Copying files and clipboard in RDP

Summary

If copying text or files between your local computer and the RDP session doesn't work: check resource redirection settings and restart rdpclip.exe.

Applies to:
✔ VPS with Windows Server
✔ Dedicated servers with Windows Server

Check RDP client settings

Before connecting, open mstsc, click "Show Options", go to the "Local Resources" tab.

Make sure "Clipboard" is checked.

For file transfer, click "More" and check "Drives" (or specific drives).

Restarting rdpclip.exe

If the clipboard stopped working during the current session, restart the rdpclip process:

Open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc), find rdpclip.exe and end it.

Start it again via "File → New Task":

rdpclip.exe

Or via PowerShell:

Stop-Process -Name rdpclip -Force; Start-Process rdpclip

Copying files via redirected drives

If drive redirection is enabled in client settings, open File Explorer in the RDP session. Local drives appear under "This PC" as "DRIVE on COMPUTERNAME".

Copy files between local and server drives through File Explorer.

Alternative: copying over the network

If drive redirection is unavailable, use an SCP or SFTP client (WinSCP).

Drag and Drop

Drag and Drop works only with Windows 10/11 with RDP 10.0+ connecting to Windows Server 2016+.

If drag and drop doesn't work, use the clipboard (Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V) or redirected drives.

Verification

Copy text on your local computer (Ctrl+C), switch to the RDP session and paste (Ctrl+V). The text should paste correctly.

If the clipboard doesn't work after restarting rdpclip.exe and checking settings, open a support ticket.