Add a "Quick Copy" button for code blocks in the mobile view

[santimartinezzgb]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Product Feedback

💬 Feature/Topic Area

Android

Body

Currently, when viewing files or PRs on the GitHub Mobile app/web, copying a specific line or a block of code is a bit clunky—you have to long-press and manually select the text, which often grabs line numbers by mistake.

[abinaze]

Hi @santimartinezzgb,

This is a well-observed usability gap, and I agree that the current experience on mobile is not very efficient.

On desktop, copying code is straightforward due to built-in copy buttons and precise cursor control. On mobile, however, the reliance on long-press selection introduces several issues:

• It’s imprecise, often capturing line numbers or unintended sections
• It becomes cumbersome for multi-line snippets
• It slows down workflows, especially when reviewing PRs or debugging on the go

A “Quick Copy” button for code blocks would significantly improve this. Even a minimal implementation could provide:

• A copy icon per code block (similar to many documentation sites)
• Optional support for copying without line numbers
• Possibly a way to copy individual lines or selected ranges more cleanly

This would align the mobile experience more closely with desktop and reduce friction for developers who rely on mobile for quick reviews or reference.

As a workaround today, users often resort to:

• Switching to desktop mode in the browser
• Copying from raw file view (when available)
• Or pasting and manually cleaning up unwanted characters

None of these are ideal, which reinforces your point that this is worth addressing at the product level.

Overall, this is a small feature with a high usability impact, particularly for mobile-first or on-the-go usage scenarios.

[santimartinezzgb]

Spot on! This is one of those "quality of life" tweaks that sounds minor but actually makes a huge difference.

Trying to grab code with your thumb on a tiny screen is a total pain and, like you said, just kills your flow. Adding a "Quick Copy" button is a no-brainer—it saves time and stops all those annoying formatting messes.

Really hope the product team listens, 'cause it's a simple fix for a massive headache.