To clear clipboard history on a Mac, you usually do two things. First, empty the system clipboard by copying something harmless over it (select a single space and press ⌘C) or by running pbcopy < /dev/null in Terminal. Second, clear the saved list in any clipboard manager you use, because that history is stored separately.

On macOS 14 Sonoma and 15 Sequoia, the system clipboard holds only one item, so replacing it is enough there. macOS 26 Tahoe adds a clipboard history in Spotlight, covered below. In Gubb, you clear the saved list with Clear History.

Clear the system clipboard

The macOS clipboard holds the last thing you copied or cut. To see what's on it, open Finder and choose Edit > Show Clipboard.

Copy something else over it

This is the fastest method and works on every version of macOS.

  1. Open any text field, such as a new TextEdit document.
  2. Type a single space and select it.
  3. Press ⌘C (Command-C).

The old item is no longer on the system clipboard. To check, choose Edit > Show Clipboard in Finder.

Empty it with Terminal

This leaves the clipboard empty instead of holding a space.

  1. Open Terminal from Applications > Utilities, or search for "Terminal" in Spotlight.
  2. Run:
pbcopy < /dev/null

pbcopy puts whatever it receives onto the clipboard. Feeding it /dev/null sends nothing, so the clipboard ends up empty. The command changes no settings, so there is nothing to undo.

Restart or log out

Restarting your Mac or logging out also empties the system clipboard. This helps when you're leaving a shared Mac. It does not clear a clipboard manager's saved history, because those apps store it on disk.

Clipboard history in Spotlight on macOS 26 Tahoe

macOS 26 Tahoe adds clipboard history to Spotlight, so it can keep more than the current item. Replacing or emptying the current clipboard doesn't remove what Spotlight has already saved. To manage it or turn it off, open System Settings, search for "Spotlight", and look for the clipboard option.

Clear clipboard history in a clipboard manager

A clipboard manager saves each item you copy to its own database. That is how you can paste something you copied an hour ago. It also means sensitive text can stay on disk long after the system clipboard has moved on.

Each app puts its clear option in a different place. Look in its settings or menu bar menu for a way to clear or delete history, and for a retention limit if it has one. Some examples (as of November 2026):

  • Maccy: an open-source Mac clipboard manager with a searchable history. It opens from the menu bar or a hotkey. It costs $9.99 on the Mac App Store, or you can build it free from its source code. See the Maccy site for its options.
  • Raycast: the free plan keeps 3 months of clipboard history, and Pro keeps unlimited history.
  • Alfred: clipboard history needs the paid Powerpack. One review describes retention choices from 24 hours up to unlimited.
  • Gubb: covered step by step below.

Quitting a clipboard manager stops it from saving new items, but anything it already saved stays until you clear it. For more on how these apps work, see what a clipboard manager is.

Method Clears the current clipboard Clears a manager's saved history Best for
Copy a space over it (⌘C) Yes (replaces it) No Quick cleanup on any macOS
pbcopy < /dev/null Yes (empties it) No An empty clipboard
Restart or log out Yes No Leaving a shared Mac
Clear inside the manager Not necessarily Yes Removing old copied text from disk

Clear clipboard history in Gubb

Gubb has a Clipboard History panel that saves text you copy anywhere on your Mac. You can clear all of it at once and choose whether to keep favorites. You can also delete single items.

Clear all history

  1. In the Gubb window, move the pointer to the right edge of the note to show the button column.
  2. Click Clipboard History. The panel opens on the right.
  3. At the bottom of the panel, click Clear History.
  4. Gubb asks: "Are you sure you want to clear your clipboard history? This action cannot be undone."
  5. Decide what happens to pinned items:
    • Leave Keep favorites on (the default) to keep pinned items.
    • Turn Keep favorites off to remove everything, pinned items included.
  6. Click Clear.
    If you only want to remove a few items, use the next steps instead.

Delete a single item

  1. Open Clipboard History.
  2. Find the item by typing in Search clipboard... or by using the filter menu (Text, Links, Code).
  3. Hover over the item and click Delete item.

The panel shows the newest 100 items, while Gubb keeps up to 1000 unpinned items. Older items can still be stored even if you don't see them. Use Clear History when you want everything gone.

