Clipboard MCPGive your AI assistant access to your clipboard
Copy an error. Ask Claude to fix it. The fix lands in your clipboard. No manual paste into chat, no manual copy from response. Three MCP tools, one Rust binary, zero configuration.
cargo install clipboard-mcpPre-built binaries for Windows, macOS (Intel + Apple Silicon), Linux (x64 + ARM)
> Copy this error and fix it
get_clipboard()
→ "TypeError: Cannot read property 'map' of undefined
at UserList (UserList.tsx:12)"
// Claude analyzes the error, writes the fix...
set_clipboard("const users = data?.users ?? []")
→ Copied to clipboard (35 chars): "const users = data?.users ?? []"
> Now Ctrl+V in your editor. Done.Three tools. That's it.
get_clipboard
Read whatever is on the clipboard right now. AI sees what you copied without you pasting into chat. Content over 100 KB is safely truncated at UTF-8 boundaries.
set_clipboard
Write text to the clipboard. AI puts its result where you need it — ready for Ctrl+V. 1 MB limit. Returns confirmation with character count and preview.
watch_clipboard
Wait for the clipboard to change. "Watch for 60 seconds, translate whatever I copy." Polls every 500ms, default 30s timeout, configurable up to 5 minutes.
The problem
AI assistants run in a sandbox. They can't access your system clipboard. So you end up manually copy-pasting between your apps and the chat window — over and over. Error from terminal → paste into chat → copy the fix → paste into editor. Every round trip breaks your flow.
Clipboard MCP bridges this gap. Your AI reads what you copied and writes its output straight to the clipboard. No middle step.
What you can do with it
Round-trip fix
Copy an error from your terminal. Ask Claude "fix what's on my clipboard." The fix lands in your clipboard. Ctrl+V into your editor. Zero manual copy-paste into the chat window.
Watch and transform
"Watch my clipboard for 60 seconds. When I copy text, translate it to German and put it back." Copy a paragraph — translation is instantly in your clipboard.
Agent output log
Tell an agent to write each step to the clipboard. Your clipboard manager (Beetroot, CopyQ, Paste, Klipper) captures every step as a separate entry. You get a chronological log of the agent's work — searchable, scrollable, persistent.
Quick cleanup
Copied messy JSON from an API response? "Format what's on my clipboard and put it back." Copied text with junk from a web page? "Clean up my clipboard, keep only the facts." Ready to paste.
Data transform
Copy CSV from a spreadsheet. "Convert my clipboard to JSON." Paste formatted JSON into your code. Works with any format — CSV to JSON, XML to YAML, markdown to HTML.
Code review from clipboard
Copy a code snippet from a browser, Stack Overflow, or a PR. "Review what's on my clipboard." Claude reads it directly — no pasting a wall of code into the chat.
Template filling
Copy a template (email draft, PR description, commit message). "Fill in the template on my clipboard with context from this project." The filled template lands back on your clipboard.
Quick Start
Option 1: Cargo
cargo install clipboard-mcpOption 2: Binary
Download from GitHub Releases
Windows x64 · macOS Intel · macOS Apple Silicon · Linux x64 · Linux ARM
Claude Desktop
claude_desktop_config.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"clipboard": {
"command": "clipboard-mcp"
}
}
}Claude Code
# Project-level
claude mcp add clipboard clipboard-mcp
# Global (all projects)
claude mcp add --scope user clipboard clipboard-mcpCross-Platform
Windows, macOS (Intel + Apple Silicon), Linux (X11 + Wayland). One binary per platform. Native clipboard access via arboard by 1Password.
Single Binary, Zero Deps
~250 lines of Rust. No runtime, no interpreter, no node_modules. Drop the binary, add one line of config, done. Linux needs X11 libs or Wayland with wl-data-control.
Safety Limits
100 KB read limit with safe UTF-8 truncation. 1 MB write limit. Watch timeout capped at 5 minutes. Non-text content detected and reported, not crashed on.
MCP Standard
Built on rmcp (official Rust MCP SDK). Stdio transport — no network, no ports. Works with any MCP-compatible client out of the box.
Local Only
No network connections. No telemetry. The server reads and writes your local clipboard — nothing leaves your machine.
Open Source
MIT license. ~250 lines of auditable Rust. Published on crates.io and the MCP Registry.
Built with
Security
Clipboard MCP gives connected AI sessions full read/write access to your system clipboard. Only connect it to AI clients you trust. Be mindful of sensitive data (passwords, tokens) that may be on your clipboard.
Linux clipboard persistence
On Linux, the clipboard is tied to the owning process. For clipboard content to persist after the MCP server moves on, you need a clipboard manager running: KDE Klipper, GNOME Clipboard, clipman, parcellite, or CopyQ. On bare window managers (i3, dwm, Hyprland), install one of these.