Clipboard paste doesn't send Ctrl+V character for non-text content (images/files)

[EugenEistrach]

When clipboard contains non-text data (images, files), pasting does nothing. TUI apps like vim, Claude Code read images directly from system clipboard via pbpaste/xclip/wl-paste - they just need the \x16 (Ctrl+V) signal to know to read it.

Two related issues:

1. Paste event handler returns early when no text

In Terminal class, the textarea paste handler only handles text:

this.textarea.addEventListener("paste", (e) => {
  const text = e.clipboardData?.getData("text");
  if (text) {
    this.paste(text);
  }
  // Does nothing for non-text clipboard content
});

Proposed fix - send \x16 when clipboard has non-text data:

this.textarea.addEventListener("paste", (e) => {
  const text = e.clipboardData?.getData("text");
  if (text) {
    this.paste(text);
  } else if (e.clipboardData && e.clipboardData.types.length > 0) {
    this.dataEmitter.fire("\x16");
  }
});

2. Ctrl+V keydown returns early without sending character

In InputHandler.handleKeyDown:

if ((event.ctrlKey || event.metaKey) && event.code === "KeyV") {
  return; // Returns without sending anything
}

xterm.js sends \x16 for Ctrl+V (via String.fromCharCode(keyCode - 64)).

Proposed fix - send \x16 for Ctrl+V:

if (event.ctrlKey && event.code === "KeyV") {
  this.onDataCallback("\x16");
  return;
}
if (event.metaKey && event.code === "KeyV" || event.metaKey && event.code === "KeyC") {
  return;
}

---

Note: These fixes were developed during an AI-assisted session and are currently used as patches in our application. Due to time constraints we're unable to submit a proper PR, but wanted to share the findings.