Set-Clipboard

Sets the contents of the clipboard.

Syntax

Set-Clipboard
   -Value <String[]>
   [-Append]
   [-WhatIf]
   [-Confirm]
   [-PassThru]
   [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The Set-Clipboard cmdlet sets the contents of the clipboard.

Note

On Linux, this cmdlet requires the xclip utility to be in the path.

Examples

Example 1: Copy text to the clipboard

Set-Clipboard -Value "This is a test string"

Example 2: Copy the contents of a file to the clipboard

This example pipes the contents of a file to the clipboard. In this example, we are getting a public ssh key so that it can be pasted into another application, like GitHub.

Get-Content C:\Users\user1\.ssh\id_ed25519.pub | Set-Clipboard

Parameters

-Append

Indicates that the cmdlet does not clear the clipboard and appends content to it.

Type: SwitchParameter
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

-Confirm

Prompts you for confirmation before running the cmdlet.

Type: SwitchParameter
Aliases: cf
Position: Named
Default value: False
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

-PassThru

Returns an object representing the item with which you're working. By default, this cmdlet does not generate any output.

Type: SwitchParameter
Position: Named
Default value: False
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

-Value

The string values to be added to the clipboard.

Type: String [ ]
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: True
Accept wildcard characters: False

-WhatIf

Shows what would happen if the cmdlet runs. The cmdlet is not run.

Type: SwitchParameter
Aliases: wi
Position: Named
Default value: False
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

Inputs

String

You can pipe a string containing the content to set to the clipboard to this cmdlet.

Outputs

None

This cmdlet returns no output.

Notes

PowerShell includes the following aliases for Set-Clipboard :

  • All platforms:
    • scb

In rare cases when using Set-Clipboard with a high number of values in rapid succession, like in a loop, you might sporadically get a blank value from the clipboard. This can be fixed by using Start-Sleep -Milliseconds 1 in the loop.