A clipboard manager is an app that remembers what you copy. With one, you can paste something you copied 10 minutes ago, not only the last thing. Your computer's normal clipboard holds one item at a time. A clipboard manager keeps a list of past items, called your clipboard history, that you can search, pin and reuse.
The catch is privacy. That list also keeps the passwords, one-time codes and addresses you copied, and most managers save it to disk. Read the privacy section below before you install one.
The clipboard vs clipboard history
The clipboard is a temporary holding spot in the operating system. When you copy (⌘C, Command-C, on a Mac; Ctrl+C on Windows), the content goes there. When you paste (⌘V or Ctrl+V), it comes back out. Copy something new and the old item is replaced. On a Mac, the clipboard is also emptied when you restart.
The clipboard holds one item, but that item can exist in several formats at once. Text copied from a web page usually carries both a formatted and a plain version. The app you paste into picks the version it can use.
Clipboard history is a running list of the items you copied. Each item stays in the list after a new copy replaces it on the clipboard. Whether your system has this built in depends on what you run:
- Windows 10 and 11 have clipboard history built in. Press Win+V to open it. It is off by default, so the first time you open it you see a Turn on button. Our guide to using clipboard history on Windows covers the details.
- macOS 14 Sonoma and 15 Sequoia keep no history. In Finder, Edit > Show Clipboard shows only the current item. macOS 26 Tahoe adds a clipboard history view to Spotlight. See how to see clipboard history on Mac for each version.
A clipboard manager gives you clipboard history when your system doesn't have it. It can also replace the built-in history when that version is too limited.
What a clipboard manager adds
Clipboard managers combine some of the features below. No single app has all of them, so check the ones you care about.
- History that survives restarts. Items are saved to a database on disk, so something you copied last week is still there.
- Search. Type a few letters to find an item you copied days ago.
- Pinning or favorites. Text you paste often, such as an address or a reply template, stays at the top and doesn't get pushed out.
- More content types. Some managers keep images, files and formatted text. Others keep plain text only.
- A quick-paste popup. A keyboard shortcut opens the history over whatever app you're in, and you pick an item to paste.
- Sync. Some managers send your history to your other computers or devices.
- Retention controls. Some apps let you set how long or how many items are kept. Some also let you exclude specific apps from capture.
What gets saved, and where
Once you install a clipboard manager, every text item you copy will usually be written to a file on your disk. How long it stays there depends on the app. Some keep a fixed number of items and some keep items for a set time. Pinned items are often kept with no limit at all.
Our own app shows what this looks like in practice. Gubb keeps clipboard history in a local SQLite database on your computer, and that database is not encrypted. It holds up to 1,000 unpinned items plus every pinned item, and items never expire on a timer. Before you install any clipboard manager, find out where it stores its history, how much it keeps and whether it encrypts the file.
Privacy risks of clipboard history
These risks don't mean you should avoid clipboard managers. They mean you should know what your history contains.
- Passwords and codes get saved. If you copy a password from a password manager, a clipboard manager may keep it in plain text. Many password managers clear the clipboard after a short time, but by then the clipboard manager may already have its own copy. On a Mac, some password managers mark copied passwords as "concealed" so that clipboard managers can skip them. This only helps if your clipboard manager respects the mark.
- Card numbers, addresses and private messages pile up. Things you copied once and forgot about can sit in the history for months.
- The history is a file on your disk. If the file isn't encrypted, anyone with access to your user account or to a backup of it can read it.
- Sync sends your clipboard off your machine. Windows can sync clipboard history across devices that are signed in with the same Microsoft or work account. Ditto can sync between computers and encrypts the data while it travels over the network. Either way, your copied text leaves the computer you copied it on.
- An unlocked computer exposes it. On Windows, anyone at your unlocked PC can press Win+V and scroll through your history. The same is true of any clipboard manager that opens from a shortcut or a menu bar icon.
- Universal Clipboard brings in copies from your other Apple devices. When your devices are signed in to the same Apple Account with Handoff on, something you copy on your iPhone can be pasted on your Mac. A clipboard manager on the Mac can then record it.
Make clipboard history safer
- Choose a manager that stores history locally, and leave sync off unless you need it.
