CopyQ does not paste content automatically

[dieg467]

Hi, I'm running Windows 11. When I double-click content (text or image) stored in CopyQ, it's not automatically pasted into the app that was active before opening CopyQ. So, I have to use CTRL+V. Is it possible that CopyQ isn't returning focus to other apps after copying content from it? Thanks.

[dieg467]

I updated to version 9.1.0 and now CopyQ won't start when I log in to Windows 11, even though the shortcut is installed in the C:\Users...\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup folder.
I have to start CopyQ manually, and User Account Control asks me: Do you want this application from an unknown publisher to make changes to your computer?
I set CopyQ as an administrator, but when I log in to Windows 11, CopyQ won't start.
I performed an initialization, but nothing changed. The automatic pasting issue wasn't resolved.

[dieg467]

Another issue arose. When pasting transparent .png images, the transparent background turns black.

[dieg467]

I quit CopyQ and installed other Clipboard apps, and I can confirm that automatic pasting doesn't work in any of them. It seems to be a problem with Windows 11 or my PC. Auto-paste only works with the native Windows 11 Clipboard app, which you open with the Windows+V keys.
The problems started a few weeks ago, while I was working with CopyQ version 7, which had been working fine up until then. I updated to version 9, and the issues weren't resolved.

[bazziebaz]

Paste also does not work as expected on Mac OS. Tried reinstall. Reset+Apply of settings does not change the situation.

10.0.0-gf25a022e-v10.0.0

[dieg467]

I installed CopyQ version 10 (as administrator) on Windows 11, and these are the issues:
(1) CopyQ doesn't automatically paste (issue present in v7, v9, v10).
(2) CopyQ doesn't start when I log in to Windows, despite being configured to do so. The CopyQ shortcut is present in the Windows Startup folder (issue present in v7, v9, v10).
(3) .png files with transparent backgrounds are pasted with a black background (issue present in v9, v10).

• Issue (1) doesn't yet have a fix for any version.
• Issue (2) I fixed by creating a task in Windows 11 Task Scheduler.
• Issue (3) I fixed by downgrading to v7.

[dieg467]

I configured the "Insert" key to open the CopyQ window.

1. I click on the WhatsApp Web window to make it the active window -> press the "Insert" key to open CopyQ -> double-click on some text in the CopyQ window -> The text is automatically pasted into WhatsApp Web (this is the expected behavior).
2. I click on the WhatsApp Web window to make it the active window -> click on the CopyQ icon in the taskbar tray -> double-click on some text in the CopyQ window -> The text is not automatically pasted into WhatsApp Web (this is where the problem lies).
   I don't know if it's a Windows 11 taskbar issue, a CopyQ issue, or a mouse issue that takes focus away from WhatsApp Web.

[VovaOneReal]

Hello, @dieg467!

CopyQ doesn't automatically paste.

It is a general issue for Windows (ex. #2556 ) and I have also experienced the problem from time to time. Unfortunately, I don't know how to fix it. There is an FAQ page with information about this, which might help.

Let's discuss other issues:

.png files with transparent backgrounds are pasted with a black background (issue present in v9, v10).
I cannot reproduce this with either a file or an image:

When I paste an image from the clipboard, the background of the image is still transparent.

Tell me more about how you copy: give an example of a file or image where the issue occurs, and whether the issue is present in all apps or just some

Try both: copying a file of a picture and an image from a graphical editor. Tell me about your observations.

CopyQ doesn't start when I log in to Windows, despite being configured to do so.

Please, send the following screenshots:

• open Windows Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) → Startup tab. I have a line with the app and its "State" is on
• content of the Startup folder. I have a shortcut for CopyQ in the one, not the actual .exe

Also:

1. Are there any antivirus, that could prevent the app from auto-load?
2. Where did you install the app? In C:\Program Files or another directory?

[dieg467]

Hola, !

CopyQ no se pega automáticamente.

Es un problema general para Windows (por ejemplo, # 2556) y también he experimentado el problema de vez en cuando. Desafortunadamente, no sé cómo solucionarlo. Hay una página de preguntas frecuentes con información sobre esto, que podría ayudar.

Analicemos otros temas:

.png archivos con fondos transparentes se pegan con un fondo negro (problema presente en v9, v10). No puedo reproducir esto ni con un archivo ni con una imagen:

Cuando pego una imagen del portapapeles, el fondo de la imagen sigue siendo transparente.

Cuéntame más sobre cómo copias: da un ejemplo de un archivo o imagen en el que se produzca el problema y si el problema está presente en todas las aplicaciones o solo en algunas

Pruebe ambas cosas: copiar un archivo de una imagen y una imagen de un editor gráfico. Hábleme de sus observaciones.

CopyQ no se inicia cuando inicio sesión en Windows, a pesar de estar configurado para hacerlo.

