PasteShelf

Your clipboard,
your control.

A privacy-first clipboard manager for macOS. Unlimited history, instant search, zero cloud — everything stays on your Mac.

Download for Free View on GitHub
$ brew install --cask pasteshelf/pasteshelf/pasteshelf
100%
Open Source
0
Cloud Requests
∞
Clipboard History
⌘⇧V
Global Hotkey
macOS 14+
Native App
Features

Everything you need from a clipboard manager

All features are free and open-source. No premium tiers, no subscriptions.

Unlimited History

Never lose copied content again. Text, images, files, URLs, code snippets — all captured automatically.

Instant Search

Full-text search with fuzzy matching across all clipboard items. Find anything in milliseconds.

Privacy First

All data stored locally on your Mac. No cloud, no analytics, no telemetry. Your clipboard stays yours.

Smart Categories

Auto-organize by content type — text, images, files, code. Create custom collections with rules.

Global Hotkey

Press ⌘⇧V anywhere to instantly access your clipboard history. Keyboard-first workflow.

OCR Search

Find text within copied images. Optical character recognition makes every screenshot searchable.

iCloud Sync

Optional encrypted sync across all your Macs. End-to-end encrypted — not even Apple can read it.

Automation & Plugins

Shortcuts, AppleScript, webhooks. Extend with community plugins for limitless workflows.

How It Works

Three steps. Zero friction.

Simple by design. Powerful when you need it.

1

Copy Anything

Use your Mac normally. Every time you copy text, images, files, or code — PasteShelf captures it silently in the background.

2

Search & Browse

Press ⌘⇧V to open PasteShelf. Browse by date, filter by type, or search with fuzzy matching to find exactly what you need.

3

Paste Instantly

Select any item and it goes straight to your clipboard — ready to paste. Or use quick-paste to insert directly into any app.

Download

Get PasteShelf

Free and open-source. Requires macOS 14.0 or later.

Recommended

Homebrew

Install via Homebrew for easy updates.

brew install --cask pasteshelf/pasteshelf/pasteshelf

Direct Download

Download the latest DMG from GitHub Releases.

Download DMG

Build from Source

Clone the repo and build with Xcode.

git clone https://github.com/pasteshelf/PasteShelf.git
FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What is PasteShelf?
PasteShelf is a privacy-first clipboard manager for macOS. It captures everything you copy — text, images, files, URLs, code — and stores it locally on your Mac for easy retrieval.
Is PasteShelf free?
Yes, PasteShelf is completely free and open-source under the AGPL-3.0 license. All features are included — no premium tiers, no subscriptions, no in-app purchases.
Does PasteShelf send my clipboard data to the cloud?
No. All clipboard data is stored locally on your Mac by default. PasteShelf has zero telemetry, zero analytics, and makes zero network requests. Optional iCloud sync is available but fully end-to-end encrypted.
What are the system requirements?
PasteShelf requires macOS 14.0 (Sonoma) or later. It runs natively on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.
How does PasteShelf handle sensitive data?
PasteShelf includes automatic sensitive data detection and lets you exclude specific apps (like password managers) from clipboard monitoring. You can also set auto-expiry for clipboard items.
Can I sync clipboard across multiple Macs?
Yes, PasteShelf offers optional iCloud sync with end-to-end encryption. Your clipboard data is encrypted before it ever leaves your Mac, so even Apple cannot read it.
How do I access my clipboard history?
Press ⌘⇧V (or your custom hotkey) anywhere on your Mac to open PasteShelf. You can browse, search, and paste any item from your history. PasteShelf also lives in your menu bar.
Does PasteShelf support images and files?
Yes. PasteShelf captures and displays rich previews of images, files, URLs, and code snippets — not just plain text. You can even search text within images using OCR.