Command Examples

Here are some useful commands for creating custom menu items, global shortcuts and automatically process new clipboard content in CopyQ.

If you want to use any of the commands below, copy it to clipboard and paste it to the command list in Command dialog (opened with F6 shortcut). For detailed info see How to load shared commands and share them?.

All these and more commands are available at CopyQ command repository.

Join Selected Items

Creates new item containing concatenated text of selected items.

[Command]
Name=Join Selected Items
Command=copyq add -- %1
InMenu=true
Icon=\xf066
Shortcut=Space

Paste Current Date and Time

Copies current date/time text to clipboard and pastes to current window on global shortcut Win+Alt+T.

[Command]
Command="
    copyq:
    var time = dateString('yyyy-MM-dd hh:mm:ss')
    copy('Current date/time is ' + time)
    paste()"
GlobalShortcut=meta+alt+t
Icon=\xf017
Name=Paste Current Time

Play Sound when Copying to Clipboard

Following command will play an audio file whenever something is copied clipboard.

On Windows:

[Command]
Name=Play Sound on Copy
Command="
     powershell:
     (New-Object Media.SoundPlayer \"C:\\Users\\copy.wav\").PlaySync()"
Automatic=true
Icon=\xf028

On Linux (requires VLC multimedia player):

[Command]
Name=Play Sound on Copy
Command="
     bash:
     cvlc --play-and-exit ~/audio/example.mp3"
Automatic=true
Icon=\xf028

Edit and Paste

Following command allows to edit current clipboard text before pasting it. If the editing is canceled the text won’t be pasted.

[Command]
Command="
    copyq:
    var text = dialog('paste', str(clipboard()))
    if (text) {
      copy(text)
      copySelection(text)
      paste()
    }"
GlobalShortcut=ctrl+shift+v
Icon=\xf0ea
Name=Edit and Paste

Remove Background and Text Colors

Removes background and text colors from rich text (e.g. text copied from web pages).

Command can be both automatically applied on text copied to clipboard and invoked from menu (or using custom shortcut).

[Command]
Automatic=true
Command="
    copyq:
    var html = str(input())
    html = html.replace(/color\\s*:/g, 'xxx:')
    setData('text/html', html)"
Icon=\xf042
InMenu=true
Input=text/html
Name=Remove Background and Text Colors

Linkify

Stores an item with interactive link from plain text URL copied to clipboard.

[Command]
Automatic=true
Command="
    copyq:
    const link = str(input());
    const href = `<a href=\"${link}\">${link}</a>`;
    setData('text/html', href);"
Icon=\xf127
Input=text/plain
Match=^(https?|ftps?|file|mailto)://
Name=Linkify

Highlight Text

Highlight all occurrences of a text (change x = "text" to match something else than text).

[Command]
Name=Highlight Text
Command="
    copyq:
    x = 'text'
    style = 'background: yellow; text-decoration: underline'

    text = str(input())
    x = x.toLowerCase()
    lowertext = text.toLowerCase()
    html = ''
    a = 0
    esc = function(a, b) {
        return escapeHTML( text.substr(a, b - a) )
    }

    while (1) {
        b = lowertext.indexOf(x, a)
        if (b != -1) {
            html += esc(a, b) + '<span>' + esc(b, b + x.length) + '</span>'
        } else {
            html += esc(a, text.length)
            break
        }
        a = b + x.length;
    }

    tab( selectedtab() )
    write(
        index(),
        'text/plain', text,
        'text/html',
            '<html><head><style>span{'
            + style +
            '}</style></head><body>'
            + html +
            '</body></html>'
    )"
Input=text/plain
Wait=true
InMenu=true

Render HTML

Render HTML code.

[Command]
Name=Render HTML
Match=^\\s*<(!|html)
Command="
    copyq:
    tab(selectedtab())
    write(index() + 1, 'text/html', input())"
Input=text/plain
InMenu=true

Translate to English

Pass to text to Google Translate.

