The Mac clipboard has no app or folder you can open. To access the clipboard on a Mac, click the desktop, then choose Edit ▸ Show Clipboard from the menu bar. That window shows only the last thing you copied, because macOS keeps one item at a time. For older copies, use Spotlight's clipboard view on macOS Tahoe 26 and later, or a clipboard manager app.
What the Mac clipboard is
The clipboard is a temporary holding area in your Mac's memory. When you copy with ⌘C (Command-C) or cut with ⌘X (Command-X), macOS puts your selection there. When you paste with ⌘V (Command-V), it inserts a copy, and the item stays on the clipboard so you can paste it again.
It can hold text, an image, or a reference to files you copied in Finder. It isn't stored as a file you can find on disk, and it's emptied when you restart or shut down your Mac.
How to access the clipboard on Mac with Show Clipboard
Finder has a viewer for the current clipboard item:
- Click an empty spot on the desktop, or click the Finder icon in the Dock, so Finder is the active app.
- In the menu bar, click Edit.
- Choose Show Clipboard.
A window opens with the item you last copied or cut. It's a viewer only. To use the content, paste it where you need it with ⌘V.
If you're looking for something you copied before the current item, this window won't help. It has no list, no back button and no history.
See clipboard text in Terminal
If you work in Terminal, the built-in pbpaste command prints the clipboard's current text:
pbpaste
This only reads the clipboard and changes nothing. If the clipboard holds an image, it prints nothing.
To save the current clipboard text to a file on your Desktop:
pbpaste > ~/Desktop/clipboard.txt
This creates or overwrites clipboard.txt on your Desktop. Delete the file to undo it.
Why macOS keeps only one item
The system clipboard is a single slot. Each time you copy or cut something, the new item replaces the old one, and the old one is gone.
A single item can be stored in several formats at once. Text copied from a web page, for example, carries both the styled version and plain text. That's why Paste and Match Style can drop the formatting. It's still one item, though, not a history.
So there's no hidden archive to dig up. Once something is overwritten or you restart, macOS can't recover it. The only way to get it back is if a clipboard manager was running and saved it when you copied it.
Universal Clipboard between Apple devices
Universal Clipboard lets you copy on your iPhone, iPad or another Mac and paste on your Mac, or the other way round. You copy and paste with the usual commands. There's no separate menu.
It works when:
- Both devices are signed in to the same Apple Account.
- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are on for both devices.
- Handoff is turned on for both devices.
- The devices are near each other.
To turn on Handoff on your Mac, open System Settings, search for "Handoff" and turn it on. On an iPhone or iPad, open Settings and search for "Handoff".
The copied item is only available on the other device for a short time. Universal Clipboard uses the same single slot, so it doesn't add any history.
How to get clipboard history on a Mac
Here are the ways to see what you've copied, side by side:
| Method | What you see | Older items | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finder ▸ Edit ▸ Show Clipboard | The current item | No | Free, built in |
pbpaste in Terminal |
The current text | No | Free, built in |
| Spotlight clipboard view (macOS Tahoe 26 and later) | Recent copies | Yes | Free, built in |
| Clipboard manager app | A searchable list | Yes, as far back as the app keeps | Free to paid |
Use Spotlight's clipboard view on macOS Tahoe 26
macOS Tahoe 26 added a clipboard view to Spotlight that lists recent copies. Open Spotlight with ⌘Space (Command-Space) and switch to its clipboard view. If you don't see it, open System Settings, search for "Spotlight" and check its options.
On macOS 14 Sonoma and macOS 15 Sequoia there is no built-in clipboard history. You need an app.
Clipboard manager apps
A clipboard manager runs in the background and saves each new thing you copy, so you can search and reuse it later. It can only save items copied while it's running. It can't recover anything from before you installed it.
Prices below are as of November 2026.
| App | Price | Best for | Main limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maccy | Free to build from source; $9.99 one-time on the Mac App Store | A light clipboard history and nothing else | Clipboard only |
| Paste | Subscription | A visual history synced to your iPhone through iCloud | Ongoing cost |
| Raycast | Free plan; Pro $10/month | People who also want a launcher | Free plan keeps 3 months of history |
| Alfred | Powerpack from £34, one-time | Launcher users who prefer a one-time purchase | Clipboard history isn't in the free version |
| Gubb (ours) | $59 one-time; 7-day free trial of the direct download | Clipboard history in the same window as notes, lists and timers | Text only, no quick-paste popup |
Maccy is open source (MIT license) and opens from the menu bar or a keyboard shortcut. If all you want is clipboard history, start here. The Mac App Store version costs $9.99, and the listing says that purchase supports development.
Paste is a visual clipboard manager for Mac and iOS. Its history syncs through iCloud, so it suits you if you want the same history on your phone. It's sold as a subscription.
Raycast and Alfred are launchers with clipboard history built in. Raycast's free plan keeps 3 months of history, and Pro removes that limit. Alfred's clipboard history needs the paid Powerpack.
