ClipTyper
The last mile for text that cannot be pasted.
Types clipboard text as keystrokes where paste is not available: VM consoles (vSphere, Proxmox, Hyper-V), iDRAC/iLO and KVM-over-IP consoles, serial consoles and remote sessions without a shared clipboard.
winget install unpaved028.ClipTyper
Or grab ClipTyper-Setup.exe · Portable · All releases
> Official downloads only from GitHub Releases or Winget. Third-party mirrors (including Softonic) may ship outdated or wrapped builds.
Demo console that only accepts key presses, like iLO, iDRAC or noVNC: Ctrl+V does nothing, Ctrl+Alt+V types the clipboard.
Why ClipTyper?
When Ctrl+V is not available, retyping passwords and commands by hand is slow and error-prone. ClipTyper reads the Windows clipboard on your trigger and types the text character by character via native SendInput — no agents on the remote side, no admin rights required for normal use.
A focused alternative to ClickPaste, AutoHotkey paste scripts, or on-screen virtual keyboards — with console keyboard layouts (type into a US iLO from a German PC), a fullscreen RDP overlay, credential auto-type, Winget installs, and an explicit zero-telemetry policy.
Target scenarios / tested with
| Environment | Why paste fails | What to use |
|---|
| VMware vSphere / VMRC | Console has no clipboard channel | Delay 30–45 ms · Unicode or VK mode |
| Proxmox VE noVNC / SPICE | Browser console ≠ OS clipboard | Delay 30–45 ms · Unicode · Newline: Enter |
| Hyper-V VM Connection | Limited clipboard bridging | Delay 25–40 ms · Unicode |
| Dell iDRAC / HPE iLO / IPMI HTML5 | Canvas console accepts keystrokes only | Delay 40–60 ms · Key presses (VK) · Keyboard layout = server layout |
| KVM-over-IP (Raritan and similar) | No clipboard pipe into the session | Overlay or hotkey · slower delay if laggy |
| RDP / Citrix / Horizon without a shared clipboard | Clipboard redirection is not available in the session | Hotkey in windowed mode · Overlay in fullscreen |
| AWS EC2 / Azure Serial Console | Raw TTY stream | Delay ~30 ms |
| MS Teams / Zoom remote control | Viewer clipboard not bridged | VK Compatibility Mode · Newline: Shift+Enter for chat |
| Web forms that do not accept paste | The page ignores paste events | Credential Auto-Type · optional clipboard auto-clear |
> Tested another console? Open a Target Compatibility Report.
HPE iLO remote console without paste: ClipTyper types the clipboard as keystrokes (overlay on the right).
Quick settings cheat sheet
| Target | Recommended settings |
|---|
| RDP windowed | Delay 25 ms · Unicode · Ctrl + Alt + V |
| RDP fullscreen | Delay 25 ms · Unicode · Floating Overlay (Ctrl + Shift + H to toggle) |
| Citrix / Horizon | Delay 35–50 ms · Unicode or VK |
| iLO / iDRAC HTML5 | Delay 40–60 ms · Key presses (VK) · Keyboard layout = server layout |
Download & installation
Winget (recommended)
winget install unpaved028.ClipTyper
Scoop
scoop bucket add unpaved028 https://github.com/unpaved028/scoop-bucket
scoop install unpaved028/cliptyper
Installs the Portable build; settings are kept across scoop update.
Manual download
Not sure? Use the Installer.
Integrity:
- Checksums:
SHA256SUMS.txt on every release
- Code signing policy: releases are not code-signed yet
- ClipTyper-Setup.exe (v1.8.0) SHA-256:
d115c50fbdbea9e48f90871cf70c3650bb146c10521d086335d770b3b2ef48fc
- VirusTotal: 0 of 68 on the v1.8.0 installer (re-scanned 25 October 2026). A Microsoft Defender false positive was removed by Microsoft the same day; see SECURITY.md.
Trust & privacy
- Zero telemetry — no analytics and no product metrics. See SECURITY.md.
- Clipboard stays local — read only when you trigger typing; never written to disk or sent to a server.
- Almost offline — the only network call is an optional GitHub Releases update check. It is on by default and can be turned off in Settings. No other outbound traffic.
- Open source (MIT) — review the code; verify release checksums.
- Code signing policy — how releases are built, approved and (once set up) signed: CODE_SIGNING.md.
- UIPI respected — non-elevated ClipTyper will not silently type into Administrator windows.
