Clipboard

Clipboard (Copy & Paste in Linux)

Copy and paste may feel surprisingly confusing at first on Linux, especially if you are coming from macOS or Windows, where the same shortcuts work everywhere.

On Linux, the confusion mainly comes from the terminal.

Why Ctrl + C / Ctrl + V Don’t Work in the Terminal

In graphical apps (like browsers or editors), copy and paste work normally:

Copy: Ctrl + C
Paste: Ctrl + V

But in the terminal, these keys already have special meanings:

Ctrl + C → Stops (kills) a running command
Ctrl + V → Inserts a control character

So Linux uses different shortcuts inside the terminal.

Terminal Copy & Paste Shortcuts

Inside the terminal, use:

Copy: Shift + Ctrl + C
Paste: Shift + Ctrl + V

If you accidentally press Ctrl + V, you may see a strange character appear. Just delete it and use the correct paste shortcut.

💡 Tip: This takes some time to build muscle memory — everyone struggles with it at first.

Copying Text with the Mouse (Terminal & Zellij)

When using terminal tools like Zellij, copying with the mouse has extra rules:

Hold Shift
Select text with the mouse
Press Shift + Ctrl + C to copy

Without holding Shift, your mouse selection may not work correctly.

⚠️ Note: Mouse selection can feel a bit finicky at first, especially with exact positioning — this is normal. You’ll get used to it quickly.

Clipboard Extension (Visual Clipboard History)

Codekub also includes a clipboard extension in the bottom bar.

This allows you to:

See everything you’ve copied recently
Quickly reuse previous text
Avoid losing important copied commands or code

It’s extremely useful when:

Copying multiple commands
Switching between documentation and terminal
Learning Linux and experimenting

Think of it as a clipboard history manager that makes learning much easier.