How to copy to clipboard in Vim?

Question

Is it possible to copy to clipboard directly from Vim? yy only copies stuff to Vim's internal buffer. I want to copy to the OS's clipboard. Is there any such command in Vim or you can only yank stuff within Vim?

Answer 1

The * register will do this. In Windows, + and * are equivalent. In unix there is a subtle difference between + and *:

Under Windows, the * and + registers are equivalent. For X11 systems, though, they differ. For X11 systems, * is the selection, and + is the cut buffer (like clipboard). http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Accessing_the_system_clipboard

* is probably what you want most of the time, so I use * because it functions as I expect it to in both environments.

In Linux distros you have to install vim-gtk (aka gvim) first to gain clipboard functionality. This is because non-gtk vim is typically compiled without X11 support. This is to allow it to run on console only machines (often servers).

And for those confused about how to use registers when yanking or putting, you merely write " then the name of the register. So for copying something to the clipboard register you type "*y and then to put you type "*p (credit: Kyle Mathews)

Answer 2

On Mac OSX

• copy selected part: visually select text(type v or V in normal mode) and type :w !pbcopy

• copy the whole file :%w !pbcopy

• paste from the clipboard :r !pbpaste

On most Linux Distros, you can substitute:

• pbcopy above with xclip -i -sel c or xsel -i -b
• pbpaste using xclip -o -sel -c or xsel -o -b
  -- Note: In case neither of these tools (xsel and xclip) are preinstalled on your distro, you can probably find them in the repos

Answer 3

In your vimrc file you can specify to automatically use the system clipboard for copy and paste.

On macOS and Windows set:

set clipboard=unnamed

On Linux set (vim 7.3.74+):

set clipboard=unnamedplus

NOTE: You may need to use an up to date version of Vim for these to work.

http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Accessing_the_system_clipboard

Answer 4

Use the register "+ to copy to the system clipboard (i.e. "+y instead of y).

Likewise you can paste from "+ to get text from the system clipboard (i.e. "+p instead of p).

Answer 5

@Jacob Dalton has mentioned this in a comment, but nobody seems to have mentioned in an answer that vim has to be compiled with clipboard support for any of the suggestions mentioned here to work. Mine wasn't configured that way on Mac OS X by default and I had to rebuild vim. Use this the command to find out whether you have it or not vim --version | grep 'clipboard'. +clipboard means you're good and the suggestions here will work for you, while -clipboard means you have to recompile and rebuild vim.

Answer 6

Summing up and make it easier for newbies,

To copy the current line, in command mode type:

"*yy

To copy the whole file/buffer, in command mode, first go to the beginning via gg, then type

"*yG

As noted, this requires +clipboard out of vim --version, which indicate the availability of clipboard support, -clipboard means no.

Answer 7

For Ubuntu - July 2018

Use the register "+ to copy to the system clipboard (i.e. "+y instead of y).

Likewise you can paste from "+ to get text from the system clipboard (i.e. "+p instead of p).

You have to also make sure that vim is compiled with support for the clipboard. Try:

vim --version | grep .xterm_clipboard -o 

and if it's -xterm_clipboard (a minus prefix) then you do not have support.

Here are some instructions for swapping out with a working version of vim that has clipboard support.

$ sudo apt-get purge vim 
$ sudo apt-get autoremove (removes any extraneous vim dependency packages from system) 
$ sudo apt-get install vim-gnome (or `sudo apt-get install vim-gtk3` for newer Ubuntu versions) 

Check again with vim --version | grep .xterm_clipboard -o and you can confirm the clipboard is now available (ie. +xterm_clipboard)

Answer 8

If you are using vim in and old version of macOS, unfortunately the shipped version of vim may and not be compiled with clipboard options. Luckily, homebrew can easily solve this problem.

• Install vim:

  brew install vim
  

• Install gui verion of vim:

  brew install macvim
  

• Restart the terminal to take effect.

• Append the following line to ~/.vimrc

  set clipboard=unnamed
  

• Now you can copy the line in vim with yy and paste it system-wide.

Updated Method:

I was never satisfied with set clipboard method for years. The biggest drawback is it will mess up your clipboard history, even when you use x for deletion. Here is a better and more elegant solution.

