tinyclip - System Clipboard Utility

Common errors

• ReferenceError: document is not defined

  cause Attempting to use `tinyclip` in a browser environment after its browser support was removed in version `0.1.11`.
  fix This library is Node.js-only since v0.1.11. For browser applications, use the native `navigator.clipboard` API.

• SyntaxError: Named export 'readText' not found. The requested module 'tinyclip' is a CommonJS module, which may not support named exports.

  cause Trying to import `tinyclip` using CommonJS `require()` syntax or using named imports (`import { ... }`) in a CommonJS context without proper ESM setup.
  fix Ensure your Node.js project is configured for ECMAScript Modules (ESM) by setting `"type": "module"` in your `package.json` or by using `.mjs` file extensions, and use `import { readText, writeText } from 'tinyclip';`.

Warnings

• breaking Browser support was entirely removed in version `0.1.11`. Attempts to use `tinyclip` in a browser environment after this version will result in errors.
  Fix: For browser environments, use the native `navigator.clipboard` API (e.g., `navigator.clipboard.readText()` or `navigator.clipboard.writeText()`).
• breaking Node.js engine constraints were introduced in version `0.1.12`, requiring Node.js versions `^16.14.0 || >= 17.3.0`.
  Fix: Ensure your Node.js environment meets the specified version requirements. Update Node.js if necessary to avoid installation or runtime issues.
• gotcha This library is exclusively designed for Node.js environments. Although older versions might have had limited browser compatibility, it is no longer maintained nor supported for web applications.
  Fix: Always use native browser `Clipboard API` (e.g., `navigator.clipboard.readText()`) for web applications to ensure compatibility and leverage browser security models.

Install

• npm install tinyclip npm
• yarn add tinyclip yarn
• pnpm add tinyclip pnpm

Imports

• readText
  wrong:

  const { readText } = require('tinyclip')

  correct:

  import { readText } from 'tinyclip'

  tinyclip is an ESM-first library. CommonJS `require` is not directly supported and will lead to import errors.
• writeText
  wrong:

  const writeText = require('tinyclip').writeText

  correct:

  import { writeText } from 'tinyclip'

  Ensure your Node.js environment is configured for ESM (e.g., `package.json` with `"type": "module"` or using `.mjs` files).

Quickstart

Demonstrates how to write a string to the system clipboard and then read its content back, within a Node.js environment.

import { readText, writeText } from 'tinyclip';

async function clipboardExample() {
  const textToCopy = 'Hello from tinyclip! This text was written to your clipboard.';
  console.log(`Attempting to write: "${textToCopy}" to clipboard.`);
  try {
    await writeText(textToCopy);
    console.log('Text successfully written to clipboard.');

    console.log('Attempting to read text from clipboard...');
    const clipboardContent = await readText();
    console.log(`Text read from clipboard: "${clipboardContent}"`);

    if (clipboardContent === textToCopy) {
      console.log('Clipboard content matches the written text.');
    } else {
      console.log('Clipboard content does not match the written text. (This might be due to other applications modifying the clipboard or environment limitations)');
    }
  } catch (error: any) {
    console.error('Failed to interact with clipboard:', error.message);
    console.error('Ensure you are running in a Node.js environment with appropriate OS access.');
  }
}

clipboardExample();