claude-code - 💡(How to fix) Fix Feature request: paste image from clipboard directly in terminal (Ctrl+V)

Summary

Currently, Claude Code in terminal cannot accept images pasted from the clipboard (Ctrl+V). Users must save the image to disk first and reference the file path manually.

Why this matters

• The Read tool already accepts images — the multimodal capability exists at the model level. This is purely a terminal UI gap, not a model limitation.
• The security argument doesn't hold — users can already pass any local image file to Claude and it will read it. Clipboard images carry identical risk.
• The terminal IS a development environment — seeing UI screenshots, error dialogs, graphs, charts, wireframes and design mockups is core to the dev workflow, not a peripheral use case.
• Friction breaks flow — the current workaround (save to disk → note path → type path → Claude reads it) interrupts the development loop unnecessarily.

Expected behavior

Pressing Ctrl+V with an image in the clipboard should paste it directly into the Claude Code terminal interface, the same way claude.ai handles it in the browser.

Fallback that works universally

Auto-save the clipboard image to a temp file and reference it automatically — no need for Kitty/Sixel/OSC 52 support. Simple, terminal-agnostic, and zero extra steps for the user.

Current workaround

Users must: take screenshot → save to file → manually type the path → Claude reads it. Doable but entirely avoidable.

Submitted on behalf of a Claude Code user who builds real products daily with it and hit this limitation repeatedly.