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PasteShelf

PasteShelf FAQ

Frequently asked questions about PasteShelf, your privacy-first clipboard manager for macOS.

Table of Contents

Section titled “Table of Contents”

Installation & Setup

Section titled “Installation & Setup”

What are the system requirements for PasteShelf?

Section titled “What are the system requirements for PasteShelf?”

PasteShelf requires:

  • macOS 14.0 (Sonoma) or later
  • Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3) or Intel Mac
  • ~50 MB of disk space

Why does PasteShelf need Accessibility permission?

Section titled “Why does PasteShelf need Accessibility permission?”

Accessibility permission allows PasteShelf to:

  • Simulate the paste keystroke (⌘V) to paste items into other apps
  • Detect when you’re in a private browsing window

Without this permission, PasteShelf can only copy items to your clipboard, but cannot automatically paste them.

How do I grant Accessibility permission?

Section titled “How do I grant Accessibility permission?”
  1. Go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility
  2. Click the lock icon and authenticate
  3. Find PasteShelf and enable the checkbox
  4. If PasteShelf isn’t listed, click the ”+” button and add it from Applications

Can I use PasteShelf without Accessibility permission?

Section titled “Can I use PasteShelf without Accessibility permission?”

Yes, but with limited functionality:

  • You can browse clipboard history
  • You can copy items back to clipboard
  • Automatic pasting won’t work - you’ll need to manually press ⌘V after selecting an item

How do I change the global hotkey?

Section titled “How do I change the global hotkey?”
  1. Open Preferences (⌘,)
  2. Go to the Shortcuts tab
  3. Click the hotkey recorder field
  4. Press your desired key combination
  5. The new hotkey is saved automatically

Usage

Section titled “Usage”

How many clipboard items can PasteShelf store?

Section titled “How many clipboard items can PasteShelf store?”

You can choose from several limits in Settings > General:

  • 100 items - Minimal footprint
  • 500 items - Balanced (default)
  • 1,000 items - Extended history
  • Unlimited - No automatic limit

Are images and files saved?

Section titled “Are images and files saved?”

Yes, PasteShelf saves:

  • Images: Thumbnails are generated for preview, full images are stored
  • Files: File references are stored (not the actual files)
  • Rich text: RTF formatting is preserved
  • URLs: Web links with favicons

How do I paste without closing the panel?

Section titled “How do I paste without closing the panel?”

Hold ⌘ (Command) while pressing Enter to paste without closing the panel. This is useful for pasting multiple items.

Can I edit clipboard items?

Section titled “Can I edit clipboard items?”

Currently, PasteShelf doesn’t support editing items. You can:

  1. Copy the item to your clipboard
  2. Paste it somewhere
  3. Edit it there
  4. Copy the edited version

How do I delete all my clipboard history?

Section titled “How do I delete all my clipboard history?”
  1. Open Preferences (⌘,)
  2. Go to the Privacy tab
  3. Click Clear History
  4. Confirm the action

Note: This cannot be undone.

Why aren’t my recent copies showing up?

Section titled “Why aren’t my recent copies showing up?”

Check these common causes:

  1. Monitoring paused: Look for the paused indicator in the menu bar
  2. App excluded: The source app may be in your excluded apps list
  3. Private browsing: Content from private browser windows is excluded by default
  4. Password content: Content from password managers is excluded by default

Privacy & Security

Section titled “Privacy & Security”

Where is my data stored?

Section titled “Where is my data stored?”

All data is stored locally on your Mac in:

~/Library/Application Support/PasteShelf/

This includes:

  • Clipboard history database
  • Settings
  • Image cache

Does PasteShelf send data to the cloud?

Section titled “Does PasteShelf send data to the cloud?”

No. By default, PasteShelf is 100% local. No data ever leaves your Mac.

If you enable iCloud sync, your data is protected with end-to-end encryption.

How does PasteShelf detect sensitive data?

Section titled “How does PasteShelf detect sensitive data?”

PasteShelf uses pattern matching to detect:

  • Credit card numbers (Visa, MasterCard, etc.)
  • Social Security Numbers
  • API keys and tokens
  • Password patterns
  • Content from password manager apps

Detected sensitive content is flagged and can be automatically excluded.

Can I see which apps have been excluded?

Section titled “Can I see which apps have been excluded?”

Yes, go to Preferences > Privacy > Excluded Apps to see and manage the list.

Is my clipboard history encrypted?

