Save Me: Python Clipboard Archiving Utility

This script is designed to quickly capture and archive text directly from your system clipboard into organized text files. With a single command, it checks your clipboard, automatically creates a designated directory (~/Documents/Destination_Folder by default), and gives you the option to either append the new text to your most recent archive file or create a brand-new timestamped file.

Overview / Who Is This For?

Target Audience & Purpose:

This script and guide are specifically tailored for Linux users—primarily freelancers, writers, researchers, investigative journalists, and developers. It allows you to rapidly append or save context-specific notes and text snippets directly from your clipboard into a single, organized directory via the Terminal, keeping your research and project workflows seamless.

Prerequisites: Installing `pyperclip`

This script relies on the third-party pyperclip module to interact with the system clipboard. If you do not have it installed yet, you can easily install it using pip:

Bash

pip install pyperclip

On Linux systems (such as Ubuntu or BackBox), you may also need to ensure your system has a clipboard backend installed (like xclip or xsel) for pyperclip to function correctly:

Bash

sudo apt-get install xclip

#or

sudo apt-get install xsel

Python Source Code (English Translated)

import os
import glob
from datetime import datetime
import pyperclip

def save_session():
    text = pyperclip.paste()
    if not text.strip():
        print("Error: Clipboard is empty!")
        return


# 1. Define the target directory path
# "~" automatically resolves to your /home/user directory
directory = os.path.expanduser("~/Documents/Destination_Folder")

# 2. Check if the directory exists; if not, create it
if not os.path.exists(directory):
    os.makedirs(directory)
    print(f"Created new directory: {directory}")

# 3. Find the most recent file inside that directory
search_pattern = os.path.join(directory, "recorded_*.txt")
file_list = glob.glob(search_pattern)
latest_file = max(file_list, key=os.path.getctime) if file_list else None

title_time = datetime.now().strftime("%d.%m.%Y. at %H:%M:%S")

choice = ""
if latest_file:
    latest_file_name = os.path.basename(latest_file)
    print(f"Found latest file in archive: {latest_file_name}")
    choice = input("Do you want to Append to this file (A) or create a New one (N)? [A/N]: ").lower()

if choice == 'a' and latest_file:
    file_path = latest_file
    mode = "a"
    message = f"Appended to: {os.path.basename(file_path)}"
else:
    time_name = datetime.now().strftime("%Y-%m-%d_%H-%M-%S")
    file_name = f"recorded_{time_name}.txt"
    file_path = os.path.join(directory, file_name)
    mode = "w"
    message = f"Created new file: {file_name}"

try:
    with open(file_path, mode, encoding="utf-8") as f:
        f.write(f"\n\n--- NEW ENTRY: {title_time} ---\n")
        f.write(text)
        f.write("\n" + "="*40)
    print(f"{message} (in folder Documents/Destination_Folder)")
except Exception as e:
    print(f"Error: {e}")
if __name__ == "__main__":
    save_session()