Clipboard: readText() method

Baseline 2024
Newly available

Since June 2024, this feature works across the latest devices and browser versions. This feature might not work in older devices or browsers.

Secure context: This feature is available only in secure contexts (HTTPS), in some or all supporting browsers.

The readText() method of the Clipboard interface returns a Promise which fulfills with a copy of the textual contents of the system clipboard.

Note: To read non-text contents from the clipboard, use the read() method instead. You can write text to the clipboard using writeText().

Syntax

js
readText()

Parameters

None.

Return value

A Promise that resolves with a string containing the textual contents of the clipboard.

Returns an empty string if the clipboard is empty, does not contain text, or does not include a textual representation among the objects representing the clipboard's contents.

Exceptions

NotAllowedError DOMException

Thrown if the access to read the clipboard is not allowed.

NotFoundError DOMException

Thrown if the clipboard indicates that it contains data that can be represented as a text but is unable to provide a textual representation.

Security considerations

Reading from the clipboard can only be done in a secure context.

Additional security requirements are covered in the Security consideration section of the API overview topic.

Examples

This example retrieves the textual contents of the clipboard and inserts the returned text into a selected element's contents.

js
const destination = document.getElementById("outbox");
destinationImage.addEventListener("click", () => {
  navigator.clipboard
    .readText()
    .then((clipText) => (destination.innerText = clipText));
});

Specifications

Specification
Clipboard API and events
# dom-clipboard-readtext

Browser compatibility

Report problems with this compatibility data on GitHub
desktopmobile
Chrome
Edge
Firefox
Opera
Safari
Chrome Android
Firefox for Android
Opera Android
Safari on iOS
Samsung Internet
WebView Android
WebView on iOS
readText

Legend

Tip: you can click/tap on a cell for more information.

Full support
Full support
See implementation notes.

See also