1. Copy the text [range] of vim into the system clipboard. (Hint: use v or V to select the range first, and then type the colon : to activate the Ex command):

   :[line-range]yank +
   

   E.g., to copy/yank lines 5-10 to the system clipboard * register use:

   :5,10y * 
   

2. Paste the content from the system clipboard into vim on a new line:

   :put +
   

Note:

1. If you select a word range, the above will not work. use "*y or "+y to save this visual block to clipboard. However this is hard to type, I am still thinking about alternatives.
2. :help "* or :help *+ for more informations
3. brew info vim will be able to see other options for installing vim. Currently it does not have any other options.

Answer 9

I wasn't able to copy to my clipboard's system because I had this in my ~/.vimrc file:

 if has('mouse')
   set mouse=a
 endif

But if you add this line next, it will allow you to simply Ctrl+c to get whatever you have selected into your clipboard.

vmap <C-c> "+y

Original discussion and more details: Copy text out of vim with set mouse=a enabled

Answer 10

This answer contains details specific to macOS users.

Append the following line to ~/.vimrc:

set clipboard=unnamed

If this does not work, check if your installed version maybe has the clipboard feature not enabled. When this answer was written (2019), the default vim shipped with macOS did not come with clipboard option enabled. You need that option to access the system clipboard.

To check if your vim has that option enabled use the below command

vim --version | grep clipboard

In the result, you should have +clipboard. If it is -clipboard, then your VIM does NOT have the option to access the system clipboard.

You need to MAKE and install your VIM with the option you need. Following are the commands.

# Create the directories you need
$ sudo mkdir -p /opt/local/bin
# Download, compile, and install the latest Vim
$ cd ~
$ git clone https://github.com/vim/vim.git
$ cd vim
$ ./configure --prefix=/opt/local
$ make
$ sudo make install
# Add the binary to your path, ahead of /usr/bin
$ echo 'PATH=/opt/local/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.bash_profile
# Reload bash_profile so the changes take effect in this window
$ source ~/.bash_profile"

The above will install the latest VIM with the option +clipboard enabled.

Now you can yank text to system clipboard. Below steps explains how to yank.

1. In vim command mode press v, this will switch you to VISUAL mode.
2. Move the cursor around to select the text or lines you need to copy.
3. Press y, this will copy the selected text to clipboard.
4. Go to any external application and CMD + v to paste.

I use MACBook Pro with macOS Mojave and the above works in it.

Answer 11

In vim under ubuntu terminal only,

press shift + drag mouse to select a text in vim then ctrl + shift + c on the terminal

then ctrl + v on other editor

Answer 12

This question already has a lot of answers. I am adding my way which I think is quick.

Quickly, you can press V (Shift + v) to active visual mode. In visible mode, you can use j and k to select the text you want to copy. After selection, use

"*y

Now, selected text is copied to clipboard.

Answer 13

the solution for me was to install additional vim that has the clipboard option included: 

sudo apt-get install vim-gnome

Answer 14

Keybindings to make it easier

I have been using these for many years now:

nnoremap Y "+y
vnoremap Y "+y
nnoremap yY ^"+y$

You can now just use upper case Y to copy to clipboard, and lowercase y won't be affected e.g. as by set clipboard=unnamed so you can still choose if the copy will go to the clipboard or not.

Tested on ubuntu 21.04, vim 8.2.

Answer 15

You can find the answers here Arch Wiki

For Linux: First of all you have to enable Clipboard in your vim version by installing gvim.

---

Next you have to put this line on your .vimrc file.

set clipboard=unnamedplus

Answer 16

If you are using GVim, you can also set guioptions+=a. This will trigger automatic copy to clipboard of text that you highlight in visual mode.
Drawback: Note that advanced clipboard managers (with history) will in this case get all your selection history…

Answer 17

If your vim happens to be compiled without +xterm_clipboard option like it is by default in Debian and I guess Ubuntu, you can pipe selection or entire buffer to external program that handles desktop clipboard. For xclip (which you may need to install previously), the command will be :w !xclip -sel clip

Answer 18

If you have xclip an easy way of copying text to the clipboard is as follows:

1. Yank text you want to copy. (y command in vanilla vim)
2. Type in :call system("xclip -selection clipboard", @")

:call system() runs a terminal command. It takes two arguments, the first the command, the second what to pipe to that command. For example :echom system("head -1", "Hello\nWorld") returns Hello (With some padding). echom returns the output of a command, call doesn't.

xclip -selection clipboard just copies text into the system clipboard as opposed to the default X clipboard, (Accessed by the middle moue button).

