Clipboard MCP Server

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Local serverstdioPython

What is the Clipboard MCP MCP server?

<source media="(prefers-color-scheme: light)". That is what the clipboard mcp mcp server brings to an AI assistant: the same capability, reachable through the Model Context Protocol rather than a separate app or dashboard.

The tools it exposes

The server publishes 7 tools. What each one is for:

  • clipboard_pastePrimary tool. Read any clipboard content: tables, text, code, JSON, URLs, images. Tables are formatted as Markdown/JSON/CSV; pass
  • clipboard_copy — Write text content to the system clipboard. Accepts an optional mime_type parameter (text/plain by default; also text/html, text/rtf, image/svg+xml
  • clipboard_copy_markdown — Render markdown to HTML and place both formats on the clipboard so paste targets pick the right one — Slack/Gmail/Notion/Discord get rich text
  • clipboard_copy_image — Write a PNG or JPEG image to the system clipboard from base64-encoded bytes. Pass-through with no re-encoding; magic bytes are validated against the
  • clipboard_list_formats — List what MIME types are currently on the clipboard. Accepts selection="primary" for the X11/Wayland PRIMARY selection
  • clipboard_read_raw — Return raw clipboard content for a given MIME type (diagnostic). Any non-binary type passes through; only image/, audio/, video/*, and
  • clipboard_version — Return the running mcp-clipboard package version as {"name": "mcp-clipboard", "version": "<x.y.z>"}. Diagnostic. Useful for hosts that don't surface

Getting it running

The server ships on PyPI as mcp-clipboard, so your MCP client can launch it on demand — there is no separate build step. Add the server block to your client's configuration, restart it, and the tools register themselves.

How it compares

Among the team communication options, the useful question is rarely "what can it do" but "what does it cost you to run" — permissions, credentials, and how much of your context its toolset consumes. Clipboard MCP's toolset — clipboard_paste, clipboard_copy, clipboard_copy_markdown and 4 more — is a fair guide to whether it matches your workflow. It is maintained by cmeans; worth a glance at recent repository activity before you build anything load-bearing on it.

This entry was verified against Clipboard MCP's own documentation before publication; SyncDev keeps the directory reviewed rather than auto-generated.

Things to watch

  • It runs with your machine's permissions. That is convenient and also the reason to think about what you point it at before you approve a tool call.
  • Keep per-call confirmation enabled while you learn its behaviour; it is the cheapest safeguard you have.

Available tools

ToolWhat it does
clipboard_paste**Primary tool.** Read any clipboard content: tables, text, code, JSON, URLs, images. Tables are formatted as Markdown/JSON/CSV; pass include_schema=true to append inferred column types. Images are returned as image cont
clipboard_copyWrite text content to the system clipboard. Accepts an optional mime_type parameter (text/plain by default; also text/html, text/rtf, image/svg+xml, or any text/* on Wayland/X11).
clipboard_copy_markdownRender markdown to HTML and place both formats on the clipboard so paste targets pick the right one — Slack/Gmail/Notion/Discord get rich text; vim/terminal get the source. macOS/Windows write both atomically; Wayland/X1
clipboard_copy_imageWrite a PNG or JPEG image to the system clipboard from base64-encoded bytes. Pass-through with no re-encoding; magic bytes are validated against the declared MIME. Use clipboard_copy for text.
clipboard_list_formatsList what MIME types are currently on the clipboard. Accepts selection="primary" for the X11/Wayland PRIMARY selection.
clipboard_read_rawReturn raw clipboard content for a given MIME type (diagnostic). Any non-binary type passes through; only image/*, audio/*, video/*, and application/octet-stream are rejected. Use clipboard_paste for images. Accepts sele
clipboard_versionReturn the running mcp-clipboard package version as {"name": "mcp-clipboard", "version": "<x.y.z>"}. Diagnostic. Useful for hosts that don't surface the standard MCP serverInfo block to the model, and for test harnesses

How to install the Clipboard MCP MCP server

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "clipboard": {
      "command": "pipx",
      "args": ["run", "mcp-clipboard"]
    }
  }
}

Configuration as documented by the project. Restart the client after saving.

Example prompts to try

  • Use Clipboard MCP to clipboard paste.
  • Use Clipboard MCP to clipboard copy.
  • Use Clipboard MCP to clipboard copy markdown.

Frequently asked questions

It connects Clipboard MCP to MCP-compatible AI assistants such as Claude and Cursor, exposing 7 tools (clipboard_paste, clipboard_copy, clipboard_copy_markdown, and more) that the assistant can call on your behalf. Instead of copying data back and forth by hand, the assistant works with Clipboard MCP directly.