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Linux notes

What to install for Linux, the one setup step Wayland needs, and what does not work on Linux yet. Builds ship as .deb and AppImage. X11 is the smoothest experience. Wayland works once you set up the hotkeys.

Runtime packages

Section titled “Runtime packages”

The app leans on standard tools for key injection and desktop integration:

Package Used for
xdotool Key injection and cursor position on X11 and XWayland.
wtype Key injection on wlroots Wayland compositors (Sway, Hyprland, River).
ydotool + ydotoold Fallback for GNOME and KDE Wayland. Needs access to /dev/uinput.
x11-utils (xdpyinfo) Monitor work area for popup placement.
xdg-utils The Open data folder button.
GNOME Keyring or KWallet Storage for sync keys.
A tray host The tray icon.

The .deb requires xdotool or wtype, and recommends x11-utils and ydotool. The AppImage brings none of them. Install the other packages in the table yourself if your desktop does not already have them.

Install the .deb with apt, so it pulls in what it requires:

Terminal window
sudo apt install ./Orange.Copy.Paste_*.deb

On GNOME or KDE with Wayland, ydotool only works while its service runs:

Terminal window
sudo apt install -y ydotool
sudo systemctl enable --now ydotool

Without x11-utils, the app cannot read your monitor’s work area and assumes a 1920x1080 screen when placing popups.

How to set up hotkeys on Wayland

Section titled “How to set up hotkeys on Wayland”

The built-in hotkeys rely on X11, so on native Wayland they do not fire. Instead, bind two keys in your compositor that run the app with a --trigger flag. The running app picks the trigger up and opens the same popup the hotkey would.

  1. Find the app’s command. For the .deb, it is what the Exec= line points at in the installed .desktop file. For an AppImage, it is the AppImage’s own path. The examples below use orange-copy-paste.
  2. Bind one key to orange-copy-paste --trigger paste (the quick-paste popup) and one to orange-copy-paste --trigger copy (capture the selection). Use any keys you like.
    • Sway: in your config, bindsym Ctrl+Shift+v exec orange-copy-paste --trigger paste, and the same with c and copy.
    • Hyprland: bind = CTRL SHIFT, V, exec, orange-copy-paste --trigger paste, and the same with C and copy.
    • GNOME: Settings, then Keyboard, then View and Customize Shortcuts, then Custom Shortcuts. Add one shortcut per command.
    • KDE Plasma: System Settings, then Shortcuts, then Add New, then Command or Script. Add one per command.
  3. Press your paste key with the app running. The quick-paste popup should open.

Where the compositor does not allow cursor placement, always-on-top or transparency, popups open centered on the active monitor instead.

Known gaps on Linux

Section titled “Known gaps on Linux”

These degrade gracefully rather than break, but they are real:

  • Copying file lists and rich HTML back to the clipboard is Windows-only today; those entries error on Linux.
  • File-drop and HTML sources are not captured into history on Linux (text and images are).
  • Image entries are labelled with a raw timestamp instead of a localized date.