Clippy 📎

Copy files from your terminal that actually paste into GUI apps. No more switching to Finder.

macOS only - built specifically for the Mac clipboard system.

Why Clippy?

pbcopy copies file contents, but GUI apps need file references. When you pbcopy < image.png, you can't paste it into Slack or email - those apps expect files, not raw bytes.

Clippy bridges this gap by detecting what you want and using the right clipboard format:

# Copy files as references (paste into any GUI app)
clippy report.pdf         # ⌘V into Slack/email - uploads the file
clippy *.jpg             # Multiple files at once

# Pipe data as files
curl -sL https://picsum.photos/300 | clippy  # Download → clipboard as file

# Copy your most recent download (immediate)
clippy -r                # Grabs the file you just downloaded
clippy -r 3              # Copy 3 most recent downloads

# Interactive picker for recent files
clippy -i               # Choose from list of recent downloads
clippy -i 5m            # Show picker for last 5 minutes only

Stay in your terminal. Copy anything. Paste anywhere.

Installation:

brew install clippy

The Terminal-First Clipboard Suite: Clippy copies files to clipboard, includes an MCP server for AI assistants, Pasty pastes intelligently, and Draggy (optional GUI) bridges drag-and-drop workflows. Use as a Go library for custom integrations. All designed to minimize context switching from your terminal.

Core Features

1. Smart File Copying

clippy document.pdf    # Copies as file reference (paste into any app)
clippy notes.txt       # Also copies as file reference
clippy -t notes.txt    # Use -t flag to copy text content instead
clippy *.jpg          # Multiple files at once

2. Recent Downloads

# Immediate copy (no UI)
clippy -r              # Copy your most recent download
clippy -r 3            # Copy 3 most recent downloads
clippy -r 5m           # Copy all downloads from last 5 minutes

# Interactive picker
clippy -i              # Choose from list of recent downloads
clippy -i 3            # Show picker with 3 most recent files
clippy -i 5m           # Show picker for last 5 minutes only

# Copy and paste in one step
clippy -r --paste      # Copy most recent and paste here
clippy -i --paste      # Pick file, copy it, and paste here

3. Find Files with Spotlight

clippy -f invoice      # Search for files matching "invoice"
clippy -f screenshot   # Find screenshots
clippy -f .pdf         # Find all PDF files (by extension)
clippy -f report.xlsx  # Find specific file "report.xlsx"
# Shows interactive picker with results

No more switching to Finder to search for files - find and copy them directly from your terminal.

4. Pipe Data as Files

curl -sL https://example.com/image.jpg | clippy
cat archive.tar.gz | clippy

5. Copy and Paste Together

clippy ~/Downloads/report.pdf --paste  # Copy to clipboard AND paste here
clippy -r --paste          # Copy recent download and paste here
clippy -i --paste           # Pick file, copy it, and paste here

6. Clear Clipboard

clippy --clear         # Empty the clipboard
echo -n | clippy       # Also clears the clipboard

7. Content Type Detection

A nice bonus: clippy auto-detects content types (JSON, HTML, XML) so receiving apps handle them properly - something pbcopy can't do. This means when you paste into apps that support rich content, they'll handle it correctly - JSON viewers will syntax highlight, HTML will render, etc.

echo '{"key": "value"}' | clippy          # Recognized as JSON
clippy -t page.html                       # Recognized as HTML
clippy -t file.txt --mime application/json  # Manual override when needed

8. Gmail-Ready Markdown Email

Copy Markdown, render it as rich email content, then paste normally into Gmail, Mimestream, Mail, or another rich composer:

clippy md2rich draft.md        # from a file
cat draft.md | clippy md2rich  # from a pipe
clippy md2rich                 # render the clipboard in place

The clipboard carries HTML, RTF, and plain-text representations together. Rich composers preserve intentional paragraph spacing, emphasis, links, lists, inline code, and Mimestream-style fenced code blocks; plain-text targets still receive a readable fallback.

9. Native Slack Messages

Write Markdown, then paste into any Slack composer and get real formatting — not literal asterisks:

clippy md2slack notes.md         # from a file
cat notes.md | clippy md2slack   # from a pipe
clippy md2slack                  # render the clipboard in place

Slack's composer stores messages as a Quill Delta document and puts that same document on the clipboard when you copy from it. md2slack writes exactly that format, so a normal Command-V produces bold, italic, strikethrough, inline code, code blocks, block quotes, headings, links, and bulleted or numbered lists (including nesting) — as though the message had been typed in Slack.

Slack has no table, image, or horizontal-rule construct, so tables become unaligned text rows, images become links, and rules become a divider line. Anything that does not understand the Slack format receives plain text.

For aligned columns, use space-padded text inside a fenced code block. Put both fences on their own lines, with real line breaks between the rows:

Current values:

```
  name   value
  alpha  10
  beta   20
```

Indentation inside a fence is preserved; it is not required to create a code block. Keep existing column padding when editing. Input uses CommonMark/GFM syntax (**bold**, ~~strikethrough~~), not Slack's mrkdwn syntax.

The copy_slack MCP tool returns formatting counts and warnings. Set expected_code_blocks: 1 for a message with one fenced table: a mismatch returns an error before changing the clipboard. preview: true reports the same counts and warnings without copying. clippy --verbose md2slack reports counts too, and the CLI always prints formatting warnings.

These counts describe generated formatting, not a verified Slack paste. Use normal Command-V. Plain-text clipboard reads omit formatting and fence markers, so they cannot verify code blocks. If the counts are correct but the paste is wrong, inspect the clipboard/paste path before changing the Markdown. The MCP tool and CLI use the same renderer.

10. Helpful Flags

clippy -v file.txt     # Show what happened
clippy --debug file.txt # Technical details for debugging

Why "Clippy"?

Because it's a helpful clipboard assistant that knows what you want to do! 📎

MCP Server

Clippy includes a built-in MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that lets AI assistants copy generated content directly to your clipboard.

Ask Claude to generate any text - code, emails, documents - and have it instantly available to paste anywhere:

• "Write a Python script to process CSV files and copy it to my clipboard"
• "Draft an email about the meeting and put it on my clipboard"
• "Generate that regex and copy it so I can paste into my editor"

No more manual selecting and copying from the chat interface.

For email drafts, the dedicated copy_email tool is advertised to the model. Prefer its explicit salutation, body_markdown, and signoff fields so the email structure is preserved without guessing at language-specific greetings. The complete-body markdown field remains available for compatibility. The tool only copies the draft; it does not address or send mail.

Setup

Claude Code:

# Install for all your projects (recommended)
claude mcp add --scope user clippy $(which clippy) mcp-server

# Or for current project only
claude mcp add clippy $(which clippy) mcp-server

Note: $(which clippy) finds the clippy binary on your system. On Apple Silicon Macs this is typically /opt/homebrew/bin/clippy, on Intel Macs it's /usr/local/bin/clippy.

Claude Desktop:

Add to your config (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "clippy": {
      "command": "clippy",
      "args": ["mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Metadata Overrides (Optional)

You can customize MCP tool/prompt/example descriptions without changing behavior:

clippy mcp-server \
  --tools /path/to/tools.json \
  --prompts /path/to/prompts.json \
  --examples /path/to/examples.json

By default, override files can be partial. Add --strict-metadata to require full coverage of every tool, prompt, and parameter.

Available Tools

System Clipboard Tools

• clipboard_copy - Copy text or files to system clipboard
• copy_email - Copy a structured email draft as Gmail-ready rich text (never sends)
• clipboard_paste - Paste clipboard content to files/directories
• get_recent_downloads - List recently downloaded files

Agent Buffer Tools