clipcp 0.4.0

Transfer files/folders via clipboard

clipcp

Transfer files and folders between machines via a shared clipboard — no network configuration, no open ports, no SSH. Works anywhere your clipboard is shared (e.g. a remote desktop session, a VM with clipboard integration, or a KVM switch).

Install

pip install clipcp

Usage

Manual mode (ENTER-driven)

Sender:

clipcp <file_or_folder>

Receiver:

clipcp

You copy each chunk to clipboard and press ENTER to advance. Works with any shared clipboard.

Auto mode (fully hands-free)

Both sides poll the clipboard and handshake automatically — no interaction needed once started.

Receiver (start first):

clipcp --auto [--dest DIR] [--timeout S]

Sender:

clipcp <file_or_folder> --auto [--chunk-size KB] [--timeout S]

Git sync mode

Synchronise a git repository between two machines. Only the missing commits are transferred (as an encrypted git bundle). Merging is done on the server side.

Server (the authoritative repo):

clipcp . --git [--yes]

Client (the repo to sync into):

clipcp --git [--dest DIR]

Both sides run simultaneously. The handshake proceeds automatically:

1. Server announces its HEAD hash.
2. Client replies with its HEAD hash.
3. If server is ahead — server sends a bundle of missing commits to client.
4. If client is ahead or histories diverged — server negotiates a common base with the client, then the client sends a bundle to the server which merges it in.

Merge conflicts

If both sides modified the same files, the merge is aborted and the conflicting ref is left at refs/clipcp/incoming. Resolve manually on the server:

git merge refs/clipcp/incoming
# edit conflicting files, remove <<<<<<< markers
git add <resolved files>
git commit

Or take one side entirely:

git merge -X ours refs/clipcp/incoming    # keep server version
git merge -X theirs refs/clipcp/incoming  # keep incoming version

Options

Flag	Description
--yes / -y	Skip the confirmation prompt before sending chunks

---

Options

Flag	Default	Description
--auto	on	Auto handshake mode (--no-auto for manual ENTER-driven)
--git	off	Git sync mode
--chunk-size KB	64	Max size of each clipboard chunk
--dest DIR	.	Destination directory (receiver / git client)
--timeout S	60	Seconds to wait for each step
--skip PATTERN	—	Skip files matching pattern (e.g. --skip .git *.pyc)
--yes / -y	off	Skip confirmation prompt (git mode)
--resume [ID]	—	Resume an interrupted transfer
--extract [ID]	—	Extract a fully-received transfer from saved state
--clear [ID|all]	—	Clear saved transfer state
--list	—	List all saved transfers

Password / Encryption

All data is AES-256-GCM encrypted. You will be prompted for a password on both sides, or set it via environment variable to skip the prompt:

export CLIPCP_PASSWORD=mysecretpassword

How it works

clipcp compresses the target (tar.gz), encrypts it (AES-256-GCM with PBKDF2 key derivation), base64-encodes the result, and splits it into clipboard-sized chunks.

In auto mode, the receiver writes a CLIPCP_READY signal to the clipboard. The sender detects it, writes chunk 1, and the receiver ACKs each chunk until all are received and a CLIPCP_DONE signal is written. The sender then exits.

In git mode, instead of a tar archive a git bundle is transferred — only the commits the other side is missing. Both sides first exchange HEAD hashes to determine direction and negotiate a common base. The bundle is encrypted the same way as regular transfers.

Requirements

• Python 3.10+
• A shared clipboard between sender and receiver (e.g. RDP, VNC, VM clipboard integration)