Linux script: copy image from URL to clipboard

copy-image-from-url.sh

#!/usr/bin/env bash

# Copy an image from an HTTP(S) URL to the clipboard (Wayland/X11).
# Usage examples:
#   copy-image-from-url https://example.com/image.png
#   echo "https://example.com/image.png" | copy-image-from-url

set -euo pipefail

quit_with_error() {
  echo "$*" >&2
  exit 1
}

usage() {
  cat >&2 <<'EOF'
Usage:
  copy-image-from-url <http(s)-url>
  echo "<http(s)-url>" | copy-image-from-url
EOF
  exit 2
}

# Check for required commands
for cmd in curl file; do
  command -v "$cmd" >/dev/null 2>&1 || quit_with_error "Missing required command: $cmd"
done

if ! command -v wl-copy >/dev/null 2>&1 && ! command -v xclip >/dev/null 2>&1; then
  quit_with_error "Need wl-copy (Wayland) or xclip (X11) to write to clipboard."
fi

# Get the URL from the first argument
url="${1:-}"

# When no argument is provided, read from stdin (pipe)
if [[ -z "$url" ]]; then
  if [[ -t 0 ]]; then
    usage
  fi
  IFS= read -r url || true
fi

# Validate the URL format (basic check)
case "$url" in
  http://*|https://*) ;;
  *) quit_with_error "Input is not an http(s) URL" ;;
esac

# Create a temporary directory for downloading the image (gets cleaned up on exit)
tmp="$(mktemp "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/copy-image-from-url.XXXXXX")"
cleanup() { rm -f "$tmp"; }
trap cleanup EXIT INT TERM

# Download the URL
curl -fsSL "$url" -o "$tmp"

# Check the MIME type of the downloaded file to ensure it's an image
if [[ $(file -b --mime-type "$tmp" 2>/dev/null || true) != image/* ]]; then
  echo "Downloaded file is not an image." >&2
  echo "Saved at: $tmp" >&2
  trap - EXIT INT TERM
  exit 3
fi

# Copy the image to the clipboard using wl-copy (Wayland) or xclip (X11)
if [[ -n "${WAYLAND_DISPLAY:-}" ]] && command -v wl-copy >/dev/null 2>&1; then
  wl-copy --type "$mime" <"$tmp"
elif command -v xclip >/dev/null 2>&1; then
  xclip -selection clipboard -t "$mime" -i "$tmp"
else
  quit_with_error "Need wl-copy (Wayland) or xclip (X11) to write to clipboard."
fi

echo "Image copied to clipboard ($mime). Paste with Ctrl+V."