Clipboard

Clipboard integration, OSC 52 support, and copy/paste configuration

Ghostty provides comprehensive clipboard support with configurable behavior for both system clipboard and terminal-initiated clipboard operations.

Basic Clipboard Operations

Copy and Paste

Copy

Select text and it’s automatically copied (Linux/macOS default).

Or use:

• macOS: cmd+c
• Linux: ctrl+shift+c

Paste

• macOS: cmd+v
• Linux: ctrl+shift+v
• Middle-click: Paste selection (Linux)

Copy on Select

Automatically copy selected text to clipboard:

~/.config/ghostty/config

# Enable copy-on-select (default on Linux/macOS)
copy-on-select = true

# Disable copy-on-select
copy-on-select = false

# Always copy to both selection and system clipboard
copy-on-select = clipboard

On Linux, middle-click paste uses the selection clipboard and works even when copy-on-select is false.

Right-Click Actions

Configure what right-click does:

# Show context menu (default)
right-click-action = context-menu

# Paste clipboard contents
right-click-action = paste

# Copy selection
right-click-action = copy

# Copy if text is selected, otherwise paste
right-click-action = copy-or-paste

# Do nothing
right-click-action = ignore

OSC 52 Support

OSC 52 allows terminal applications to read from and write to the system clipboard. This is particularly useful for clipboard operations over SSH.

Configuration

Ask Before Reading

# Prompt user before allowing clipboard reads (default)
clipboard-read = ask

# Allow apps to read/write freely
clipboard-read = allow
clipboard-write = allow

# Block clipboard access
clipboard-read = deny
clipboard-write = deny

Valid values:

• ask - Prompt the user (default for clipboard-read)
• allow - Allow unconditionally (default for clipboard-write)
• deny - Deny all access

Testing OSC 52

Test clipboard write support:

# Copy "Hello" to clipboard
printf '\e]52;c;%s\a' "$(printf 'Hello' | base64)"

Test clipboard read (if clipboard-read = allow):

# Request clipboard contents
printf '\e]52;c;?\a'

Allowing clipboard read (clipboard-read = allow) can be a security risk. Applications can silently read your clipboard contents.

Clipboard Behavior

Trimming Whitespace

Remove trailing whitespace when copying:

# Trim trailing spaces (default: true)
clipboard-trim-trailing-spaces = true

# Preserve all whitespace
clipboard-trim-trailing-spaces = false

Completely blank lines always have their whitespace trimmed.

Clearing Selection

After Copying

Clear selection after copying:

# Keep selection visible after copying (default)
selection-clear-on-copy = false

# Clear selection after copying
selection-clear-on-copy = true

When Typing

Clear selection when typing:

# Clear selection when typing (default)
selection-clear-on-typing = true

# Keep selection when typing
selection-clear-on-typing = false

Selection can still be cleared manually by clicking or pressing escape.

Paste Protection

Prevent accidental execution of dangerous commands:

# Warn before pasting text with newlines (default: true)
clipboard-paste-protection = true

# Treat bracketed pastes as safe (default: true)  
clipboard-paste-bracketed-safe = true

1. Protection activates

   When pasting text containing newlines, Ghostty shows a confirmation dialog.

2. Bracketed paste exception

   If the application has bracketed paste mode enabled, the paste is considered safe and no confirmation is shown (unless clipboard-paste-bracketed-safe = false).

Advanced Features

Clipboard Character Mapping

Replace specific Unicode characters when copying to clipboard:

# Convert box-drawing characters to ASCII
clipboard-codepoint-map = U+2500=U+002D  # Horizontal → hyphen
clipboard-codepoint-map = U+2502=U+007C  # Vertical → pipe

# Replace with text
clipboard-codepoint-map = U+03A3=SUM     # Greek Sigma → "SUM"

# Ranges
clipboard-codepoint-map = U+2500-U+257F=U+002D  # All box-drawing

This only applies to text copying, not URL copying.

Selection Word Characters

Define what characters mark word boundaries during selection:

# Default word boundaries
selection-word-chars = " \t'\"│`|:;,()[]{}<>$"

# Treat dashes as part of words
selection-word-chars = " \t'\"│`|:;,()[]{}<>$"

When double-clicking to select a word, selection stops at these characters.

Keybinding Examples

Custom Copy/Paste

keybind = ctrl+c=copy_to_clipboard
keybind = ctrl+v=paste_from_clipboard
keybind = ctrl+shift+v=paste_from_selection

keybind = ctrl+shift+c=copy_to_clipboard
keybind = ctrl+shift+v=paste_from_clipboard

# Clear selection
keybind = escape=clear_selection

# Copy and clear selection
keybind = ctrl+c=copy_to_clipboard>clear_selection

# Paste and clear
keybind = ctrl+v=paste_from_clipboard>clear_selection

Platform Differences

macOS

• Uses the system pasteboard
• Supports rich text copying (with formatting)
• Integrates with Universal Clipboard (copy on Mac, paste on iPhone)

Linux

• Two clipboards: selection (middle-click) and system (ctrl+v)
• Selection clipboard is automatically populated when selecting text
• System clipboard requires explicit copy action

# Configure copy-on-select behavior for Linux
copy-on-select = true          # Use selection clipboard
copy-on-select = clipboard     # Use both clipboards
copy-on-select = false         # Explicit copy only

SSH and Remote Clipboard

When connected to a remote host via SSH, OSC 52 allows remote applications to access your local clipboard:

1. Enable OSC 52 write

   clipboard-write = allow
   
2. Configure remote app

   Many applications support OSC 52:

   • tmux: set -s set-clipboard on
   • vim: Use plugins like vim-oscyank
   • neovim: Built-in OSC 52 support
3. Copy remotely

   When you copy text in the remote application, it appears in your local clipboard.

Example: Neovim Over SSH

-- Neovim config for OSC 52 clipboard
vim.g.clipboard = {
  name = 'OSC 52',
  copy = {
    ['+'] = require('vim.ui.clipboard.osc52').copy('+'),
    ['*'] = require('vim.ui.clipboard.osc52').copy('*'),
  },
  paste = {
    ['+'] = require('vim.ui.clipboard.osc52').paste('+'),
    ['*'] = require('vim.ui.clipboard.osc52').paste('*'),
  },
}

Troubleshooting

Clipboard not working over SSH

1. Verify OSC 52 is enabled: clipboard-write = allow
2. Ensure remote application supports OSC 52
3. Check SSH doesn’t strip escape sequences
4. Test with the OSC 52 printf command shown above

Selection not copying automatically

Check copy-on-select is enabled:

copy-on-select = true

Middle-click paste not working (Linux)

Middle-click paste is always enabled and uses the selection clipboard. Make sure you’ve selected text first, or check if another application has cleared the selection.

Paste confirmation dialog appearing too often

If bracketed paste mode is available but still showing confirmation:

clipboard-paste-bracketed-safe = true

Or disable paste protection entirely (not recommended):

clipboard-paste-protection = false

Related Configuration

• selection-foreground - Selection colors
• selection-background - Selection background
• keybind - Customize copy/paste shortcuts
• OSC 52 specification