Copy Files via Command Line with C++

How about the convenience of copying files via the command line? You can quickly create your own command with C++.

See the step-by-step guide below!

Dependencies

Example for distros that use APT as the package manager

Look for corresponding names for your distro.

sudo apt install build-essential libx11-dev libxcb1-dev libpng-dev

Also compile and install clip

git clone https://github.com/dacap/clip
cd clip
cmake . -B build
cmake --build build
sudo cmake --install build

Create the Code

Example: main.cpp

#include <clip.h>
#include <fstream>
#include <iostream>
#include <sstream>
#include <memory>

const auto use = [](){
  std::cerr << "Use: xclip++ <file> [file...]\n";
};

class Xclip {
  public:
    Xclip(int argc, char** argv){
      std::ostringstream buffer;

      for (int i = 1; i < argc; ++i) {
        std::ifstream file(argv[i], std::ios::binary);
        if (!file) {
          std::cerr << "Error opening: " << argv[i] << "\n";
          std::exit(1);
        }

        buffer << file.rdbuf();

        if(i + 1 < argc){
          buffer << '\n';
        }
      }

      clip::set_text(buffer.str());
    }
};

int main(int argc, char** argv){
  if(argc < 2){
    use();
    return 1;
  }

  auto xclip = std::make_unique<Xclip>(argc, argv);
}

Compile and Install

g++ main.cpp -o xclip++ -lclip -lxcb -lX11 -lpng -pthread
sudo install -v xclip++ /usr/local/bin/

Use Easily

xclip++ file.txt
# Or multiple files
xclip++ file1.txt file2.md file3.cpp # ...

Update and Fix

If you notice, when trying to use the pipe (|) it doesn’t work, for example:

cat file.txt | xclip++
echo 'Lorem Ipsum' | xclip++

To fix this, I added:

<unistd.h>
Overloaded the constructor: Xclip(const std::string& content) to clip::set_text(content);
And finally added setvbuf(stdout, NULL, _IONBF, 0);

Code ready to use with pipe:

#include <clip.h>
#include <fstream>
#include <iostream>
#include <sstream>
#include <memory>
#include <unistd.h>

const auto use = [](){
  std::cerr << "Use: xclip++ <file> [file...]\n";
};

class Xclip {
  public:
    Xclip(int argc, char** argv){
      std::ostringstream buffer;

      for(int i = 1; i < argc; ++i){
        std::ifstream file(argv[i], std::ios::binary);
        if(!file){
          std::cerr << "Error opening: " << argv[i] << "\n";
          std::exit(1);
        }

        buffer << file.rdbuf();

        if(i + 1 < argc){
          buffer << '\n';
        }
      }

      clip::set_text(buffer.str());
    }

    Xclip(const std::string& content){
      clip::set_text(content);
    }
};

int main(int argc, char** argv){
  setvbuf(stdout, NULL, _IONBF, 0);

  bool has_pipe = !isatty(STDIN_FILENO);

  if(has_pipe){
    std::ostringstream ss;
    ss << std::cin.rdbuf();
    std::string input = ss.str();

    Xclip xclip(input);
  }else if (argc > 1){
    Xclip xclip(argc, argv);
  }else{
    use();
    return 1;
  }

  return 0;
}

Compile and install:

g++ main.cpp -o xclip++ -lclip -lxcb -lX11 -lpng -pthread
sudo install -v xclip++ /usr/local/bin/

If you want a shorter command name, also run:

mv xclip++ xclip
sudo install -v xclip /usr/local/bin/

Now just use the xclip command, examples:

# Single file:
xclip++ file.txt

# Multiple files:
xclip++ file1.txt file2.md file3.cpp # ...

# Via pipe:
echo 'My test' | xclip
cat file.txt | xclip

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