Clippy – a better pbcopy for macOS that handles files properly
I made clippy because pbcopy can't do something I needed every day: copy files to paste into GUI apps. When you pbcopy < image.png, you get raw bytes instead of a file that Slack or email can use. Clippy fixes this: - clippy report.pdf → ⌘V into any app uploads the file - curl image.png | clippy → pipes become pasteable files - clippy *.jpg → multiple files at once - Text files still work like pbcopy Technical: Direct Objective-C bindings via CGo. Copies file references (like Finder), not contents. Auto-cleans temp files. No AppleScript hacks. Install: brew install…
In plain words
Clippy is a macOS clipboard tool that extends pbcopy to handle files properly. Unlike standard pbcopy, which copies raw bytes, Clippy lets users copy files—single or multiple—and paste them directly into GUI applications like Slack or email. It works with piped input, accepts text files like pbcopy does, and uses direct Objective-C bindings to copy file references rather than contents. The tool automatically cleans up temporary files and installs via Homebrew.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
In the maker’s words, at launch
I made clippy because pbcopy can't do something I needed every day: copy files to paste into GUI apps. When you pbcopy < image.png, you get raw bytes instead of a file that Slack or email can use. Clippy fixes this: - clippy report.pdf → ⌘V into any app uploads the file - curl image.png | clippy → pipes become pasteable files - clippy *.jpg → multiple files at once - Text files still work like pbcopy Technical: Direct Objective-C bindings via CGo. Copies file references (like Finder), not contents. Auto-cleans temp files. No AppleScript hacks. Install: brew install neilberkman/clippy/clippy
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