diff --git a/docs/guide/cli-service.md b/docs/guide/cli-service.md
index 7699250034..d944fbc81a 100644
--- a/docs/guide/cli-service.md
+++ b/docs/guide/cli-service.md
@@ -52,6 +52,11 @@ Options:
   --https   use https (default: false)
 ```
 
+::: tip --copy
+Copying to clipboard might not work on a few platforms.  
+If copying was successful, `(copied to clipboard)` is displayed next to the local dev server URL.
+:::
+
 The `vue-cli-service serve` command starts a dev server (based on [webpack-dev-server](https://github.com/webpack/webpack-dev-server)) that comes with Hot-Module-Replacement (HMR) working out of the box.
 
 In addition to the command line flags, you can also configure the dev server using the [devServer](../config/#devserver) field in `vue.config.js`.
diff --git a/packages/@vue/cli-service/lib/commands/serve.js b/packages/@vue/cli-service/lib/commands/serve.js
index d1eec4a0f7..0852171c5b 100644
--- a/packages/@vue/cli-service/lib/commands/serve.js
+++ b/packages/@vue/cli-service/lib/commands/serve.js
@@ -197,8 +197,12 @@ module.exports = (api, options) => {
 
         let copied = ''
         if (isFirstCompile && args.copy) {
-          require('clipboardy').write(urls.localUrlForBrowser)
-          copied = chalk.dim('(copied to clipboard)')
+          try {
+            require('clipboardy').writeSync(urls.localUrlForBrowser)
+            copied = chalk.dim('(copied to clipboard)')
+          } catch (_) {
+            /* catch exception if copy to clipboard isn't supported (e.g. WSL), see issue #3476 */
+          }
         }
 
         const networkUrl = publicUrl