xclip Command Examples

X11 clipboard manipulation tool, similar to xsel. Handles the X primary and secondary selections, plus the system clipboard (Ctrl + C/Ctrl + V). See also: wl-copy. More information: https://manned.org/xclip.

• Copy the output from a command to the X11 primary selection area (clipboard):

echo 123 | xclip

• Copy the output from a command to a given X11 selection area:

echo 123 | xclip -selection {{primary|secondary|clipboard}}

• Copy the output from a command to the system clipboard, using short notation:

echo 123 | xclip -sel clip

• Copy the contents of a file into the system clipboard:

xclip -sel clip {{input_file.txt}}

• Copy the contents of a PNG into the system clipboard (can be pasted in other programs correctly):

xclip -sel clip -t image/png {{input_file.png}}

• Copy the user input in the console into the system clipboard:

xclip -i

• Paste the contents of the X11 primary selection area to the console:

xclip -o

• Paste the contents of the system clipboard to the console:

xclip -o -sel clip