Fix Copy/Paste on your Mac

I’ve been having recurring issues with my MacBook Pro not allowing me to copy/paste. It’s especially frustrating with code samples that you don’t want to re-type. This article by OSX Daily has great advice on fixing this issue: Copy Paste Not Working on Mac? Here’s How to Fix a Stuck Clipboard

Reset your clipboard via Terminal

This is the easiest method to fix this issue.

If you prefer to use the Terminal to remedy the problem, do the following:

1. Open the Terminal application, found in /Applications/Utilities/
2. Type the following command exactly:

   killall pboard

3. Hit Return

This will terminate and relaunch the pboard process, which is the clipboard daemon for Mac OS. If you’re savvy with the command line you can immediate test if the clipboard is working as expected with pbcopy and pbpaste, the command line tools that work with the clipboard on the Mac.

Copy Paste Not Working on Mac? Here’s How to Fix a Stuck Clipboard