Paste without format: strip Markdown syntax when pasting into the composer

[shoham-utila]

Problem

When I copy text that contains Markdown and paste it into the composer, the syntax characters come along with it. With the rich text composer on (the default), the text is styled, but the ** and backticks stay in the prompt. With it off, they show as plain characters. There is no way to paste just the words.

For example, I copy part of an agent's reply to reuse in a new prompt:

Run **`npm install`** first, then restart the **dev server**.

I want the composer to get:

Run npm install first, then restart the dev server.

The existing Edit → Paste as Text (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+V) doesn't help here. It only stops a large paste from being folded into a pasted-text.txt attachment, and the Markdown syntax is still inserted.

What I mean by "Paste Without Format"

Strip the Markdown syntax and keep only the text:

• **important** → important
• `npm install` → npm install

This is not "paste the Markdown literally instead of rendering it". The composer already does that, since the composer's content is the Markdown that gets sent to the agent.

Shortcut

Common "paste without formatting" shortcuts:

• Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+V: Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Google Docs, Slack, Notion, and Word on Windows.
• Cmd+Option+Shift+V: macOS's built-in "Paste and Match Style" in Apple apps and most native Mac apps.

One option is to have the existing Paste as Text action strip Markdown, since users already reach for Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+V to mean "paste without formatting". On macOS, Cmd+Option+Shift+V could trigger it as well.

The other option is a separate action. In Markdown-aware editors like Notion and Slack, Cmd+Shift+V means "keep the Markdown literal and don't format it". That is closer to what Paste as Text does in the composer today than to stripping. Changing it would also remove the current way to paste a large block inline without the Markdown being removed.

Open questions

1. Repurpose Paste as Text, or add a separate "Paste Without Format" action with its own shortcut, for example Cmd+Option+Shift+V?
2. How far should stripping go? Links ([text](url) → text, or keep the URL?), list markers, block quotes, fenced code blocks?
3. Should a stripped paste still stay inline instead of becoming an attachment, as Paste as Text does now?
4. Surfaces: the web and desktop composer clearly. Should mobile get it, and should the integrated terminal stay untouched?