clipboard_plus 1.0.0

A Flutter plugin for enhanced clipboard functionality with iOS UIPasteboard support.

clipboard_plus

A Flutter plugin for enhanced clipboard functionality with iOS UIPasteboard support.

The Problem

Starting with iOS 14, Apple introduced a privacy feature that shows a notification banner whenever an app reads from the clipboard:

"App would like to paste from Other App"

This notification appears every time your app calls Clipboard.getData(), even if you just want to check if the clipboard contains a URL. This creates a poor user experience:

• Users see the paste notification even when the clipboard contains irrelevant content (like plain text when your app only cares about URLs)
• Users may become suspicious or annoyed by frequent clipboard access notifications
• There's no way to silently check clipboard content type before reading

The Solution

iOS provides UIPasteboard properties that check content types without triggering the paste notification:

Property	Description
hasURLs	Check if clipboard contains URLs
hasStrings	Check if clipboard contains text
hasImages	Check if clipboard contains images
hasColors	Check if clipboard contains colors

This plugin exposes these APIs to Flutter, allowing you to:

1. Silently check if the clipboard has content your app cares about
2. Only request access when relevant content is present
3. Provide a better UX by avoiding unnecessary permission dialogs

Installation

dependencies:
  clipboard_plus:
    path: plugins/clipboard_plus  # or publish to pub.dev

Usage

Check Content Types (No Permission Dialog)

import 'package:clipboard_plus/clipboard_plus.dart';

// Check for URLs - NO permission dialog on iOS
final hasUrls = await ClipboardPlus.hasUrls();

// Check for strings - NO permission dialog on iOS
final hasStrings = await ClipboardPlus.hasStrings();

// Check for images - NO permission dialog on iOS
final hasImages = await ClipboardPlus.hasImages();

// Check for colors - NO permission dialog on iOS
final hasColors = await ClipboardPlus.hasColors();

// Or get all types at once
final types = await ClipboardPlus.getContentTypes();
if (types.hasUrls) {
  // Clipboard has a URL
}

Read Content (Will Trigger Permission Dialog on iOS)

// Get URL
final url = await ClipboardPlus.getUrl();

// Get text
final text = await ClipboardPlus.getText();

// Get image as PNG bytes
final Uint8List? imageBytes = await ClipboardPlus.getImage();

Write Content

// Set text
await ClipboardPlus.setText("Hello, World!");

// Clear clipboard
await ClipboardPlus.clear();

Example: Smart URL Detection

Future<void> checkForCopiedUrl() async {
  // Step 1: Silently check if clipboard has a URL (no dialog)
  final hasUrl = await ClipboardPlus.hasUrls();

  if (!hasUrl) {
    // Clipboard doesn't have a URL - do nothing
    // User never sees any permission dialog!
    return;
  }

  // Step 2: Clipboard has a URL, now read it (shows permission dialog)
  final url = await ClipboardPlus.getUrl();

  if (url != null) {
    // Step 3: Ask user if they want to use the URL
    showSaveUrlDialog(url);
  }
}

Platform Support

Platform	Silent Check (hasX)	Read Content
iOS	Native UIPasteboard APIs	Shows permission dialog
Android	ClipboardManager	No permission dialog

Note: On Android, there are no clipboard permission dialogs like iOS.

API Reference

Silent Check Methods (No iOS Permission Dialog)

Method	Returns	Description
hasUrls()	Future<bool>	Check if clipboard has URLs
hasStrings()	Future<bool>	Check if clipboard has text
hasImages()	Future<bool>	Check if clipboard has images
hasColors()	Future<bool>	Check if clipboard has colors
getContentTypes()	Future<ClipboardContentType>	Check all types at once

Read Methods (Shows iOS Permission Dialog)

Method	Returns	Description
getUrl()	Future<String?>	Get URL from clipboard
getText()	Future<String?>	Get text from clipboard
getImage()	Future<Uint8List?>	Get image as PNG bytes

Write Methods

Method	Returns	Description
setText(String)	Future<void>	Set text to clipboard
clear()	Future<void>	Clear the clipboard

Implementation Notes

• hasStrings(), getText(), and setText() delegate to Flutter's built-in Clipboard class
• hasUrls(), hasImages(), hasColors(), getUrl(), and getImage() use native platform channels
• This provides a unified API while avoiding code duplication

License

MIT