- If the app can exclude apps or skip concealed items, set that up for your password manager first.
- Use your password manager's autofill when you can, so the password never goes through the clipboard.
- Clear the history after you copy something sensitive, and check how much the app keeps.
- Lock your screen when you step away.
On a Mac, this Terminal command empties the current clipboard. It does not delete anything a clipboard manager has already saved.
pbcopy < /dev/null
It puts nothing on the clipboard in place of what was there. It changes no setting, so there's nothing to undo. To remove saved history, see how to clear clipboard history on Mac or how to clear clipboard history on Windows.
Clipboard manager options for Mac and Windows
We make Gubb, which is one of the options below, so weigh our view accordingly. We've tried to be fair to every app here. Prices are as of November 2026.
| Option | Platform | Price | Keeps | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windows Clipboard History | Windows 10/11 | Free, built in | Text and images (items up to 4 MB) | Off by default; optional cloud sync |
| Maccy | Mac | Free to build from source (MIT); $9.99 on the Mac App Store | Clipboard history with search | Clipboard only |
| Ditto | Windows | Free | Text, images, HTML, custom formats | Optional encrypted sync between computers |
| Alfred Powerpack | Mac | £34 one-time (Single License) | Clipboard history | The free Alfred app has no clipboard history |
| Raycast | Mac, Windows (some commands differ) | Free (3 months of history); Pro $10/month | Clipboard history with pinning and type filters | Unlimited history needs Pro |
| Gubb | Mac, Windows | $59 one-time (direct Mac download), includes notes and other tools | Text only | No password filtering or app exclusions |
Maccy is the simple choice on a Mac if all you want is clipboard history. It is open source, does one job, and opens from the menu bar or with a keyboard shortcut. Its GitHub page warns about fake websites that pretend to be Maccy, so get it from maccy.app or the Mac App Store.
Ditto is the free choice on Windows when Win+V feels too limited. It keeps your history in a database between sessions, and it handles more content types than plain text. You open it from the tray icon or with a global hotkey.
Windows Clipboard History is enough for many people. It is free, already installed and lets you pin items, and pinned items survive Clear all. A Microsoft Q&A answer says it keeps up to 25 entries, but that comes from a community reply, not from Microsoft's documentation.
Gubb has clipboard history as one panel in a notes app that also has dictation into notes, timers and to-do lists. It captures text only. Capture starts the first time you open the Clipboard History panel in a session, so anything you copied before that isn't recorded. In the panel you can:
- search your history and filter it by Text, Links or Code
- pin items so they appear under Favorites
- edit an item, or insert it into your note with Paste to note
- remove everything with Clear History, which has a Keep favorites switch
Gubb has no quick-paste popup and no global shortcut. To use an item in another app, click Copy to clipboard and then paste there as usual. Gubb doesn't filter passwords and can't exclude apps. If you want a dedicated clipboard manager, Maccy or Ditto is the better fit. Gubb makes sense if you already want a scratchpad and like keeping your copies next to your notes. The clipboard section of our help center shows how the panel works.
For fuller comparisons, see the best clipboard manager for Mac and the best clipboard manager for Windows.
When you need a clipboard manager
- Stick with the built-in clipboard if you copy and paste one thing at a time and rarely lose anything.
- Turn on Win+V if you use Windows and only sometimes need something you copied earlier.
- Install a dedicated manager if you often copy several items before you paste, reuse the same snippets, or lose text you copied an hour ago.
- Skip clipboard history, or set it up carefully, if you copy a lot of passwords or client data and your manager can't exclude your password manager.
FAQ
Can a clipboard manager see my passwords?
Yes, if you copy them as text. The password is saved like any other copied text unless the app skips items your password manager marks as concealed, or lets you exclude that app.
Does clearing the clipboard delete my clipboard history?
No. Clearing the clipboard empties only the current item. To remove past items, use the clear option in your clipboard manager or in the Win+V panel.
Where is clipboard history stored?
Windows keeps the history in the system, and it can sync it to your Microsoft account if you turn sync on. Third-party managers usually keep a database file in your user folder. Gubb's direct-download Mac build, for example, stores it in a SQLite file at ~/Library/Containers/com.gubbapp.direct/Data/Library/Application Support/gubb/gubb.db.