clipcmd for VS Code

Copy a terminal command's output — or the command and its output together — with one click, right in VS Code's terminal.

A test run in a terminal, followed by the buttons [COPY CMD] [COPY OUTPUT] [COPY BOTH] [+]; a small tag next to the pointer says: Copied command + output

This extension is the VS Code half of clipcmd, the command-line tool that prints these buttons after every command in PowerShell, bash, zsh and fish.

Getting started

Install Node.js 20 or newer, if you do not have it (node -v tells you).
Install the clipcmd CLI. In a terminal (VS Code's is fine):
```
npm install -g clipcmd
```
Set it up for the shell you use in VS Code:
```
clipcmd init
```
Install this extension.
Open a new terminal (Terminal → New Terminal).
Run any command, then hold Ctrl (Cmd on macOS) and click a button under it. A small ✓ Copied confirmation appears; paste anywhere.

The clipcmd daemon starts by itself with your first terminal. clipcmd: Check Daemon (Command Palette) tells you if something is off and offers to start it; clipcmd doctor in a terminal checks the whole setup.

What the extension does

Makes [COPY OUTPUT] and [COPY BOTH] work in VS Code's terminal. A shell hook cannot see what a command printed, but VS Code's shell integration can. The extension reads each command's output — as plain text: colors removed, progress bars at their final state — and hands it to the clipcmd daemon, which attaches it to that command's buttons. Without the extension, VS Code terminals only show [COPY CMD] and [+] (unless you run clipcmd shell in the terminal yourself).

Makes clicks silent. The buttons are clipcmd:// links. The extension adds clipcmd to terminal.integrated.allowedLinkSchemes once, so VS Code does not ask before opening them.

Commands (Command Palette):

clipcmd: Check Daemon — shows whether the clipcmd background daemon is running. When it is not, the notification offers Start Daemon.
clipcmd: Start Daemon — runs clipcmd start. If the CLI is not installed, it tells you how to install it.

Situation	Notification
Daemon running	ℹ️ `clipcmd daemon is running on port 9666 (PID 1234).`
Not started, or stopped with `clipcmd stop`	⚠️ `clipcmd daemon is not running. …` [Start Daemon]
Crashed (stale port file)	⚠️ `clipcmd daemon is not running (PID 1234 from its port file has exited). …` [Start Daemon]
Hung / not answering within 2 s	⚠️ `clipcmd daemon health check timed out on port 9666.`
Another program took over the port	⚠️ `Port 9666 is answering, but not as a clipcmd daemon (HTTP 404). …`

Both commands also return their result, so other extensions can call vscode.commands.executeCommand('clipcmd.checkDaemon').

The extension activates after VS Code has finished starting, so it adds nothing to start-up time, and it never shows a notification on its own.

Settings

Setting	Default	Description
`clipcmd.cliPath`	`""`	Path to the `clipcmd` executable used by Start Daemon; empty uses `clipcmd` from `PATH`. Machine-scoped: a workspace cannot change it.

clipcmd's own settings — the port, how many commands it remembers, the ✓ Copied confirmation, and more — live in ~/.config/clipcmd/config.json; see Configuration.

Troubleshooting

No buttons — open a new terminal after clipcmd init, and check that the daemon runs (clipcmd: Check Daemon). clipcmd doctor finds the rest.
Clicking does nothing — hold Ctrl (Cmd on macOS) while you click.
Only [COPY CMD] and [+] — the extension is not active in this window (run Developer: Reload Window after installing it), or VS Code's shell integration is off: terminal.integrated.shellIntegration.enabled must be true (the default).
VS Code asks whether to open clipcmd links — choose Allow, or reload the window so the extension can allow them.

More in the CLI's troubleshooting guide.

Privacy

Everything stays on your machine. The extension talks only to the clipcmd daemon on 127.0.0.1: every minute it says a VS Code window can deliver output (GET /client?kind=vscode), and when a terminal command finishes it sends that command's output (POST /output). The daemon keeps commands in memory only. No telemetry.

Requirements

VS Code 1.93 or newer (terminal shell integration API), with shell integration enabled (the default).
The clipcmd CLI, set up with clipcmd init.

Contributing

Source, issues and development setup: github.com/Djain912/clipcmd — see CONTRIBUTING.md.

clipcmd — Copy Command Output

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