copyq

advanced clipboard manager

TLDR

Start CopyQ in the system tray
$ copyq
Show the clipboard history window
$ copyq show
Copy text to clipboard
$ copyq copy "[text to copy]"
Paste the clipboard contents
$ copyq paste
Read current clipboard content
$ copyq clipboard
Read item at specific index (0 is most recent)
$ copyq read [0]
Add text to clipboard history
$ copyq add "[text to add]"
Select item from history by index
$ copyq select [5]

SYNOPSIS

copyq [command] [arguments]

DESCRIPTION

CopyQ is an advanced clipboard manager with editing and scripting features. It monitors the system clipboard and stores a searchable history of copied content, supporting text, images, and other data types.The application provides both a GUI for browsing history and a powerful command-line interface for scripting clipboard operations. Items can be organized into tabs, tagged, and filtered. Custom commands and scripts can be triggered based on clipboard content.CopyQ supports synchronization across devices, encrypted storage, and extensive customization through its scripting API. It integrates with system shortcuts for quick access to clipboard history and paste operations.

PARAMETERS

show

Show the main clipboard history window.
hide
Hide the main window.
toggle
Toggle the main window visibility.
copy TEXT
Copy text to the clipboard.
paste
Paste current clipboard content.
clipboard
Print current clipboard content.
read INDEX
Read clipboard history item at index.
add TEXT
Add text to clipboard history.
select INDEX
Copy item at index to clipboard.
remove INDEX
Remove item at index from history.
count
Print number of items in clipboard history.
exit
Exit CopyQ.

INSTALL

sudo apt install copyq
sudo dnf install copyq
sudo pacman -S copyq
nix profile install nixpkgs#copyq

CAVEATS

Running multiple instances can cause conflicts. Some Wayland compositors have limited clipboard manager support. Sensitive data like passwords may be stored in history unless excluded by rules. The GUI must be running for the CLI to function.

HISTORY

CopyQ was created as an open-source clipboard manager, first released around 2009. It has evolved to include advanced features like scripting, synchronization, and tab organization, becoming one of the most feature-rich clipboard managers available for Linux, Windows, and macOS.

SEE ALSO

xclip(1), xsel(1), wl-copy(1), pbcopy(1)

RESOURCES

Source code · Homepage · Documentation