[Command]
Name=Translate to English
Command="
    copyq:
    text = str(input())
    url = \"https://translate.google.com/#auto/en/???\"

    x = url.replace(\"???\", encodeURIComponent(text))
    html = '<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"refresh\" content=\"0;url=' + x + '\" /></head></html>'

    tab(selectedtab())
    write(index() + 1, \"text/html\", html)"
Input=text/plain
InMenu=true

Paste and Forget

Paste selected items and clear clipboard.

[Command]
Name=Paste and Forget
Command="
    copyq:
    tab(selectedtab())
    items = selecteditems()
    if (items.length > 1) {
        text = ''
        for (i in items)
            text += read(items[i]);
        copy(text)
    } else {
        select(items[0])
    }

    hide()
    paste()
    copy('')"
InMenu=true
Icon=\xf0ea
Shortcut=Ctrl+Return

Render Math Equations

Render math equations using MathJax (e.g. $$x = {-b \pm \sqrt{b^2-4ac} \over 2a}$$).

[Command]
Name=Render Math Equations
Command="
    copyq:
    text = str(input())
    js = 'http://cdn.mathjax.org/mathjax/latest/MathJax.js?config=TeX-AMS-MML_HTMLorMML'

    html = '<html><head><script type=\"text/javascript\" src=\"' + js + '\"></script></head><body>' + escapeHTML(text) + '</body></html>';

    tab(selectedtab())
    write(index() + 1, 'text/html', html)"
Input=text/plain
InMenu=true
Icon=\xf12b

Move Images to Other Tab

With this command active, images won’t be saved in the first tab. This can make application a bit more snappier since big image data won’t need to be loaded when main window is displayed or clipboard is stored for the first time.

[Command]
Name=Move Images to Other Tab
Input=image/png
Automatic=true
Remove=true
Icon=\xf03e
Tab=&Images

Copy Clipboard to Window Tabs

Following command automatically adds new clipboard to tab with same name as title of the window where copy operation was performed.

[Command]
Name=Window Tabs
Command="copyq:
    item = unpack(input())
    window_title = item[\"application/x-copyq-owner-window-title\"]
    if (window_title) {
        // Remove the part of window title before dash
        // (it's usually document name or URL).
        tabname = str(window_title).replace(/.* (-|\x2013) /, \"\")
        tab(\"Windows/\" + tabname)
        write(\"application/x-copyq-item\", input())
    }
    "
Input=application/x-copyq-item
Automatic=true
Icon=\xf009

Quickly Show Current Clipboard Content

Quickly pop up notification with text in clipboard using Win+Alt+C system shortcut.

[Command]
Name=Show clipboard
Command="
    copyq:
    seconds = 2;
    popup(\"\", clipboard(), seconds * 1000)"
GlobalShortcut=Meta+Alt+C

Replace All Occurrences in Selected Text

[Command]
Name=Replace in Selection
Command="
    copyq:
    // Copy without changing Linux mouse selection (on Windows you can use "copy" instead).
    function copy2() {
      try {
        var x = config('copy_clipboard')
        config('copy_clipboard', false)
        try {
          copy.apply(this, arguments)
        } finally {
          config('copy_clipboard', x)
        }
      } catch(e) {
        copy.apply(this, arguments)
      }
    }

    copy2()
    var text = str(clipboard())

    if (text) {
      var r1 = 'Text'
      var r2 = 'Replace with'
      var reply = dialog(r1, '', r2, '')

      if (reply) {
        copy2(text.replace(new RegExp(reply[r1], 'g'), reply[r2]))
        paste()
      }
    }"
Icon=\xf040
GlobalShortcut=Meta+Alt+R

Copy Nth Item

Copy item in row depending on which shortcut was pressed. E.g. Ctrl+2 for item in row „2“.

[Command]
Name=Copy Nth Item
Command="
    copyq:
    var shortcut = str(data(\"application/x-copyq-shortcut\"));
    var row = shortcut ? shortcut.replace(/^\\D+/g, '') : currentItem();
    var itemIndex = (config('row_index_from_one') == 'true') ? row - 1 : row;
    selectItems(itemIndex);
    copy(\"application/x-copyq-item\", pack(getItem(itemIndex)));"
InMenu=true
Icon=\xf0cb
Shortcut=ctrl+1, ctrl+2, ctrl+3, ctrl+4, ctrl+5, ctrl+6, ctrl+7, ctrl+8, ctrl+9, ctrl+0

Edit Files

Opens files referenced by selected item in external editor (uses „External editor command“ from „History“ config tab).

