ClipFlow

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ClipFlow is a native, privacy-first clipboard manager for macOS. It keeps your clipboard history local, makes it easy to find past clips, and is designed for fast keyboard-driven workflows.

In Simplified Chinese, the app is presented as 拾笺.

Highlights

Fast capture, search, and paste

• Capture text, rich text, links, files, images, PDFs, and other supported pasteboard representations; repeated captures are deduplicated.
• Search one history across content, source app, links, files, images, browser tabs, OCR text, favorites, and smart categories.
• Open the floating panel with the configurable wake shortcut (default: Command + Shift + V), then paste, preview, favorite, rename, categorize, or delete without leaving the keyboard.
• Paste in original format or as plain text. File, image, link, and text clips expose purpose-built actions such as Paste File Path, Show in Finder, Open Link, Copy Domain, and full preview.

Quick Paste and Sequential Paste

• Pin frequently used clips to slots 1 through 9. Use Option + Command + 1 through 9 to paste a slot globally, even with the panel closed.
• Build a Sequential Paste queue from one or many history items, then paste the next item globally with Option + Shift + Command + V.
• The panel clearly shows the current destination app, quick-paste slots, queue state, and shortcut hints.

Organize and reuse content

• Classify clips automatically by type and smart categories, and recognize text in newly copied images locally with macOS Vision.
• Mark sensitive clips as one-time or auto-expiring. Temporary clips are removed after successful paste or expiry and are excluded from backups.
• Save reusable text as variable templates such as Hello {{name}}, fill the variables when needed, and paste the rendered result.
• Optionally browse and activate tabs from Safari, Google Chrome, and Microsoft Edge.

Private by design

• Back up and restore encrypted ClipFlow data with integrity validation and import limits.
• Encrypt clipboard metadata with SQLCipher and encrypt large local payload files separately.
• Keep all processing on your Mac: no accounts, advertising, analytics, telemetry, or cloud clipboard processing.

Screenshots

Clipboard history	File actions

Settings	First-run guide

Image preview	Browser tabs

Privacy and Permissions

Clipboard data is stored locally. ClipFlow requests optional macOS permissions only when a related feature needs them:

• Accessibility lets ClipFlow automatically paste into the previously active app. Without it, ClipFlow copies the selected content, keeps the panel open, and tells you how to paste manually or re-authorize the installed app.
• Automation is required only if you enable browser-tab integration; browser control stays on your Mac.
• Launch at Login is optional.

Ad-hoc test builds are not notarized. On another Mac, the first launch may require System Settings -> Privacy & Security -> Open Anyway. Automatic paste also needs the app to be enabled in System Settings -> Privacy & Security -> Accessibility.

Requirements

• macOS 14 Sonoma or later
• Swift 6.2 toolchain
• Homebrew, only when bootstrapping the local SQLCipher development libraries

Downloading a Test Build

For GitHub Releases, use the DMG when sharing with friends:

1. Download ClipFlow-<version>-macos.dmg.
2. Open the DMG and drag ClipFlow.app to Applications.
3. Launch ClipFlow from Applications.
4. If macOS blocks it, open System Settings -> Privacy & Security and choose Open Anyway.

When installing an update, quit ClipFlow completely before replacing the existing app in Applications, then launch the new copy. If Settings -> Permissions still shows Automatic Paste as not granted, select Rebind Current App, enable ClipFlow in System Settings -> Privacy & Security -> Accessibility, then refresh the permission status.

Build from Source

git clone git@github.com:osbrain/ClipFlow.git
cd ClipFlow

./scripts/bootstrap-dev-deps.sh
swift build
swift run ClipFlowCoreTests

Package a locally ad-hoc-signed app:

./scripts/package-app.sh debug
open artifacts/ClipFlow.app

For a release configuration, use:

./scripts/package-app.sh release
./scripts/package-dmg.sh

The packaged app and DMG are written to artifacts/.

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome. Please keep changes focused, include relevant tests where practical, and do not add network services, analytics, or remote clipboard processing without prior discussion.

Links

• LinuxDo

License

ClipFlow is available under the PolyForm Noncommercial License 1.0.0. It permits personal and other non-commercial use, modification, and distribution, but prohibits commercial use.

This is a source-available project, not OSI-approved open source: OSI open-source licenses must allow commercial use. See LICENSE for the complete terms.