Is ClipHistory safe to download?

Yes. It's signed and notarized by Apple, so Gatekeeper clears it, and it stores everything locally with no cloud or account.

Does it work on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs?

Yes. ClipHistory is a universal binary that runs natively on both Apple Silicon and Intel, on macOS 12 and later.

How much does the clipboard app cost?

A one-time $19.99 for a 12-month license. There's no subscription and no auto-renewal.

What permissions does it need after download?

Accessibility access, so it can paste into your active app. Enable it in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility on first run.

Clipboard App for macOS: Download Guide

A clipboard app runs all day and touches everything you copy, so it's worth a minute of due diligence before you download. This guide covers what to verify, how to install cleanly, and how to set up your first run so the app is useful in five minutes.

What to check before you download

Not every clipboard app is built the same. Before installing, confirm:

Signed & notarized by Apple. This means Gatekeeper has cleared the app and it hasn't been tampered with. ClipHistory is signed and notarized, so it opens without scary warnings.
Universal binary. Look for native support on both Apple Silicon (M-series) and Intel. ClipHistory is a universal binary, so it runs natively either way — no Rosetta.
macOS compatibility. ClipHistory supports macOS 12 and later. Check the version in → About This Mac if you're unsure.
Local storage, no account. A clipboard app sees sensitive text. ClipHistory keeps everything on your Mac with no cloud and no sign-up.
A clear price. ClipHistory is a one-time $19.99 for a 12-month license — no subscription, no auto-renewal.

Downloading and installing

Download ClipHistory from cliphistory.com/download.
Open the downloaded file and drag the app to your Applications folder.
Launch it. Because it's notarized, macOS opens it without blocking.
The app lives in the menu bar, not the Dock — look for its icon at the top of the screen.

Granting permissions

macOS requires explicit permission for an app to paste on your behalf:

On first run, ClipHistory will prompt for Accessibility access.
Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility and enable ClipHistory.
This lets it simulate the paste keystroke into your active app. Without it, the history opens but pasting won't work.

This permission is standard for any clipboard manager — it's the mechanism macOS uses to let an app type for you.

First-run setup in five minutes

Once installed and permitted:

Learn the shortcut. Press Cmd+Shift+V to open your history. Copy a few things first so there's something to see.
Pin your essentials. Pin text you reuse — signatures, addresses, license keys. Pinned clips are unlimited and never roll off, unlike the rolling 150-item recent window.
Create a snippet or two. Save your most-used text as named snippets for deliberate recall.
Try search. Open the history and type a word to filter instantly.
(Optional) Add an AI provider. If you want summarize/rewrite/translate/clean-up transforms, add your own API key for Anthropic, OpenAI, DeepSeek, Google, or a custom endpoint.

Understanding the storage model

ClipHistory keeps your 150 most recent unpinned clips. When you copy item 151, the oldest unpinned one drops off — a sensible cap that keeps the app fast and your list relevant. Anything pinned is exempt and kept indefinitely. All of it is stored locally; nothing is uploaded.

That 150-item cap is a feature, not a limitation. An unbounded history grows into a slow, cluttered archive you have to wade through. A rolling window keeps your recent copies — the ones you're actually likely to need again — fast to search and easy to scan, while pinning handles the smaller set of text you want to keep forever. The result is a list that stays useful instead of one that balloons over months of use.

Searching and organizing what you copy

Beyond the raw list, the features that make a clipboard app worth running every day are search and structure:

Search — open the history and type a word to filter your recent and pinned clips instantly, so you never scroll.
Snippets — save reusable text as named entries you recall on purpose.
Boards — group related clips for a project or client so they live together.
Paste stack — queue several clips and paste them one after another, in order, with repeated presses.

Try each once during your first day; the ones that fit your workflow will stick, and the others are there when you need them.

After you download

Give it a day of normal use. The habit of pressing Cmd+Shift+V instead of re-finding and re-copying text forms quickly. Pin the items you reach for repeatedly, lean on search for everything else, and add an AI provider only if you want the transforms.

A reasonable first week looks like this: day one, just get used to opening the history with the shortcut instead of re-copying. By day two or three, pin the three or four pieces of text you keep reaching for. Once that's habit, try the paste stack the next time you're filling a form from several copied fields. Most people find the shortcut becomes automatic well before the week is out, and from then on the one-item clipboard limit stops being something they ever think about.

ClipHistory is a one-time $19.99 (12-month license, no auto-renewal), signed & notarized, universal, and fully local — a low-risk download for something you'll use constantly.

Ready to stop losing what you copy? Get ClipHistory for macOS — a one-time $19.99 (12-month license, no auto-renewal). Universal binary, signed & notarized by Apple, runs on macOS 12 and later. Everything stays on your Mac.