Intent to Ship: Clipboardchange event

[Chromestatus]

Contact emails

ror...@microsoft.com, rago...@microsoft.com, dan...@chromium.org

Explainer

https://github.com/MicrosoftEdge/MSEdgeExplainers/blob/main/ClipboardAPI/ClipboardChangeEvent/clipboard-change-event-explainer.md

Specification

https://github.com/w3c/clipboard-apis/pull/239

Summary

The "clipboardchange" event fires whenever the system clipboard contents are changed either by a web app or any other system application. This allows web-apps like remote desktop clients to keep their clipboards synchronized with the system clipboard. It provides an efficient alternative to polling the clipboard(using Javascript) for changes.

Blink component

Blink>DataTransfer

Web Feature ID

clipboardchange

Motivation

Today, a web-app can monitor the system clipboard by polling and reading the clipboard through async clipboard API at regular intervals. For example, web based remote desktop clients like Chrome Remote desktop may read the clipboard contents for changes on every page focus event which is inefficient. Some Github links also suggests polling of clipboard being performed in Electron JS apps like (https://gist.github.com/LewdEwe-ErikWallace/d6e36f899a77a4f05e46388c254d014f). This feature aims to introduce an efficient way of notifying web apps when clipboard changes.

Initial public proposal

https://github.com/WICG/proposals/issues/186

Search tags

clipboard change event, clipboardchange, clipboard monitor

TAG review

https://github.com/w3ctag/design-reviews/issues/1017

TAG review status

Issues addressed

Origin Trial Name

Clipboardchange event

Chromium Trial Name

ClipboardChangeEvent

Origin Trial documentation link

https://github.com/MicrosoftEdge/MSEdgeExplainers/blob/main/ClipboardAPI/ClipboardChangeEvent/README.md

WebFeature UseCounter name

kClipboardChangeEventAddListener

Risks

Interoperability and Compatibility

No information provided

Gecko: No signal (https://github.com/mozilla/standards-positions/issues/1115)

WebKit: No signal (https://github.com/WebKit/standards-positions/issues/429)

Web developers: Positive 34+ upvotes in the associated Chromium bug indicates strong interest. Issues like following also indicate a strong developer interest: - https://stackoverflow.com/questions/63856050/javascript-how-can-i-have-a-constantly-running-process-for-the-purpose-of-monit - https://github.com/p0deje/Maccy/issues/948

Other signals:

WebView application risks

Does this intent deprecate or change behavior of existing APIs, such that it has potentially high risk for Android WebView-based applications?

No information provided

Debuggability

To improve debuggability, developers should be able to set breakpoints directly in their code where the clipboardchange event listener is registered, using the Sources tool as with any other event. Additionally, clipboardchange will be available alongside other clipboard-related events—such as copy, cut, and paste—in the “Clipboard” section of Event Listener Breakpoints within the Sources tool.

Will this feature be supported on all six Blink platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux, ChromeOS, Android, and Android WebView)?

Yes

Is this feature fully tested by web-platform-tests?

Yes
https://wpt.fyi/results/clipboard-apis/async-navigator-clipboard-change-event.tentative.https.html

DevTrial instructions

https://developer.chrome.com/blog/clipboardchange

Flag name on about://flags

ClipboardChangeEvent

Finch feature name

ClipboardChangeEvent

Rollout plan

Will ship enabled for all users

Requires code in //chrome?

False

Tracking bug

https://issues.chromium.org/issues/41442253

Estimated milestones

Shipping on desktop	143
Origin trial desktop first	140
Origin trial desktop last	142
Shipping on Android	143
Origin trial Android first	140
Origin trial Android last	142
Origin trial WebView first	140
Origin trial WebView last	142

Anticipated spec changes

Open questions about a feature may be a source of future web compat or interop issues. Please list open issues (e.g. links to known github issues in the project for the feature specification) whose resolution may introduce web compat/interop risk (e.g., changing to naming or structure of the API in a non-backward-compatible way).

No information provided

Link to entry on the Chrome Platform Status

https://chromestatus.com/feature/5085102657503232?gate=5067234201042944

Links to previous Intent discussions

Intent to Prototype: https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/d/msgid/blink-dev/67454fad.2b0a0220.19a388.0284.GAE%40google.com
Intent to Experiment: https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/g/blink-dev/c/JQb0t_esk1k/m/WnqkGA2pCQAJ

This intent message was generated by Chrome Platform Status.

[Mike Taylor]

Have you seen the feedback and corresponding issue filed from Olli, ~last year?

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[Chris Harrelson]

Link: https://github.com/w3c/clipboard-apis/issues/228

 

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[Rohan Raja]

Thanks for reviewing.

The mentioned issue was created in response to the initial explainer of ClipboardChange event API last year. Post this we had good discussions about the ClipboardChange event API in the working group meetings and arrived at an acceptable API signature and permission model for Safari/Firefox.

This was approved by TAG - https://github.com/w3ctag/design-reviews/issues/1017 We have a spec change PR for this - https://github.com/w3c/clipboard-apis/pull/239

Although the current issue is not updated, I have just dropped a comment on this thread to close this.

Thanks

Rohan Raja

[Mike Taylor]

On 10/23/25 5:31 a.m., 'Rohan Raja' via blink-dev wrote:

Thanks for reviewing.

The mentioned issue was created in response to the initial explainer of ClipboardChange event API last year. Post this we had good discussions about the ClipboardChange event API in the working group meetings and arrived at an acceptable API signature and permission model for Safari/Firefox.

This was approved by TAG - https://github.com/w3ctag/design-reviews/issues/1017 We have a spec change PR for this - https://github.com/w3c/clipboard-apis/pull/239

Can you summarize where you are with the PR? I see some activity over the past few weeks, and an Agenda+ label.

Although the current issue is not updated, I have just dropped a comment on this thread to close this.

Thanks. I left a pointer to that in the Mozilla standards position thread (https://github.com/mozilla/standards-positions/issues/1115#issuecomment-3436711432). 

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[Rohan Raja]

The PR is nearly finalized. All major issues about privacy and event changeID have been resolved after team discussion. Awaiting final signoffs and possible WG discussion (that's why the Agenda+ label) before merging. There are no blocking problems left as of now.

[Rick Byers]

Thanks Rohan. It looks to me like the discussion has converged on the core aspects of the design. So I'm OK shipping before the PR lands. LGTM1

However if the WG converges on a breaking change before this reaches stable, please follow up here. Worst case we can pause the launch before it hits stable and update to reflect any new consensus. But that is looking unlikely so I don't want you to have to wait any longer. 

Rick

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[Vladimir Levin]

LGTM2 

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[Mike Taylor]

LGTM3 w/ same conditions as Rick.

[Rohan Raja]

Thanks everyone for the review. As per Rick's comment, I will keep this thread updated.

LGTM2 

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