How does ClipHistory translate text?

It runs a Translate transform on any clip in your clipboard history, sending that text to the AI provider you connected and returning the translation as a new clip.

Does my text get uploaded to ClipHistory's servers?

No. ClipHistory has no servers or account. Only the text you translate is sent to your own AI provider via your API key; the clipboard history stays on your Mac.

Can I translate and clean text in one workflow?

Yes. Each transform creates a new clip, so you can Clean copied text first, then Translate it, without losing the original.

An AI Clipboard Translator for macOS

Q: Which languages are supported?

Translation quality depends on the AI provider you use (Anthropic, OpenAI, DeepSeek, Google, or a custom endpoint). These models handle a wide range of common languages.

Translating text usually means a detour: open a translation site, paste, copy the result, switch back. If you do it a few times a day, that detour becomes the slow part of your work. A clipboard-based translator removes the detour by putting the translation step where your text already is.

How clipboard translation works

ClipHistory adds AI transforms to your Mac's clipboard history, and one of them is Translate. Because anything you copy lands in history automatically, the text is already in place. You translate it there and paste the result.

The flow:

Copy the text you want translated (Cmd+C).
Press Cmd+Shift+V to open your clipboard history.
Select the clip and run the Translate transform.
Paste the translation (Cmd+V).

The original stays in history alongside the translation, which is handy when you want to check both versions side by side.

Powered by your own AI key

ClipHistory does not run its own translation engine. It uses the AI provider you connect: Anthropic, OpenAI, DeepSeek, Google, or a custom endpoint. AI translation through these models tends to handle context and idiom better than older word-for-word tools, because the model reads the whole passage.

Since you bring your own API key, you pay the provider directly and the text goes only to the provider you picked. There is no ClipHistory account, and the clipboard history never leaves your Mac, only the text you translate is sent, and only when you ask.

Choosing a provider for translation

Any of the supported providers can translate. If you translate frequently and want to keep costs low, DeepSeek and Google are typically inexpensive for short passages. For nuanced or professional text, Anthropic and OpenAI models are common picks. The custom endpoint lets you use a self-hosted model if you have one.

Practical uses

Reading a foreign-language email: copy it, translate, reply.
Sending a message in another language: draft in your language, translate, paste, then proofread.
Understanding documentation or error messages copied from a tool.

In each case you stay inside your app and keep the work on the keyboard.

Keep frequent translations as snippets

If you repeatedly send the same translated phrases, greetings, standard replies, support responses, save them as snippets once translated. A snippet pastes with a keystroke, so you skip re-translating identical text.

Translate plus other transforms

Translation pairs well with the other AI actions. You might Clean text copied from a PDF to fix broken line breaks, then Translate it. Or Summarize a long foreign-language thread and translate the summary. Each transform produces a new clip, so you can chain them without losing earlier versions.

A word on accuracy

AI translation is strong but not infallible, especially with names, legal terms, or highly technical wording. For anything consequential, have a fluent reader check the result. The transform saves you the mechanical work; it does not replace human judgment on critical text.

A worked example

You receive a short message in German from a supplier. Copy it, press Cmd+Shift+V, run Translate, and read the English version. You draft your reply in English, copy it, run Translate the other way, and paste the German back into your mail client. Because both the source and the translation sit in your history, you can glance between them to make sure nothing was dropped before you send.

For a phrase you send constantly, a standard greeting or a closing line, translate it once and save it as a snippet. From then on it pastes with a keystroke, no transform needed. Over a week of routine correspondence, that turns dozens of small translation detours into single keypresses.

If you regularly work in two languages, consider a board that holds your common translated phrases together, openings, sign-offs, standard answers, so they are grouped and easy to find. Pinned clips stay indefinitely, so the phrases you rely on never age out of your history the way ordinary clips do.

Local by design

The clipboard history lives on your Mac, not in a cloud account, because there is no account. Only the clip you translate is sent to your chosen provider, and only when you ask. That keeps casual translation, and anything more sensitive, off third-party servers by default. If you need an even tighter boundary, the custom endpoint option lets you route translation through a model you host yourself.

Requirements

ClipHistory is a universal binary for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs, signed and notarized by Apple, requiring macOS 12 or later. It is a one-time $19.99 purchase for a 12-month license with no auto-renewal. The clipboard holds 150 unpinned clips plus unlimited pinned ones, so source and translation both stay within reach.

Get ClipHistory for macOS for a one-time $19.99 at https://cliphistory.com/download and translate from your clipboard.