Features
- Works where paste is not available — KVM and VM consoles, iLO/iDRAC, serial consoles, remote sessions without a shared clipboard
- Two typing methods: characters (Unicode) for local apps and RDP, or key presses (VK Compatibility Mode) for consoles, with a selectable console keyboard layout (e.g. type into a US-layout iLO console from a German PC)
- Switch typing method and console layout right from the tray or overlay menu
- Credential Auto-Type — two-stage username/password with Tab / Newline / custom delimiters
- Flexible newlines —
Enter, Shift + Enter, Space, or Ignore
- Always types the plain-text clipboard content (RTF/HTML formatting is ignored)
- Optional humanized typing jitter (±1–50 ms)
- Escape abort, focus-loss protection, single-instance guard, long-text confirmation, input sanitization
- Floating overlay for fullscreen RDP (edge snap, multi-monitor, size 25–200%)
- Configurable hotkeys (type + overlay toggle)
- Light and dark mode (follows Windows, or choose in Settings), Windows 11 style menus, crisp icons on scaled displays
- Portable single-exe or non-admin installer
- Optional auto update check with tray/overlay badge
Usage
Hotkey
- Start ClipTyper — tray icon appears
- Copy text (
Ctrl+C)
- Focus the target window
- Press
Ctrl + Alt + V — ClipTyper types the clipboard
Press Escape (or tray Stop Typing) to abort. Double-click the tray icon to open Settings.
Remote console with a different keyboard layout
Consoles such as iLO, iDRAC, vSphere/VMRC, or KVM-over-IP pass on key presses, and the server interprets them with its own keyboard layout. If your PC uses German and the server uses US, special characters in passwords come out wrong.
In Settings → Keyboard, choose Key presses (VK Compatibility Mode) and set the keyboard layout to the server's layout (for example English (United States)). ClipTyper then presses the keys that produce each character on that layout. Characters the layout cannot produce at all (such as ä on a US layout) are listed before typing starts, so a password is never typed wrong silently.
Switching between consoles: right-click the tray icon or the overlay button and pick Keyboard layout (choosing a layout also turns on VK Compatibility Mode) or toggle VK Compatibility Mode. In fullscreen RDP / KVM sessions the overlay menu is the one within reach.
Overlay (fullscreen RDP / KVM)
Global hotkeys are often captured by the remote session. Enable Show the overlay button in Settings → Overlay (or toggle with Ctrl + Shift + H), hover the edge icon, click to type into the previously focused window.
Settings
Double-click the tray icon (or right-click → Settings):
| Tab | Setting | Description | Default |
|---|
| Typing | Type the clipboard | Hotkey to start typing | Ctrl + Alt + V (installations from v1.7.0 or earlier keep Ctrl + Shift + T) |
| Typing | Delay between keys | 5–100 ms | 25 ms |
| Typing | Humanized timing | Random variance ±1–50 ms | Off (±5 ms) |
| Typing | Line breaks | Enter, Shift + Enter, Space, or Ignore | Enter |
| Typing | Remove invisible characters | Strip BOM, zero-width spaces, null bytes | On |
| Typing | Ask before typing more than | Confirm long texts | On (5,000 characters) |
| Keyboard | Typing method | Characters (Unicode) for local apps and RDP; Key presses (VK Compatibility Mode) for iLO, iDRAC, VMRC, Hyper-V, KVM | Characters |
| Keyboard | Keyboard layout | Layout of the console (key presses only); characters it cannot type are listed before typing. Caps Lock is switched off while typing and restored | Same as this PC |
| Credentials | Mode | Two-stage login for text with exactly two parts (userpassword, line break, or custom delimiter) | Disabled |
| Credentials | Custom delimiter | Text between user name and password, then Tab or Enter | — |
| Credentials | Pause before password | 50–2000 ms | 200 ms |
| Credentials | Clear the clipboard after | Only if it still holds the typed credentials; Windows clipboard history is not cleared | Off (5 s) |
| Overlay | Show the overlay button | Floating button for fullscreen RDP / KVM | Off |
| Overlay | Size / Monitor / Reset position | 25–200%, display, default edge position | 100%, primary |
| Overlay | Show or hide the overlay with a shortcut | Toggle hotkey (can be disabled) | Ctrl + Shift + H |
| General | Theme | Auto (System), Light, Dark | Auto (System) |
| General | Start ClipTyper with Windows | (Installed version) | On |
| General | Check for updates automatically | GitHub check on launch (max 1× / 24 h) | On |
| General | Play a sound when typing finishes | | Off |
| General | Write a diagnostic log | Local clip-typer.log, never contains clipboard text; Open folder shows it | On |
How it works
Clipboard text → SendInput (Unicode or VK keystrokes) → Focused window
- Background typing worker; UI stays responsive
- Single typing session at a time
- User-space only (HKCU autostart) — no admin required for normal installs
Building from source
git clone https://github.com/unpaved028/ClipTyper.git
cd ClipTyper
dotnet test ClipTyper.sln -c Release
# Portable (self-contained + portable.marker)
dotnet publish -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true /p:PublishSingleFile=true /p:IncludeNativeLibrariesForSelfExtract=true -o ./publish-portable
New-Item -Path ./publish-portable/portable.marker -ItemType File
# Slim (framework-dependent + portable.marker)
dotnet publish -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained false /p:PublishSingleFile=true -o ./publish-slim
New-Item -Path ./publish-slim/portable.marker -ItemType File
# Winget / installed mode (no marker; settings in AppData)
dotnet publish -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true /p:PublishSingleFile=true /p:IncludeNativeLibrariesForSelfExtract=true -o ./publish-winget
# Installer (Inno Setup)
iscc /DMyAppVersion=1.8.0 setup.iss
Requires .NET 10 SDK.
