diff --git a/src/components/ai-toolbar.tsx b/src/components/ai-toolbar.tsx
index 0f460a9..ce4711f 100644
--- a/src/components/ai-toolbar.tsx
+++ b/src/components/ai-toolbar.tsx
@@ -137,6 +137,110 @@ export const AIToolbar = ({
 	// Detect OS after hydration for keyboard shortcut glyphs
 	const os = useOs();
 
+	// Stable ref so the document listener never needs to re-register when
+	// onImageSelect identity changes between renders (it's an inline async fn).
+	const onImageSelectRef = useRef(onImageSelect);
+	useEffect(() => {
+		onImageSelectRef.current = onImageSelect;
+	}, [onImageSelect]);
+
+	// Document-level paste + Ctrl/Cmd+V keydown handler.
+	//
+	// Two-pronged approach because Linux/Chrome does not reliably include image
+	// data in clipboardData on trusted paste events when no input is focused:
+	//
+	//   1. paste event   — works when the textarea IS focused (clipboardData has
+	//                      the image). The textarea's own onPaste handles that
+	//                      case; here we only handle non-editable targets.
+	//
+	//   2. keydown Ctrl+V — user gesture that explicitly reads the async
+	//                      Clipboard API (navigator.clipboard.read()), which
+	//                      always has the full clipboard contents regardless of
+	//                      focused element or OS clipboard model (X11/Wayland).
+	//                      This is the approach used by Excalidraw's actionPaste.
+	useEffect(() => {
+		if (!isAuthenticated || isPending) return;
+
+		// ── Handler 1: paste event (works when textarea is NOT focused) ───────
+		const handleDocumentPaste = (e: ClipboardEvent) => {
+			const target = e.target as HTMLElement;
+			const isEditableTarget =
+				target.tagName === "TEXTAREA" ||
+				target.tagName === "INPUT" ||
+				target.isContentEditable;
+			if (isEditableTarget) return; // textarea's own onPaste covers this
+
+			const image = extractImageFromClipboard(e.clipboardData ?? null);
+			if (image) {
+				e.preventDefault();
+				onImageSelectRef.current(image);
+			}
+		};
+
+		// ── Handler 2: keydown Ctrl/Cmd+V → async Clipboard API fallback ─────
+		// On Linux/Chrome, clipboardData is often empty in paste events when the
+		// clipboard was set by an external app. navigator.clipboard.read() is
+		// more reliable when called from a user gesture (keydown).
+		let pasteHandledByEvent = false;
+
+		const PROBE_TYPES = ["image/png", "image/jpeg", "image/webp", "image/gif", "image/bmp", "image/tiff"];
+
+		const handleDocumentKeydown = async (e: KeyboardEvent) => {
+			const isV = e.key === "v" || e.key === "V";
+			const isModifier = e.ctrlKey || e.metaKey;
+			if (!isV || !isModifier || e.shiftKey || e.altKey) return;
+
+			pasteHandledByEvent = false;
+
+			// Defer one tick so the synchronous paste event can fire first and
+			// set pasteHandledByEvent if it already handled an image.
+			await new Promise<void>((r) => setTimeout(r, 0));
+			if (pasteHandledByEvent) return;
+
+			try {
+				const clipboardItems = await navigator.clipboard.read();
+				for (const clipboardItem of clipboardItems) {
+					const declaredType = clipboardItem.types.find((t) => t.startsWith("image/"));
+					const typesToTry = declaredType
+						? [declaredType, ...PROBE_TYPES.filter((t) => t !== declaredType)]
+						: PROBE_TYPES;
+
+					for (const mimeType of typesToTry) {
+						try {
+							const blob = await clipboardItem.getType(mimeType);
+							const file = new File([blob], "clipboard-image", { type: mimeType });
+							onImageSelectRef.current(file);
+							return;
+						} catch {
+							// NotFoundError — type not present, try next
+						}
+					}
+				}
+			} catch {
+				// clipboard.read() failed (permissions denied, etc.) — ignore
+			}
+		};
+
+		// Mark that the synchronous paste event handled an image so keydown
+		// doesn't double-fire
+		const handlePasteHandled = (e: ClipboardEvent) => {
+			const image = extractImageFromClipboard(e.clipboardData ?? null);
+			if (image) pasteHandledByEvent = true;
+		};
+
+		document.addEventListener("paste", handleDocumentPaste);
+		document.addEventListener("paste", handlePasteHandled, { capture: true });
+		document.addEventListener("keydown", handleDocumentKeydown);
+
+		return () => {
+			document.removeEventListener("paste", handleDocumentPaste);
+			document.removeEventListener("paste", handlePasteHandled, {
+				capture: true,
+			});
+			document.removeEventListener("keydown", handleDocumentKeydown);
+		};
+	}, [isAuthenticated, isPending]); // onImageSelect intentionally omitted — ref stays current
+
 	if (isPending) {
 		return (
 			<div className="mb-6 space-y-2">
diff --git a/src/lib/keyboard-shortcuts.ts b/src/lib/keyboard-shortcuts.ts
index 6ddfaea..13a5d63 100644
--- a/src/lib/keyboard-shortcuts.ts
+++ b/src/lib/keyboard-shortcuts.ts
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ export interface ShortcutDefinition {
 export const SHORTCUT_DEFINITIONS: ShortcutDefinition[] = [
 	{ modifiers: ["mod", "enter"], label: "Generate event" },
 	{ modifiers: ["mod", "shift", "A"], label: "Attach image" },
+	{ modifiers: ["mod", "V"], label: "Paste image" },
 	{ modifiers: ["esc"], label: "Clear prompt" },
 ];