Getting started
Open and paste from your clipboard history
Everything you copy is saved on your Mac and stays one keystroke away.
Free⌘⇧V
What it does
ClipBuddy watches the clipboard and saves what you copy: text, images, links, files, code and JSON. Nothing is uploaded. The picker is the one window you need to learn, and ⌘⇧V is the one key.
Reading a clip card
Each card shows a preview plus where the clip came from, so a wall of similar snippets stays tellable apart. Code is syntax highlighted with the language detected for you. A copy of several files at once becomes a single card that says how many files there are and names them.
Press ⌘Y on a selected clip for a larger preview when the card is too small to be sure.
Filters, without typing
The picker has smart filters by type: links, JSON, files, images and code. Pick one and the list narrows to that kind of clip. This is the fastest way back to “the screenshot I took a minute ago” when you cannot remember any of its words.
Keys worth knowing
- Enter copies the selected clip and closes the picker. In Active-app mode it also pastes it.
- Arrow keys move through results, Tab completes the word you are typing in search.
- Escape closes the picker and leaves your clipboard untouched.
- ⌘Y opens the preview for the selected clip.
Tips
- Resize the picker by dragging its edge, or cycle a size preset from the header.
- Nothing you copy from a password manager or a secure field is saved. Those apps mark the copy concealed, and ClipBuddy skips it.
- If you want to stop recording for a while, pause capture from the menu bar instead of quitting the app.
Paste something you copied earlier
- 1 Open the picker
Press ⌘⇧V anywhere in macOS. ClipBuddy opens over whatever app you are in, without stealing your text cursor.
- 2 Find the clip
Type a few words to filter your history, or move through it with the arrow keys. Text, images, links, files, code and JSON are all kept.
- 3 Put it back on the clipboard
Press Enter. ClipBuddy confirms with a small HUD and closes.
- 4 Paste it
Press ⌘V in your app. That is Clipboard mode, the default. Switch to Active-app mode in Settings and Enter also pastes the clip into the app you were using.
Frequently asked questions
Does macOS keep a clipboard history on its own?
No. macOS keeps one item at a time, so a new copy replaces the last one. ClipBuddy is what turns that into a history you can search.
How far back does the history go?
The free tier keeps your last 10 clips. Pro removes the limit, so your history is bound by your own disk, not by a plan.
Where is my history stored?
In a local database on your Mac. ClipBuddy ships without the outbound network entitlement, so it cannot send your clips anywhere.
