clip (clipx)

Cross-platform clipboard utility: stdin → clipboard, clipboard → stdout

clipx is a small, cross-platform command-line clipboard utility.
It gives you a single, consistent way to copy to and paste from the system clipboard — everywhere.

No more remembering pbcopy, pbpaste, xclip, wl-copy, PowerShell commands, or wondering what’s installed.

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Why clipx?

Every platform solved the clipboard differently:

• macOS: pbcopy, pbpaste
• Linux: xclip, xsel, wl-copy, wl-paste
• Windows: clip (copy only, no paste)

That forces you to think every time.

clipx removes that friction.

Once installed, you can just do:

… | clipx
clipx -p

And move on.

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Usage

Copy stdin → clipboard

echo "hello world" | clipx
cat file.txt | clipx

This behavior is fully compatible with Windows’ built-in clip.

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Paste clipboard → stdout

clipx -p
clipx --paste

Useful for redirecting directly into files:

clipx -p > newfile.cpp

Or piping:

clipx -p | sed 's/foo/bar/g'

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Typical workflows

Save copied code directly to a file

clipx -p > script.sh
chmod +x script.sh
git add script.sh
git commit -m "Add script"

AI → clipboard → file → git

runai -t "Generate helper script" | clip
clip -p > helper.sh

No editor. No mouse. No context switching.

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Platforms & backends

clipx automatically selects the appropriate backend:

• Windows

  • Copy: clip
  • Paste: Get-Clipboard (PowerShell)

• macOS

  • pbcopy, pbpaste

• Linux

  • Wayland: wl-copy, wl-paste
  • X11: xclip or xsel

If no suitable backend is found, clipx prints a clear error message.

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What clipx does not do (by design)

• ❌ No GUI
• ❌ No file copying
• ❌ No image handling (text only)
• ❌ No configuration

clipx is meant to be small, predictable, and composable.

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Build

Requirements:

• C++17 compiler
• CMake ≥ 3.10

cmake -S . -B build
cmake --build build

The resulting binary is clipx.

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Philosophy

• One command
• One name
• Same behavior everywhere
• Zero thinking required

If you stop noticing clipx, it’s doing its job.

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Author

David Joffe https://davidjoffe.github.io/

License

MIT

Copyright © 2026 David Joffe