You copied a screenshot, pressed Ctrl+V in Claude Code over SSH, and got no image found in clipboard. Sometimes the line is longer: no image found, you are SSH’d, try scp. Claude asked the remote clipboard for a PNG. That clipboard is empty. The snip is still on the laptop.
This page is the error string: what it means, how to tell SSH from a local clipboard bug, what tmux and WSL add. The four copy methods live on How to paste an image into Claude Code over SSH. Shims vs path uploaders: Claude Code SSH screenshot tools compared.
What the error is telling you
Claude Code’s image paste does not stream the PNG through the SSH channel as a file upload. It reads a clipboard on the machine where claude runs.
On your laptop, that clipboard has the snip. On the VM, there is no display server, or xclip/wl-paste points at an empty clipboard, or OSC 52 never returned image bytes. Claude reports no image. The local clipboard is fine. You checked the wrong one.
A related failure is silence: Ctrl+V inserts nothing, or inserts a file path from Cmd+V on a Mac (/Users/you/Desktop/shot.png) that does not exist on Linux. Same gap, less text.
Diagnose in this order
1. Confirm you are remote
If the session started with ssh, VS Code Remote-SSH, or Cursor Remote-SSH, treat the clipboard as empty. Skip local paste tricks until the file is on that host.
Local Claude Code can still print this error when the clipboard holds text, a file URL, or a format the decoder rejects. If hostname is your laptop, inspect what you copied. If hostname is the VM, stop debugging Preview and start copying a file.
2. tmux
tmux inside SSH adds another clipboard. Image paste does not survive it. OSC 52 passthrough might fix text copy out. It will not give Claude a PNG. Use a remote file path. Detach tmux only if you are testing whether the error message changes; the fix is still a file on disk.
3. WSL, then SSH
Windows snip → WSL Claude Code is already a clipboard boundary (WSLg BMP, Windows Terminal grabbing Ctrl+V). SSH from WSL to a VM is a second boundary. Fixing WSL paste does not fix the VM. Copy the file to the VM.
4. The terminal ate Ctrl+V
Windows Terminal, some tmux binds, and some Claude versions disagree about Ctrl+V vs Alt+V. If a keybinding never reaches Claude, you will not even get the error. Put the path in the prompt with ordinary text paste. Text does cross SSH.
5. Claude Code version
Issues exist for Ctrl+V image paste broken over SSH after clipboard-handling changes, and for missing OSC 52 / OSC 5522 support. A version bump can break a setup that worked last month. A file path keeps working across those swings.
Fix it with a path
One scp is enough to clear the error:
scp bug.png user@server:/tmp/Look at /tmp/bug.pngClaude reads files even when paste fails. The other methods (Remote-SSH drag, shims, a batch folder): How to paste an image into Claude Code over SSH.
Local sessions that print the same string
If you are not on SSH and still see no image found:
- The clipboard holds text or a mix, not a PNG.
- You copied a Finder file (a URL) instead of bitmap data.
- The image is huge; Claude Code has rejected oversized pastes (crop or resize).
- WSL received
image/bmpClaude cannot decode.
Those are local bugs. Over SSH, do not start there.
Quick answers
What does “No image found in clipboard” mean in Claude Code over SSH? Claude Code asked the remote clipboard for a PNG and got nothing. Over SSH that clipboard is empty or missing. Your screenshot is still on the laptop.
Is this the same as Ctrl+V doing nothing? Often yes. Some terminals swallow Ctrl+V as text paste. Some sessions print the error. The file still has to reach the remote disk either way.
Does this error also happen locally? Yes, when the clipboard holds text, a file URL, or a format Claude cannot decode. Over SSH, start by assuming the remote clipboard is the wrong one.
How do I fix it without a clipboard daemon?
Save the screenshot, scp it to the host, and put the remote path in the prompt. Claude reads files even when paste fails.