feat: Add clipboard image paste support for macOS (#1580)

Co-authored-by: Jacob Richman <jacob314@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: Scott Densmore <scottdensmore@mac.com>

.gitignore

@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@
 .gemini/
 !gemini/config.yaml
 
+# Note: .gemini-clipboard/ is NOT in gitignore so Gemini can access pasted images
+
 # Dependency directory
 node_modules
 bower_components

packages/cli/src/ui/components/InputPrompt.test.tsx

@@ -13,11 +13,13 @@ import { vi } from 'vitest';
 import { useShellHistory } from '../hooks/useShellHistory.js';
 import { useCompletion } from '../hooks/useCompletion.js';
 import { useInputHistory } from '../hooks/useInputHistory.js';
+import * as clipboardUtils from '../utils/clipboardUtils.js';
 import { createMockCommandContext } from '../../test-utils/mockCommandContext.js';
 
 vi.mock('../hooks/useShellHistory.js');
 vi.mock('../hooks/useCompletion.js');
 vi.mock('../hooks/useInputHistory.js');
+vi.mock('../utils/clipboardUtils.js');
 
 type MockedUseShellHistory = ReturnType<typeof useShellHistory>;
 type MockedUseCompletion = ReturnType<typeof useCompletion>;
@@ -76,6 +78,7 @@ describe('InputPrompt', () => {
         mockBuffer.viewportVisualLines = [newText];
         mockBuffer.allVisualLines = [newText];
       }),
+      replaceRangeByOffset: vi.fn(),
       viewportVisualLines: [''],
       allVisualLines: [''],
       visualCursor: [0, 0],
@@ -87,7 +90,6 @@ describe('InputPrompt', () => {
       killLineLeft: vi.fn(),
       openInExternalEditor: vi.fn(),
       newline: vi.fn(),
-      replaceRangeByOffset: vi.fn(),
     } as unknown as TextBuffer;
 
     mockShellHistory = {
@@ -218,6 +220,126 @@ describe('InputPrompt', () => {
     unmount();
   });
 