Por favor, envíe las siguientes capturas de pantalla:

• abra el Administrador de tareas de Windows () → pestaña Inicio. Tengo una línea con la aplicación y su "Estado" está activadoCtrl + Shift + Esc
• contenido de la carpeta de inicio. Tengo un atajo para CopyQ en uno, no en el real .exe

Además:

1. ¿Hay algún antivirus que pueda evitar que la aplicación se cargue automáticamente?
2. ¿Dónde instalaste la aplicación? ¿En u otro directorio?C:\Program Files

Hi VovaOneReal, here are my answers to your questions:

1. Automatic pasting only works by creating a shortcut key. I'm using the "Insert" key to open CopyQ, double-click the chosen content, and it's automatically pasted into the desired application.

2. The transparent background turning black when copying a .png file isn't an issue exclusive to CopyQ v9 and v10. The same problem occurs when using the default Windows Clipboard. However, when pasting, the results may vary depending on the destination: (a) If I paste the image into WhatsApp desktop, the background appears black. (b) If I paste into WhatsApp web, the background appears white (this is the behavior I expect, so the image content is visible). To avoid this issue, I use CopyQ v7 and WhatsApp web.
   Here are the steps I follow: [1] I use a dual-layer file in Paint.NET. The front layer is transparent, and the back layer is a grid sheet of paper. I write or draw on the transparent layer. [2] I copy the image, and it is stored in the installed clipboards, CopyQ v7 (CQ7) and the default Windows Clipboard (WC). In CQ7, the image appears with a white background, while in WC, it appears with a black background. [3] (a) If I paste into WhatsApp Web, both CQ7 and WC paste the image with a white background. (b) If I paste into WhatsApp Desktop, both CQ7 and WC paste the image with a black background.

3. The following screenshots show CopyQ in Task Manager, as well as the shortcut in the Startup folder.

4. The only antivirus I have installed is the default one for Windows 11. I added an exclusion to the antivirus so that the CopyQ folder would not be affected. However, there were no changes to how CopyQ works. The only way I found to get it to start when I log in to Windows 11 was to create a task in Task Scheduler.

5. CopyQ is installed in "C:\Program Files (x86)\CopyQ"

[VovaOneReal]

Thanks for the screenshots you sent.

2. The transparent background turning black when copying a .png file isn't an issue exclusive to CopyQ v9 and v10.

This issue is related to the specific apps where you are pasting the images. For example, Telegram and WhatsApp convert transparent images to a format that does not support transparency, such as JPEG. If you can paste the same image with saved transparency into other apps, then this is not a problem with CopyQ.

The background color of a copied image may vary depending on the clipboard manager. I have also seen a black background in the Microsoft Clipboard, but CopyQ does not have a background color set. However, this does not affect the final transparency after pasting - if an app converts it to JPEG, then the original transparency is lost.

To completely preserve transparency, it is recommended to send the image as a file rather than as an image in messengers.

CopyQ doesn't start when I log in to Windows, despite being configured to do so. The CopyQ shortcut is present in the Windows Startup folder (issue present in v7, v9, v10).

It does not seem to be a problem with CopyQ, but rather a permissions issue on your PC. This is especially likely if the problem occurs in every version of CopyQ and other applications as well.

To resolve this issue, I can recommend the following steps:

1. Open the Startup folder.
2. Right-click on the CopyQ shortcut and select Properties.
3. Select the "Shortcut" tab and click "Advanced".
4. Check the box next to "Run as administrator".
5. Apply the changes.

Also, check the "Run as administrator" box for the .exe file located in the Program Files directory.

If the issue persists, try searching for a solution on the internet.

---

If you have no further questions, please close this issue.

[MarGeb1]

My experiences with the problem dieg467 reported:

I started with CopyQ 9.1 (now 12.0.1) on Win 10 this year. The behavior was always the same: when I reopen minimized CopyQ from the taskbar and double-click an element, it's pasted automatically. But when CopyQ is minimized to the systray (at the right), pasting does not work, I have to do it manually. On Linux Mint pasting always works fine.

Markus

[hluk]

But when CopyQ is minimized to the systray (at the right), pasting does not work, I have to do it manually.

Could it be that some minimizing animation is involved, and it causes the target window (for the paste) to be activated/focused too late?

To clarify, this is how activating items (double-click or Enter) in CopyQ works by default:

1. The selected item is copied to the system clipboard.
2. The main window is closed/minimized/hidden (if "Close main window" option is enabled in History config tab).
3. The target window is raised (this is the previous window that had focus before CopyQ was activated).
4. If the expected target window does not get the focus (after a short interval), the next step is not executed.
5. Shift+Insert shortcut is sent to the target window to paste the current clipboard (to change this to Ctrl+V, see How to change paste() to send ctrl+v? #633).

You can enable debug logs to see details about the pasting operation. See FAQ: How to enable logging?

[MarGeb1]

Hi Lukas, thanks for your reply.

