Clipboard MCP Server

@cyanheads/clipboard-mcp-server Read, write, and inspect the system clipboard across macOS, Linux (X11/Wayland), and Windows via MCP. STDIO or Streamable HTTP. Its 4 documented tools cluster into clipboard, destructive hint.

People who work with clipboard, cross platform and cyanheads and want it reachable from Claude, Cursor, VS Code, or another MCP client. The project is written in TypeScript.

VERIFIED ACTIVE

LAST COMMIT 2026-09-09 · ★ 2 · #234 OF 945 MAINTAINED OTHER · VERIFIED 2026-09-18

Apache-2.0 · TypeScript servers · how we verify → /methodology

01 · Install Clipboard MCP Server

before you install - you'll need

Set MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE, MCP_LOG_LEVEL before connecting.

Claude Code

claude mcp add cyanheads-clipboard-mcp-server -- npx -y @cyanheads/clipboard-mcp-server

Claude Desktop / Cursor / VS Code - add to config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cyanheads-clipboard-mcp-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@cyanheads/clipboard-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Same JSON for Cursor. For VS Code, rename the top-level key from `mcpServers` to `servers`.

Using another client? Same JSON, different key

Claude Desktop · mcpServers

Cursor · mcpServers

VS Code · servers

Windsurf · mcpServers

Zed · context_servers

Cline · mcpServers

Roo Code · mcpServers

Continue · mcpServers

LibreChat · mcpServers

Gemini CLI · mcpServers

Codex CLI · mcp_servers

Full setup guides: every client.

02 · Evidence

Security posture

What to check before giving this server access to your agent - from the registry, GitHub, and our own probes. We don't score safety; we show what's verifiable.

runs as local process (stdio) - runs on your machine with your user's permissions

license Apache-2.0 - declared in the repository

npm package @cyanheads/clipboard-mcp-server - published under the repo owner's npm scope (@cyanheads)

registry namespace io.github.cyanheads is GitHub-verified and matches the repo owner

03 · What Clipboard MCP Server can do

Prose above is summarized from the project's README and registry record - no invented capabilities.

What you can build

With this server connected, an agent can read clipboard contents in a specified format (text, HTML, RTF, image, or auto-select richest), write plain text or HTML to the clipboard, replacing current contents, or clear it outright, and list available clipboard formats and byte sizes without reading full content.

Capability map

Tools grouped from the project's README - what Clipboard MCP Server lets an agent do.

Clipboard

3 tools - e.g. Read clipboard contents in a specified format (text, HTML, RTF, image, or auto-select richest); Write plain text or HTML to the clipboard, replacing current contents, or clear it outright; List available…

clipboard_read · clipboard_write · clipboard_inspect

Destructive Hint

1 tool - e.g. true - replaces or removes whatever is currently on the clipboard

destructiveHint

Latest releases

v0.2.1 · 2026-09-09

Bounded clipboard_read, streamed Linux inspect, macOS UTF-8 locale · clipboard_read supports offset/limit slicing bounded in memory instead of erroring on oversized content; output carries totalByteSize, complete, and…

v0.2.0 · 2026-09-09

Explicit clipboard clear, inspect failure surfacing, Linux image dimensions · clipboard_write gains clear: true to empty the clipboard via each platform's ownership-releasing primitive, rather than writing empty…

v0.1.10 · 2026-09-09

content[] fencing, image blocks, previousContent, numeric entity decoding · clipboard_read fences text/html/rtf payloads in content[] with codeBlock() so clipboard bytes can't control rendering (#22) · clipboard_read…

04 · Who maintains Clipboard MCP Server

clipboard-mcp-server is maintained by cyanheads. We track 125 MCP servers from cyanheads - 119 actively maintained, 1,816 combined GitHub stars, oldest repo from Dec 2024. Full record: all servers from cyanheads.

  1. obsidian-mcp-server Read, write, search, and surgically edit Obsidian notes, tags, and frontmatter via MCP. ★ 681
  2. mcp-ts-core Agent-native TypeScript framework for MCP servers. ★ 151
  3. pubmed-mcp-server Search PubMed/Europe PMC, fetch articles and full text (PMC/EPMC/Unpaywall), citations, MeSH terms. ★ 148
  4. git-mcp-server Comprehensive Git MCP server enabling native git tools including clone, commit, worktree, & more. ★ 240
  5. clinicaltrialsgov-mcp-server Search ClinicalTrials.gov - find studies, retrieve results, match patients to eligible trials. ★ 94
  6. ntfy-mcp-server Send, manage, and replay ntfy push notifications via MCP. ★ 22

05 · Facts

category
other - ranked #234 of 945 actively-maintained other servers as of 2026-09-18.
release cadence
6 releases in the last 90 days (latest 2026-09-09)
registry
io.github.cyanheads/clipboard-mcp-server (active, first published 2026-05-25 · 10 versions)
packages
npm:@cyanheads/clipboard-mcp-server · npm:@cyanheads/clipboard-mcp-server

06 · Clipboard MCP Server FAQ

Is Clipboard MCP Server still maintained?

Yes - as of 2026-09-18, its last commit was 2026-09-09 and it shipped 6 releases in the last 90 days. We re-verify nightly.

What can Clipboard MCP Server do?

With this server connected, an agent can read clipboard contents in a specified format (text, HTML, RTF, image, or auto-select richest), write plain text or HTML to the clipboard, replacing current contents, or clear it outright, and list available clipboard formats and byte sizes without reading full content.

How do I install Clipboard MCP Server?

Run `npx -y @cyanheads/clipboard-mcp-server`. The README documents 2 environment variables (MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE, MCP_LOG_LEVEL) to set first. Set MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE, MCP_LOG_LEVEL before connecting. You can also paste the ready-made client config above.

Does Clipboard MCP Server run locally?

Yes - it's a stdio server: it runs on your machine (via npx) with your user's permissions. Your data stays local unless the server itself calls external APIs.

07 · Alternatives to Clipboard MCP Server