xclip

Copy output to primary selection

$ echo 123 | xclip

$ echo 123 | xclip -selection clipboard

$ xclip -selection clipboard input.txt

$ xclip -selection clipboard -target image/png image.png

$ xclip -i

$ xclip -o

$ xclip -o -selection clipboard

xclip [-i|-o] [-selection sel] [-target type] [file...]

xclip is an X11 clipboard manipulation tool. It can read data from standard input or files and write it to any X selection (primary, secondary, or clipboard), or output selection contents to stdout.

-i, -in

Read from stdin or files (default mode)

Write selection to stdout

Specify selection: primary, secondary, or clipboard

Specify MIME target type (e.g., image/png, text/html)

X display to connect to

Number of paste requests to serve before exiting

Print input to stdout while copying

Suppress informational output

Print extra information

Fork into background (used with -loops)

primary: Middle-click paste (highlight to copy)
secondary: Rarely used secondary selection
clipboard: Ctrl+C/Ctrl+V clipboard

Data is only available while xclip is running (unless using -loops or -silent). For persistent clipboard storage, use a clipboard manager. The default selection is primary, not clipboard.

xclip was written by Kim Saunders as a command-line interface to X11 selections. It provides scriptable clipboard access without GUI dependencies.

xsel(1), wl-copy(1), wl-paste(1)