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Clipboard history on Mac: see and paste everything you copied

Copy something new and the last thing you copied is gone. macOS has no clipboard history of its own, so you need an app that keeps one.

ClipboardAll 4TextImagesColorswiki/Larry_TeslerPaste#2F6BFFWho invented copy and paste?

Steps

  1. Install Pluck and finish setup. Clipboard history is on from the start, including everything you copy with ⌘C.
  2. Copy things as usual. Each new copy is saved at the top of your history.
  3. Open the clipboard from the menu bar or press ⌃⌘V.
  4. Pick a category (Text, Images, GIFs, Colors or Links) or type in the search box to find something from earlier.
  5. Click Paste on any item and it goes into whatever app you're in.
  6. From the keyboard, press ⌃⌘V to open the clipboard, then use the arrows and Return, or ⌘1 to ⌘9 for the first nine.

Tips

  • Copies from password managers, and anything an app marks as private, are never saved.
  • Turn on Don't save passwords, card numbers or API keys in Settings › History to skip secrets copied from anywhere else.
  • History is stored only on your Mac and deleted after 30 days by default. Choose 1 day, a week, a year or never.
  • The clipboard stays hidden until you open it. Choose compact view or an optional edge tab if you prefer it nearby.

Without Pluck

Without an app, the closest macOS gets is Universal Clipboard, which passes your latest copy between your own Apple devices. It still holds one item at a time, and there's no way to look back.