+  describe('clipboard image paste', () => {
+    beforeEach(() => {
+      vi.mocked(clipboardUtils.clipboardHasImage).mockResolvedValue(false);
+      vi.mocked(clipboardUtils.saveClipboardImage).mockResolvedValue(null);
+      vi.mocked(clipboardUtils.cleanupOldClipboardImages).mockResolvedValue(
+        undefined,
+      );
+    });
+
+    it('should handle Ctrl+V when clipboard has an image', async () => {
+      vi.mocked(clipboardUtils.clipboardHasImage).mockResolvedValue(true);
+      vi.mocked(clipboardUtils.saveClipboardImage).mockResolvedValue(
+        '/test/.gemini-clipboard/clipboard-123.png',
+      );
+
+      const { stdin, unmount } = render(<InputPrompt {...props} />);
+      await wait();
+
+      // Send Ctrl+V
+      stdin.write('\x16'); // Ctrl+V
+      await wait();
+
+      expect(clipboardUtils.clipboardHasImage).toHaveBeenCalled();
+      expect(clipboardUtils.saveClipboardImage).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        props.config.getTargetDir(),
+      );
+      expect(clipboardUtils.cleanupOldClipboardImages).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        props.config.getTargetDir(),
+      );
+      expect(mockBuffer.replaceRangeByOffset).toHaveBeenCalled();
+      unmount();
+    });
+
+    it('should not insert anything when clipboard has no image', async () => {
+      vi.mocked(clipboardUtils.clipboardHasImage).mockResolvedValue(false);
+
+      const { stdin, unmount } = render(<InputPrompt {...props} />);
+      await wait();
+
+      stdin.write('\x16'); // Ctrl+V
+      await wait();
+
+      expect(clipboardUtils.clipboardHasImage).toHaveBeenCalled();
+      expect(clipboardUtils.saveClipboardImage).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+      expect(mockBuffer.setText).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+      unmount();
+    });
+
+    it('should handle image save failure gracefully', async () => {
+      vi.mocked(clipboardUtils.clipboardHasImage).mockResolvedValue(true);
+      vi.mocked(clipboardUtils.saveClipboardImage).mockResolvedValue(null);
+
+      const { stdin, unmount } = render(<InputPrompt {...props} />);
+      await wait();
+
+      stdin.write('\x16'); // Ctrl+V
+      await wait();
+
+      expect(clipboardUtils.saveClipboardImage).toHaveBeenCalled();
+      expect(mockBuffer.setText).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+      unmount();
+    });
+
+    it('should insert image path at cursor position with proper spacing', async () => {
+      vi.mocked(clipboardUtils.clipboardHasImage).mockResolvedValue(true);
+      vi.mocked(clipboardUtils.saveClipboardImage).mockResolvedValue(
+        '/test/.gemini-clipboard/clipboard-456.png',
+      );
+
+      // Set initial text and cursor position
+      mockBuffer.text = 'Hello world';
+      mockBuffer.cursor = [0, 5]; // Cursor after "Hello"
+      mockBuffer.lines = ['Hello world'];
+      mockBuffer.replaceRangeByOffset = vi.fn();
+
+      const { stdin, unmount } = render(<InputPrompt {...props} />);
+      await wait();
+
+      stdin.write('\x16'); // Ctrl+V
+      await wait();
+
+      // Should insert at cursor position with spaces
+      expect(mockBuffer.replaceRangeByOffset).toHaveBeenCalled();
+
+      // Get the actual call to see what path was used
+      const actualCall = vi.mocked(mockBuffer.replaceRangeByOffset).mock
+        .calls[0];
+      expect(actualCall[0]).toBe(5); // start offset
+      expect(actualCall[1]).toBe(5); // end offset
+      expect(actualCall[2]).toMatch(
+        /@.*\.gemini-clipboard\/clipboard-456\.png/,
+      ); // flexible path match
+      unmount();
+    });
+
+    it('should handle errors during clipboard operations', async () => {
+      const consoleErrorSpy = vi
+        .spyOn(console, 'error')
+        .mockImplementation(() => {});
+      vi.mocked(clipboardUtils.clipboardHasImage).mockRejectedValue(
+        new Error('Clipboard error'),
+      );
+
+      const { stdin, unmount } = render(<InputPrompt {...props} />);
+      await wait();
+
+      stdin.write('\x16'); // Ctrl+V
+      await wait();
+
+      expect(consoleErrorSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        'Error handling clipboard image:',
+        expect.any(Error),
+      );
+      expect(mockBuffer.setText).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+
+      consoleErrorSpy.mockRestore();
+      unmount();
+    });
+  });
+
   it('should complete a partial parent command and add a space', async () => {
     // SCENARIO: /mem -> Tab
     mockedUseCompletion.mockReturnValue({
@@ -355,8 +477,6 @@ describe('InputPrompt', () => {
     unmount();
   });
 
-  // ADD this test for defensive coverage
-
   it('should not submit on Enter when the buffer is empty or only contains whitespace', async () => {
     props.buffer.setText('   '); // Set buffer to whitespace
 

packages/cli/src/ui/components/InputPrompt.tsx

@@ -19,6 +19,12 @@ import { useKeypress, Key } from '../hooks/useKeypress.js';
 import { isAtCommand, isSlashCommand } from '../utils/commandUtils.js';
 import { CommandContext, SlashCommand } from '../commands/types.js';
 import { Config } from '@google/gemini-cli-core';
+import {
+  clipboardHasImage,
+  saveClipboardImage,
+  cleanupOldClipboardImages,
+} from '../utils/clipboardUtils.js';
+import * as path from 'path';
 
 export interface InputPromptProps {
   buffer: TextBuffer;
@@ -52,7 +58,6 @@ export const InputPrompt: React.FC<InputPromptProps> = ({
   setShellModeActive,
 }) => {
   const [justNavigatedHistory, setJustNavigatedHistory] = useState(false);
-
   const completion = useCompletion(
     buffer.text,
     config.getTargetDir(),
@@ -178,6 +183,54 @@ export const InputPrompt: React.FC<InputPromptProps> = ({
     [resetCompletionState, buffer, completionSuggestions, slashCommands],
   );
 
