Claude Code Image Paste (WSL)

Paste images from clipboard into terminals for Claude Code conversations. Optimized for Windows & WSL environments.

Works with all VS Code-based IDEs: VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, VSCodium, and other forks.

Based on agg4code/claude-image-paste - enhanced with WSL path handling, auto-save to project directory, and automatic cleanup.

✨ Features

• 📋 Clipboard Images: Paste screenshots directly from your clipboard
• 📁 File Support: Copy image files from Explorer and paste their paths
• 🖼️ Multiple Formats: PNG, JPG, JPEG, GIF, BMP, WebP, SVG, ICO, TIFF
• 🔄 WSL Path Conversion: Automatically converts paths for WSL terminals
• 📂 Auto-Save to Project: Save images to your project directory instead of temp
• 🧹 Auto-Cleanup: Keeps only the last N images to prevent folder bloat
• 🤖 @ Prefix: Automatically adds @ prefix for Claude Code file imports
• 📝 Auto-Gitignore: Automatically adds save directory to .gitignore
• ✏️ File Renaming: Optional rename dialog for custom filenames
• 📅 Smart Naming: Auto-generates timestamped filenames with configurable prefix

🚀 Installation

VS Code / VSCodium

Install from the marketplace:

ext install melon-hub.claude-code-image-paste-wsl

Or search "Claude Code Image Paste WSL" in the Extensions panel.

Cursor / Windsurf / Other Forks

These IDEs don't always sync with the VS Code Marketplace. Install manually:

1. Download the latest .vsix from Releases
2. Ctrl+Shift+P → "Install from VSIX..."
3. Select the downloaded file
4. Restart the IDE

📖 Usage

1. Copy an image:

   • Take a screenshot (Win+Shift+S, PrintScreen, etc.)
   • OR copy an image file from File Explorer
   • OR right-click an image in browser → Copy image

2. With your terminal open, press:

   Ctrl+Alt+V
   

3. The image path is inserted with @ prefix, ready for Claude Code!

Note: The keyboard shortcut requires a terminal to be open. The command palette (Ctrl+Shift+P → "Paste Image for Claude") is available but will shift focus away from the terminal.

⚙️ Settings

Configure in VS Code Settings (Ctrl+,) → search "Claude Image Paste":

Setting	Default	Description
saveDirectory	""	Where to save images (see below)
skipRenamePrompt	false	Skip the file rename dialog
maxImages	10	Max images to keep in directory (oldest auto-deleted)
filenamePrefix	img_	Prefix for auto-generated filenames

📅 Filename Format

Images are automatically named with a timestamp:

img_20250103_143052.png
│   │        │
│   │        └── Time: 14:30:52 (HHMMSS)
│   └─────────── Date: 2025-01-03 (YYYYMMDD)
└────────────────Prefix (configurable)

This ensures filenames are unique and sort chronologically in file explorers.

📂 How saveDirectory Works

Value	Behavior	Example Result
"" (empty)	Uses system temp folder	C:\Users\You\AppData\Local\Temp\img_20250103_120000.png
.claude-images	Relative to current workspace root	[workspace]/.claude-images/img_20250103_120000.png
screenshots	Relative to current workspace root	[workspace]/screenshots/img_20250103_120000.png
~/Pictures	Expands ~ to home directory	/home/you/Pictures/img_20250103_120000.png
/absolute/path	Uses exact path	/absolute/path/img_20250103_120000.png

Key point: Relative paths (like .claude-images) are resolved from whatever folder you have open in VS Code/Cursor. So if you open /home/user/my-project, images save to /home/user/my-project/.claude-images/.

The folder is automatically created if it doesn't exist, and automatically added to .gitignore.

💡 Recommended Setup

Add to your VS Code/Cursor settings.json:

{
  "claudeImagePaste.saveDirectory": ".claude-images",
  "claudeImagePaste.skipRenamePrompt": true,
  "claudeImagePaste.maxImages": 10
}

This configuration:

• ✅ Saves images to .claude-images/ in your project root
• ✅ Skips the rename prompt for faster workflow
• ✅ Auto-deletes old images, keeping only the last 10

🛠️ Requirements

• Windows 10/11 with WSL2 (or native Windows)
• PowerShell (comes with Windows)
• VS Code 1.74.0+ or any VS Code-based IDE (Cursor, Windsurf, VSCodium, etc.)

🐛 Troubleshooting

"No active terminal found"

• Open a terminal first (Ctrl+`)
• Make sure at least one terminal exists in VS Code/Cursor

"No image in clipboard"

• Ensure you copied an image (not just selected it)
• Try copying again - some apps don't copy to clipboard correctly

"Failed to move file to custom directory"

• Check the directory path is valid
• Ensure you have write permissions
• Try using an absolute path instead of relative

Keyboard shortcut doesn't work

• Ensure a terminal is open (doesn't need to be focused)
• Check for conflicts: Ctrl+K Ctrl+S → search "Paste Image"
• Try reassigning to a different shortcut

Extension not updating

• Fully close and reopen VS Code/Cursor (reload window may not be enough)

💡 Contributing

Have an idea or found a bug? Contributions welcome!

• Bug reports: Open an issue
• Feature requests: Open an issue
• Pull requests: Fork, make changes, submit a PR

👥 Credits

• Original Extension: claude-image-paste by agg
• WSL Fork: melon-hub

📝 License

MIT License - see LICENSE