Julia EvansAug 9, 2024

what some problems you've run into in the terminal with copy and paste? so far I have:

- pasting a URL with a `&` (or other character) in it without quotes
- pasting in many commands and one in the middle fails
- accidentally leaving in the '$'
- pasting in something with Fancy Quotes instead of normal quotes
- pasting a bash incantation into fish
- not knowing the keyboard shortcut to paste in a new terminal
- how Linux has two different clipboards

Show threadJohn Siracusa
@b0rk Accidentally pasting a ton of data (which includes newlines) at a shell prompt because you thought something else was in the clipboard, then having to figure out what the heck it did and repair the damage! Worst case, if it was, say, HTML or XML and you are unlucky, it may have truncated some existing files via redirection!
Aug 9, 2024 at 2:43pmIvory for iOS
Show threadJulia EvansAug 9, 2024

@siracusa that's such a great example thanks!

what shell are you using? trying to get a sense for which shells recognize that you're pasting (and will avoid running the command until you press enter) and which won't

Show threadJohn SiracusaAug 9, 2024
@b0rk I’m using tcsh (because it was the default shell on my first Unix account in 1993, and I’ve stuck with it since!)
Show threadJulia EvansAug 9, 2024
@siracusa thanks!
Show threadTravis 'Nep' SmithAug 10, 2024
@b0rk @siracusa I've been tcsh for decades, but just recently switched to zsh.
Show threadMin RKAug 9, 2024
@b0rk I’ve never been sure if features like that are features of the shell or features of the terminal, which is another confusing thing (like what control sequences are sent by key combinations)
Show threadCraig HockenberryAug 9, 2024
@siracusa @b0rk You should have put a trigger warning on this toot.
Show threadNate Vack 🍴Aug 9, 2024
@siracusa @b0rk welp I have never had this fear until right now
Show threadMattAug 9, 2024
@siracusa @b0rk iTerm for Mac intercepts multi-line pastes and asks whether you really want to do that. It’s a brilliant feature.
Show threadMerlin MannAug 9, 2024
@siracusa This wouldn’t happen if Steve were alive.
Show threadNate Vack 🍴Aug 9, 2024
@siracusa @b0rk The related thing that *has* happened to me is pasting text that had somehow escape sequences into vi; I didn't think that should be possible but it did very weird things
Show threadaspraggAug 9, 2024
@siracusa @b0rk If the damage includes your terminal being mangled, you can normally fix that just with `reset`. Even if the terminal won't show you what you're typing, it will still recognise the command.
Show threadDoofus CanadensisAug 9, 2024

@siracusa @b0rk oh man. I had a coworker who had typed history on a server once and managed to copy/paste the entire thing by accident.

Took a while to unravel all the changes it did.

Show threadMoritz DietzAug 17, 2024
@siracusa @b0rk Ugggh yes!! I had that a couple of times with the word "reboot" in it at points in the text where this was the first word after a new line and boy was that bad. Happened at work too of course. 😞