+  // Handle clipboard image pasting with Ctrl+V
+  const handleClipboardImage = useCallback(async () => {
+    try {
+      if (await clipboardHasImage()) {
+        const imagePath = await saveClipboardImage(config.getTargetDir());
+        if (imagePath) {
+          // Clean up old images
+          cleanupOldClipboardImages(config.getTargetDir()).catch(() => {
+            // Ignore cleanup errors
+          });
+
+          // Get relative path from current directory
+          const relativePath = path.relative(config.getTargetDir(), imagePath);
+
+          // Insert @path reference at cursor position
+          const insertText = `@${relativePath}`;
+          const currentText = buffer.text;
+          const [row, col] = buffer.cursor;
+
+          // Calculate offset from row/col
+          let offset = 0;
+          for (let i = 0; i < row; i++) {
+            offset += buffer.lines[i].length + 1; // +1 for newline
+          }
+          offset += col;
+
+          // Add spaces around the path if needed
+          let textToInsert = insertText;
+          const charBefore = offset > 0 ? currentText[offset - 1] : '';
+          const charAfter =
+            offset < currentText.length ? currentText[offset] : '';
+
+          if (charBefore && charBefore !== ' ' && charBefore !== '\n') {
+            textToInsert = ' ' + textToInsert;
+          }
+          if (!charAfter || (charAfter !== ' ' && charAfter !== '\n')) {
+            textToInsert = textToInsert + ' ';
+          }
+
+          // Insert at cursor position
+          buffer.replaceRangeByOffset(offset, offset, textToInsert);
+        }
+      }
+    } catch (error) {
+      console.error('Error handling clipboard image:', error);
+    }
+  }, [buffer, config]);
+
   const handleInput = useCallback(
     (key: Key) => {
       if (!focus) {
@@ -315,6 +368,12 @@ export const InputPrompt: React.FC<InputPromptProps> = ({
         return;
       }
 
+      // Ctrl+V for clipboard image paste
+      if (key.ctrl && key.name === 'v') {
+        handleClipboardImage();
+        return;
+      }
+
       // Fallback to the text buffer's default input handling for all other keys
       buffer.handleInput(key);
     },
@@ -329,6 +388,7 @@ export const InputPrompt: React.FC<InputPromptProps> = ({
       handleAutocomplete,
       handleSubmitAndClear,
       shellHistory,
+      handleClipboardImage,
     ],
   );
 
@@ -372,6 +432,7 @@ export const InputPrompt: React.FC<InputPromptProps> = ({
 
               if (visualIdxInRenderedSet === cursorVisualRow) {
                 const relativeVisualColForHighlight = cursorVisualColAbsolute;
+
                 if (relativeVisualColForHighlight >= 0) {
                   if (relativeVisualColForHighlight < cpLen(display)) {
                     const charToHighlight =

packages/cli/src/ui/utils/clipboardUtils.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+/**
+ * @license
+ * Copyright 2025 Google LLC
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ */
+
+import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
+import {
+  clipboardHasImage,
+  saveClipboardImage,
+  cleanupOldClipboardImages,
+} from './clipboardUtils.js';
+
+describe('clipboardUtils', () => {
+  describe('clipboardHasImage', () => {
+    it('should return false on non-macOS platforms', async () => {
+      if (process.platform !== 'darwin') {
+        const result = await clipboardHasImage();
+        expect(result).toBe(false);
+      } else {
+        // Skip on macOS as it would require actual clipboard state
+        expect(true).toBe(true);
+      }
+    });
+
+    it('should return boolean on macOS', async () => {
+      if (process.platform === 'darwin') {
+        const result = await clipboardHasImage();
+        expect(typeof result).toBe('boolean');
+      } else {
+        // Skip on non-macOS
+        expect(true).toBe(true);
+      }
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('saveClipboardImage', () => {
+    it('should return null on non-macOS platforms', async () => {
+      if (process.platform !== 'darwin') {
+        const result = await saveClipboardImage();
+        expect(result).toBe(null);
+      } else {
+        // Skip on macOS
+        expect(true).toBe(true);
+      }
+    });
+
+    it('should handle errors gracefully', async () => {
+      // Test with invalid directory (should not throw)
+      const result = await saveClipboardImage(
+        '/invalid/path/that/does/not/exist',
+      );
+
+      if (process.platform === 'darwin') {
+        // On macOS, might return null due to various errors
+        expect(result === null || typeof result === 'string').toBe(true);
+      } else {
+        // On other platforms, should always return null
+        expect(result).toBe(null);
+      }
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('cleanupOldClipboardImages', () => {
+    it('should not throw errors', async () => {
+      // Should handle missing directories gracefully
+      await expect(
+        cleanupOldClipboardImages('/path/that/does/not/exist'),
+      ).resolves.not.toThrow();
+    });
+
+    it('should complete without errors on valid directory', async () => {
+      await expect(cleanupOldClipboardImages('.')).resolves.not.toThrow();
+    });
+  });
+});

