What causes "xsel not found" in tonhowtf/omniget?

Install a clipboard tool: sudo apt install xclip (preferred) or sudo apt install xsel.

xsel not found

Error message

xsel not found

What it means

If xclip failed on Linux, copy_file_linux falls back to xsel. When xsel also cannot be spawned (not installed), this 'xsel not found' error is returned — meaning neither clipboard utility is available.

Solutions

Install a clipboard tool: sudo apt install xclip (preferred) or sudo apt install xsel.
On Wayland, install wl-clipboard and check whether the app supports it, or run under XWayland.
Verify with 'which xclip xsel' and retry the copy.

Example fix

// before
$ which xclip xsel  # neither installed
// after
$ sudo apt install xclip
$ omniget copy-file report.pdf

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

const which = (bin) => { try { return require('child_process').execSync(`which ${bin}`).toString().trim(); } catch { return null; } };
if (!which('xclip') && !which('xsel')) {
  throw new Error('No clipboard tool found; run: sudo apt install xclip');
}

Prevention

Install at least one of xclip/xsel on all Linux images used with the app
Check for both binaries during app startup and show an install hint
Document the clipboard dependency in Linux setup docs

When it happens

Trigger: copy_file_to_clipboard on Linux where xclip already failed and the xsel fallback binary is also missing from PATH.

Common situations: Minimal or headless Linux systems with neither xclip nor xsel installed; Wayland sessions without XWayland where both X tools are absent.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of tonhowtf/omniget@8600b91f42 (2026-09-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/02a44257957e5f5f. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src-tauri/omniget-core/src/core/clipboard.rs:97

        }
    })
    .await
    .map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!("{}", e))?;

    if let Ok(true) = xclip_result {
        tracing::info!("[clipboard] copied file to clipboard (xclip): {}", path);
        return Ok(());
    }

    let uri_clone = uri.clone();
    let xsel_result = tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || {
        let mut child = match crate::core::process::std_command("xsel")
            .args(["--clipboard", "--input"])
            .stdin(std::process::Stdio::piped())
            .spawn()
        {
            Ok(c) => c,
            Err(_) => return Err(anyhow::anyhow!("xsel not found")),
        };
        if let Some(ref mut stdin) = child.stdin {
            use std::io::Write;
            let _ = stdin.write_all(uri_clone.as_bytes());
        }
        let output = child.wait_with_output()?;
        if output.status.success() {
            Ok(true)
        } else {
            Ok(false)
        }
    })
    .await
    .map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!("{}", e))?;

    if let Ok(true) = xsel_result {
        tracing::info!("[clipboard] copied file URI to clipboard (xsel): {}", path);
        return Ok(());

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