# Install clipper with Homebrew, apk, MacPorts, Nix, apt Share macOS clipboard with tmux and other local and remote apps. Version 3.0.0 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-27. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install libclipper-dev. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:clipper ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install clipper ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install clipper ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: science/clipper/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - apk (92%): ```sh sudo apk add clipper ``` Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: clipper from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#clipper ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/cl/clipper/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - Debian apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install libclipper-dev ``` Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: libclipper-dev from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:clipper - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Version:** 3.0.0 - **Source summary:** Share macOS clipboard with tmux and other local and remote apps - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Last updated:** 2026-07-27T22:04:00+02:00 - **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00 ## Executables - clipper (alias) ## Install behavior - Bottle: not available ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-08-03 - Package-manager version: 3.0.0 ## Project history and usage Clipper is a small daemon or macOS launch agent that exposes the local clipboard to tmux, Vim, SSH, and other local or remote processes. ### Project history The GitHub repository was created on 2013-02-18. The official README frames Clipper as a solution to a long-standing tmux and macOS pasteboard problem: processes started by tmux often cannot directly talk to the system clipboard, and remote tmux sessions make that harder. Clipper listens on TCP or a Unix domain socket, receives copied text, and writes it into the local system clipboard. It can run as a macOS launch agent or Linux systemd user service. ### Adoption history Homebrew packages Clipper for macOS users and the input package facts also identify packaging in Alpine, MacPorts, Nix, Debian, and Ubuntu contexts. GitHub repository metadata showed hundreds of stars, indicating durable usage in the tmux and remote-shell niche. ### How it is used The README shows tmux bindings using `copy-pipe` or `copy-pipe-and-cancel` with netcat or socat, Vim mappings that send yanked text to Clipper, shell aliases such as `clip="nc localhost 8377"`, and SSH `RemoteForward` rules that carry remote clipboard traffic back to the local machine. ### Why package nerds care Clipper matters to package nerds because it packages a very specific workstation integration problem: making tmux, Vim, SSH, pbcopy, xclip, launch agents, systemd user services, netcat, and Unix sockets cooperate. It is small, old, and practical, exactly the kind of utility that survives in package repositories because it solves one annoying terminal workflow. ### Timeline - 2013-02-18: GitHub repository is created. - 2010s: README documents tmux versions before and after 2.4, reflecting compatibility with older tmux copy-mode APIs. - 2026: Homebrew formula tracks stable release 3.0.0 from the official GitHub tag archive. ### Related projects - The README names reattach-to-user-space / tmux-MacOSX-pasteboard as an earlier workaround for macOS pasteboard context problems. - The README links to companion Vim integrations nvim-clipper and vim-clipper. ### Sources - - - ## Security Notes formula declares a Homebrew service. - **Geiger risk:** orange / medium - formula declares a Homebrew service ## Configuration and credential file locations These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval. ## Configuration files - Unix: $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/clipper/clipper.json, ~/.config/clipper/clipper.json, ~/.clipper.json ## Other Package-Manager Records - Debian apt - libclipper-dev - 2.1.20201109-2+b3: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libclipper-dev from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | object oriented development kit for crystallographic computing | http://www.ysbl.york.ac.uk/~cowtan/clipper/clipper.html - Debian apt - libclipper-doc - 2.1.20201109-2: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libclipper-doc from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | doxygen generated documentation for libclipper | http://www.ysbl.york.ac.uk/~cowtan/clipper/clipper.html - Debian apt - libclipper2 - 2.1.20201109-2+b3: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libclipper2 from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | object oriented library for crystallographic computing | http://www.ysbl.york.ac.uk/~cowtan/clipper/clipper.html - Nix - clipper: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/cl/clipper/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - Ubuntu apt - libclipper-dev - 2.1.20201109-2build1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libclipper-dev from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | object oriented development kit for crystallographic computing | http://www.ysbl.york.ac.uk/~cowtan/clipper/clipper.html - Ubuntu apt - libclipper-doc - 2.1.20201109-2build1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libclipper-doc from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | doxygen generated documentation for libclipper | http://www.ysbl.york.ac.uk/~cowtan/clipper/clipper.html - Ubuntu apt - libclipper2 - 2.1.20201109-2build1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libclipper2 from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | object oriented library for crystallographic computing | http://www.ysbl.york.ac.uk/~cowtan/clipper/clipper.html - apk - clipper - 6.4.2-r5: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: clipper from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Polygon, line clipping and offsetting library | https://sourceforge.net/projects/polyclipping/ - apk - clipper-dev - 6.4.2-r5: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: clipper-dev from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Polygon, line clipping and offsetting library (development files) | https://sourceforge.net/projects/polyclipping/ - apk - clipper-static - 6.4.2-r5: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: clipper-static from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Polygon, line clipping and offsetting library (static library) | https://sourceforge.net/projects/polyclipping/ - MacPorts - clipper: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: science/clipper/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/clipper.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/clipper.yml) ## Sources - pkg.so package database - Geiger risk classifier - curated configuration and credential file locations - curated package history - pkgdb category and tag curation - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph