diff --git a/src/window.cc b/src/window.cc
index 4c3b87d9..d3cb630b 100644
--- a/src/window.cc
+++ b/src/window.cc
@@ -155,6 +155,18 @@ void Window::select(bool append, const Selector& selector)
     scroll_to_keep_cursor_visible_ifn();
 }
 
+BufferString Window::selection_content() const
+{
+    if (m_selections.empty())
+    {
+        BufferIterator it = iterator_at(m_cursor);
+        return m_buffer.string(it, it+1);
+    }
+    else
+        return m_buffer.string(m_selections.back().begin(),
+                               m_selections.back().end());
+}
+
 void Window::move_cursor(const WindowCoord& offset)
 {
     move_cursor_to(m_cursor + offset);
diff --git a/src/window.hh b/src/window.hh
index 9dafed25..4314da8e 100644
--- a/src/window.hh
+++ b/src/window.hh
@@ -65,6 +65,7 @@ public:
 
     void empty_selections();
     void select(bool append, const Selector& selector);
+    BufferString selection_content() const;
 
     void set_dimensions(const WindowCoord& dimensions);