Python - pyperclip Module

---

---

In Python, the pyperclip module is used for the various operation related to clipboard such as cut, copy, and paste. It makes it ideal for such tasks where you need to transfer data between applications, scripts, or several processes that involve an element of text manipulation.

In this tutorial, we will learn about the pyperclip module installation, its usefulness and how to use it with the help of examples.

What is pyperclip Module and Why do You Need it?

The pyperclip module is very important to automate the text processing which involves the clipboard. You can copy data from your script and place it directly to the clipboard and then be easily pasted in any document, browser or any application. Likewise, you don't have to manually copy the content you have placed in the clipboard and paste it in the script.

The use cases of pyperclip module are −

• Copying results from scripts to other applications automatically.
• Automating tasks where manual copy-pasting is repetitive.
• Creating tools or utilities to manipulate text.

Installing pyperclip Module Using PIP

You can install the pyperclip module through the pip, below is the command to install it −

pip install pyperclip

Copying Text to the Clipboard

To copy a specific text to the clipboard, you can use the pyperclip.copy() method. This function accepts a string as input and transfers it directly to the system's clipboard. After copied, the text is available to paste into any application that supports clipboard operations.

Example

This example demonstrates how you can copy the text into the clipboard −

import pyperclip as pc
def transfer_to_buffer(info):
   """Transfers the given info to the system's clipboard."""
   pc.copy(info)
   print("Data has been transferred to the clipboard!")

# The message to be copied to the clipboard
buffer_data = "Clipboard operation successful!"
# Executing the transfer
transfer_to_buffer(buffer_data)

Modular Functions for Copying and Pasting Text

You can wrap the clipboard functionality inside modular functions to make the operations more structured and reusable. We can use functions for quickly copying text to the clipboard or retrieving it from the clipboard with pyperclip.paste().

Example

This example demonstrates the above concept −

import pyperclip as pc
def fetch_from_buffer():
   """Fetches and returns data from the system's clipboard."""
   return pc.paste()
# Retrieve data from clipboard
retrieved_data = fetch_from_buffer()
print("Data fetched from clipboard:", retrieved_data)

Copying and Pasting Text with Modular Functions

These are two methods in which we have over-laden the behaviour where, it includes a workflow to copy something to clipboard quickly and then get that in another code or document.

Example

import pyperclip as pc
def transfer_to_buffer(data):
   # Transfers the given data to the clipboard.
   pc.copy(data)
   print("Data has been transferred to the clipboard!")
def retrieve_from_buffer():
   # Fetches and returns the current content of the clipboard.
   return pc.paste()
# Data to transfer to the clipboard
data_for_transfer = "This data was transferred using the buffer."
# Transfer the data to the clipboard
transfer_to_buffer(data_for_transfer)
# Retrieve the data from the clipboard
buffer_content = retrieve_from_buffer()
# Display the retrieved data from the clipboard
print(f"Data fetched from clipboard: {buffer_content}")

Creating a .txt file and pasting text from clipboard into file

Here, we will create a program by adding the ability to save the clipboard's content into a .txt file. We will use the open() function in write mode ('w') to create or overwrite a text file, and the retrieved clipboard content is written into this file. This is feature for preserving clipboard content for future reference or documentation.

Example

import pyperclip as pc

def transfer_to_buffer(data):
   """Transfers the given data to the clipboard."""
   pc.copy(data)
   print("Data has been transferred to the clipboard!")

def retrieve_from_buffer():
   """Fetches and returns the current content of the clipboard."""
   return pc.paste()

def save_data_to_file(file_name, data):
   """Saves the provided data to a file."""
   with open(file_name, 'w') as file:
      file.write(data)
   print(f"Data saved to {file_name}.")

# Text to copy to the clipboard
data_for_transfer = "This data was transferred using the buffer."

# Copy the text to the clipboard
transfer_to_buffer(data_for_transfer)

# Retrieve the text from the clipboard
buffer_content = retrieve_from_buffer()

# Display the text retrieved from the clipboard
print(f"Data fetched from clipboard: {buffer_content}")

# Save the retrieved text to a .txt file
file_name = 'output.txt'
save_data_to_file(file_name, buffer_content)

Output

Watch our example 4 code , this code will create automatically a output.txt file in our pc location path and which you write your code it will copy and paste there in txt file.