Clipboard: write() method

The Clipboard method write() writes arbitrary data, such as images, to the clipboard. This can be used to implement cut and copy functionality.

The "clipboard-write" permission of the Permissions API, is granted automatically to pages when they are in the active tab.

Note: Browser support for the asynchronous clipboard APIs is still in the process of being implemented. Be sure to check the compatibility table as well as Clipboard availability for more information.

Note: For parity with Google Chrome, Firefox only allows this function to work with text, HTML, and PNG data.

Syntax

js

write(data)

Parameters

data

An array of ClipboardItem objects containing data to be written to the clipboard.

Return value

A Promise which is resolved when the data has been written to the clipboard. The promise is rejected if the clipboard is unable to complete the clipboard access.

Examples

This example function replaces the current contents of the clipboard with a specified string.

js

function setClipboard(text) {
  const type = "text/plain";
  const blob = new Blob([text], { type });
  const data = [new ClipboardItem({ [type]: blob })];

  navigator.clipboard.write(data).then(
    () => {
      /* success */
    },
    () => {
      /* failure */
    }
  );
}

The code begins by creating a new a Blob object. This object is required to construct a ClipboardItem object which is sent to the clipboard. The Blob constructor takes in the content we want to copy and its type. This Blob object can be derived from many sources; for example, a canvas.

Next, we create a new ClipboardItem object into which the blob will be placed for sending to the clipboard. The key of the object passed to the ClipboardItem constructor indicates the content type, the value indicates the content. Then write() is called, specifying both a fulfillment function and an error function.

Example of copying canvas contents to the clipboard

js

function copyCanvasContentsToClipboard(canvas, onDone, onError) {
  canvas.toBlob((blob) => {
    let data = [new ClipboardItem({ [blob.type]: blob })];

    navigator.clipboard.write(data).then(
      () => {
        onDone();
      },
      (err) => {
        onError(err);
      }
    );
  });
}

Note: You can only pass in one clipboard item at a time.

Specifications

Specification
Clipboard API and events
# dom-clipboard-write

Browser compatibility

BCD tables only load in the browser

See also