@" returns the last yanked text. " is the default register, but you could use any register. To see the contents of all registers, type :registers.

Answer 19

I've been struggling with this for months till now on MacOsX using keyboard shortcuts. I know question isn't about using keyboard shorts. But this might help someone with the same concern.

I found that if you uncheck:

View -> Allow Mouse Reporting

from Terminal menu, you'll be able to copy to clipboard using

command + c

again.

Answer 20

I'm a Vim newby but, to copy all the text to system clipboard (e.g if you want to paste it to a word processor or another text editor like gedit, mousepad etc...), in normal mode:

ggVGy

or, more simply:

:%y

As suggested, I also installed vim-gtk and put

set clipboard=unnamedplus

in my .vimrc

and everything works fine

If you want to copy only a portion of text, use visual mode (v), select the text you want to copy and press y.

Finally, I suggest a clipboard program like Clipman (my favorite), Clipit, Parcellite or similar.

(I'm using vim 8.0 in Debian Stretch Xfce)

FORGIVE ME FOR MY ENGLISH! :-)

Answer 21

1. Put set clipboard=unnamed in your vimrc.
2. Select what you want to copy in Visual mode (Press v to enter).
3. Back to Normal mode (Press escape[esc]), press y to copy.
4. If you want to paste something from OS's clipboard, press p/P in Vim Normal mode.

Answer 22

My solution was putting the following line to .vimrc:

map <C-y> :w !xclip -sel c <CR><CR>

The script copies the selected line (trough visual mode) or the file content (if none is selected) to the clipboard using Ctrl + y. I'm using Manjaro Linux if that matters.

Answer 23

Maybe someone will find it useful. I wanted to stay independent from X clipboard, and still be able to copy and paste some text between two running vims. This little code save the selected text in temp.txt file for copying. Put the code below into your .vimrc. Use CTRL-c CTRL-v to do the job.

vnoremap :w !cp /dev/null ~/temp.txt && cat > ~/temp.txt

noremap :r !cat ~/temp.txt

Answer 24

I'm on mac osx (10.15.3) and new to vim. I found this so frustrating and all the answers on here too complicated and/or didn't apply to my situation. I ended up getting this working in 2 ways:

1. key mapping that uses pbcopy: works on the old version of vim that ships with mac.

   Add vmap '' :w !pbcopy<CR><CR> to your ~/.vimrc
   Now you can visually select and hit '' (two apostrophes) to copy to clipboard

2. Install newer version of vim so I can access the solution most recommended in other answers:

   brew install vim
alias vim=/usr/local/bin/vim (should add this to your ~/.bashrc or equivalent)
   Now you can visually select and hit "+yy to copy to clipboard

Answer 25

In case you don't want to use any graphical interface for vim and you prefer to just stick with terminal emulator there may be a much simpler approach to this problem. Instead of using yank or anything like this, first take a look at documentation of terminal you use. I've been struggling with the same issue (trying to use +clipboard and xclip and so on) and in the end it turned out that in my terminal emulator it's enough to just press shift and select any text you want to copy. That's it. Quite simple and no need for messing with configuration. (I use urxvt by the way).

Answer 26

I had issue because my vim was not supporting clipboard:

vim --version | grep clip
-clipboard       +insert_expand   +path_extra      +user_commands
+emacs_tags      -mouseshape      +startuptime     -xterm_clipboard

I installed vim-gnome (which support clipboard) and then checked again:

vim --version | grep clipboard
+clipboard       +insert_expand   +path_extra      +user_commands
+emacs_tags      +mouseshape      +startuptime     +xterm_clipboard

Now I am able to copy and paste using "+y and "+p respectively.

Answer 27

I wrote a simple line in my .vimrc to get copy working. Hope this helps someone. My vim is not installed with Clipboard support, unfortunately, so none of these suggestions worked for me. Basically, paste this line in your .vimrc:

map <C-c> y:e ~/clipsongzboard<CR>P:w !pbcopy<CR><CR>:bdelete!<CR>

If you'd like to read details about what this does, you can read about this on my blog

Answer 28

For some international keyboards, you may need to press "+Space to get a ".

So in those case you would have to press "Space+y or "Space*y

Answer 29

Besides vim-gnome, "+y is also supported by default in neovim on Ubuntu 20.04.

