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OSC 52 clipboard read
OSC 52 clipboard read queries the current clipboard content. The sequence
ESC ] 52 ; c ; ? BEL requests the terminal to respond with the clipboard data base64-encoded. Fewer terminals support read than write — clipboard read is a security-sensitive operation since a malicious program could silently exfiltrate clipboard contents (passwords, tokens). Terminals that support it often require explicit user opt-in.How this is testedautomated
Set clipboard via OSC 52, then query with
Set clipboard via OSC 52, then query with
OSC 52;c;? BEL. Check for response containing the data.The same probe runs against headless backends (via Termless) and real terminal apps (via a daemon launched in each terminal). This lets us distinguish parser correctness from rendering correctness.
Analysis2026-04-06
Supported by 5 of 14 backends (36%)
Terminal Applications
| Terminal | Version | Support | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| iTerm2 | 3.6.9 | ✓ yes | |
| VS Code | ✓ yes | ||
| Cursor | ✓ yes | ||
| Ghostty | 1.3.1 | ✗ no | No OSC 52 read response |
| Warp | ✗ no | ||
| Terminal.app | ✗ no |
Headless Backends
Parser correctness only — a ✓ means the parser accepts the sequence.
| Backend | Version | Support | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| vterm | 0.2.0 | ✓ yes | |
| Alacritty | 0.26.0 | ~ partial | OSC 52 clipboard read not exposed in headless mode |
| Kitty | 0.40.0 | ~ partial | OSC 52 clipboard read not exposed via Python batch bridge |
| WezTerm | 0.1.0-fork.5 | ~ partial | OSC 52 clipboard read not exposed in headless mode |
| vt100.js | 0.2.1 | ✗ no | Not implemented — pure TypeScript emulator |
| xterm.js | 5.5.0 | ✗ no | OSC 52 clipboard read not implemented in xterm.js |