Copy a file.

$ cb copy FooFile
$ cb --copy FooFile
$ cb cp FooFile 
$ cb --cp FooFile
# These are the same!

Copy a file and a directory.

$ cb copy FooFile BarDir
# These are also the same!

Copy piped in data.

$ echo "Foobar" | cb
$ echo "Foobar" | cb copy 
# The "copy" action is optional here since the only possible action here in the first place is "copy"

Copy text directly.

$ cb copy "Aventura was the best bachata band"

Note: This happens instead of copying a file/directory if there is only one item present and that item doesn't exist as a file/directory.

Copy a file to the clipboard named "4"

$ cb copy4 FooFile

Copy piped in data to the persistent clipboard named "hello"

$ echo "Foobar" | cb copy_hello

Copy text to the clipboard named "hey"

$ cb --clipboard hey copy "Aventura was the best bachata band"
$ cb -c hey copy "Aventura was the best bachata band" 
# These are the same!

Copy a file with spaces and many directories to clipboard "50" using the abbreviated action name.

$ cb cp50 "Aventura/God's Project/04 Un Chi Chi.flac" BarDir BazDir

Cut a file.

$ cb cut FooFile
$ cb --cut FooFile
$ cb ct FooFile 
$ cb --ct FooFile
# These are the same!

Cut a file and a directory.

$ cb cut FooFile BarDir
# These are also the same!

Cut piped in data.

$ echo "Foobar" | cb cut

Note: Cutting piped in data is the same as copying, except that CB will delete all content after you paste it somewhere.

Cut text directly.

$ cb cut "Hunter2"

Note: This happens instead of cutting a file/directory if there is only one item present and that item doesn't exist as a file/directory.

Cut a file to the clipboard named "4"

$ cb cut4 FooFile

Cut piped in data to the persistent clipboard named "hello"

$ echo "Foobar" | cb cut_hello

Cut text to the clipboard named "hey"

$ cb --clipboard hey cut "Aventura was the best bachata band"
$ cb -c hey cut "Aventura was the best bachata band"
# These are the same!

Cut a file with spaces and many directories to clipboard "50" using the abbreviated action name.

$ cb ct50 "Aventura/God's Project/04 Un Chi Chi.flac" BarDir BazDir

Start by copying or cutting something.

$ cb copy FooFile WhyAventuraIsTheBest.pdf

Paste in the current working directory.

$ cb paste
$ cb --paste
$ cb p
$ cb --p
# These are the same!

Note: If you paste after cutting, then CB will delete the original files that you cut.

Paste anything containing "Aventura."

$ cb p ".*Aventura.*"

Now, let's copy some raw data.

$ echo "Bananas!" | cb

Paste the raw data file in the current working directory.

$ cb paste
# Also the same

Pipe everything out to some file.

$ cb paste > SomeFile

Pipe everything from clipboard "42" out to some file.

$ cb paste42 > SomeFile
$ cb p42 > SomeFile
$ cb -c 42 > SomeFile 
# These three versions all work great!

Pipe everything out to some program.

$ cb | cat
# These three versions also all work great.
$ cb | Write-Output 
# The version for PowerShell

Pipe everything from persistent clipboard "2" out to some program.

$ cb paste_2 | cat
$ cb p_2 | cat
$ cb -c _2 | cat 
# These three versions also all work great.
$ cb -c _2 | Write-Output 
# The version for PowerShell

Note: If you paste after cutting, then CB will delete the raw data afterwards, effectively only letting you paste once.

Start by copying something.

$ cb copy FooFile

Add a file.

$ cb add SomeOtherFile
$ cb --add SomeOtherFile
$ cb ad SomeOtherFile 
$ cb --ad SomeOtherFile
# CB now holds FooFile and SomeOtherFile

Add a directory.

$ cb add "We Broke The Rules"

Now let's copy some raw data.

$ cb copy "'Let me find that'"

Add raw data to the end of what's stored.

$ cb add " is one of Romeo Santos' catchphrases."
# The content is now: 'Let me find that' is one of Romeo Santos' catchphrases.

Add raw data by piping it in.

$ echo " What's yours?" | cb add 
# The content is now: 'Let me find that' is one of Romeo Santos' catchphrases. What's yours?

Start by copying something.

$ cb copy FooFile BarDir BazDir

Remove everything starting with "B"

$ cb remove "B.*"
$ cb --remove "B.*"
$ cb rm "B.*"
$ cb --rm "B.*"
# CB will match this against "BarDir" and "BazDir" and remove them

Remove everything matching a specific name

$ cb remove "BarDir"
# CB will match this against "BarDir" only and remove it

Now let's copy some raw data.

