Cmd+V screenshots from your Mac clipboard into VS Code remote terminals. The image is saved to the remote host and the file path is typed into the terminal — ready for Claude Code or any other tool.
How it works
While connected to a remote host via Remote-SSH, with a workspace folder open:
You take a screenshot on your Mac (Cmd+Ctrl+Shift+4)
You Cmd+V in a remote terminal in VS Code
The extension saves the PNG to .vscode-screenshots/ in the workspace on the remote host
The file path is typed into the terminal (without pressing Enter)
If the clipboard has text instead of an image, normal paste happens — no interference
The extension only activates when all three conditions are met: remote SSH session + terminal focused + image on clipboard. Otherwise it's invisible.
Perfect for Claude Code running on remote VMs — paste a screenshot and the path is ready for your prompt.
VS Code Remote-SSH — the extension runs locally on your Mac and writes files to the remote via workspace.fs
An open workspace folder on the remote host
Features
Transparent Cmd+V — no new shortcuts to learn, just paste as normal
Remote-first — files are saved on the remote host, not locally
Auto git exclusion — .vscode-screenshots/ is added to .gitignore automatically
Auto cleanup — screenshots older than 30 days are deleted (configurable)
Non-intrusive — only activates in remote SSH terminals with an image on the clipboard. Local terminals, text paste, and non-remote sessions are completely unaffected
Zero config — works out of the box, settings are optional
Settings
Setting
Default
Description
terminalScreenshotPaste.screenshotDir
.vscode-screenshots
Directory name in the workspace root for saving screenshots
terminalScreenshotPaste.retentionDays
30
Delete screenshots older than this many days. Set to 0 to keep forever.
Troubleshooting
If pasting doesn't work, check the output log: View → Output → select SSH Screenshot Paste from the dropdown.
Common issues:
"pngpaste is not installed" — run brew install pngpaste on your Mac
"No workspace folder open" — open a folder on the remote host (File → Open Folder)
Normal paste happens instead of screenshot — make sure you copied to clipboard with Cmd+Ctrl+Shift+4 (not just Cmd+Shift+4, which saves to a file)