For a side-by-side look at more options, see our guide to the best clipboard manager for Mac.
Clipboard history in Gubb
We make Gubb, a small app that combines a notes scratchpad with clipboard history, timers and a few other tools. It makes sense if you'd use those other tools too. If you only want clipboard history, Maccy is simpler and cheaper.
To use clipboard history in Gubb:
- Open Gubb and move the pointer to the right edge of the note window. A column of buttons appears.
- Click Clipboard History. A panel opens on the right, and Gubb starts recording what you copy from this point.
- Copy text in any app. Each item appears in the panel with its time, tagged as text, link or code.
- To reuse an item, hover over it and click Copy to clipboard, then press ⌘V in the app where you want it.
Inside the panel you can:
- Search with Search clipboard....
- Filter by Text, Links or Code.
- Pin items with Pin/Favorite item and see them in the Favorites tab.
- Fix an item with Edit content.
- Insert an item into your current note with Paste to note.
- Use Clear History with Keep favorites turned on to wipe everything except your pinned items.
What to know before relying on it:
- Capture starts when the panel opens. Gubb records nothing in a session until the Clipboard History panel has been opened, so check that it's open after each launch. Anything you copied before that isn't recorded.
- Keep Gubb running. Quitting stops capture, and closing the window may quit the app. To get the window out of the way, click Gubb's menu bar icon to hide it instead.
- Text only. Images, files and rich text aren't saved.
- Passwords are saved too. Gubb doesn't filter out passwords or skip specific apps. Text copied from a password manager is stored in plain text in Gubb's local database, so delete those items afterward.
- Up to 1,000 items. Gubb keeps up to 1,000 unpinned items and deletes the oldest beyond that. Pinned items are kept until you remove them. The panel itself loads the newest 100 items, pinned first.
- No quick-paste popup or global shortcut. Pasting into another app means copying the item back first, so heavy paste-from-history work is faster in Maccy or a launcher.
- Stored on your Mac. History is saved locally, with no account and no sync.
The clipboard section of our help center covers the panel in more detail. Gubb costs $59 one-time (as of November 2026), and the Mac version has a 7-day free trial download.
Keyboard shortcuts for copy, cut and paste
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Copy | ⌘C (Command-C) |
| Cut | ⌘X (Command-X) |
| Paste | ⌘V (Command-V) |
| Paste without the source formatting (most apps) | ⌥⇧⌘V (Option-Shift-Command-V) |
| Undo a paste | ⌘Z (Command-Z) |
| Select all | ⌘A (Command-A) |
| Move a file in Finder | ⌘C on the file, then ⌥⌘V (Option-Command-V) in the destination folder |
| Copy a screenshot of an area to the clipboard | ⌃⇧⌘4 (Control-Shift-Command-4) |
| Copy a screenshot of the whole screen to the clipboard | ⌃⇧⌘3 (Control-Shift-Command-3) |
Finder doesn't let you cut files with ⌘X. You copy them, then use ⌥⌘V to move them instead of duplicating them. For more on everyday copying, see how to copy and paste text on a Mac.
If the clipboard isn't working
Show Clipboard is missing from the Edit menu
The menu bar belongs to whichever app is in front. Click the desktop or the Finder icon in the Dock, check that "Finder" appears next to the Apple menu, then open Edit again.
Copy and paste stops working in every app
The background process that runs the clipboard can get stuck. The quickest fix is to restart it from Terminal.
This empties your current clipboard.
killall pboard
This quits the clipboard process, and macOS starts it again automatically. There's no setting to undo. If copying still fails afterward, restart your Mac.
Pasted text brings the wrong fonts or colors
You're pasting the styled version of the item. Use ⌥⇧⌘V to paste it as plain text in apps that support Paste and Match Style, or paste into a plain-text app first.
Universal Clipboard doesn't paste on the other device
Check each requirement: the same Apple Account, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on, Handoff on, and the devices close together. Then paste soon after copying, because the item is only offered for a short time.
A clipboard app missed something you copied
Clipboard managers only save what you copy while they're running. In Gubb, check that the Clipboard History panel was opened after launch, and remember that images and files aren't recorded. Our guide to seeing clipboard history on Mac covers setup for other apps.
FAQ
Does a Mac have clipboard history?
Only from macOS Tahoe 26, through Spotlight. On Sonoma, Sequoia and earlier versions, the clipboard holds one item and you need an app for history.
Can I recover something I copied yesterday?
Only if a clipboard manager was running when you copied it. macOS doesn't keep overwritten items.
Does restarting clear the clipboard?
Yes. The clipboard lives in memory, so it's empty after a restart or shutdown. Clipboard managers keep their own saved history.
How do I clear the clipboard?
Copy something harmless, or run pbcopy < /dev/null in Terminal to empty it. To delete a saved history in an app, see how to clear clipboard history on Mac.