clipboard-history

name	clipboard-history
description	Read, write, and manage Windows clipboard content including text, HTML, images, and clipboard history via PowerShell
category	windows
version	1.0.0
platform	windows
tags	clipboard, copy, paste, history, windows, powershell, text
license	Apache-2.0

Clipboard History

Read and write Windows clipboard content, access clipboard history (Win+V), and manipulate clipboard data — text, HTML, and file lists — via PowerShell.

When to Use

• User wants to read what's currently on the clipboard
• User asks Aiden to set or overwrite clipboard content
• User wants to pipe command output directly to the clipboard
• User needs to clear the clipboard or check clipboard history
• User wants to copy a file path, URL, or code snippet to clipboard

How to Use

Read current clipboard text

Get-Clipboard

Write text to clipboard

Set-Clipboard -Value "Hello from Aiden!"

Pipe command output to clipboard

Get-Process | Out-String | Set-Clipboard

Copy a file path to clipboard

Set-Clipboard -Value "C:\Users\<you>\Documents\report.pdf"

Clear the clipboard

Set-Clipboard -Value $null

Read clipboard as HTML (if HTML is on clipboard)

Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Windows.Forms
[System.Windows.Forms.Clipboard]::GetText([System.Windows.Forms.TextDataFormat]::Html)

Check if clipboard contains an image

Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Windows.Forms
[System.Windows.Forms.Clipboard]::ContainsImage()

Save clipboard image to file

Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Windows.Forms
$img = [System.Windows.Forms.Clipboard]::GetImage()
if ($img) {
  $img.Save("$env:USERPROFILE\Desktop\clipboard-image.png")
  Write-Host "Saved to Desktop"
} else {
  Write-Host "No image on clipboard"
}

Access clipboard history entries (Win+V API)

# Clipboard history requires Windows 10 1809+ and history enabled in Settings
# Use the ContentDeliveryManager workaround or UWP API via PowerShell
Add-Type -AssemblyName Windows.ApplicationModel
$history = [Windows.ApplicationModel.DataTransfer.Clipboard,Windows.ApplicationModel,ContentType=WindowsRuntime]
# Note: full UWP clipboard history requires a packaged app context
# For CLI use, pipe history via the built-in Win+V UI or a third-party tool
Write-Host "Open Win+V to view clipboard history interactively"

Examples

"Copy the output of dir to clipboard" → Get-ChildItem | Out-String | Set-Clipboard

"Put my public IP address on the clipboard" → (Invoke-RestMethod -Uri 'https://api.ipify.org').Trim() | Set-Clipboard

"Clear whatever is on the clipboard" → Set-Clipboard -Value $null

Cautions

• Set-Clipboard requires PowerShell 5.1+ on Windows; earlier versions use clip.exe as fallback
• Clipboard history (Win+V) requires it to be enabled in Settings → System → Clipboard
• Image and HTML clipboard operations require System.Windows.Forms assembly — only available on Windows
• Clipboard contents are not persisted across reboots unless pinned in the clipboard history UI