Works with following path formats (some editors may not support all of these).

  • C:/...

  • file://...

  • ~... (some shells)

  • %...%... (Windows environment variables)

  • $... (environment variables)

  • /c/... (gitbash)

[Command]
Name=Edit Files
Match=^([a-zA-Z]:[\\\\/]|~|file://|%\\w+%|$\\w+|/)
Command="
    copyq:
    var editor = config('editor')
        .replace(/ %1/, '')

    var filePaths = str(input())
        .replace(/^file:\\/{2}/gm, '')
        .replace(/^\\/(\\w):?\\//gm, '$1:/')
        .split('\\n')

    var args = [editor].concat(filePaths)

    execute.apply(this, args)"
Input=text/plain
InMenu=true
Icon=\xf040
Shortcut=f4

Change Monitoring State Permanently

Disables clipboard monitoring permanently, i.e. the state is restored when clipboard changes even after application is restarted.

Should be the first automatic command in the list of commands so other commands are not invoked.

[Command]
Automatic=true
Command="
    copyq:
    var option = 'disable_monitoring'
    var disabled = str(settings(option)) === 'true'

    if (str(data('application/x-copyq-shortcut'))) {
      disabled = !disabled
      settings(option, disabled)
      popup('', disabled ? 'Monitoring disabled' : 'Monitoring enabled')
    }

    if (disabled) {
      disable()
      ignore()
    } else {
      enable()
    }"
GlobalShortcut=meta+alt+x
Icon=\xf05e
Name=Toggle Monitoring

Show Window Title

Shows source application window title for new items in tag („Tags“ plugin must be enabled in „Items“ config tab).

[Command]
Automatic=true
Command="
    copyq:
    var window = str(data('application/x-copyq-owner-window-title'))
    var tagsMime = 'application/x-copyq-tags'
    var tags = str(data(tagsMime)) + ', ' + window
    setData(tagsMime, tags)"
Icon=\xf009
Name=Store Window Title

Show Copy Time

Shows copy time of new items in tag („Tags“ plugin must be enabled in „Items“ config tab).

[Command]
Automatic=true
Command="
    copyq:
    var time = dateString('yyyy-MM-dd hh:mm:ss')
    setData('application/x-copyq-user-copy-time', time)

    var tagsMime = 'application/x-copyq-tags'
    var tags = str(data(tagsMime)) + ', ' + time
    setData(tagsMime, tags)"
Icon=\xf017
Name=Store Copy Time

Mark Selected Items

Toggles highlighting of selected items.

[Command]
Command="
    copyq:
    var color = 'rgba(255, 255, 0, 0.5)'
    var mime = 'application/x-copyq-color'

    var firstSelectedItem = selectedItems()[0]
    var currentColor = str(read(mime, firstSelectedItem))
    if (currentColor != color)
      setData(mime, color)
    else
      removeData(mime)"
Icon=\xf1fc
InMenu=true
Name=Mark/Unmark Items
Shortcut=ctrl+m

Change Upper/Lower Case of Selected Text

[Command]
Command="
    copyq:
    if (!copy())
      abort()

    var text = str(clipboard())

    var newText = text.toUpperCase()
    if (text == newText)
      newText = text.toLowerCase()

    if (text == newText)
      abort();

    copy(newText)
    paste()"
GlobalShortcut=meta+ctrl+u
Icon=\xf034
Name=Toggle Upper/Lower Case

Change Copied Text to Title Case

[Command]
Name=Paste as title case
Command="
    copyq:
    function toTitleCase(str) {
      return str.replace(
        /\\w\\S*/g,
        function(txt) {
          return txt.charAt(0).toUpperCase() + txt.substr(1).toLowerCase();
        }
      );
    }
    copy(toTitleCase(str(input())))
           paste()
    "
Input=text/plain
IsGlobalShortcut=true
HideWindow=true
Icon=\xf15b
GlobalShortcut=meta+ctrl+t