If you don't want to install a new program, you could always do the lazy method of cat file.txt or gedit file.txt and copy from there.

Answer 30

for OSX, like the 10342 answers above made clear, you need to make sure that vim supports the clipboard feature, said the the one that comes pre-shipped with OSX does NOT support clipboard, and that if you run brew install vim it would work.

Except that running vi will still make you run the preshipped OSX version, not the one you installed from brew.

to get over this, I simply aliased my vim command to the brew version, not the OSX default one:

alias vim="/usr/local/Cellar/vim/8.0.1100_1/bin/vim"

and now i'm golden

Answer 31

In my instance selecting text by highlighting (clicking and dragging) with my mouse was causing vim to enter into visual mode.

On a mac anyway, the easiest solution is to use fn + mouse click and drag to avoid entering into visual mode.

If you wish to avoid this behavior by default you can edit your vimrc

Answer 32

I have struggled a lot in copying to clipboard. Inside Vim it is quite simple using visual mode but if you want to copy to the clipboard things are quite messsed. I have simple method of copying using xclip utility. For this you must have to install xclip first.

for the whole file it is very simple

xclip -sel clip filename

but if you want to copy only a particular range of line numbers
tail -n +[n1] filename | head -n [n2] | xclip -sel clip

you can make use of ~/.bashrc to simplify this

#rangecp copy lines from n1 to n2 from a given file to clipboard
function rangecp()
{
    if [ -f $1 ]
    then
        if [ ! -z $3 ]
        then
            diff=$(($3 - $2 + 1))
            #diff=`expr $3 - $2 + 1`
            tail -n +$2  $1 | head -n $diff | xclip -sel clip
        elif [ ! -z $2 ]
        then
            tail -n +$2  $1 | xclip -sel clip
        else
            echo "Provide a range from [n1] lines to [n2] lines"
        fi
    else
        echo "[ $1 ] file doesn't exist"
    fi
}

then

source ~/.bashrc
How to use

rangecp filename.txt 50 89
rangecp filename.txt 50

Answer 33

I saw many answers on this question and the way to make this work was a combination of many.

The steps I followed to make vim copy to system clipboard are

1. Uninstall vim using sudo apt remove vim. (I was too lazy to find how to re-compile it with the +clipboard support.
2. Install a different vim package called vim-athena using sudo apt install vim-athena that ships with +clipboard.
3. Add to ~/.vimrc the following line: set clipboard=unnamedplus.
4. Source the file by entering command mode and typing source %.
5. Save and exit.

Note: I am using Ubuntu 20.04.

Answer 34

selecting with the the help of the mouse and right-click copy worked in my case.

I didn't want the line numbers included so I :set nonumber before copying.

Answer 35

Nothing above worked for me on my windows laptop.

Ctrl+C was fine for copying.. but I needed Shift+Insert to Paste !

(A good reason to always get a laptop where Insert can always be accessed without pressing a secondary key)

Answer 36

In linux with gnome (ubuntu, xubuntu etc) install vim-gnome and you will be able to use VISUAL to select and then Ctrl + C normally and paste in other applications with Ctrl + V

sudo apt install vim-gnome

Answer 37

For Mac OS X, in the terminal:

• run vim --version | grep clipboard to check if the clipboard is enabled(with +)

• add the code below into the .vimrc file

if has("clipboard")
  set clipboard=unnamed " copy to the system clipboard

  if has("unnamedplus") " X11 support
    set clipboard+=unnamedplus
  endif
endif

• restart terminal & vim

reference: Setting up Vim to yank to clipboard on Mac OS X

Answer 38

if you connect to the unix system thru putty then follow the steps below to copy content of a file

• Highlight text you want to copy ( you'll be able to copy page by page )
• press ctrl+c ( it'll copy the text to clipboard
• paste in any external editor Done

Answer 39

I want to supplement a way to copy the line to the clipboard and use it on the function.

here is an example that you open the URL in the browser

let g:chrome_exe = 'C:/.../Google/Chrome/Application/chrome.exe'
function OpenURL()
    " copy the line and put it in the register *
    normal "*yy
    :execute "silent !start ".g:chrome_exe." ".getreg("*")
endfunction

map ,url :call OpenURL()<CR>

Answer 40

Shift+Ctrl+C if you are in graphical mode of Linux, but first you need to select what you need to copy.