Remove an item from favorites

Pinned items appear under the Favorites tab, sort first and are never removed automatically. They also survive Clear History while Keep favorites is on. To let a pinned item be cleared, hover over it and click Unpin/Remove from favorites, or delete it with Delete item.

What Gubb keeps and for how long

  • Text only. Items are tagged Text, Link or Code. Gubb doesn't save images, files or rich text.
  • Up to 1000 unpinned items. Beyond that, the oldest unpinned items are deleted. You can't change the limit, and nothing expires after a set time.
  • Pinned items stay until you unpin or delete them.
  • Capture starts when you first open the panel in a session. Nothing is saved before that. It appears to keep running after you close the panel, until you quit Gubb. To quit, right-click the Gubb menu bar icon and choose Quit Gubb.

The Clipboard History section of the help center covers the rest of the panel, including editing items and pasting them into notes.

Privacy tips for passwords and sensitive text

  • Clear the manager, not just the clipboard. Emptying the system clipboard leaves every copy your clipboard manager saved. Do both.
  • Know what your manager filters. Gubb doesn't skip passwords or text copied from password managers, and it has no excluded-apps list. Anything you copy as text while capture is running is saved in plain text. If you've opened the Clipboard History panel this session, quit Gubb before copying a password, or delete that item right after.
  • Check what you pasted into notes. Paste to note and Paste All put items into a Gubb note. Clearing the history doesn't touch those notes, so delete the text there too.
  • Remember backups. Backup Now copies Gubb's whole database, clipboard history included, to ~/Documents/gubb_backups/. Restore from Backup also saves a copy of your current database in Gubb's app data folder first. These files still hold anything you've since cleared, so delete the ones you don't need.
  • Gubb's storage is local and unencrypted. Clipboard history lives in a SQLite database on your Mac and is not synced. The direct-download version stores it at ~/Library/Containers/com.gubbapp.direct/Data/Library/Application Support/gubb/gubb.db. The Mac App Store version stores it at the same path with com.gubbapp.release in place of com.gubbapp.direct. Anyone signed in to your user account can read it, so lock your Mac when you step away.
  • Watch Universal Clipboard. With Handoff on, text you copy on an iPhone or iPad signed in to the same Apple Account can land on your Mac's clipboard. To stop this, open System Settings, search for "Handoff" and turn it off.
  • Use your password manager's clipboard timer. If it can clear the clipboard after a delay, turn that on. This empties the system clipboard, but it can't remove a copy a clipboard manager already saved.

If it doesn't work

  • An old item still pastes after you cleared it. It may have come from another device through Universal Clipboard, or a clipboard manager put it back (for example, Gubb's Copy to clipboard button). Copy a space over it again. Turn off Handoff if the item keeps arriving from your iPhone.
  • Some items are still in Gubb after Clear History. They're pinned, and Keep favorites was on. Run Clear History again with Keep favorites off, or unpin those items first.
  • Gubb keeps saving new copies after you clear it. Capture keeps running while Gubb is open, once you've opened the panel. Quit Gubb from the menu bar icon to stop it.
  • The text still turns up in Gubb. You may have pasted it into a note with Paste to note. Open the note and delete the text.
  • Cleared items came back. Restore from Backup replaces all data with the older copy, including its clipboard history. Clear again after a restore.
  • Old items still show in Spotlight on macOS 26 Tahoe. Spotlight keeps its own clipboard history. Manage it in Spotlight's settings as described above.

FAQ

Does a Mac keep clipboard history by default?

On macOS 14 Sonoma and 15 Sequoia, no. The clipboard holds one item, and copying something new replaces it. macOS 26 Tahoe adds clipboard history in Spotlight, and third-party clipboard managers keep their own lists. To browse past items, see how to see clipboard history on Mac.

Does restarting clear the clipboard?

Yes. Restarting or logging out empties the system clipboard. It doesn't clear history saved by a clipboard manager.

Can I get back clipboard history I cleared in Gubb?

Not from the panel. If you made a backup before clearing, Restore from Backup brings back that database. It also replaces all your current notes and needs a restart of Gubb, so restore only if you're sure.

Does clearing Gubb's history affect my notes?

No. Clear History removes clipboard items only. Text you pasted into notes stays where it is.

Gubb is a $59 one-time purchase (as of November 2026), and you can try it free for 7 days.