$ cb copy "A bachatero is someone who makes bachata music."

Remove anything with a space beforehand and that ends with "-ero"

$ cb remove "(?<= ).*ero"
# The content is now: A  is someone who makes bachata music.

Remove anything matching "music" by piping the pattern in.

$ echo "music" | cb remove
# The content is now: A  is someone who makes bachata .

Start by copying something.

$ cb copy FooFile BarDir BazDir

List all the items in the clipboard.

$ cb show
$ cb --show
$ cb sh 
$ cb --sh
# These all work great!

Now let's copy some raw data.

$ cb copy "Those who are tired of bachata are tired of life"

Show the contents of the clipboard.

$ cb show

Show the raw filepaths of everything in the clipboard.

$ cb sh | cat

Show raw filepaths to a program.

$ cb copy "02 I Believe.flac"
$ eval vlc $(cb sh)
# Use the eval command here to process the raw filepath (which in this case looks like "/tmp/Clipboard/0/02 I Believe.flac") as if it were entered in a shell
# Otherwise, you'll likely get errors complaining about being unable to process quote characters.

Start by copying something.

$ cb copy FooFile BarDir BazDir

Clear the clipboard of all data.

$ cb clear
$ cb --clear
$ cb clr 
$ cb --clr
# These all work great!

Start by copying some text.

$ cb copy "Hello Clipboard! This is just some example content."

Edit the clipboard content.

$ cb edit
$ cb --edit
$ cb ed
$ cb --ed
# These all work great!

Use a custom editor to edit with.

cb edit nano
cb ed vim
cb ed code

Start by copying something.

$ cb copy "Yo dawg! I heard you liked bachata music."

Load the contents of the clipboard into other clipboards.

$ cb load 1 2 3 _foo
$ cb --load 1 2 3 _foo
$ cb ld 1 2 3 _foo
$ cb --ld 1 2 3 _foo
# All work great!

Note: If you don't provide a destination clipboard, then the Load action will load the contents into the default clipboard.

Load the contents of some clipboard into the default.

$ cb load_foo

Note: This is useful if you want to load content into GUI clipboard systems, as they only connect to the default clipboard.

Start by copying something to two clipboards.

$ cb copy "After breaking up from Aventura, Romeo Santos' music just wasn't up to snuff."
$ cb copy2 "I'd just like to interject for a moment. What you're referring to as Linux, is in fact, GNU/Linux, or as I've recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Linux."

Swap the contents of two clipboards.

$ cb swap 2
$ cb --swap 2
$ cb sw 2
$ cb --sw 2
# All work great!

$ cb swap2
$ cb --swap2
$ cb sw2
$ cb --sw2
# Since swapping is commutative, the target can be freely swapped with the destination.

Note: If you don't provide a destination clipboard, then the Swap action will swap the contents into the default clipboard.

Start by exporting a clipboard.

$ cb copy "The reason Aventura was so popular was because the music was so well-written as well as the luscious guitar chorus effect."
$ cb export

Import all clipboards from a folder.

$ cb import
$ cb --import
$ cb imp
$ cb --imp
# These all work great!

Note: Currently, CB imports from a folder called Exported_Clipboards.

Choose what folder to import from.

$ cb import MySavedClipboards

Start by copying something.

$ cb copy "Aventura's music is some of the most erotic you'll find anywhere."

Export all clipboards to a folder.

$ cb export
$ cb --export
$ cb ex
$ cb --ex
# These all work great!

Note: Currently, CB exports to a folder called Exported_Clipboards.

Choose what clipboards to export.

$ cb export 1 2 3

Start by copying several things.

$ cb copy "There are at least two \"Anthony Santos\" who are known for bachata music: the \"regular\" Anthony Santos and Anthony \"Romeo\" Santos."
$ cb copy "blah blah blah"
$ cb copy "Clipboard Project is the best clipboard manager around"

Show the history.

$ cb history
$ cb --history
$ cb hs
$ cb --hs
# These all work great!

Start by copying several things.

$ cb copy "There are at least two \"Anthony Santos\" who are known for bachata music: the \"regular\" Anthony Santos and Anthony \"Romeo\" Santos."
$ cb copy "blah blah blah"
$ cb copy "Clipboard Project is the best clipboard manager around"

Bring an older entry (or entries) to the front.