Section titled “Is my clipboard history encrypted?”

By default, data is stored unencrypted (but only accessible to your user account).

You can enable database encryption using your device keychain in Preferences.

What happens when I delete PasteShelf?

Section titled “What happens when I delete PasteShelf?”

When you uninstall PasteShelf:

  1. The app is removed from Applications
  2. Clipboard data remains in ~/Library/Application Support/PasteShelf/
  3. To fully remove data, delete this folder manually

Troubleshooting

Section titled “Troubleshooting”

PasteShelf won’t open the clipboard panel

Section titled “PasteShelf won’t open the clipboard panel”
  1. Check accessibility permission - The most common cause
  2. Check the hotkey - Make sure it’s not conflicting with another app
  3. Restart PasteShelf - Quit and relaunch from Applications
  4. Check menu bar - Try opening via the menu bar icon

Items aren’t being saved

Section titled “Items aren’t being saved”
  1. Check if monitoring is paused - Resume from menu bar
  2. Check excluded apps - The source app might be excluded
  3. Check private browsing setting - Disable if needed
  4. Restart PasteShelf - Some apps require a restart

The paste action isn’t working

Section titled “The paste action isn’t working”
  1. Verify accessibility permission is granted and active
  2. Check the target app - Some apps don’t accept programmatic paste
  3. Try manual paste - Select item, then press ⌘V manually
  4. Restart the target app - Some apps need a restart

PasteShelf is using too much memory

Section titled “PasteShelf is using too much memory”
  1. Reduce history limit - Lower the maximum items in Settings
  2. Clear old history - Delete items you no longer need
  3. Enable auto-cleanup - Set auto-delete after X days
  4. Check for large images - Large images use more memory

The search is slow

Section titled “The search is slow”
  1. Reduce history size - Fewer items = faster search
  2. Update macOS - Latest system updates improve performance
  3. Restart PasteShelf - Clears temporary caches

I can’t find an item I copied

Section titled “I can’t find an item I copied”
  1. Check if monitoring was paused at that time
  2. Check auto-delete settings - Item may have been cleaned up
  3. Check the source app - It might be excluded
  4. Try searching - Use the search field to find it

Features

Section titled “Features”

What features does PasteShelf include?

Section titled “What features does PasteShelf include?”

All features are included for free:

  • Clipboard history (unlimited)
  • Full-text, semantic, and OCR search
  • Favorites, tags, and smart collections
  • Customizable hotkey and keyboard shortcuts
  • iCloud sync with end-to-end encryption
  • Plugin system
  • Enterprise features (SSO, MDM, audit logs, DLP)

Does PasteShelf work with multiple monitors?

Section titled “Does PasteShelf work with multiple monitors?”

Yes! The floating panel appears on the screen where your cursor is located.

Can I use PasteShelf with multiple macOS user accounts?

Section titled “Can I use PasteShelf with multiple macOS user accounts?”

Yes. Each user account has its own separate clipboard history and settings.

Does PasteShelf sync between Macs?

Section titled “Does PasteShelf sync between Macs?”

Yes, PasteShelf supports optional iCloud sync with end-to-end encryption. Enable it in Preferences.

Can I export my clipboard history?

Section titled “Can I export my clipboard history?”

Yes, PasteShelf supports data export. Use File > Export History to export your clipboard data.

Performance

Section titled “Performance”

Does PasteShelf slow down my Mac?

Section titled “Does PasteShelf slow down my Mac?”

PasteShelf is designed to be lightweight:

  • CPU: Minimal usage (checks clipboard every 250ms)
  • Memory: ~30-50 MB typically, depends on history size
  • Disk: Small SQLite database

How much disk space does PasteShelf use?

Section titled “How much disk space does PasteShelf use?”

Depends on your usage:

  • Text-heavy: ~10-50 MB
  • Image-heavy: ~100-500 MB
  • Heavy usage: ~500 MB - 1 GB

Does PasteShelf affect battery life?

Section titled “Does PasteShelf affect battery life?”

Minimally. The clipboard polling is very efficient and doesn’t significantly impact battery life.

License

Section titled “License”

Is PasteShelf free?

Section titled “Is PasteShelf free?”

Yes! PasteShelf is completely free and open source under the AGPL-3.0 license. All features are included — there are no paid tiers or subscriptions.

Still Have Questions?

Section titled “Still Have Questions?”

Last updated: February 2026