diff --git a/bin/phpboy.php b/bin/phpboy.php
index c35d151..1c4f299 100644
--- a/bin/phpboy.php
+++ b/bin/phpboy.php
@@ -70,6 +70,15 @@ function showHelp(): void
   --playback=<path>      Playback TAS input from JSON file
   --help                 Show this help message
 
+Controls (during gameplay):
+  Arrow Keys / WASD:  D-pad
+  Z:                  A button
+  X:                  B button
+  Enter:              Start
+  Space:              Select
+  Ctrl+S:             Save state (creates timestamped save file)
+  Ctrl+C:             Exit
+
 Examples:
   php bin/phpboy.php tetris.gb
   php bin/phpboy.php --rom=tetris.gb --speed=2.0
@@ -312,6 +321,22 @@ function parseArguments(array $argv): array
     if (!$options['headless']) {
         $input = new CliInput();
         $emulator->setInput($input);
+
+        // Set up Ctrl+S save callback
+        $saveCounter = 0;
+        $romBaseName = pathinfo($options['rom'], PATHINFO_FILENAME);
+        $input->onSave(function () use ($emulator, &$saveCounter, $romBaseName) {
+            $saveCounter++;
+            $timestamp = date('Y-m-d_H-i-s');
+            $filename = "{$romBaseName}_save_{$saveCounter}_{$timestamp}.state";
+
+            try {
+                $emulator->saveState($filename);
+                echo "\n[Saved state to: {$filename}]\n";
+            } catch (\Throwable $e) {
+                echo "\n[Error saving state: {$e->getMessage()}]\n";
+            }
+        });
     }
 
     // Set up renderer
@@ -508,7 +533,9 @@ function parseArguments(array $argv): array
         echo "  Z: A button\n";
         echo "  X: B button\n";
         echo "  Enter: Start\n";
-        echo "  Space: Select\n\n";
+        echo "  Space: Select\n";
+        echo "  Ctrl+S: Save state\n";
+        echo "  Ctrl+C: Exit\n\n";
 
         // Set up signal handler for graceful shutdown
         if (function_exists('pcntl_signal')) {
diff --git a/src/Frontend/Cli/CliInput.php b/src/Frontend/Cli/CliInput.php
index ccd097b..039c8a0 100644
--- a/src/Frontend/Cli/CliInput.php
+++ b/src/Frontend/Cli/CliInput.php
@@ -11,11 +11,13 @@
  * CLI keyboard input handler for PHPBoy.
  *
  * Maps keyboard keys to Game Boy buttons:
- * - Arrow keys → D-pad (Up, Down, Left, Right)
+ * - Arrow keys / WASD → D-pad (Up, Down, Left, Right)
  * - Z → A button
  * - X → B button
  * - Enter → Start
- * - Right Shift → Select
+ * - Space → Select
+ * - Ctrl+S → Save state (via callback)
+ * - Ctrl+C → Exit emulation
  *
  * Note: Non-blocking keyboard input in PHP CLI is limited.
  * This implementation uses stream_select for non-blocking reads
@@ -29,6 +31,9 @@ final class CliInput implements InputInterface
     /** Control character for Ctrl+C (ASCII 3) */
     private const CTRL_C = "\x03";
 
+    /** Control character for Ctrl+S (ASCII 19) */
+    private const CTRL_S = "\x13";
+
     /** @var array<string, Button> Keyboard key to button mapping */
     private const KEY_MAP = [
         // Arrow keys (ANSI escape sequences)
@@ -73,12 +78,25 @@ final class CliInput implements InputInterface
     /** @var bool Whether terminal mode has been set */
     private bool $terminalModeSet = false;
 
+    /** @var callable|null Callback to invoke when Ctrl+S is pressed */
+    private $onSaveCallback = null;
+
     public function __construct()
     {
         $this->stdin = STDIN;
         $this->setupTerminal();
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Set callback to invoke when Ctrl+S is pressed.
+     *
+     * @param callable $callback Function to call when user presses Ctrl+S for save
+     */
+    public function onSave(callable $callback): void
+    {
+        $this->onSaveCallback = $callback;
+    }
+
     public function __destruct()
     {
         $this->restoreTerminal();
@@ -201,6 +219,14 @@ private function parseInput(string $input): void
             exit(0);
         }
 
+        // Check for Ctrl+S (in raw mode, this comes through as ASCII 19)
+        if (str_contains($input, self::CTRL_S)) {
+            if ($this->onSaveCallback !== null) {
+                ($this->onSaveCallback)();
+            }
+            // Don't return here - continue processing other input in the buffer
+        }
+
         // Check for arrow key escape sequences (3 characters)
         if (strlen($input) >= 3 && $input[0] === "\033" && $input[1] === '[') {
             $sequence = substr($input, 0, 3);