Continuous Evolution

Version History & Release Notes

Track every capability, native AppKit refinement, performance optimization, and bug fix shipped to the Mac App Store.

Current Mac App Store Version: v3.0.0 · macOS 13 (Ventura) through macOS 15 (Sequoia)

Major 3.0 Release: 4-Tier Licensing, On-Device AI Writing Tools & Universal Workflow

ClipBuddy 3.0 marks a major milestone: simplified 4-tier Mac App Store licensing, Pro Lifetime ownership, enhanced Apple Vision OCR speeds, and on-device Apple Foundation AI writing assistants with zero cloud dependencies.

New Features & Improvements

  • New 4-Tier Plan Structure: Free Forever ($0), Pro Monthly ($1.99), Pro Yearly ($12.99 / save 46%), and Pro Lifetime ($24.99 one-time).
  • Launch Offer Integration: Full support for 3-month free Pro code (LAUNCH3) directly via Mac App Store redemption.
  • Unlimited Local History: Optimized encrypted SQLite storage engine with zero artificial clip limits and sub-4ms query times.
  • On-Device AI Writing Tools: Summarize, rewrite, fix grammar, and explain code snippets locally using Apple Foundation Models (macOS 15+).
  • Sequential Paste Stack Refinements: Enhanced hotkey responsiveness for ⌘⌥S queues and 9 clipboard memory slots (⌘⌥1–9).
  • Universal Search & Picker Expansion: Seamless instant search across clipboard clips, 2,300+ emoji, and custom workflow labels.

Fixes & Performance

  • Resolved background memory footprint down to ~45MB on Apple Silicon M-series Macs.
  • Fixed dark mode contrast for code block syntax highlighting in OLED Super Black theme.
  • Enhanced ScreenCaptureKit cloaking so ClipBuddy windows stay hidden during Zoom & Google Meet screen sharing.

Performance Optimizations & Sequoia Polish

Pre-3.0 release preparing database migrations, enhanced Apple Vision OCR recognition speeds, and memory tuning.

New Features & Improvements

  • SQLite FTS5 query optimizations reducing search latency on libraries with over 50,000 clips.
  • Enhanced Apple Vision OCR text box bounding for rotated text and dark mode screenshots.
  • Updated Touch ID biometric prompt timing and auto-clear security policies.

Fixes & Performance

  • Fixed occasional window flicker when rapidly toggling ⌘⇧V across multiple displays.

Screen Share Privacy Cloaking & Touch ID Secret Vault Switches

Comprehensive privacy protections including live screen-share cloaking and granular toggles for sensitive credential detection.

New Features & Improvements

  • Screen Share Privacy Cloaking: One switch keeps ClipBuddy windows out of screen shares, recordings, and screenshots (Zoom, Meet, Teams, OBS) while remaining visible to you.
  • Touch ID Secret Vault Granular Toggles: Added individual switches in Preferences for payment cards, bank IBANs, API tokens, and private keys.
  • Secure Enclave Biometric Locking: Sensitive clips require Touch ID or system password to reveal and automatically purge from pasteboard after 60 seconds.
  • Enhanced JSON & CSV Inspectors: Live syntax error markers and instant table formatting directly in the picker drawer.

Fixes & Performance

  • Fixed clipboard item re-ordering when pasting from multiple spaces or virtual desktops.
  • Improved text extraction accuracy for low-contrast text in dark-mode screenshots.

Universal Search, Two-Clip Visual Diff & Starter Rules Engine

A major capability upgrade introducing Universal Search across clips and emoji, built-in developer tools, and instant automation rules.

New Features & Improvements

  • Universal Search: Type a single query to search clipboard history, 2,300+ Unicode emoji, and custom labels simultaneously.
  • Two-Clip Visual Diff: Compare any two text or code clips side-by-side with split-view and unified line diffing on-device.
  • Developer Generators: In-drawer generators for UUIDs, Unix timestamp ↔ Human Date conversions, and URL parsing/query extraction.
  • Starter Rules Gallery: One-click automations to automatically sort screenshots into collections, strip tracking parameters from URLs, and burn secret clips after first paste.
  • Settings Search: Find any configuration setting or keyboard shortcut instantly via search in Preferences.

Fixes & Performance

  • Resolved an issue where large SVG vector copies could stall memory during background indexing.
  • Reduced CPU wakeups to near-zero when idle in the menu bar.

Direct App Pasting, Capture Pausing & Custom Capture Rules

Faster paste workflows, flexible capture schedules, and customizable trigger rules for power users.

New Features & Improvements

  • Optional Direct Paste: Pick any clip and paste directly into the frontmost active window without manual ⌘V (requires Accessibility permission only when enabled).
  • Timed Capture Pausing: Temporarily pause clipboard recording for 15m, 30m, 1h, 3h, 8h, or until resumed manually from the menu bar.
  • Automated Routine Rules: Clean links, execute regex transforms, pin favorites, or burn-after-paste immediately upon copying.
  • Quick Palette: Floating mini-palette providing instant access to pinned favorites and top-copied clips.

Fixes & Performance

  • Improved compatibility with Electron-based terminal emulators and IDEs (Ghostty, Alacritty, VS Code).
  • Fixed keyboard navigation arrow jumps when scrolling large image collections.

Official Mac App Store Release & Pure AppKit UI

ClipBuddy arrives on the Mac App Store with a 100% native AppKit interface, Apple Vision OCR, and zero cloud accounts.

New Features & Improvements

  • Official Mac App Store Launch: Verified sandboxed distribution backed by Apple StoreKit and Family Sharing for up to 5 Macs.
  • Signature Bottom Picker Drawer: Keyboard-driven floating ribbon (⌘⇧V) that appears and dismisses instantly without stealing window focus.
  • Apple Vision OCR: Automatic on-device text recognition for screenshots and images with copy-text-from-image capabilities.
  • 27 Handcrafted Themes: Curated warm, cool, rich, and OLED Super Black color palettes with real-time accent customization.
  • Local-First SQLite Architecture: Zero network tracking, zero external servers, and zero cloud dependencies.

Fixes & Performance

  • Migrated completely away from legacy direct-download feeds to Apple StoreKit with seamless receipt validation.

The Ground-Up Native Swift 6 & AppKit Rewrite

Rebuilt from the ground up for Apple Silicon macOS 13+ with sub-millisecond launch times and negligible memory usage.

New Features & Improvements

  • Complete Swift 6 & AppKit Architecture: Eliminates web views and heavy background runtimes in favor of pure macOS system frameworks.
  • Sub-4ms Instant Search: Full-text SQLite FTS5 search index capable of querying tens of thousands of clips instantly.
  • Sequential Paste Stack: First-in, first-out (FIFO) queue for compiling research quotes and form fields.
  • ConcealedType & Password Manager Shield: Automatically recognizes and ignores password entries from 1Password, Bitwarden, and Apple Keychain.

Fixes & Performance

  • Eliminated all legacy disk writes during rapid multi-copy sessions.