Copy-Paste not working after macOS Tahoe upgrade

Test in Safe Mode – Restart your Mac and hold the power button until you see “Options”, then select your user and hold Shift to boot Safe Mode. Does the issue persist?

Test in a different user account – If you don’t already have one, create a new user in System Settings → Users & Groups, log into it and test copy-paste there.

If it works fine for the new user, likely it’s something in your main user account (settings, prefs, extension).

Keyboard shortcut conflicts – Go to System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts and see whether ⌘ C / ⌘ V have been accidentally remapped or disabled.

Third-party utilities – Do you have any clipboard manager, hot-key remapper, accessibility tool, macro utility, etc.? These could interfere with standard shortcuts. Try quitting them (or disabling) and see if it resolves.

Check for stuck modifier key or keyboard error – Press ⌘ C, ⌘ V in a simple app (TextEdit) and see if the window closes, or if only a specific app behaves this way. If it’s app-specific maybe the app intercepts those keys.

There was a thread recently where using Command-C or Command-V in the Open or Save windows would not work, but doing Edit->Copy or Edit->Paste would.

I cannot reproduce the problem, but if that is what you are experiencing you don't seem to be the only one.

Version 26.1 has just been released yesterday. You may want to update and see if this one of the bugs that have been fixed.

I tested very briefly and at least one annoying display bug in Contacts appears to have been fixed.

kristof113 wrote:

Copy-paste has gone awry after Mac Tahoe upgrade. For instance I copy and past names of folders in Finder, or in apps, or when saving documents.

For instance when saving documents in Photoshop, Dropbox, Powerpoint, Word, but also in Keynote and Pages, I can no longer cut and paste file names when I am in the "save as" mode. That used to work fine.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: MacOS Tahoe Can't copy-paste from Contacts any more without going into Card editing

yep it is a step backwards— I still see the issue in 26.1

thanks for reposting your observations—it was deleted for some unknown reason over here:

ref: MacOS Tahoe Can't copy-paste from Contact… - Apple Community

To be proactive you can file a bug report / submit your Apple Feedback here: Product Feedback - Apple

The current stable release of Tahoe including bug fixes, security updates is macOS 26.1

Keep your Mac up to date - Apple Support

Keep your Mac up to date - Apple Support

MSH007A63 wrote:

Very SIMPLE, in finder select file(s) in a given folder and via finder select another folder to "Paste". It does not work.

[Edited by Moderator]

It is working for the plurality of users, so you can either wait, in frustration, for a fix that will not come, or you can try to determine why it is not working correctly for you.

Please run Etrecheck and post its full report here. Use the "additional text" button and paste the report into the text box.

MSH007A63 wrote:

So I have to use UNIX cp commands since finder copy/paste is BROKEN. What a crock of ___!

There is Hold Option key while doing a Drag & Drop. No Unix commands needed.

And Hold both Command & Option while doing a Drag & Drop to create an Alias.

Hold the Command key while doing a Drag & Drop will move the file, even if it is to another disk.

Finally, I strongly suggest using Owl-53’s diagnostic instructions to see if you can find the cause.

flmueller wrote:

Since being on Tahoe (26 and 26.1) I also have the issue with copying/cutting files and paste them into a selected folder. Hopefully this will be fixed soon. I think it only happens in List view.

Works fine here. In fact, Tahoe does this better than Sequoia.

In Sequoia, when I select a folder in list view and choose paste, the new file is pasted into the folder that contains the selected folder. It becomes a new sibling of the folder.

But in Tahoe, the new file is put inside the selected folder. If no folder is selected, then it behaves like Sequoia. This is how it should work.

Very SIMPLE, in finder select file(s) in a given folder and via finder select another folder to "Paste". It does not work.

It works perfectly - better than before, in fact.

So I have to use UNIX cp commands since finder copy/paste is BROKEN. What a crock of ___!

cp is not really the equivalent of copy and paste. Maybe what you're looking for are the "pbcopy" and "pbpaste" commands. Those are really handy!

