[HOW TO] Read/Write clipboard from command line

xsel is a program that allows X selection manipulation, and it can also be used to manipulate clipboard contents.

Read clipboard

Open a terminal window and run the command bellow. The -b options tells xsel to operate on the CLIPBOARD selection and the -o is used to write the selection contents to standard output.

xsel -b -o

Write clipboard

Using the -i, xsel reads from the standard input into the selection, so for instance, the output of the echo command can be piped into xsel thus set the clipboard contents. Replace CB_DATA with is a string for clipboard data.

echo CB_DATA | xsel -b -i

Example (write)

echo "Xubuntu Geek" | xsel -b -i

References

xsel manpage

Install diodon (clipboard manager) in [X]Ubuntu 12.04 (ppa)

"Diodon is a lightweight clipboard manager for Linux written in Vala which "aims to be the best integrated clipboard manager for the Gnome/GTK+ desktop". It lightweight having a small memory footprint."

Diodon features include Ubuntu indicator, clipboard sync (primary selection and Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V clipboard) and an option to set the clipboard size.

Install

Open a terminal window and run:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:diodon-team/stable -y
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install diodon -y

Just in case you're running Ubuntu (and Unity), you might also want to install the diodon-plugins package which contains the "Unity Lens" plugin that provides access to clipboard history with the unity dash:

sudo apt-get install diodon-plugins -y

Footnotes

• Run diodon pressing Alt+F2 and type diodon before hitting return
• Access diodon clipboard history with the shortcut Ctrl+Alt+V (it can be changed in the preferences).
• Diodon will be added to Xfce session startup program list, however it's not enable. Just open "Session and Startup" settings and enable it (see this if you need help).

Related Posts

Install pastie from source in Xubuntu
Install pastie in Xubuntu (deb)

References

DIODON: A LIGHTWEIGHT CLIPBOARD MANAGER WITH UBUNTU INDICATOR APPLET SUPPORT

Install pastie in [X]Ubuntu 12.04 Precise (deb)

Pastie is a clipboard manager program. In Oneiric it could be installed by adding a 3rd partie ppa, however at the moment there isn't a Precise build. I tried to manually install the deb package for Oneiric on Precise and it worked.

Install

First install the python-gnome2 dependency:

sudo apt-get install python-gnome2 python-keybinder

Then navigate to http://goo.gl/UtNPI and download the deb file (something like pastie_0.6.7.5~ppam1_all.deb).

Finally install the deb file, either by opening it with "Ubuntu Software Center" or using a terminal window:

sudo dpkg -i pastie*.deb