$ cb history 1
$ cb --history 2
$ cb hs 1
$ cb --hs 1 2
# These all work great!

Add a personal note to a clipboard.

$ cb note "For my Aventura music collection"
$ cb --note "For my Aventura music collection"
$ cb nt "For my Aventura music collection"
$ cb --nt "For my Aventura music collection"
# All work great!

Add a personal note to a clipboard by piping it in.

$ echo "For my Aventura music collection" | cb note

Remove a note from a clipboard.

$ cb note ""

Start by adding a note to a clipboard.

$ cb note "For my Aventura music collection"

Show the note you added.

$ cb note
$ cb --note
$ cb nt
$ cb --nt

Set some kinds of content to always ignore.

$ cb ignore "(?<![A-Za-z0-9/+=])[A-Za-z0-9/+=]{40}(?![A-Za-z0-9/+=])"
$ cb --ignore "(?<![A-Za-z0-9/+=])[A-Za-z0-9/+=]{40}(?![A-Za-z0-9/+=])"
$ cb ig "(?<![A-Za-z0-9/+=])[A-Za-z0-9/+=]{40}(?![A-Za-z0-9/+=])"
$ cb --ig "(?<![A-Za-z0-9/+=])[A-Za-z0-9/+=]{40}(?![A-Za-z0-9/+=])"
# All work great!
# "(?<![A-Za-z0-9/+=])[A-Za-z0-9/+=]{40}(?![A-Za-z0-9/+=])" is the regex for an AWS SK secret.

Set an ignore regex rule by piping it in.

$ echo "[abc]{10}" | cb ignore

Remove all ignore regex rules from a clipboard.

$ cb ignore ""

Start by adding some ignore regex rules to a clipboard.

$ cb ignore "Foo" "Bar" "Baz"

Show the rules you just added.

$ cb ignore
$ cb --ignore
$ cb ig
$ cb --ig

Show helpful details for a clipboard.

$ cb info
$ cb --info
$ cb in
$ cb --in
# All are the same!

Output these helpful details in JSON format.

$ cb info | cat
$ cb info | jq

Start by copying several things.

$ cb copy Foo Bar Baz
$ cb copy "Some example content"
$ cb copy2 "Blah bleh bluh bloh"

Search a clipboard's contents.

$ cb search Foo
$ cb --search Blah
$ cb sr Bar
$ cb --sr Baz
# All are the same!

Show the help message.

$ cb help
$ cb --help
$ cb -h 
# These three versions all work great!

Check the status of all clipboards that have content.

$ cb status
$ cb --status
$ cb st
$ cb --st
$ cb 
# These all work great!

Get the status of all clipboards in JSON format.

$ cb status | cat

Check your configuration of CB.

$ cb config
$ cb --config
$ cb cfg
$ cb --cfg
# These all work great!

Start from a blank slate.

$ cb --all clear

WARNING! This will get rid of everything you've stored with CB, so be very careful when clearing with this option.

Choose a non-default clipboard.

$ cb -c 5 copy Foobar
$ cb --clipboard 10 copy BarBaz

Copy to a temporary clipboard that doesn't start with a number.

$ cb -c SomeCB copy "A really really long sentence, and I mean really realy super DUPER long!"

Note: Although copying to a temporary clipboard that doesn't start with a number is impossible using the conventional method of adding it to the end of the action, this alternative method is completely supported and works great.

Choose a persistent clipboard.

$ cb -c _ copy "Generation Next"/*

Choose a non-default history entry.

$ cb -e 5 copy Foobar
$ cb --entry 10 copy BarBaz

Note: To copy to a non-default entry, that entry must exist already.

Copy a lot of files in much less time than before.

$ cb --fast-copy copy /usr/bin/*

Save GUI clipboard content of a specific MIME type to the main clipboard.

$ cb --mime text/html | cb

Reduce distractions after showing some text content.

$ cb -nc sh | cat

Reduce distractions while doing a search that takes a while.

$ fzf | cb -np

Make your life less boring.

$ cb --bachata

Use CB in a CI script.

...
cb cp Temp/*
...
cb p
...

Set a custom editor to use.

$ export CLIPBOARD_EDITOR=nano

Note: The environment variables EDITOR and VISUAL by default take precedence if CLIPBOARD_EDITOR isn't set.

CLIPBOARD_HISTORY supports up to 2^32 - 1 as a value. So, go ahead. Crank that b*tch up to a billion.

$ export CLIPBOARD_HISTORY=1000000000
$ cb copy "Oh yeah!"

Only keep a certain amount of data.

