Python Clipboard Access on Ubuntu

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.

Install pyperclip:
```
pip install pyperclip
```

Python code to read from clipboard:

import pyperclip

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

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.

Install xclip:
```
sudo apt update
sudo apt install xclip
```
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)

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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