ClipHistory: Open Source Clipboard Manager for macOS with Persistent History

ClipHistory is an open source clipboard history manager for macOS. Press Shift+Cmd+V from any app to access a searchable history of text, images, and files. SQLite persistent, no network connections, MIT licensed.

👉 Visit ClipHistory — Explore all features, download the .dmg, or review the source code on GitHub.

The macOS clipboard problem

macOS only remembers one thing at a time in the clipboard. Copy something new and the previous item is gone forever. If you work copying and pasting text fragments, links, images, or code, this means wasting time switching back and forth between apps.

ClipHistory solves this elegantly: press Shift+Cmd+V from any app and a searchable panel appears with everything you've recently copied. Select, hit Enter, and it pastes right where you were.

Key features

Global hotkey — Shift+Cmd+V opens a centered, searchable panel from any app. No need to switch windows or hunt for a menu bar icon.

Text, images & files — Captures plain text and rich text, screenshots and images you've copied, and files copied from Finder.

Persistent with SQLite — History is stored in a SQLite database in Application Support. It survives reboots. Capped at the 200 most recent items to stay lightweight.

Paste in place — Select a clip with Enter and ClipHistory re-activates the previous app and pastes with a synthetic Cmd+V. No manual pasting needed.

Pin your favorites — Pin clips with Cmd+P and they stick to the top. Pinned clips are never evicted by the 200-item cap. Cmd+Backspace deletes, right arrow expands full content.

Private by design — ClipHistory makes no network connections. Everything stays local. It also automatically detects and skips clips from password managers so your credentials never end up in history.

Press Shift+Cmd+V and paste anything

🚀 Visit ClipHistory ⬇️ Download .dmg ★ View source on GitHub

Free & MIT-licensed · macOS 14+ · ~380 KB

Built for your hands

Shortcut	Action
Shift+Cmd+V	Open / focus the history panel
↑ ↓	Move the selection
→	Expand a clip's full content
← / Esc	Back from detail · dismiss the panel
Enter	Paste the selection into the previous app
Option+↑ / Option+↓	Jump 5 rows at a time
Cmd+P	Pin / unpin — favorites float to the top
Cmd+Backspace	Delete the selected entry from history
Type	Filter the history

Installation in a minute

1. Download & drag to Applications — Grab the latest .dmg, open it, and drag ClipHistory into Applications.

2. Open it the first time — It isn't notarized by Apple, so open System Settings ▸ Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway (or run xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/ClipHistory.app in Terminal).

3. Grant Accessibility — System Settings ▸ Privacy & Security ▸ Accessibility → enable ClipHistory. Needed so it can paste with Cmd+V.

How it works under the hood

Copy detection — Polls NSPasteboard.changeCount (macOS has no clipboard-change event)
Global shortcut — Carbon RegisterEventHotKey (system-wide, no special permissions)
Paste back — Re-activates the prior app, then posts a synthetic Cmd+V via CGEvent
Storage — SQLite in Application Support; images as PNG blobs, thumbnails in memory

Why choose ClipHistory

Free and open source (MIT license)
~380 KB — a tiny app that doesn't weigh down your system
No network connections — your clipboard never leaves your Mac
SQLite persistent — history survives reboots
Built with Swift and SwiftUI — native macOS

Frequently asked questions

Is ClipHistory free? Yes, it's completely free and open source under the MIT license. You can use, modify, and distribute it freely.

Does ClipHistory send data to the internet? No. ClipHistory makes no network connections. All history is stored locally on your Mac.

Does it work with password managers? Yes, ClipHistory automatically detects and skips clips from password managers like 1Password, Bitwarden, or the macOS Keychain.

What macOS version do I need? ClipHistory requires macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later.

Is it notarized by Apple? No, so you'll need to click "Open Anyway" in Privacy & Security the first time, or run the xattr command above.

Can I build it from source? Yes, run ./setup-signing.sh && ./build-app.sh. See the README on GitHub for details.