Reading · Evan Widloski · RSS Amplifier

Paste - Android Clipboard Content Provider

A simple Android application that acts as a content provider for clipboard data. When you select this app from an ACTION_GET_CONTENT intent (like when inserting images in other apps), it will return the latest file URI from your clipboard.

An Android application which provides simple clipboard support to applications which support inserting files from other apps (e.g. file picker).

CAVEAT: this project was almost entirely LLM-generated (see chat.md)

Use Case

This app is particularly useful for images. When you copy an image in Firefox (or any other app), you can use this app to "paste" it into applications that support inserting images from file but not from clipboard, without having to save the image first.

How it Works

The app advertises itself as handling ACTION_GET_CONTENT intents
When selected from the app picker, it appears as "Paste"
It reads the current clipboard content
If the clipboard contains a file URI, it returns that URI to the calling app
The calling app can then use the URI to access the file

Installation

Build the APK using Android Studio or Gradle
Install the APK on your Android device
Grant clipboard permissions when prompted

Usage

Copy an image or file to your clipboard (e.g., from Firefox)
In the target app, when prompted to select a file/image, choose "Paste" from the app picker
The clipboard content will be automatically selected and returned to the calling app

Technical Details

Package: com.github.evidlo.pastefromclipboard
Minimum SDK: 28 (Android 9.0)
Target SDK: 34 (Android 14)
Permissions: READ_CLIPBOARD_IN_BACKGROUND

Building

./gradlew assembleDebug

The APK will be generated in app/build/outputs/apk/debug/.

Limitations

Only works with file URIs in the clipboard
Requires clipboard permissions
May not work with all clipboard content types
Some apps may not properly handle the returned URI

License

This project is open source and available under the MIT License.

Android Paste