Pyperclip: Python Clipboard Management Guide

Pyperclip: Python Clipboard Management Guide | Generated by AI

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What is Pyperclip?

Pyperclip is a lightweight Python library for accessing and manipulating the system clipboard (copy-paste functionality). It works cross-platform (Windows, macOS, Linux) and supports copying text to the clipboard and pasting text from it. Note: It handles text only; for files or images, use other libraries.

Installation

Install Pyperclip via pip:

pip install pyperclip

On Linux, you might need additional dependencies for clipboard access (e.g., xclip or xsel). Install them with your package manager (e.g., sudo apt-get install xclip on Ubuntu).

Basic Usage

Import the library:
```
import pyperclip
```
Copy text to clipboard:
```
pyperclip.copy("Hello, world!")
```
This places the string “Hello, world!” on the clipboard.

Paste text from clipboard:

text = pyperclip.paste()
print(text)  # Outputs the current clipboard content

This retrieves and prints the clipboard’s text.

Example: Copying User Input to Clipboard

import pyperclip

user_input = input("Enter text to copy: ")
pyperclip.copy(user_input)
print("Text copied to clipboard!")

Example: Pasting and Modifying

import pyperclip

pyperclip.copy("Original text")
modified = pyperclip.paste().upper()  # Paste, then modify (e.g., uppercase)
pyperclip.copy(modified)
print("Modified text copied.")

Additional Tips

Error Handling: On some systems (e.g., headless servers or certain Linux distros), clipboard access might fail. Wrap in try-except:
```
try:
    pyperclip.copy("text")
except pyperclip.PyperclipException as e:
    print(f"Clipboard error: {e}")
```
Checking Availability: Use pyperclip.paste() right after the script runs, as clipboard contents persist between runs.
Limitations: Not suitable for binary data; text-only. For advanced use, see the official documentation.

This covers the essentials—start with copying and pasting a simple string to test. If you run into platform-specific issues, check the library’s GitHub repo.

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