xclip ☆

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Description:
Access X11 clipboards from the command-line

Type: Formula | Tracked Since: Dec 28, 2025

Links: Homepage | formulae.brew.sh

Category: System utilities

Tags: x11 clipboard cli utility linux

Install: brew install xclip

About:
Xclip is a command-line utility that interfaces with the X11 clipboard manager. It allows users to interact with the clipboard (cut, copy, and paste functionality) directly from the terminal. This tool is essential for piping data between applications or scripts in a Linux/Unix environment.

Key Features:

Reads from and writes to X11 selections (clipboard, primary, secondary)
Supports data piping via standard input/output streams
Lightweight and dependency-free for X11 environments
Handles both text and binary data

Use Cases:

Piping command output directly into the system clipboard (e.g., `ls | xclip`)
Pasting clipboard contents into the terminal for scripting
Copying SSH keys or configuration data from files to clipboard

Alternatives:

xsel – Similar functionality; xclip is often preferred for better compatibility with modern clipboard managers.
wl-clipboard – The standard for Wayland environments, whereas xclip is specific to X11.

Version History

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