Should I use Cinch or OSC 52?

If you only use interactive SSH sessions in a modern terminal like iTerm2 or Ghostty with no tmux, OSC 52 is fine — it requires zero setup. Use Cinch when you work inside tmux, Docker containers, CI/CD runners, or across nested SSH hops.

Does Cinch replace OSC 52 completely?

Cinch is a superset. It handles everything OSC 52 does plus the cases where OSC 52 breaks. You can run both — Cinch doesn't interfere with OSC 52.

Why does OSC 52 break in tmux?

tmux intercepts terminal escape sequences and doesn't forward them to the outer terminal's clipboard. There are workarounds (setting allow-passthrough), but they require tmux configuration and still fail in some setups.

Is Cinch slower than OSC 52?

For interactive clipboard use, the latency difference is imperceptible. Both are effectively instant. OSC 52 skips the network entirely, but Cinch via a self-hosted relay on the same network adds only a few milliseconds.

Cinch vs OSC 52: Which Should You Use?

Feature	Cinch	OSC 52
Works in interactive SSH (modern terminal)	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Works inside tmux / screen	✅ Yes	❌ Broken
Works in Docker exec	✅ Yes	❌ Broken
Works in CI/CD runners	✅ Yes	❌ Broken
Works across SSH hops	✅ Yes	❌ Broken at first hop
Pull (remote → local)	✅ Yes	❌ Push-only
Self-hostable	✅ Yes	N/A
Requires terminal support	❌ No	✅ Required
Install required	One binary	None

The Problem with OSC 52

OSC 52 is a terminal escape sequence that asks your terminal emulator to write to the local clipboard. In the ideal case — an interactive SSH session in a terminal that supports it, with no multiplexer in the way — it works beautifully. Zero install, zero config.

The problem is that “the ideal case” excludes a large slice of real developer workflows:

Environment	OSC 52 status
iTerm2 or Ghostty over direct SSH	Works
SSH inside tmux	Broken — tmux intercepts the sequence
SSH inside GNU screen	Broken
`docker exec` / `docker attach`	Broken — no escape passthrough
GitHub Actions, GitLab CI	Broken — no PTY
Nested SSH hops	Broken at the first hop
VS Code Remote SSH	Works sometimes

If your workflow touches any of these, OSC 52 will silently fail and you’ll be back to copying output manually.

How Cinch Works Differently

Cinch doesn’t use terminal escape sequences at all. It’s plain HTTPS:

# On the remote machine
echo "some output" | cinch push

# On your local machine (or another remote)
cinch pull

cinch push sends the clip to a relay server over HTTPS. cinch pull retrieves it. Because it’s HTTP, it works in any environment that has outbound internet access — no PTY, no terminal support, no SSH forwarding flags required.

The Comparison

The table above covers the key differences. The short version:

OSC 52: zero-install, works in simple interactive SSH sessions, breaks everywhere else
Cinch: one binary to install, works everywhere, supports pull (OSC 52 is push-only)

When to Use OSC 52

OSC 52 is the right choice when:

You only copy from a single SSH session, never inside tmux
You use a modern terminal that supports it (iTerm2, Ghostty, WezTerm, Kitty)
You never need to pull content from your local machine to a remote

There’s no reason to switch something that’s working. OSC 52’s zero-install advantage is real.

When to Use Cinch

Use Cinch when:

You work inside tmux or screen
You use Docker, containers, or CI/CD environments
You need bidirectional clipboard sync (pull from local to remote)
You want a solution that works regardless of terminal or SSH setup

Self-Hosting

Cinch’s relay is a single Go binary you can run on any server:

docker run -p 8080:8080 ghcr.io/jinmugo/cinch-relay:latest

Your clips never leave infrastructure you control. See the self-hosting guide for full setup instructions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I use Cinch or OSC 52?: If you only use interactive SSH sessions in a modern terminal like iTerm2 or Ghostty with no tmux, OSC 52 is fine — it requires zero setup. Use Cinch when you work inside tmux, Docker containers, CI/CD runners, or across nested SSH hops.
Does Cinch replace OSC 52 completely?: Cinch is a superset. It handles everything OSC 52 does plus the cases where OSC 52 breaks. You can run both — Cinch doesn't interfere with OSC 52.
Why does OSC 52 break in tmux?: tmux intercepts terminal escape sequences and doesn't forward them to the outer terminal's clipboard. There are workarounds (setting allow-passthrough), but they require tmux configuration and still fail in some setups.
Is Cinch slower than OSC 52?: For interactive clipboard use, the latency difference is imperceptible. Both are effectively instant. OSC 52 skips the network entirely, but Cinch via a self-hosted relay on the same network adds only a few milliseconds.