$ export CLIPBOARD_HISTORY=100tb
$ cb copy Yo_Mama.tar.gz

Note: You can choose between tb, gb, mb, kb, and b to specify amounts for terabytes, gigabytes, megabytes, kilobytes, and bytes respectively.

Only keep a certain time length.

$ export CLIPBOARD_HISTORY=52w

Note: You can choose between y, m, w, d, and h to specify amounts for years, months, weeks, days, and hours respectively.

Change the locale to match what you're more comfortable with.

$ export CLIPBOARD_LOCALE=es_DO.UTF-8
$ cb cp "Amo a Aventura"

> $Env:CLIPBOARD_LOCALE=es_DO.UTF-8
# Powershell version

Override the locale case-by-case.

$ export CLIPBOARD_LOCALE=fr_CA.UTF-8
...
$ CLIPBOARD_LOCALE="" cb cp Foobar

Choose a special place to put your temporary clipboards this one time.

$ CLIPBOARD_TMPDIR=/home/jackson/SomeDirectory cb copy *

Choose a special place to put your temporary clipboards every time.

$ export CLIPBOARD_TMPDIR=/home/jackson/SomeDirectory
$ cb copy *
> $Env:CLIPBOARD_TMPDIR = /home/jackson/SomeDirectory
# Powershell

Note: By default, CB uses the C++ filesystem library function fs::temp_directory_path() to generate the temporary directory, prioritizing CLIPBOARD_TMPDIR and then XDG_RUNTIME_DIR respectively first if CB can get a value from them.

Choose a special place to put your persistent clipboards this one time.

$ CLIPBOARD_PERSISTDIR=/home/jackson/SomeDirectory cb copy *

Choose a special place to put your persistent clipboards every time.

$ export CLIPBOARD_PERSISTDIR=/home/jackson/SomeDirectory
$ cb copy *
> $Env:CLIPBOARD_PERSISTDIR = /home/jackson/SomeDirectory
# Powershell

Note: By default, CB uses the user's home directory to generate the persistent directory, prioritizing CLIPBOARD_PERSISTDIR and then XDG_STATE_HOME first respectively if CB can get a value from them.

Make everything you copy persistent.

$ export CLIPBOARD_CUSTOMPERSIST=".*"
$ cb copy Foo Bar Baz
# This puts everything in the persistent directory but still with the clipboard name "0"

Make some clipboards persistent.

$ export CLIPBOARD_CUSTOMPERSIST=5
$ cb copy5 Foo Bar Baz

Turn off those sound effects.

$ export CLIPBOARD_NOAUDIO=1
$ cb ffksdjfdj 
# No more error sounds after doing a nonexistent command

Debug a flaky GUI system by disabling its integration with CB.

$ CLIPBOARD_NOGUI=1 cb show
$ export CLIPBOARD_NOGUI=1
$ cb show

Reduce distractions while doing a search that takes a while.

$ fzf | CLIPBOARD_NOPROGRESS=1 cb

Disable progress messages from CB entirely.

$ export CLIPBOARD_NOPROGRESS=1
$ fzf | cb

Disable all clipboard content transfers through the terminal.

$ export CLIPBOARD_NOREMOTE=1

Rest in peace by seeing nothing that isn't an error.

$ export CLIPBOARD_SILENT=1
$ cb cp "I'm running out of Aventura references"

Remind yourself of the terminals of the past.

$ export CLIPBOARD_THEME=green
$ cb cp "I'm in the Matrix now"
$ export CLIPBOARD_THEME=amber
$ cb cp "Yellow terminals feel just like sitting in front of a nice campfire"

Make CB more accessible.

$ export CLIPBOARD_THEME=darkhighcontrast
$ cb show

Override somebody else's choice to disable colors.

$ export NO_COLOR=1
...
$ FORCE_COLOR=1 cb copy "There are almost no bachateros where I live right now"

Note: CB also supports CLICOLOR_FORCE.

Override somebody else's choice to disable colors, but in a different way.

$ export CLICOLOR=0
...
$ CLICOLOR_FORCE=1 cb copy "There are almost no bachateros where I live right now"

Make CB look boring.

$ export NO_COLOR=1
$ cb cp "From the 1960s until the 1990s, bachata was perceived as boring music for poor Dominicans."

Note: CB also supports CLICOLOR.

Make CB look boring, but in a different way.

$ export CLICOLOR=0
$ cb cp "In the 1990s, though, several innovative musicians reinvigorated bachata by using electric guitars with fancy effects."