How-To

Boost Your Productivity: Learn to Copy and Paste in Ubuntu Terminal Today

By Jeff Butts

Published July 29, 2024

Even with Ubuntu’s user-friendly interface, the Terminal is a must. Learn how to easily copy and paste in the Ubuntu Terminal.

Despite how user-friendly and graphical Ubuntu Linux is, there are still plenty of times when you’ll need to use the Terminal. Maybe it’s to fix a broken package, or perhaps you’re downloading and installing software. Whatever the reason, you’re in the Ubuntu Terminal and can benefit from using copy and paste. This is a bit different from other apps, so let me show you how to copy and paste within the Ubuntu Terminal.

Using Your Mouse to Copy and Paste in the Ubuntu Terminal

The first and arguably the slowest way to copy and paste within the Ubuntu Terminal is by using your mouse. For many, though, this is the easiest way.

1. Highlight the text you want to copy, then right-click with your mouse. Select Copy.
   
2. Choose the Ubuntu Terminal and be sure the cursor is where you want to paste the text.
3. Right-click with the mouse and choose Paste.
4. The text you copied before will appear in the terminal window.
   

Copying and Pasting With a Mouse With a Middle Button

If your mouse is equipped with a middle mouse button (usually accessed by pressing the scroll wheel), you can use it for copying and pasting in the Ubuntu Terminal.

1. Highlight the text you want to copy.
2. Move your mouse cursor to where you want to paste the text. Then press the middle mouse button to paste.

Stick to Your Keyboard and Copy and Paste in the Ubuntu Terminal

Next, let’s look at using keyboard shortcuts to copy and paste. This is usually my preferred way to go about it since I don’t have to move between keyboard and mouse as much.

1. Highlight the text you need to be copied, then press Shift+Ctrl+C on the keyboard.
   1. If your keyboard has the key, you can also use Ctrl+Insert to copy text in the Ubuntu Terminal.
2. Move your cursor to where you want to paste the text you’ve copied.
3. Next, press Shift+Ctrl+V on your keyboard.
   1. Again, if present, you can press Shift+Insert to paste.
4. Linux pastes the copied text right where you need it.

Copying and Pasting Works Differently in the Terminal

If you’re a keyboard jockey and familiar with keyboard shortcuts, you might wonder why the usual Ctrl+C combination won’t work in Terminal. This isn’t unique to Ubuntu, either — no Linux terminal will allow you to use Ctrl+C to copy.

The reason for this predates copying and pasting. By default, the Ctrl+C keybinding is used to send Linux an interrupt signal. In other words, it stops a command running in the foreground of the terminal window.

It’s important to understand, too, that Linux terminal emulators never settled on a universal standard for copying and pasting. These methods work fine on Ubuntu Terminal, but others may use Alt+C or V or Ctrl+Alt+C or V instead.