--- title: How to Copy and Paste on a Chromebook (4 Ways) | Relic description: Chromebooks put copy on Ctrl+C, a two-finger tap, or a long press on the touchscreen. Every way to copy and paste on a Chromebook, plus plain-text pasting. canonical: https://relic.space/blog/how-to-copy-and-paste-on-chromebook source: https://relic.space/llms.txt --- [Copy and paste, explained](https://relic.space/blog/topics/copy-paste-basics) # How to copy and paste on a Chromebook A Chromebook copies and pastes the same way a Windows PC does, plus a couple of ChromeOS extras of its own. Here are the keyboard shortcuts, the two-finger touchpad tap, the touchscreen method, and how to paste plain text or pull from your clipboard history. [JGJordan Gibbs](https://relic.space/authors/jordan-gibbs) June 29, 2026 6 min readUpdated September 12, 2026 Chromebooks borrow most of their copy and paste habits from Windows, which is good news if you have ever used a Windows laptop. The shortcuts are the same, the menus look familiar, and the only real differences are the missing right-click button and a couple of ChromeOS tricks that other systems do not have. Once you know those, copying on a Chromebook is quick whether you are using the keyboard, the touchpad, or the touchscreen on a convertible. ## How do you copy and paste on a Chromebook? Select the text and press Ctrl+C, then click where you want it and press Ctrl+V. With no keyboard, tap the touchpad with two fingers and choose Copy, then two-finger tap where you want it and choose Paste. On a touchscreen, press and hold a word, drag the handles over what you want, and tap Copy. ## The keyboard shortcuts The fastest way to copy and paste on a Chromebook is the keyboard, and the shortcuts match a Windows machine almost exactly. Chromebooks use the **Ctrl** key, not a separate command key, so there is nothing new to learn if you are coming from a PC. * **Copy:** select the text, then press [**Ctrl+C**](https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/183101). * **Paste:** click where you want it, then press **Ctrl+V**. * **Cut:** **Ctrl+X** removes the selection and copies it at the same time. * **Select all:** **Ctrl+A** grabs everything in the current box or document. To select text in the first place, click just before the first word, hold the mouse button down, and drag to the end. Or use the keyboard: hold **Shift** and tap the arrow keys to extend the selection one character at a time, or **Shift+Ctrl** with the arrows to grab whole words. These four shortcuts are the same on nearly every laptop, which is why a single set of [copy and paste keyboard shortcuts](https://relic.space/blog/how-to-copy-and-paste) carries you across Windows, Chromebooks and most of the web. One more for the same muscle memory: **Ctrl+Shift+V** pastes as plain text, so copied web text stops arriving in its original fonts and colors. The per-app details live in [how to paste without formatting](https://relic.space/blog/how-to-paste-without-formatting). ## How do you copy and paste on a Chromebook without a mouse? Chromebook touchpads do not have a separate right-click button, which throws people who expect one. The right-click lives in a gesture instead. ### The two-finger tap Tap the touchpad with [**two fingers at once**](https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/1047367). That opens the same menu a right-click would, with Copy, Cut and Paste on it. So the full no-keyboard method is: drag one finger to select your text, two-finger tap on the highlighted part, and choose **Copy**. Then click where you want it, two-finger tap again, and choose **Paste**. If the two-finger tap feels awkward, there is an alternative: hold the **Alt** key and tap with one finger. It does exactly the same thing. Either way, the right-click menu is where copy and paste hide when you are not using shortcuts. ## Copy and paste on the touchscreen Many Chromebooks are convertibles with a touchscreen, and these copy more like a phone or tablet. There is no keyboard or touchpad involved. * **Press and hold** on a word until it highlights and two small handles appear. * Drag the handles to cover everything you want, then tap **Copy** in the little bar that pops up. * Press and hold where you want the text, then tap **Paste**. This is handy in tablet mode when the keyboard is folded away. If you switch between laptop and tablet a lot, learn all three methods, because the right one depends on how you are holding the machine at that moment. Stuck on which shortcut your device uses? Chromebooks and Windows share **Ctrl+C** and **Ctrl+V**. A Mac is the odd one out, using Command instead. Our guide to [copying and pasting on any device](https://relic.space/blog/how-to-copy-and-paste) lays out the shortcut for every platform in one place. ## Where is the clipboard on a Chromebook? The clipboard normally holds a single item, with each new copy replacing the last (our explainer on [what the clipboard is](https://relic.space/blog/what-is-the-clipboard) covers why). ChromeOS softens this with a built-in clipboard history. Press the **Launcher key** (the circle or magnifying glass where Caps Lock sits on most keyboards) plus **V**, and a small panel appears showing your last [five copied items](https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/183101) (as of mid-2026), each one a click away from pasting again. It is genuinely useful when you are gathering a few things at once, like pulling three links out of a page. The catch is the small cap and the fact that it clears when you restart, so it is a short-term scratchpad rather than a record you can rely on. For a deeper walkthrough of this and the equivalents on other systems, see [how to access your clipboard history](https://relic.space/blog/how-to-access-clipboard-history). ## Frequently asked questions What is the copy and paste shortcut on a Chromebook?