Changelog
v1.8.0
New
- Choose the keyboard layout of the remote console, so passwords are typed correctly even when the console uses a different layout (for example a US iLO console from a German PC)
- Before typing, ClipTyper lists characters that the console keyboard layout cannot produce, instead of typing them wrong
- Switch the typing method and the keyboard layout directly from the tray menu or the overlay menu, also inside fullscreen remote sessions
- Light and dark mode: ClipTyper follows the Windows setting, or choose Light or Dark in Settings
- A short welcome after installing, and a note about new features after an update
Improved
- A clearer Settings window with five tabs: Typing, Keyboard, Credentials, Overlay and General
- Modern Windows 11 style menus and crisp icons in the notification area, also on scaled displays
- Questions before typing are clearer, and affected characters stay hidden until you click "Show characters"
- Characters typed with dead keys (such as ^) or AltGr now come out correctly when typing key presses
- Caps Lock no longer inverts typed letters when typing key presses
- Better compatibility with consoles that read key positions (iLO, iDRAC, VMRC, KVM-over-IP)
- Sharper display on scaled screens (125 %, 150 % and more)
- Double-click the tray icon to open Settings
- The diagnostic log notes how each typing run was done (never the text), and Settings can open its folder for bug reports
- Easier to read update notes in the About dialog
- New default hotkey Ctrl + Alt + V for new installations, so browser and terminal shortcuts stay free; existing installations keep their hotkey
Fixed
- Hiding the overlay no longer closes ClipTyper
- The Portable and Slim versions now keep their settings next to the program and no longer add themselves to Windows startup
- The overlay keeps its size after a restart
- A hotkey that was taken by another app at startup is no longer lost when you save the settings
- Credential Auto-Type only reacts to text with exactly two parts, such as user name and password; other multi-line text is typed normally
- Clipboard auto-clear only clears the clipboard if it still contains the typed credentials
- Warnings while typing now appear as notifications, and questions appear in front of fullscreen remote sessions
- Text with old Mac-style line breaks keeps its line breaks
- Control characters in copied text are no longer typed, so they cannot trigger shortcuts in the target window
- Emoji and other special symbols are typed more reliably
- The Plain-Text Mode setting was removed because ClipTyper always types plain text
- Several smaller fixes for the tray icon, the update check, and the Settings and About windows
v1.7.0
- ClipTyper now runs on the current supported .NET release (.NET 10)
- Settings are organized into Typing, Overlay, and App tabs with streamlined keyboard navigation
- Credential typing no longer writes how many characters were typed into the local log
- Clearer configuration for update checks and credential clipboard clearing delay
v1.6.1
- Stop Typing from tray, overlay menu, or active overlay click
- Target compatibility matrix for RDP, Citrix, Horizon, iLO/iDRAC, serial consoles
- Security policy & zero-telemetry commitment (
SECURITY.md)
- Portable read-only media fallback to LocalAppData
- Diagnostic logging toggle; clearer tray balloons
- Custom credential transition key (
Tab / Enter)
SHA256SUMS.txt on every release; hermetic tests & analysis cleanup
v1.6.0
- Credential Auto-Type (Tab / Newline / custom delimiters)
- Credential safety (no password logging, focus check, optional clipboard clear)
- Configurable newlines, plain-text mode, typing jitter
TypingService isolation and stability fixes
v1.5.1
- Installer graceful shutdown while ClipTyper is running
v1.5.0
- Escape / focus-loss abort, single-instance guard
- VK compatibility mode, input sanitization, long-text confirmation
- UIPI elevation warning, overlay/tray progress, rotating log
v1.4.0
- Inno Setup installer, overlay scaling & multi-monitor, edge peek, overlay toggle hotkey
v1.2.0
- Manual update check; blocked hotkey validation
- Deprecated for download — use latest release.
License
MIT