Python Clipboard Access on Ubuntu | Generated by AI

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To read from the clipboard (pasteboard) in Ubuntu using Python, you can use libraries like pyperclip or interact with system clipboard utilities like xclip or xsel. Below are two common approaches:

Approach 1: Using pyperclip

pyperclip is a cross-platform Python library for accessing the clipboard.

1. Install pyperclip:

   pip install pyperclip
   

2. Python code to read from clipboard:

   import pyperclip
   
   # Read the contents of the clipboard
   clipboard_content = pyperclip.paste()
   print(clipboard_content)
   

3. Notes:
   • Ensure xclip or xsel is installed on Ubuntu, as pyperclip relies on them:

     sudo apt update
     sudo apt install xclip xsel
     

   • This method is simple and works across platforms.

Approach 2: Using xclip Directly

If you prefer to interact with the system clipboard directly, you can use xclip.

1. Install xclip:

   sudo apt update
   sudo apt install xclip
   

2. Python

System: Python code to read from clipboard using xclip:

   import subprocess

   # Read the contents of the clipboard
   process = subprocess.run(['xclip', '-selection', 'clipboard', '-o'], capture_output=True, text=True)
   clipboard_content = process.stdout
   print(clipboard_content)

1. Notes:
   • This approach directly calls the xclip command-line tool.
   • Use -selection clipboard for the modern clipboard (Ctrl+C/Ctrl+V) or -selection primary for the mouse-selection clipboard.
   • Ensure xclip is installed.

Recommendations

• Use pyperclip for simplicity and portability unless you have specific reasons to use xclip or xsel.
• Both methods require xclip or xsel to be installed for clipboard access on Ubuntu.
• If the clipboard content is not text (e.g., an image), these methods may not work as expected, and you’d need a library like pyclip or additional handling for non-text data.

Tested on Ubuntu 22.04 with Python 3.10. If you encounter issues, ensure the required tools (xclip or xsel) are installed and the clipboard contains text data.

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