+ Copy is Ctrl+C and paste is Ctrl+V, exactly like Windows. Cut is Ctrl+X, and Ctrl+A selects everything in the current field or document. Chromebooks use Ctrl, not a separate command key, so the shortcuts match a Windows PC rather than a Mac. How do I right-click on a Chromebook to copy?+ Tap the touchpad with two fingers at once. That brings up the same menu a right-click would, with Copy and Paste on it. If you prefer, you can also hold Alt and tap with one finger, which does the same thing. Does a Chromebook keep a clipboard history?+ Yes. Press the Launcher key (the circle or magnifying glass where Caps Lock usually sits) plus V to open it. As of mid-2026, ChromeOS holds your last five copied items there, and you can click any one of them to paste it. It clears when you restart, so it is not a permanent record. A clipboard history that does not vanish at restart. The built-in ChromeOS panel is a short list that wipes on reboot. Relic keeps everything you copy, searchable across your devices and encrypted so only you can read it ([what end-to-end encryption means](https://relic.space/blog/what-is-end-to-end-encryption)). The opposite of a five-item list that disappears. [Download forWindows](https://relic.space/download/windows)[Download formacOS](https://relic.space/download/macos)[Download forLinux](https://relic.space/download/linux)[Download forAndroid](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=relic.space.app&referrer=utm%5Fsource%3Drelic.space%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dwebsite%26utm%5Fcampaign%3Dcontent)[Download foriPhone](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/relic-clipboard-vault/id6800556025) ## Why is copy and paste not working on your Chromebook? Sometimes nothing pastes, and it is usually one of a few small things rather than a broken Chromebook. * **The site blocks it.** Some web apps and password fields intentionally stop you pasting. There is often no way around this beyond typing it out. * **You copied nothing.** If the selection did not actually highlight, there is nothing on the clipboard to paste. Reselect and copy again. * **The tab is frozen.** A stuck web page can swallow shortcuts. Reload the tab, or close and reopen it, and try again. * **An extension is interfering.** A misbehaving Chrome extension can intercept Ctrl+C or Ctrl+V. Try the same copy in an incognito window, where extensions are off by default, to see if that is the cause. A quick restart clears most of these, since it also empties the ChromeOS clipboard and resets any frozen tabs. ## Sources * [Chromebook keyboard shortcuts](https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/183101), Chromebook Help * [Use your Chromebook touchpad](https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/1047367), Chromebook Help * [Keyboard shortcuts for Google Docs](https://support.google.com/docs/answer/179738), Google Docs Editors Help JG Written by [Jordan Gibbs](https://relic.space/authors/jordan-gibbs)Founder, Relic Jordan Gibbs is the founder of Relic, an end-to-end encrypted, permanent, searchable memory for everything you copy. He writes widely about AI, agents, and practical tooling on Medium, where he is read by tens of thousands, and builds privacy-first software. Here he covers how everyday tools like the clipboard actually work, and how to use them without handing your data to someone else. [Medium](https://medium.com/@jordan%5Fgibbs)[GitHub](https://github.com/jordan-gibbs)[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan--gibbs/) Part of [Copy and paste, explained](https://relic.space/blog/topics/copy-paste-basics) * [How to copy and paste on any device· pillar](https://relic.space/blog/how-to-copy-and-paste) * [How to copy and paste on an iPad](https://relic.space/blog/how-to-copy-and-paste-on-ipad) * [How to copy formatting in Word](https://relic.space/blog/how-to-copy-formatting-in-word) * [How to copy and paste on a Mac](https://relic.space/blog/how-to-copy-and-paste-on-mac) * [How to copy and paste on an iPhone](https://relic.space/blog/how-to-copy-and-paste-on-iphone) * [How to copy and paste on Android](https://relic.space/blog/how-to-copy-and-paste-on-android) * [How to copy and paste in Google Docs](https://relic.space/blog/how-to-copy-and-paste-in-google-docs) * [How to paste without formatting](https://relic.space/blog/how-to-paste-without-formatting) Keep reading [Pillar·12 minHow to copy and paste on any deviceThe same two steps work everywhere once you know the shortcut for your device. Copy and paste on Windows, Mac, Chromebook, iPhone, Android and tablets, by keyboard, trackpad or touch, with every shortcut in one table.Read ](https://relic.space/blog/how-to-copy-and-paste)[7 minHow to copy and paste on an iPadThe iPad copies by touch like an iPhone, but it also takes keyboard shortcuts and lets you drag things between two open apps. Every method, plus Procreate and the fixes when paste won't show up.Read ](https://relic.space/blog/how-to-copy-and-paste-on-ipad)[7 minHow to copy formatting in WordCopy the look of text in Word without the words. The Format Painter, single click vs double click, the keyboard shortcut for your version of Word and for Mac, and when styles work better.Read ](https://relic.space/blog/how-to-copy-formatting-in-word) copy and pastehow-tochromebook