Nemo file explorer custom actions

Adding a "Copy File Path" Option to Nemo in Linux Cinnamon

The Nemo file browser in Linux Cinnamon is highly customizable, allowing users to tweak its functionality to suit their workflow. One useful feature missing by default is a right-click menu option to copy a file's full path to the clipboard—an essential shortcut for developers, power users, and anyone working with file paths regularly.

Note that you could simply download the Copy Path to Cliboard from Cinnamon Spices, the official addons repository.

In this guide, we'll show you how to add this feature by creating a Nemo Action, both for individual users and system-wide use manually.

Step 1: Create a Nemo Action File

First, we need to create a .nemo_action file that tells Nemo how to handle the new menu option.

• Open a terminal and navigate to the actions folder:

  mkdir -p ~/.local/share/nemo/actions
  cd ~/.local/share/nemo/actions

• Create a new file:

  touch copy_path.nemo_action

Step 2: Define the Action

Edit the copy_path.nemo_action file in your favorite text editor and add the following content:

[Nemo Action]
Name=Copy Full Filepath
Comment=Copies the full path of the selected file
Exec=sh -c "readlink -f %F | xclip -selection clipboard"
Icon-Name=edit-copy
Selection=notnone
Extensions=nodirs
Dependencies=readlink;xclip;

Explanation of Key Parameters:

• Name: Defines the name appearing in the right-click menu.
• Exec: Runs a command using readlink (to get the full path) and xclip (to copy it to the clipboard).
• Selection & Extensions: Ensures it only applies to files, not directories.

Step 3: Install Required Dependencies

Ensure xclip is installed, as it handles clipboard copying:

sudo apt install xclip

Step 4: Restart Nemo

To apply the changes, restart Nemo:

nemo --quit && nemo &

Now, when you right-click a file, you should see the "Copy Full Filepath" option. Clicking it copies the selected file's full path to the clipboard!

Step 5: Make It Available for All Users (Optional)

If you want all users on the system to have access to this feature, place the .nemo_action file in the system-wide Nemo actions directory:

sudo mv ~/.local/share/nemo/actions/copy_path.nemo_action /usr/share/nemo/actions/

Ensure proper permissions:

sudo chmod 644 /usr/share/nemo/actions/copy_path.nemo_action
sudo chown root:root /usr/share/nemo/actions/copy_path.nemo_action

Restart Nemo once again:

nemo --quit && nemo &

Now, all users on the system should have the "Copy Full Filepath" option available!

Variations

It is possible to restrict the custom action to specific conditions. For example if I want the action only to be available in a user's ~/custom directory you can add to the action defintion file:

Conditions=path =~ ~/custom/

You could also use Conditions=path matches $HOME/custom/* to specify the path.

Other conditions

The "Conditions" field in Nemo actions allows you to specify when an action should be available. Here are some common options:

• mime: Restrict the action to specific file types (e.g., mime=text/plain for text files).
• name: Match specific filenames (e.g., name=*.txt for all .txt files).
• path: Limit the action to certain directories (e.g., path matches $HOME/special/*).
• selection: Define how many files must be selected (e.g., selection=1 for single-file actions).
• exec: Ensure a command exists before showing the action (e.g., exec=command-name).
• extension: Restrict based on file extensions (e.g., extension=png,jpg for images).

You can combine multiple conditions to fine-tune when your action appears.

Conclusion

Adding custom Nemo Actions is a powerful way to extend the functionality of your Linux Cinnamon file manager. With just a few simple steps, you now have a quick and efficient way to copy file paths—saving time and effort, especially in development workflows.