---
title: Paste directly on select | Relic Help
description: Picking an item can copy it and paste it into the app you came from, in one press. What that needs on a Mac, and what happens on Linux.
canonical: https://relic.space/help/paste-on-select
source: https://relic.space/llms.txt
---
Paste

# Paste directly on select

Picking an item can copy it and paste it into the app you came from, in one press. What that needs on a Mac, and what happens on Linux.

Updated 10 September 2026 · Windows, Mac, Linux

## [What it does](#what-it-does)

Pick an item in the Relic window and two things happen: the item goes on your clipboard, and Relic presses paste for you in the app you came from. One press of Enter and the text is in the box you were typing in.

Paste directly on select

Copy and paste into the frontmost app in one press.

Settings › General › Paste directly on select: toggle, default on.

Turn it off and picking an item only copies it. The window still closes, and you press Ctrl \+ V (Cmd \+ V on a Mac) yourself. Some people prefer that, because it leaves the last step in their hands.

This is about the window and the [mini picker](https://relic.space/help/mini-picker). The [quick paste keys](https://relic.space/help/quick-paste) and the [paste stack](https://relic.space/help/paste-stack) always try to paste for you, since there is no window to pick in.

## [On a Mac](#on-a-mac)

macOS asks before any app may press keys on your behalf. Relic needs that permission to paste for you, and asks for it in the General pane. Granting it takes a trip to System Settings, then a re-check.

Let Relic paste for you

macOS asks permission before any app can press keys for you. Relic uses it to paste the item you pick straight into the app you were just in, and to grab your selection when you press the save and annotate hotkey.

Settings › General › Accessibility › Let Relic paste for you: button: Allow Relic to paste.

Without it, the item is still copied. Relic says so once each time it starts, so a shortcut that seems to do nothing is explained rather than mysterious:

Copied, press Cmd+V to paste

Relic needs Accessibility access to paste for you. Grant it in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility.

The same permission is what lets Relic take your selection when you press the save and annotate shortcut. Everything else in Relic works without it.

## [On Linux](#on-linux)

On a Wayland desktop, no app is allowed to press keys in another app. There is no permission to grant, so Relic cannot paste for you there, whatever this setting says. The item is copied and you paste it yourself. Relic mentions it once per run:

Copied, press Ctrl+V to paste

Wayland does not let apps paste for you. Log in with the "Ubuntu on Xorg" session (or your desktop's X11 option) for one-click paste.

Which session am I on

Most Linux desktops offer both. On the login screen, click the small gear or the session name and pick the X11 option, then sign in. Everything else about Relic behaves the same on either one.

## [Terminals](#terminals)

Terminals paste with Ctrl \+ Shift \+ V. On Linux, Relic notices it is pasting into a terminal and sends that chord instead, so picking an item works there too.

* If a paste lands in the wrong place, the app you came from probably lost focus while the window was open. Click into the field first, then open Relic.
* If nothing pastes but the item is on your clipboard, paste it yourself. That is the sign that the keystroke could not be sent.

The rest of the General pane, including this row and the Mac permission, is on [Settings: General](https://relic.space/help/settings-general).

Related

[The mini pickerPaste](https://relic.space/help/mini-picker)[Quick paste 1 to 5Paste](https://relic.space/help/quick-paste)[Settings: GeneralSettings reference](https://relic.space/help/settings-general)[The Relic windowGet started](https://relic.space/help/the-popup)