Global Key Copy Daemon

Standalone Ubuntu daemon that tracks recently typed keys, clears after idle timeout, and copies tracked text when you press a hotkey.

Default behavior:

• Hotkey: Ctrl+Shift+G
• Idle clear timeout: 3 seconds
• Buffer: rolling character history (4096 max)

Prebuilt Downloads

Prebuilt binaries and installers are published on each tagged release:

• .exe for Windows (keycopy-daemon-windows-x64.exe)
• .dmg for macOS Apple Silicon (keycopy-daemon-macos-arm64.dmg)
• .deb for Ubuntu/Debian amd64 (keycopy-daemon_<version>_amd64.deb)

Release page:

• https://github.com/buiilding/global-key-copy-daemon/releases/latest

Important limitations

• This captures key events, not each app's final text state.
• It can capture sensitive input (passwords, API keys, private text).
• On Wayland sessions, global key capture may be blocked by compositor/security policy.

Requirements

• Python 3.10+
• One clipboard tool installed:
  • Wayland: wl-copy from wl-clipboard
  • X11: xclip or xsel

Install clipboard utilities if needed:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y wl-clipboard xclip

Quick run

cd /mnt/E/Assistants/TaskOrca_workspace/global-key-copy-daemon
chmod +x start.sh
./start.sh

Then:

1. Type some text in any app.
2. Press Ctrl+Shift+G.
3. Paste somewhere else to confirm copied text.

Stop with Ctrl+C in the daemon terminal.

Windows and macOS Notes

• Windows: run the .exe from release assets.
• macOS: open the .dmg, copy the binary out, then run it from Terminal.
• Linux: install the .deb or run from source.

Install as user service (auto-start)

cd /mnt/E/Assistants/TaskOrca_workspace/global-key-copy-daemon
chmod +x install-user-service.sh
./install-user-service.sh

Useful commands:

systemctl --user restart keycopy-daemon.service
systemctl --user stop keycopy-daemon.service
systemctl --user disable keycopy-daemon.service
journalctl --user -u keycopy-daemon.service -f

Configuration

Environment variables (or CLI flags) control behavior:

• KEYCOPY_HOTKEY (default: <ctrl>+<shift>+g)
• KEYCOPY_IDLE_SECONDS (default: 3)
• KEYCOPY_MAX_BUFFER (default: 4096)
• KEYCOPY_POLL_SECONDS (default: 0.1)

Example:

KEYCOPY_IDLE_SECONDS=5 KEYCOPY_MAX_BUFFER=10000 ./start.sh

Troubleshooting

• If hotkeys do nothing on Wayland, try logging into an X11 session and run again.
• If copy fails, ensure one of these exists in PATH: wl-copy, xclip, or xsel.
• To see logs while running manually, do not pass --quiet.

Security warning

This is effectively a key history tracker. Run only on systems you control and trust.