Web/API/Clipboard

The Clipboard interface implements the Clipboard API, providing—if the user grants permission—both read and write access to the contents of the system clipboard. The Clipboard API can be used to implement cut, copy, and paste features within a web application.

The system clipboard is exposed through the global Navigator.clipboard property.

Calls to the methods of the Clipboard object will not succeed if the user hasn't granted the needed permissions using the Permissions API and the "clipboard-read" or "clipboard-write" permission as appropriate.

Note: In reality, at this time browser requirements for access to the clipboard vary significantly. Please see the section Clipboard availability for details.

All of the Clipboard API methods operate asynchronously; they return a Promise which is resolved once the clipboard access has been completed. The promise is rejected if clipboard access is denied.

The clipboard is a data buffer that is used for short-term, data storage and/or data transfers, this can be between documents or applications It is usually implemented as an anonymous, temporary data buffer, sometimes called the paste buffer, that can be accessed from most or all programs within the environment via defined programming interfaces.

A typical application accesses clipboard functionality by mapping user input such as keybindings, menu selections, etc. to these interfaces.

Methods

Clipboard is based on the EventTarget interface, and includes its methods.

read(): Requests arbitrary data (such as images) from the clipboard, returning a Promise. When the data has been retrieved, the promise is resolved with a DataTransfer object that provides the data.
readText(): Requests text from the system clipboard; returns a Promise which is resolved with a DOMString containing the clipboard's text once it's available.
write(): Writes arbitrary data to the system clipboard. This asynchronous operation signals that it's finished by resolving the returned Promise.
writeText(): Writes text to the system clipboard, returning a Promise which is resolved once the text is fully copied into the clipboard.

Clipboard availability

The asynchronous clipboard API is a relatively recent addition, and the process of implementing it in browsers is not yet complete. Due to both potential security concerns and technical complexities, the process of integrating this API is happening gradually in most browsers.

For example, Firefox does not yet support the "clipboard-read" and "clipboard-write" permissions, so access to the methods that access and change the contents of the clipboard are restricted in other ways.

For WebExtensions, you can request the clipboardRead and clipboardWrite permissions to be able to use clipboard.readText() and clipboard.writeText(). Content scripts applied on HTTP sites do not have access to the clipboard object. See extensions in Firefox 63.

In addition, read() and write() are disabled by default and require changing a preference to enable them. Check the compatibility tables for each method before using it.

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
Clipboard API and eventsThe definition of 'Clipboard' in that specification.	Working Draft	Initial definition.

Browser compatibility

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet
`Clipboard`	Chrome Full support 66	Edge Full support 79	Firefox Full support 63	IE No support No	Opera Full support 53	Safari Full support 13.1	WebView Android Full support 66	Chrome Android Full support 66	Firefox Android Full support 63	Opera Android Full support 47	Safari iOS Full support 13.4	Samsung Internet Android Full support 9.0
`read`	Chrome Partial support 76 Notes' Partial support 76 Notes' Notes' From version 76, the `image/png` MIME type is supported. Partial support 66 Notes' Notes' Images are not supported.	Edge Full support 79	Firefox Full support 63 Notes' Disabled' Full support 63 Notes' Disabled' Notes' Currently works just like `readText()`; non-text content is not currently supported. Disabled' From version 63: this feature is behind the `dom.events.asyncClipboard.dataTransfer` preference (needs to be set to `true`). To change preferences in Firefox, visit about:config.	IE No support No	Opera Full support 63	Safari Full support 13.1	WebView Android Partial support 84 Notes' Partial support 84 Notes' Notes' From version 84, the `image/png` MIME type is supported. Partial support 66 Notes' Notes' Images are not supported.	Chrome Android Partial support 84 Notes' Partial support 84 Notes' Notes' From version 84, the `image/png` MIME type is supported. Partial support 66 Notes' Notes' Images are not supported.	Firefox Android Full support 63 Notes' Disabled' Full support 63 Notes' Disabled' Notes' Currently works just like `readText()`; non-text content is not currently supported. Disabled' From version 63: this feature is behind the `dom.events.asyncClipboard.dataTransfer` preference (needs to be set to `true`). To change preferences in Firefox, visit about:config.	Opera Android Full support 54	Safari iOS Full support 13.4	Samsung Internet Android Full support 12.0
`readText`	Chrome Full support 66	Edge Full support 79	Firefox Full support 63 Notes' Full support 63 Notes' Notes' Firefox only supports reading the clipboard in browser extensions, using the `"clipboardRead"` extension permission.	IE No support No	Opera Full support 53	Safari Full support 13.1	WebView Android Full support 66	Chrome Android Full support 66	Firefox Android Full support 63 Notes' Full support 63 Notes' Notes' Firefox only supports reading the clipboard in browser extensions, using the `"clipboardRead"` extension permission.	Opera Android Full support 47	Safari iOS Full support 13.4	Samsung Internet Android Full support 9.0
`write`	Chrome Full support 66 Notes' Full support 66 Notes' Notes' From version 76, the `image/png` MIME type is supported.	Edge Full support 79	Firefox Full support 63 Notes' Disabled' Full support 63 Notes' Disabled' Notes' Currently works exactly like `writeText()`, including the availability limitations currently imposed by Firefox. Disabled' From version 63: this feature is behind the `dom.events.asyncClipboard.dataTransfer` preference (needs to be set to `true`). To change preferences in Firefox, visit about:config.	IE No support No	Opera Full support 63	Safari Full support 13.1	WebView Android Full support 66 Notes' Full support 66 Notes' Notes' From version 84, the `image/png` MIME type is supported.	Chrome Android Full support 66 Notes' Full support 66 Notes' Notes' From version 84, the `image/png` MIME type is supported.	Firefox Android Full support 63 Notes' Disabled' Full support 63 Notes' Disabled' Notes' Currently works exactly like `writeText()`, including the availability limitations currently imposed by Firefox. Disabled' From version 63: this feature is behind the `dom.events.asyncClipboard.dataTransfer` preference (needs to be set to `true`). To change preferences in Firefox, visit about:config.	Opera Android Full support 54	Safari iOS Full support 13.4	Samsung Internet Android Full support 12.0
`writeText`	Chrome Full support 66	Edge Full support 79	Firefox Full support 63 Notes' Full support 63 Notes' Notes' Writing to the clipboard is available without permission in secure contexts and browser extensions, but only from user-initiated event callbacks. Browser extensions with the `"clipboardWrite"` permission can write to the clipboard at any time.	IE No support No	Opera Full support 53	Safari Full support 13.1	WebView Android Full support 66	Chrome Android Full support 66	Firefox Android Full support 63 Notes' Full support 63 Notes' Notes' Writing to the clipboard is available without permission in secure contexts and browser extensions, but only from user-initiated event callbacks. Browser extensions with the `"clipboardWrite"` permission can write to the clipboard at any time.	Opera Android Full support 47	Safari iOS Full support 13.4	Samsung Internet Android Full support 9.0

Legend

Full support: Full support
Partial support: Partial support
No support: No support
See implementation notes.': See implementation notes.
User must explicitly enable this feature.': User must explicitly enable this feature.