I updated to Tahoe yesterday and see immediate copy/pasta issues. I see the issue the OP raised, though I don't work that way so it's not been quite as annoying for me yet. The biggest one that's doing MY nut in is this:

I can't paste a previously copied value into the filename in a 'save' dialogue. I didn't realise I do this multiple times a day, until it broke 😅

I think it might be related. I think the clipboard access permissions have changed in Tahoe or something like that.

So I have to use UNIX cp commands since finder copy/paste is BROKEN. What a crock of ___!

etresoft wrote:

leroydouglas wrote:

yep it is a step backwards— I still see the issue in 26.1

I'm not seeing any problem. Can you or the OP provide a step-by-step procedure to reproduce it?

kristof113 wrote:

I can no longer cut and paste file names when I am in the "save as" mode. That used to work fine.

Read through the reference post seem to explain it...

can not copy and paste into the active save as field

ex

macOS 26.1

MSH007A63 wrote:

So I have to use UNIX cp commands since finder copy/paste is BROKEN. What a crock of ___!

Even if copy and paste does not work, you can always drag files, which is the original mac way of moving or copying.

To make a copy instead of moving, just press and hold the Option key at any time before letting go of the mouse button. You can visually see a copy will happen because a big green circle with a + in it will appear.

BobHarris wrote:

MSH007A63 wrote:

So I have to use UNIX cp commands since finder copy/paste is BROKEN. What a crock of ___!

There is Hold Option key while doing a Drag & Drop. No Unix commands needed.

And Hold both Command & Option while doing a Drag & Drop to create an Alias.

Hold the Command key while doing a Drag & Drop will move the file, even if it is to another disk.

Finally, I strongly suggest using Owl-53’s diagnostic instructions to see if you can find the cause.

Thank you very much

🦉-53

etresoft wrote:

Works fine here. In fact, Tahoe does this better than Sequoia.

In Sequoia, when I select a folder in list view and choose paste, the new file is pasted into the folder that contains the selected folder. It becomes a new sibling of the folder.

But in Tahoe, the new file is put inside the selected folder. If no folder is selected, then it behaves like Sequoia. This is how it should work.

Interesting, and NOT what I am experiencing in Tahoe - unless I am misinterpreting your post (always a possibility...).

Say you have folder B selected inside folder A, in List View:

I have previously COPIED another folder C.

If I paste in the above situation, you are saying C is pasted inside B, right?

I get this, in Tahoe 26.1 - C is pasted as a sibling of B, just as it did in Sequoia and in all previous versions.

Whether it is right or wrong is debatable. Yes, B was selected, but your window was showing the contents of folder A, as clearly indicated in the window title. The window title always shows the intended target.

I do not use List View much. I use Column View almost always.

Luis Sequeira1 wrote:

Interesting, and NOT what I am experiencing in Tahoe - unless I am misinterpreting your post (always a possibility...).

Strange. I went back to try it again and now I can't reproduce it. I tried it Sequoia and noted how it behaved. Then tried it Tahoe (26.1 exactly) and it seemed to work better. I even noticed a little shimmer over the icon. And the new file was definitely inside. But now I can't reproduce it using standard copy and paste. I can reproduce it with the context menu "Paste item".

All I can say is that it doesn't work for me.

In Tahoe, the file is always moved to the root of the current window when I use the CMD+V shortcut, which wasn't the case before Tahoe. “Paste Item” does work via the context menu, but that's not how I work.

Unfortunately, you can't see which keys I'm pressing in the GIF, but I also try to move the file several times (after copying and deleting the file) with CMD+ALT+V. However, this only moves the file to the root directory – meaning you don't see any change (but you hear the sound). To copy or move files using the keyboard shortcut, you first have to open the desired folder in List View and then paste it – totally cumbersome and certainly not the desired behavior.

leroydouglas wrote:

yep it is a step backwards— I still see the issue in 26.1

I'm not seeing any problem. Can you or the OP provide a step-by-step procedure to reproduce it?