unable to copy/paste in mingw shell

Right-click on the title bar of the command window and select 'Properties', then on the 'Options' tab tick the box for the 'QuickEdit mode', then click 'Ok'.

After that you can paste text from the clipboard using the right mouse-button, highlight text while holding down the left mouse-button and copy selected text using the ENTER key.

This procedure works on Windows 7/8, not Windows 10.


[Alternative] For MINGW64 (mintty 2.7.9) terminal in Windows 10, you can enable "Ctrl+Shift+letter shortcuts" to perform copy with (Ctrl+Shift+c) and paste with (Ctrl+Shift+v).

To enable the feature:

  1. right-click command window
  2. Click on 'Keys'
  3. Check the box for 'Ctrl+Shift+letter shortcuts'

When you vi/vim into a file:

  • To copy: highlight the portion you want and click 'y'
  • To cut: highlight the portion you want and click 'd'
  • To paste: Ctrl+Shift+v