal_state()
         self.draw_screen()
-        t = Thread(target=self.create_collection, name='CreatingCollection')
-        t.daemon = True
-        t.start()
+        self.create_collection()
 
     def draw_screen(self):
         if self.state is INITIALIZING:
@@ -65,8 +55,14 @@ class DiffHandler(Handler):
                 self.quit_loop(0)
             return
 
-    def on_wakeup(self):
-        self.draw_screen()
+    def on_job_done(self, job_id, job_result):
+        if 'tb' in job_result:
+            self.report_traceback_on_exit = traceback.format_exc()
+            self.quit_loop(1)
+        if job_id == 'diff':
+            self.collection = job_result['result']
+            self.state = READY
+            self.write(clear_screen())
 
     def on_interrupt(self):
         self.quit_loop(1)
diff --git a/kittens/tui/handler.py b/kittens/tui/handler.py
index 7d37544e9..a18da97d1 100644
--- a/kittens/tui/handler.py
+++ b/kittens/tui/handler.py
@@ -5,9 +5,10 @@
 
 class Handler:
 
-    def initialize(self, screen_size, quit_loop, wakeup):
+    def initialize(self, screen_size, quit_loop, wakeup, start_job):
         self.screen_size, self.quit_loop = screen_size, quit_loop
         self.wakeup = wakeup
+        self.start_job = start_job
 
     def on_resize(self, screen_size):
         self.screen_size = screen_size
@@ -33,6 +34,9 @@ class Handler:
     def on_wakeup(self):
         pass
 
+    def on_job_done(self, job_id, job_result):
+        pass
+
     def write(self, data):
         if isinstance(data, str):
             data = data.encode('utf-8')
diff --git a/kittens/tui/loop.py b/kittens/tui/loop.py
index 34efac78b..b0b5a6796 100644
--- a/kittens/tui/loop.py
+++ b/kittens/tui/loop.py
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ import tty
 from collections import namedtuple
 from contextlib import closing, contextmanager
 from functools import partial
+from queue import Empty, Queue
 
 from kitty.fast_data_types import parse_input_from_terminal, safe_pipe
 from kitty.icat import screen_size
@@ -24,7 +25,7 @@ from kitty.key_encoding import (
 )
 
 from .handler import Handler
-from .operations import init_state, reset_state, clear_screen
+from .operations import clear_screen, init_state, reset_state
 
 
 def log(*a, **kw):
@@ -120,8 +121,8 @@ class UnhandledException(Handler):
     def __init__(self, tb):
         self.tb = tb
 
-    def initialize(self, screen_size, quit_loop, wakeup):
-        Handler.initialize(self, screen_size, quit_loop, wakeup)
+    def initialize(self, *args):
+        Handler.initialize(self, *args)
         self.write(clear_screen())
         self.write(self.tb.replace('\n', '\r\n'))
         self.write('\r\n')
@@ -167,6 +168,24 @@ class Loop:
         self.sanitize_bracketed_paste = bool(sanitize_bracketed_paste)
         if self.sanitize_bracketed_paste:
             self.sanitize_ibp_pat = re.compile(sanitize_bracketed_paste)
+        self.jobs_queue = Queue()
+
+    def start_job(self, job_id, func, *args, **kw):
+        from threading import Thread
+        t = Thread(target=partial(self._run_job, job_id, func), args=args, kwargs=kw, name='LoopJob')
+        t.daemon = True
+        t.start()
+
+    def _run_job(self, job_id, func, *args, **kw):
+        try:
+            result = func(*args, **kw)
+        except Exception as err:
+            import traceback
+            entry = {'id': job_id, 'exception': err, 'tb': traceback.format_exc()}
+        else:
+            entry = {'id': job_id, 'result': result}
+        self.jobs_queue.put(entry)
+        self._wakeup_write(b'j')
 
     def _read_ready(self, handler):
         if not self.read_allowed:
@@ -283,6 +302,15 @@ class Loop:
             handler.on_term()
         if b'i' in data:
             handler.on_interrupt()
+        if b'j' in data:
+            while True:
+                try:
+                    entry = self.jobs_queue.get_nowait()
+                except Empty:
+                    break
+                else:
+                    job_id = entry.pop('id')
+                    handler.on_job_done(job_id, entry)
         if b'1' in data:
             handler.on_wakeup()
 
@@ -331,7 +359,7 @@ class Loop:
             handler._term_manager = term_manager
             keep_going = True
             try:
-                handler.initialize(screen_size(), self.quit, self.wakeup)
+                handler.initialize(screen_size(), self.quit, self.wakeup, self.start_job)
             except Exception:
                 import traceback
                 tb = traceback.format_exc()
@@ -363,7 +391,7 @@ class Loop:
         handler = UnhandledException(tb)
         handler.write_buf = []
         handler._term_manager = term_manager
-        handler.initialize(screen_size(), self.quit, self.wakeup)
+        handler.initialize(screen_size(), self.quit, self.wakeup, self.start_job)
         while True:
             has_data_to_write = bool(handler.write_buf)
             if not has_data_to_write and not self.read_allowed: