Windows terminal WSL copy-paste

Windows Terminal is one of the best terminal tools for connecting to WSL or remote Linux servers. For efficiently using the Terminal, understanding some keyboard shortcuts is essential.

Windows terminal WSL How to copy-paste
Windows terminal WSL, How to copy-paste

Here are the steps to copy and paste WSL Linux/bash terminals in Windows 11.

To copy text contents from a WSL window or Windows Terminal (wt)

To copy some text from a Windows Terminal WSL terminal window

Select the specific text to copy, then Press the Enter Key

Contents will be copied to the Windows clipboard. You may paste it into any text editor, email, web form, etc.

To paste text contents to a WSL window

To paste copied text in WSL terminal window

Mouse Right-Click

Note whatever you have in your clipboard will be pasted onto the terminal screen. All previous lines will be executed without confirmation if the clipboard has multiline contents.

These steps are tested in Windows 11, with Ubuntu 22.04 WSL

Update 1 (June 2023): Recent versions of Windows Terminals / WSL screen support the generic copy-paste keyboard combinations, that is:

  • Ctrl + C to copy
  • Ctrl + V to paste.

Conclusion

This guide has gone through the steps to enable or use the Windows terminal WSL copy-paste feature.

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