Does ClipHistory store my clipboard history in the cloud?

No. ClipHistory is 100% local. Your clipboard history (up to 150 unpinned items plus unlimited pinned clips) lives entirely on your Mac. The app has zero servers and requires no account. Only the specific clip you choose to transform with AI is sent to your selected API provider—and only when you explicitly request it.

What if I already use OpenAI or Anthropic for other projects?

Perfect. Bring your own API key from any of the five supported providers (Anthropic, OpenAI, DeepSeek, Google, or custom endpoint). You control which provider each transformation uses, so you can optimize for cost and speed. With your existing API account, you pay only for tokens—typically pennies per transformation.

How much does it cost to use the AI features?

It depends on which provider and model you choose. OpenAI's GPT-4o mini costs roughly $0.03 per 1M input tokens. Summarizing a 2,000-word article might cost $0.01–$0.05. Unlike subscription clipboard managers ($5–$15/month), you pay only for what you actually use. Most users spend under $5/month on AI transformations.

Is ClipHistory available on iPhone, iPad, or Windows?

No. ClipHistory is macOS only—it's a universal app that runs natively on Intel and Apple Silicon Macs. If you need clipboard sync across devices, look at cloud-based alternatives like Paste or Raycast, but know those solutions store your history on their servers and charge ongoing subscription fees. ClipHistory's local-only design is the trade-off that buys you privacy and a lifetime license.

Bring Your Own API Key: Run Clipboard AI Locally on Mac Without Cloud Costs

If you've ever wanted AI-powered clipboard management on macOS without vendor lock-in or recurring subscriptions, you've hit a wall. Most clipboard managers either lack AI entirely, force you into their cloud ecosystem, or charge monthly for features that should be yours to control.

ClipHistory changes that equation. By supporting bring-your-own API key for AI transformations, it puts you in charge of both cost and privacy—while keeping everything local to your Mac.

Why Bring Your Own API Key Matters

The economics are stark. Cloud-based clipboard managers often charge $5–$15 monthly just to summarize, translate, or rewrite your clipboard content. Over a year, that's $60–$180 you're paying to someone else's infrastructure—even if you only use AI a few times a week.

With ClipHistory's bring-your-own-key model, you:

Pay only for what you use. OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepSeek, and Google all charge per token. A thousand clipboard transformations might cost $2–$10 depending on which provider and which model you choose.
Own your API costs. No surprise subscription renewals. No "premium tier" upsells. You control the budget.
Keep data local. Your clipboard history lives entirely on your Mac. Only the text you explicitly transform leaves your machine, and only to the AI provider you select—not to ClipHistory's servers.

How It Works: Five AI Providers, One Interface

ClipHistory integrates five major AI providers through a unified interface. Press ⌘⇧V to open your clipboard history, select a clip, and choose an action:

Anthropic Claude – best for reasoning, code review, and nuanced writing tasks
OpenAI GPT – general-purpose, widely familiar, excellent value at GPT-4o mini
DeepSeek – cost-effective alternative with strong performance on technical content
Google Gemini – multimodal, good for analyzing images copied to clipboard
Custom API – for enterprises running private LLMs or local models via services like Ollama

You don't create a ClipHistory account. You simply paste your API key directly into ClipHistory's preferences, and the app handles the rest. Your key never leaves your Mac; it's stored in the system keychain, encrypted by macOS itself.

Real-World Workflows

For developers: Copy a bash error log, press ⌘⇧V, select "Summarize," and get a breakdown of what went wrong—all without pasting into ChatGPT and risk exposing proprietary code.

For writers: Paste a paragraph, choose "Rewrite," and get three alternative versions refined by Claude's language model. Keep the original pinned for reference. All in the clipboard manager you already use.

For multilingual teams: Copy an email in Spanish, hit "Translate to English," and paste the result directly into Slack. Your translation stays private; no third-party translation tool sees your company communications.

For designers and analysts: Copy hex codes or data snippets. Use the "Clean" transformation to normalize formatting before pasting into design tools or spreadsheets.

AI Transforms Beyond Chat

ClipHistory's AI features go deeper than a basic chat interface:

Summarize – condense long articles, emails, or transcripts to key points
Translate – between 100+ languages using your chosen AI provider
Rewrite – adjust tone, formality, or length; great for emails and documentation
Clean – normalize formatting, remove extra whitespace, fix encoding issues

Unlike clipboard managers that offer no AI (Maccy, Alfred's clipboard), or those that force you to switch windows and pay subscription fees (Paste), ClipHistory keeps you in flow. Hit ⌘⇧V, transform, paste. No context switching. No cloud loading delays.

100% Local, Zero Cloud Dependency

Here's what stays on your Mac:

Full clipboard history: 150 unpinned clips + unlimited pinned items
All search and organization
Custom Snippets for frequently used text
Custom Boards to organize clips by project or type
Paste Stack to manage multi-step pastes

The only data that ever leaves your machine is the specific clip you choose to transform—and only to the AI provider you trust. ClipHistory has zero servers, zero cloud storage, and zero data-sharing agreements. You're not the product.

This is radically different from cloud-based alternatives, which typically store your entire clipboard history in their database (even if encrypted) and monetize data insights or sell premium tiers.

One Lifetime License, No Subscription Games

ClipHistory costs $19.99—one payment, forever. No monthly billing. No "premium tier" appearing next year. No account required. Just a universal macOS app, signed and notarized by Apple's security standards.

Compare that to:

Paste: $40 one-time + $50/year subscription for cloud sync and premium features
Raycast: Free + $8/month for Pro (API access, team sync)
Maccy: Free but no AI
Pastebot: $4.99 one-time (limited AI options, older codebase)

For a one-time investment of $19.99, you get the entire feature set, forever, with the ability to plug in your own AI keys and control costs directly.

Getting Started

Download ClipHistory from the Mac App Store or our website.
Open Preferences and paste your API key from OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepSeek, or Google—or configure a custom endpoint.
Press ⌘⇧V the next time you copy something.
Select a clip, choose an AI Transform, and paste the result.

Your first few transformations will show you the cost: usually less than a penny for simple rewrites, a few cents for summarizing long documents.

Get ClipHistory — $19.99 and take control of your clipboard AI today.