I tried to start CopyQ in Debug-Mode as described in the FAQ, but it closes again after some seconds.
Here is the log:

CopyQ DEBUG [2025-10-07 19:19:10.504] <Client-11508>: Waiting for server to start
CopyQ DEBUG [2025-10-07 19:19:10.600] <Server-148>: Geometry: Window "MainWindow": Restore geometry "Options/MainWindow_geometry": 645x421,0,0 -> 423x877,1256,112
CopyQ DEBUG [2025-10-07 19:19:10.933] <Server-148>: Focus window is "Windows PowerShell ISE"
CopyQ DEBUG [2025-10-07 19:19:11.286] <Server-148>: Loading configuration
CopyQ DEBUG [2025-10-07 19:19:11.768] <Server-148>: Tab "Zwis&chenablage": Loading items from: C:/Users/Pit/AppData/Roaming/copyq/copyq_tab_WndpcyZjaGVuYWJsYWdl.dat
CopyQ DEBUG [2025-10-07 19:19:11.930] <Server-148>: Tab "Zwis&chenablage": 200 items loaded from: C:/Users/Pit/AppData/Roaming/copyq/copyq_tab_WndpcyZjaGVuYWJsYWdl.dat
CopyQ DEBUG [2025-10-07 19:19:12.101] <Server-148>: Tab "Zwis&chenablage": Unloading
CopyQ Warning [2025-10-07 19:19:12.279] <Server-148>: [default] QtWarning: QSystemTrayIcon::setVisible: No Icon set
CopyQ DEBUG [2025-10-07 19:19:12.751] <Server-148>: Executing: copyq eval -- collectScriptOverrides()
CopyQ DEBUG [2025-10-07 19:19:13.222] <Server-148>: Configuration loaded
CopyQ DEBUG [2025-10-07 19:19:13.382] <Server-148>: Starting monitor
CopyQ DEBUG [2025-10-07 19:19:13.579] <Server-148>: Executing: copyq --clipboard-access monitorClipboard
CopyQ DEBUG [2025-10-07 19:19:13.797] <Server-148>: Starting callback: onStart
CopyQ DEBUG [2025-10-07 19:19:14.020] <Server-148>: Executing: copyq onStart
CopyQ DEBUG [2025-10-07 19:19:14.183] <Server-148>: Tab "Zwis&chenablage": Loading items from: C:/Users/Pit/AppData/Roaming/copyq/copyq_tab_WndpcyZjaGVuYWJsYWdl.dat
CopyQ DEBUG [2025-10-07 19:19:14.361] <Server-148>: Tab "Zwis&chenablage": 300 items loaded from: C:/Users/Pit/AppData/Roaming/copyq/copyq_tab_WndpcyZjaGVuYWJsYWdl.dat
CopyQ DEBUG [2025-10-07 19:19:14.553] <Server-148>: Executing: copyq eval -- onItemsLoaded()
CopyQ DEBUG [2025-10-07 19:19:14.747] <Server-148>: Executing: copyq eval -- onTabSelected()
CopyQ DEBUG [2025-10-07 19:19:14.939] <Server-148>: Executing: copyq eval -- runDisplayCommands()
CopyQ DEBUG [2025-10-07 19:19:15.225] <monitorClipboard-4148>: Clipboard formats to save: image/svg+xml, image/png, image/gif, application/x-copyq-encrypted, application/x-copyq-item-notes, application/x-copyq-item-icon, application/x-copyq-item-pinned, application/x-copyq-tags, text/plain, text/plain;charset=utf-8, text/html, application/x-copyq-item
CopyQ DEBUG [2025-10-07 19:19:15.229] <Server-148>: Closing server.
CopyQ DEBUG [2025-10-07 19:19:15.861] <Server-148>: Waiting for callback to finish
CopyQ DEBUG [2025-10-07 19:19:16.034] <monitorClipboard-4148>: Clipboard owner: Windows PowerShell ISE
CopyQ DEBUG [2025-10-07 19:19:16.040] <Server-148>: Callback finished
CopyQ DEBUG [2025-10-07 19:19:16.694] <Server-148>: Starting callback: onExit
CopyQ DEBUG [2025-10-07 19:19:16.870] <Server-148>: Executing: copyq onExit
CopyQ DEBUG [2025-10-07 19:19:17.064] <Server-148>: Waiting for callback to finish
CopyQ DEBUG [2025-10-07 19:19:17.227] <Server-148>: Callback finished
CopyQ DEBUG [2025-10-07 19:19:16.747] <monitorClipboard-4148>: Next clipboard owner: Windows PowerShell ISE
CopyQ DEBUG [2025-10-07 19:19:17.722] <Server-148>: Cleaning unused item files
CopyQ DEBUG [2025-10-07 19:19:18.029] <Server-148>: Executing: copyq eval -- runDisplayCommands()
CopyQ DEBUG [2025-10-07 19:19:18.225] <Client-9192>: Waiting for server to start
CopyQ DEBUG [2025-10-07 19:19:18.234] <Server-148>: Closing server.
CopyQ DEBUG [2025-10-07 19:19:18.665] <Server-148>: Monitor finished
CopyQ ERROR [2025-10-07 19:19:19.404] <Client-9192>: Es kann keine Verbindung zum Server hergestellt werden! Bitte zuerst den CopyQ-Server starten.

I don't think, that there's a sort of minimize animation.

I did a screencapture and uploaded it here.

Markus