How to see clipboard history on Linux (GNOME, KDE and Wayland)
KDE Plasma keeps a clipboard history out of the box. GNOME, and so Ubuntu and Fedora's default desktop, does not, and on Wayland only some tools are allowed to watch the clipboard at all. Here is what works on each.
It depends on your desktop. On KDE Plasma, press Meta+V or click the clipboard icon in the system tray to see the history Plasma keeps. GNOME, the default on Ubuntu and Fedora, has no built-in history: add one with an extension such as Clipboard Indicator. On Sway, Hyprland and other wlroots compositors, run cliphist with wl-clipboard.
How this guide was checked
Klipper's history, search and settings, the Clipboard Indicator extension, wl-paste's watch mode and cliphist were checked against KDE's documentation, GNOME Extensions, the wl-clipboard manual and the cliphist project in October 2026. Clypy's Linux behavior was checked against its source code.
On this page
KDE Plasma: Meta+V or the tray icon
Plasma's clipboard history is built in, run by a component KDE calls Klipper. Click the clipboard icon in the system tray, or press Meta+V (the key with the Windows logo) to open the same list where your pointer is. Type to search it. Hovering over an entry shows actions to edit it, show it as a barcode or remove it, and the icon beside the search field clears the whole history.
- 1Press Meta+V, or click the clipboard icon in the system tray.
- 2Type to filter the list, then click an entry to make it the current clipboard.
- 3Paste it with Ctrl+V as usual.
- 4To change what is kept, right-click the tray icon and choose Configure Clipboard.
On some Plasma versions Meta+V only works while the clipboard is shown in the system tray. If the shortcut does nothing, check the tray first.
What Plasma keeps
In Configure Clipboard you can set the history size anywhere from 1 to 2,048 entries, and choose whether it survives logging out with Save history across desktop sessions. What you copy is always saved. Text you only highlight is added too if you tick Text selected with the pointer or keyboard, and images copied as data if you tick Image data copied explicitly. Files copied in a file manager are kept as file names, not copies of the files.
GNOME and Ubuntu: add an extension
GNOME ships without a clipboard history. On Wayland, its compositor also lacks the protocol that clipboard tools use on other desktops, so ordinary apps cannot see each copy in the background. That is why the clipboard managers GNOME users rely on are Shell extensions, which run inside GNOME itself. Clipboard Indicator is the most popular, with over two million downloads.
- 1Install Clipboard Indicator from extensions.gnome.org, or search for it in the Extension Manager app.
- 2Click its icon in the top bar to see your recent copies.
- 3Click one to make it the current clipboard, then paste with Ctrl+V.
Extensions are written for specific GNOME versions, and a major GNOME upgrade can switch one off until its author catches up. Clipboard Indicator currently lists GNOME 46 to 50.
Sway, Hyprland and other wlroots compositors
Compositors built on wlroots support the data-control protocol, which lets a background tool see each copy. The usual setup is cliphist, which stores text and images, with wl-clipboard doing the watching and copying. You start the watcher once per session and bind a key to a picker.
- 1Install wl-clipboard, and cliphist from your distribution's packages or with Go.
- 2Add wl-paste --watch cliphist store to your compositor's startup commands.
- 3Bind a key to cliphist list | dmenu | cliphist decode | wl-copy, replacing dmenu with rofi, wofi, fuzzel or whichever picker you use.
- 4Press that key, choose an entry, and paste it with Ctrl+V.
X11, Wayland and the two clipboards
Linux has two clipboards. CLIPBOARD is the one Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V use. PRIMARY holds whatever you last highlighted, and a middle click pastes it. History tools record CLIPBOARD and include PRIMARY only if they offer it as an option. Which tools can watch the clipboard at all depends on your session. On Xorg, any app can. On Wayland, the compositor decides: KDE and wlroots compositors offer the data-control protocol, while on GNOME only Shell extensions, and apps reading through the X11 compatibility layer, XWayland, see each copy.
To check which session you are in, run echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE in a terminal. It prints x11 or wayland.
A history that searches and syncs, with Clypy
Clypy runs on Linux as a .deb for Ubuntu and Debian, an .rpm for Fedora and RHEL, and an AppImage for other x64 distributions. It keeps unlimited history for free with no account, searches it by meaning, and reads the text in screenshots. It saves each copy on Xorg and on GNOME's Wayland session, where it reads the clipboard through XWayland, and it records CLIPBOARD, not the middle-click selection. Clypy Pro adds the Paste Strip, which opens over any app with Ctrl + Alt + V, and end-to-end encrypted sync with macOS, Windows, iOS and Android.
- 1Download the .deb, .rpm or AppImage from clypy.app/download and install it.
- 2Open Settings, General, Linux integration. It lists what your session allows, including clipboard monitoring, global shortcuts and automatic paste, and how Clypy works around anything that is blocked.
- 3On GNOME before version 48, which includes Ubuntu 22.04 and 24.04, open Settings, Shortcuts and choose Add to GNOME, so a GNOME keyboard shortcut can open the strip.
- 4On Wayland, choosing a clip copies it and Clypy shows Copied. Press Ctrl+V to paste, because Wayland does not let one app type into another.
On other Wayland desktops, check the Linux integration panel before relying on capture, since what Clypy can do depends on what the compositor allows. Revealing a concealed clip asks for your password through polkit with the .deb and .rpm. The AppImage cannot install that policy, so concealed clips stay hidden there.
Common questions
What is the clipboard history shortcut on Linux?
On KDE Plasma it is Meta+V. GNOME has none until you install an extension, which adds an icon to the top bar and lets you set shortcuts. On wlroots compositors such as Sway and Hyprland you bind your own key to a tool like cliphist.
Does Ubuntu have a clipboard history?
Not by default. Ubuntu's desktop is GNOME, which has no built-in history. Add the Clipboard Indicator extension, or install a clipboard manager.
Why don't clipboard managers work on Wayland?
Wayland stops apps reading the clipboard in the background unless the compositor provides a way to. KDE Plasma and wlroots compositors provide the data-control protocol. GNOME does not, so on GNOME you need an extension or a tool that reads through XWayland.
Why does what I copied disappear when I close the app?
On Linux the app you copied from usually holds the data until something pastes it. Close that app and the copy can go with it, unless a clipboard manager has already saved its own copy. Klipper, Clipboard Indicator, cliphist and Clypy all do.
How do I clear clipboard history on Linux?
On KDE Plasma, open the history and click the icon beside the search field. In Clipboard Indicator, open its menu and press Delete on an entry to remove it, or set it to clear history automatically. With cliphist, run cliphist wipe.
Official sources
Platform behavior changes over time. These primary references were used for the latest review.