Client stopped working on Archlinux after python-xxhash update #168

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1. dev-aitkd commented on Aug 24, 2026

   

   dev-aitkd

   on Aug 24, 2026

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   Confirming this on CachyOS (Arch-based), clipcascade-bin 3.2.0 from the AUR, after python-xxhash went 3.8.1 → 4.0.1 (upgraded here 2026-08-21). Identical symptom — every send and receive fails with Strings must be encoded before hashing, and the one-line fix in hash_clipboard() restores sync immediately.

   Two things to add that might help when patching this:

   1. The P2P path is affected too, not just STOMP. The issue text cites stomp_ws/stomp_manager.py, but has_clipboard_changed() is also the first call in both P2P transfer paths on main:

   • ClipCascade_Desktop/src/p2p/p2p_manager.py:719 — in _send()
   • ClipCascade_Desktop/src/p2p/p2p_manager.py:824 — in _receive()

   My log showed Server mode: P2S, so P2P/P2S users hit exactly the same failure. Worth confirming the fix covers both transports.

   2. The fix is behavior-preserving — hashes don't change. I checked the old and new library directly, since previous_clipboard_hash is compared across the upgrade:

   xxhash 3.8.1:  xxh64('abc').intdigest()   -> 4952883123889572249
   xxhash 4.0.1:  xxh64(b'abc').intdigest()  -> 4952883123889572249
   

   So 3.x was silently UTF-8 encoding, and encoding explicitly reproduces the old value exactly. No cache invalidation or cross-version concern.

   One small suggestion on the patch itself — guarding on the type keeps it working if a non-str is ever passed in, and is compatible with both xxhash 3.x and 4.x:

   @staticmethod
   def hash_clipboard(clipboard: str) -> int:
       if isinstance(clipboard, str):
           clipboard = clipboard.encode("utf-8")
       return xxhash.xxh64(clipboard).intdigest()

   Also worth noting for other Arch users landing here: since python-xxhash 4.0.1 is already in extra, any pacman -Syu will pull it in and break the client, so this will likely generate more reports until 3.2.1 ships.
2. Joeckli commented on Aug 28, 2026

   

   Joeckli

   on Aug 28, 2026

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   Confirmed on two Linux clients with python-xxhash 4.x.

   I encountered the same issue with ClipCascade after an update. Clipboard monitoring and the WebSocket connection remained functional, but every clipboard change on the sending client resulted in:

   ERROR - Failed to send data: Strings must be encoded before hashing

   Environment:

   • CachyOS / Arch-based, KDE Plasma Wayland
   • Python 3.14.7
   • python-xxhash 4.0.1
   • Fedora 44 KDE Wayland as the second ClipCascade client
   • Self-hosted ClipCascade server in P2S mode

   I reproduced the underlying problem directly:

   import xxhash
   
   xxhash.xxh64("CACHY-TEST").intdigest()
   # TypeError: Strings must be encoded before hashing
   
   xxhash.xxh64("CACHY-TEST".encode("utf-8")).intdigest()
   # works
   

   I applied the following local change to clipboard/clipboard_manager.py:

   @staticmethod
   def hash_clipboard(clipboard: str) -> int:
       if isinstance(clipboard, str):
           clipboard = clipboard.encode("utf-8")
       return xxhash.xxh64(clipboard).intdigest()
   

   After restarting ClipCascade, the error disappeared and clipboard synchronization immediately worked again in both directions between the CachyOS and Fedora clients.

   I used the isinstance() check rather than unconditional .encode() so the function remains safe if it is ever passed an already byte-like value.

   This appears to be a compatibility issue introduced by python-xxhash 4.0.0+, which no longer accepts str input.
3. Zakary2841 commented on Sep 9, 2026

   

   Zakary2841

   on Sep 9, 2026

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   Operating System: CachyOS Linux
   KDE Plasma Version: 6.7.5
   KDE Frameworks Version: 6.29.0
   Qt Version: 6.11.2
   Kernel Version: 7.1.8-1-cachyos (64-bit)
   Graphics Platform: X11

   Also had this exact same issue. Changing the clipboard function to

   def hash_clipboard(clipboard: str) -> int:
       return xxhash.xxh64(clipboard.encode("utf-8")).intdigest()
   

   Fixed it for me too.
4. Sathvik-Rao commented on Oct 25, 2026

   

   Sathvik-Rao

   on Oct 25, 2026

   Owner

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   #182
5. Sathvik-Rao

   closed this as completedon Oct 25, 2026