diff --git a/tabby-terminal/src/frontends/xtermFrontend.ts b/tabby-terminal/src/frontends/xtermFrontend.ts
index 1f25d141..32ba2ff0 100644
--- a/tabby-terminal/src/frontends/xtermFrontend.ts
+++ b/tabby-terminal/src/frontends/xtermFrontend.ts
@@ -206,6 +206,9 @@ export class XTermFrontend extends Frontend {
 
     copySelection (): void {
         const text = this.getSelection()
+        if (!text.trim().length) {
+            return
+        }
         if (text.length < 1024 * 32) {
             this.platformService.setClipboard({
                 text: this.getSelection(),