https://github.com/maxi07/paste-stuff
Adds preconfigured paste options to a task bar application
https://github.com/maxi07/paste-stuff
paste python taskbar
Last synced: 28 days ago
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Adds preconfigured paste options to a task bar application
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/maxi07/paste-stuff
- Owner: maxi07
- Created: 2026-06-24T13:01:07.000Z (about 1 month ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2026-06-24T16:02:46.000Z (about 1 month ago)
- Last Synced: 2026-06-24T17:07:18.417Z (about 1 month ago)
- Topics: paste, python, taskbar
- Language: Python
- Homepage:
- Size: 4 MB
- Stars: 0
- Watchers: 0
- Forks: 0
- Open Issues: 0
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
Awesome Lists containing this project
README
# Paste Stuff
A tiny Windows background app that pastes configured text snippets into **any**
application — either via a global keyboard shortcut or from a right-click menu on
its taskbar icon.
There is **no window UI**. The app lives only as a taskbar icon.
## Demo
## Features
⌨️ **Global keyboard shortcuts** — press e.g. `Ctrl+Shift+1` in any app to paste a
snippet.
🖱️ **Taskbar menu (Jump List)** — right-click the taskbar icon to pick a snippet,
or to access app actions (Edit config / Reload config / Run at startup / Quit).
📝 **JSON configuration** — define your shortcuts and snippet text in
`config.json`. No code changes needed.
🎯 **Smart pasting** — pastes directly into classic Windows edit fields
(`WM_PASTE`, no keystroke); everything else (browsers, Electron, Office, UWP)
gets a reliable focus restore + `Ctrl+V`.
🚀 **Run at startup** — optional auto-start with Windows.
🪵 **Console logging** — every action is logged when started from a console.
🔒 **Single instance** — a second launch detects the running app and exits.
## Download & install
Grab the latest **`PasteStuff.zip`** from the
[**Releases** page](https://github.com/maxi07/paste-stuff/releases/latest),
extract the whole folder anywhere, and run **`PasteStuff.exe`** from inside it.
There's no installer and no need to have Python installed.
> [!NOTE]
> **The first launch can take up to ~10 seconds** while Windows unpacks the app.
> The app has no window — look for its icon in the taskbar / system tray.
Keep all extracted files together in the same folder; `PasteStuff.exe` needs the
bundled files next to it to run.
## Editing snippets from the taskbar icon
You don't need to edit any files by hand. **Right-click the Paste Stuff taskbar
icon** to:
- **Paste a snippet** — pick any configured snippet straight from the menu.
- **Edit config** — opens `config.json` in your default editor.
- **Reload config** — applies your changes immediately (no restart needed).
- **Run at startup** — toggle auto-start with Windows.
After editing the config, choose **Reload config** so your new shortcuts take
effect right away. See [Configuration](#configuration) below for the file format.
## Configuration
Edit **`config.json`**. Each entry maps a hotkey to the text that should be
pasted:
```json
{
"shortcuts": {
"ctrl+shift+1": "Hello from my paste tool!",
"ctrl+shift+2": "Best regards,\nMax",
"ctrl+shift+3": "my.email@example.com"
}
}
```
- **Keys** are hotkey combinations using the
[`keyboard`](https://github.com/boppreh/keyboard) library syntax, e.g.
`ctrl+shift+1`, `ctrl+alt+e`, `ctrl+shift+f12`.
- **Values** are the text to paste. Use `\n` for line breaks; Unicode and emoji
are supported.
After editing, choose **Reload config** from the taskbar menu (no restart
needed). You can also open the file via **Edit config** in the same menu.
## For developers
Want to modify the app or run it from source instead of the packaged `.exe`?
### Requirements
- Windows 10/11
- Python 3.x (the project was set up with Python 3.14 via the `py` launcher)
Python dependencies (installed into the local `.venv`):
```
keyboard
pyperclip
pywin32
```
### Setup
From the project folder (`paste stuff`):
```powershell
# 1. Create the virtual environment
py -3 -m venv .venv
# 2. Install dependencies
.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe -m pip install -r requirements.txt
```
### Running from source
**In the background (recommended).** Double-click **`run.bat`**, or run:
```powershell
.\.venv\Scripts\pythonw.exe main.py
```
`pythonw.exe` runs without a console window. The app appears as an icon in the
taskbar.
**With a console (to see logs):**
```powershell
.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe main.py
```
Every action (startup, registered hotkeys, pastes, reloads, quit) is printed to
this console. In background mode there is no console, so logs are simply not
shown.
### Building the executable
Releases are built automatically by GitHub Actions
([`.github/workflows/release.yml`](.github/workflows/release.yml)) using
PyInstaller in `--onedir` mode and published as `PasteStuff.zip`.
## How it works
```
┌─────────────────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────────────────┐
│ Global keyboard shortcut │ │ Taskbar icon (Jump List) │
│ (Ctrl+Shift+1, ...) │ │ right-click → menu │
└──────────────┬──────────────┘ └───────────────┬──────────────┘
│ keyboard lib │ launches helper
│ triggers in-process │ process
▼ ▼
paste into the main.py --action paste --key K
already-focused app │
(Ctrl+V) │ localhost socket
▼
Running app receives the command,
restores focus to the previously
active window, and pastes there.
```
- **Resident process** (`main.py` with no arguments): registers the global
hotkeys, draws the taskbar icon, builds the Jump List, tracks which window you
were last working in, and listens on a local loopback socket
(`127.0.0.1:50573`).
- **Taskbar Jump List entries** are static Windows shortcuts that re-launch
`main.py` with an `--action`. That short-lived helper process forwards the
command to the running app over the socket, then exits. This is why the menu
items can talk to the already-running app.
- **Pasting from the menu**: because the app is in the foreground while the menu
is open, it first hands focus back to the window you were last using, then
inserts the text (direct `WM_PASTE` for classic edit controls, otherwise
`Ctrl+V`).
### Command-line actions
These are normally invoked by the Jump List, but you can run them manually too:
| Command | Effect |
| ----------------------------------------- | ------------------------------- |
| `main.py` | Start the resident app |
| `main.py --action paste --key "ctrl+shift+1"` | Paste that snippet |
| `main.py --action reload` | Reload `config.json` |
| `main.py --action autostart` | Toggle run-at-startup |
| `main.py --action edit` | Open `config.json` |
| `main.py --action quit` | Quit the running app |
---
## Run at startup
Toggle **Run at startup** in the taskbar menu. It adds/removes a `Paste Stuff`
value under:
```
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
```
pointing at `pythonw.exe main.py`, so the app starts automatically (without a
console) when you log in.
## Files
| File | Purpose |
| ------------------ | -------------------------------------------------- |
| `main.py` | The application |
| `config.json` | Your shortcuts and snippet text |
| `requirements.txt` | Python dependencies |
| `run.bat` | Starts the app in the background (no console) |
| `icon.ico` | Taskbar/menu icon |
| `docs/` | README media (icon image, demo GIF and video) |
| `.venv/` | Local virtual environment |
## Troubleshooting
- **A shortcut does nothing in some apps** — apps running as administrator only
receive global keystrokes if Paste Stuff also runs as administrator.
- **The taskbar menu pastes into the wrong place** — the app pastes into the last
window you used before opening the menu. Click into your target app first, then
open the menu.
- **Hotkey not registered** — check the console log for `Invalid hotkey`; verify
the combination spelling in `config.json`.
- **App won't start / "already running"** — another instance owns the socket
port. Quit it from the taskbar, or end the `python`/`pythonw` process.