Copy and Paste Keyboard Shortcuts: Every OS, Every Browser

The universal table

Action	Windows / Linux	macOS	ChromeOS
Copy	`Ctrl+C`	`⌘+C`	`Ctrl+C`
Cut	`Ctrl+X`	`⌘+X`	`Ctrl+X`
Paste	`Ctrl+V`	`⌘+V`	`Ctrl+V`
Paste as plain text	`Ctrl+Shift+V`	`⌘+Shift+V` or `⌘+Option+Shift+V`	`Ctrl+Shift+V`
Select all	`Ctrl+A`	`⌘+A`	`Ctrl+A`
Undo	`Ctrl+Z`	`⌘+Z`	`Ctrl+Z`
Redo	`Ctrl+Y` or `Ctrl+Shift+Z`	`⌘+Shift+Z`	`Ctrl+Y`

Mobile (iOS and Android)

On phones, copy/paste is gesture-based:

iOS: Long-press the text → drag selection handles → tap Copy. To paste: long-press in the target field → tap Paste.
Android: Same flow — long-press, drag handles, tap Copy. Pasting works identically.
iPad with keyboard: ⌘+C, ⌘+V work like macOS.
Android with keyboard: Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V work like desktop.

Paste as plain text — the most underused shortcut

Regular paste preserves formatting (fonts, colors, bold). Plain-text paste strips all formatting and pastes just the characters. Use it when:

Pasting from web pages into a document — strips the website's styles
Pasting from one app to another to avoid font mismatches
Pasting code to avoid the source styling

Memorize Ctrl+Shift+V (Windows) or ⌘+Shift+V (macOS) — it saves hours per year.

Clipboard history

Both Windows and macOS now have clipboard history:

Windows 11: Win+V opens clipboard history showing your last N copies
macOS: No native clipboard history; use third-party apps like Maccy or Pastebot
iOS / iPadOS: No clipboard history; only the most recent copy is retained

Browser-specific quirks

Chrome: Standard shortcuts work in input fields. Some sites override Ctrl+C for custom copy behavior.
Safari: Same. Safari on macOS also supports ⌘+Option+V for paste-and-match-style.
Firefox: Identical to Chrome on each platform.

Copy to clipboard via JavaScript

For developers wanting to put text on the clipboard programmatically:

navigator.clipboard.writeText(text)
  .then(() => console.log("Copied!"))
  .catch(err => console.error("Failed:", err));

This is exactly how our text repeater's Copy button works.

Common questions

Frequently asked.

Some terminal applications use Ctrl+C as the "interrupt" signal. To copy in a terminal: use Ctrl+Shift+C (Linux/Windows Terminal) or Ctrl+Insert.

Use a sync service: iCloud Universal Clipboard (Apple devices), or Microsoft Phone Link / KDE Connect (Android to Windows/Linux). Manual fallback: send the text to yourself as a message.

Not natively on most OSes. Clipboard history (Win+V on Windows 11) lets you cycle through past copies. Mac users need a third-party tool.

The core shortcuts

Copy, cut, and paste are the same three keys on most systems: Ctrl+C, Ctrl+X, Ctrl+V on Windows and Linux; Cmd+C, Cmd+X, Cmd+V on macOS. Select all is Ctrl+A (Cmd+A), and undo is Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z). These work in nearly every text field, including the box on this site.

Paste without formatting

To paste plain text and strip fonts, colors, and links, use Ctrl+Shift+V (Cmd+Shift+V on Mac) in most apps. This is useful when moving repeated text between a document and a chat, so the result matches the destination's style instead of carrying over the source's.

Speed tips for repeated text

When copying a large block from the repeater, the one-tap Copy button is faster and more reliable than manual selection. On mobile, long-press to bring up the paste menu. For very large outputs, use Download instead of the clipboard — some operating systems limit clipboard size.

Copy and paste shortcuts.