Do I need an internet connection to translate?

Yes, for the translation step. The AI transform sends the selected clip to the provider you configured. Your clipboard history itself is stored locally, but the translate call needs network access to reach your AI provider.

Which languages can it translate?

That depends on the AI model you connect. ClipHistory passes your clip to your chosen provider (Anthropic, OpenAI, DeepSeek, Google, or a custom endpoint), so the supported language pairs match that model's capabilities.

Does ClipHistory store my translations in the cloud?

No. There's no cloud backend and no account. Translated text comes back as a clip on your Mac. Only the text you actively send to your AI provider during a transform leaves the device.

Is there a separate fee for translation?

ClipHistory is a one-time $19.99 purchase. Translation uses your own AI provider key, so you pay that provider directly for usage with no markup from ClipHistory.

How to Translate Copied Text on Mac

You copy a sentence in German, switch to a browser tab, paste it into a translation site, copy the result, and switch back. That round trip happens dozens of times a day if you work across languages. There's a faster path: translate the text right where it already lives — in your clipboard.

This guide shows how to translate copied text on macOS using ClipHistory, an AI-powered clipboard manager that runs entirely on your Mac.

The clipboard-first approach

macOS keeps only the last thing you copied. A clipboard manager keeps a history instead. ClipHistory keeps your 150 most recent unpinned clips plus unlimited pinned ones, and adds AI transforms on top of that history. One of those transforms is translation.

Because the translation happens against a clip you already captured, you never leave your current app. Copy, transform, paste.

Step by step

1. Open your clipboard history

Press Cmd+Shift+V to open ClipHistory. You'll see your recent clips listed with the newest at the top.

2. Select the clip you want to translate

Click or arrow-key to the text clip. This can be something you copied seconds ago from a chat, an email, a PDF, or a webpage.

3. Run the Translate transform

Choose the Translate AI transform and pick your target language. ClipHistory sends the clip to the AI provider you configured and returns the translated text as a new clip, ready to paste with Cmd+V.

4. Paste it wherever you were

The translated text goes back onto your clipboard, so you paste it into your reply, document, or message without breaking focus.

You bring your own AI key

ClipHistory does not run its own translation service. Instead, you connect one of five providers — Anthropic, OpenAI, DeepSeek, Google, or a custom endpoint — using your own API key. That has three practical consequences:

Cost is yours and transparent. You pay your provider directly for what you use, with no markup.
Quality is your choice. Translation quality varies by model; you pick the one that handles your language pair best.
Privacy stays in your control. Your key, your account, your provider's terms.

Everything else stays local. ClipHistory has no cloud backend and no account to create — your clipboard history never leaves the Mac except for the specific text you choose to send to your chosen AI provider during a transform.

When AI translation beats a quick web search

A translation website is fine for a one-off word. AI translation through your clipboard wins when:

The text has context. Models handle idioms, tone, and domain terms better than literal phrase tables.
You translate constantly. Saving the app switch many times a day adds up.
The source is sensitive. You decide exactly which clip gets sent, rather than pasting into a third-party website with unclear retention.

Translating in the other direction

The same transform works for outbound text. Draft a reply in your native language, copy it, translate it to the recipient's language, and paste. You keep one clipboard workflow for both directions.

Tips for cleaner results

Translate clean source text. If the clip has leftover formatting or line breaks from a PDF, run the Clean transform first, then translate.
Pin phrases you reuse. Standard greetings or disclaimers you translate often can be pinned so they survive past the 150-clip rolling window.
Save translated boilerplate as a snippet. Once you've translated a recurring block, store it as a snippet so you never pay to translate it again.

Requirements

ClipHistory runs on macOS 12 or later as a universal binary, so it's native on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. It's signed and notarized by Apple, which means Gatekeeper lets it open without warnings.

Summary

Translating copied text on Mac doesn't need a browser detour. With a clipboard manager that has AI built in, you open your history with Cmd+Shift+V, run the Translate transform on any clip using your own AI key, and paste the result — all without leaving your current app, and with your data staying local except for the text you deliberately send.

Ready to put AI to work on your clipboard? Get ClipHistory for macOS ($19.99) — a one-time payment, 12-month license, no auto-renewal. Signed and notarized by Apple, runs on Apple Silicon and Intel, and everything stays local on your Mac.