Copilot CLI remote SSH session reports “Copied” but clipboard remains empty on macOS
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- Shell
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Description
Describe the bug
Summary
When using Copilot CLI on a remote Linux machine over SSH from macOS Terminal, copy actions report success ("Copied to clipboard") but the selected text is not actually placed into the macOS clipboard.
Environment
Local OS: macOS (Apple Terminal)
Terminal: Terminal.app Version 2.15 (470.2)
Connection: ssh -p <port> <host>
Remote OS: Ubuntu 24.04.4 LTS
Copilot CLI version: 1.0.80
Steps to Reproduce
From macOS Terminal.app, connect to a remote Ubuntu machine via SSH:
ssh -p <port> <host>
Run Copilot CLI on the remote machine.
Generate output in the CLI and select part of the text in the terminal.
Try to copy the selected text (right-click copy or Ctrl+C in the terminal context).
Observe that Copilot CLI shows a "Copied" confirmation message.
Paste into another app on macOS (e.g., Notes/TextEdit).
Expected Behavior
Selected text should be copied to the macOS system clipboard and be available for paste in other local apps.
Actual Behavior
Copilot CLI shows a "Copied" confirmation, but the text is not present in the macOS clipboard.
Additional Notes
Reproducible every time.
Also reproducible on machines other than mine.
This does not happen when Copilot is used locally (without SSH / without remote host).
Affected version
GitHub Copilot CLI 1.0.80
Steps to reproduce the behavior
No response
Expected behavior
No response
Additional context
No response
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start by reproducing the copy flow in Copilot CLI 1.0.80 from macOS Terminal.app over SSH to Ubuntu 24.04.4. Trace how the CLI handles terminal selection and clipboard reporting in a remote session, then verify that copied text is available in a local macOS app while local sessions continue to work.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- linux, macos, shell
- Domain
- cli, networking, operating-systems
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Active
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 48/100