packages/cli/src/ui/utils/clipboardUtils.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,149 @@
+/**
+ * @license
+ * Copyright 2025 Google LLC
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ */
+
+import { exec } from 'child_process';
+import { promisify } from 'util';
+import * as fs from 'fs/promises';
+import * as path from 'path';
+
+const execAsync = promisify(exec);
+
+/**
+ * Checks if the system clipboard contains an image (macOS only for now)
+ * @returns true if clipboard contains an image
+ */
+export async function clipboardHasImage(): Promise<boolean> {
+  if (process.platform !== 'darwin') {
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  try {
+    // Use osascript to check clipboard type
+    const { stdout } = await execAsync(
+      `osascript -e 'clipboard info' 2>/dev/null | grep -qE "«class PNGf»|TIFF picture|JPEG picture|GIF picture|«class JPEG»|«class TIFF»" && echo "true" || echo "false"`,
+      { shell: '/bin/bash' },
+    );
+    return stdout.trim() === 'true';
+  } catch {
+    return false;
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Saves the image from clipboard to a temporary file (macOS only for now)
+ * @param targetDir The target directory to create temp files within
+ * @returns The path to the saved image file, or null if no image or error
+ */
+export async function saveClipboardImage(
+  targetDir?: string,
+): Promise<string | null> {
+  if (process.platform !== 'darwin') {
+    return null;
+  }
+
+  try {
+    // Create a temporary directory for clipboard images within the target directory
+    // This avoids security restrictions on paths outside the target directory
+    const baseDir = targetDir || process.cwd();
+    const tempDir = path.join(baseDir, '.gemini-clipboard');
+    await fs.mkdir(tempDir, { recursive: true });
+
+    // Generate a unique filename with timestamp
+    const timestamp = new Date().getTime();
+
+    // Try different image formats in order of preference
+    const formats = [
+      { class: 'PNGf', extension: 'png' },
+      { class: 'JPEG', extension: 'jpg' },
+      { class: 'TIFF', extension: 'tiff' },
+      { class: 'GIFf', extension: 'gif' },
+    ];
+
+    for (const format of formats) {
+      const tempFilePath = path.join(
+        tempDir,
+        `clipboard-${timestamp}.${format.extension}`,
+      );
+
+      // Try to save clipboard as this format
+      const script = `
+        try
+          set imageData to the clipboard as «class ${format.class}»
+          set fileRef to open for access POSIX file "${tempFilePath}" with write permission
+          write imageData to fileRef
+          close access fileRef
+          return "success"
+        on error errMsg
+          try
+            close access POSIX file "${tempFilePath}"
+          end try
+          return "error"
+        end try
+      `;
+
+      const { stdout } = await execAsync(`osascript -e '${script}'`);
+
+      if (stdout.trim() === 'success') {
+        // Verify the file was created and has content
+        try {
+          const stats = await fs.stat(tempFilePath);
+          if (stats.size > 0) {
+            return tempFilePath;
+          }
+        } catch {
+          // File doesn't exist, continue to next format
+        }
+      }
+
+      // Clean up failed attempt
+      try {
+        await fs.unlink(tempFilePath);
+      } catch {
+        // Ignore cleanup errors
+      }
+    }
+
+    // No format worked
+    return null;
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.error('Error saving clipboard image:', error);
+    return null;
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Cleans up old temporary clipboard image files
+ * Removes files older than 1 hour
+ * @param targetDir The target directory where temp files are stored
+ */
+export async function cleanupOldClipboardImages(
+  targetDir?: string,
+): Promise<void> {
+  try {
+    const baseDir = targetDir || process.cwd();
+    const tempDir = path.join(baseDir, '.gemini-clipboard');
+    const files = await fs.readdir(tempDir);
+    const oneHourAgo = Date.now() - 60 * 60 * 1000;
+
+    for (const file of files) {
+      if (
+        file.startsWith('clipboard-') &&
+        (file.endsWith('.png') ||
+          file.endsWith('.jpg') ||
+          file.endsWith('.tiff') ||
+          file.endsWith('.gif'))
+      ) {
+        const filePath = path.join(tempDir, file);
+        const stats = await fs.stat(filePath);
+        if (stats.mtimeMs < oneHourAgo) {
+          await fs.unlink(filePath);
+        }
+      }
+    }
+  } catch {
+    // Ignore errors in cleanup
+  }
+}