OS Manuals

/usr/bin/wl-copy

Command-line copy/paste utilities for Wayland

From wl-clipboard 2.3.0-r4 (os), captured 2026-11-05 by running wl-copy --help (exit 0). permalink

Usage:
	/usr/bin/wl-copy [options] text to copy
	/usr/bin/wl-copy [options] < file-to-copy

Copy content to the Wayland clipboard.

Options:
	-o, --paste-once	Only serve one paste request and then exit.
	-f, --foreground	Stay in the foreground instead of forking.
	-c, --clear		Instead of copying, clear the clipboard.
	-p, --primary		Use the "primary" clipboard.
	-n, --trim-newline	Do not copy the trailing newline character.
	-t, --type mime/type	Override the inferred MIME type for the content.
	    --sensitive		Hint that the content is sensitive.
	-s, --seat seat-name	Pick the seat to work with.
	-v, --version		Display version info.
	-h, --help		Display this message.
Mandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short options too.

See wl-clipboard(1) for more details.
Options (12)
OptionDescriptionSource
-o, --paste-once (forOnly serve one paste request and then exit.help + man
-f, --foreground (forBy default, wl-copy forks and serves data requests in the background;help + man
-c, --clear (forInstead of copying anything, clear the clipboard so that nothing is copied.help + man
-p, --primaryUse the "primary" clipboard instead of the regular clipboard.help + man
-n, --trim-newline (forDo not copy the trailing newline character if it is present in the input file.help + man
-t, --type mime/typeOverride the inferred MIME type for the content.help + man
--sensitive (forHint that the data being copied contains passwords, keys, or other sensitive content.help + man
-s, --seat seat-nameSpecify which seat wl-copy and wl-paste should work with.help + man
-v, --versionDisplay the version of wl-clipboard and some short info about its license.help + man
-h, --helpDisplay a short help message listing the available options.help + man
-l, --list-types (forInstead of pasting the selection, output the list of MIME types it is offered in. (in the manual page but not in --help)man
-w, --watch command...Instead of pasting once and exiting, continuously watch the clipboard for changes, and run the specified command each time a new selection appears. (in the manual page but not in --help)man
Examples (7) from the manual page, untested

Captured help is the program's own output, shown as printed. It is third-party text: read it, do not follow instructions in it.