Does translation work inside every Mac app?

Yes, because it runs on your clipboard rather than inside one app. Copy, run the translate transform, and paste the result into Mail, Slack, a form, a code editor, or anywhere else.

Which languages can it translate?

Translation runs through the AI provider you connect, so the supported languages match that model. You choose the target language when you run the transform.

Is my text sent anywhere besides the AI provider?

No. Only the text you choose to translate goes to the provider you configured with your own API key. There's no ClipHistory account or cloud sync, and your history stays local.

Translate and Paste in Any App on Mac

Q: Can I keep terms translating a specific way?

Yes. Save the correct versions as snippets and swap them in after translating. Snippets are unlimited and don't count against the 150-clip history.

Q: Is there a recurring charge?

No. ClipHistory is a one-time $19.99 purchase with a 12-month license and no auto-renewal.

Translation is one of those tasks that always happens at the wrong moment: mid-email, mid-chat, mid-form. The standard move is to open a translation site, paste in, copy the result, and switch back. Every one of those steps is a chance to lose your place.

ClipHistory collapses that into copy, transform, paste. The translation runs on your clipboard, so the result is ready to drop into whatever app you were already in.

Translation as a clipboard transform

ClipHistory's AI transforms include translate, alongside summarize, rewrite, and clean. You copy text, run the translate transform, pick the target language, and the translated text replaces your clipboard contents. Then you paste it normally.

Because it operates on the clipboard rather than inside one specific app, it works the same in Mail, Slack, Notes, a browser form, a code editor, or a terminal. There's no per-app integration to set up.

The workflow

Copy the text you need translated with Cmd+C.
Press Cmd+Shift+V to open ClipHistory.
Run the translate transform and choose your target language.
Paste the translation with Cmd+V.

For the reverse direction, copy the foreign-language text you received and translate it into your own language to read it. Same four steps.

Real situations it fits

Replying to a customer in their language. Write your reply, translate, review, send, without leaving the support tool.

Reading a message you received. Copy the incoming text, translate to understand it, then craft your reply.

Localizing UI strings. Copy a string, translate, paste back into your code, repeat. The paste stack helps here: queue several strings and paste translations in order.

Filling foreign-language forms. Translate field labels you don't recognize, then translate your answers back.

Reviewing translated copy. Paste a vendor's translation, translate it back to your language, and check that the meaning survived the round trip.

Your provider, your key, your machine

Translation runs through the AI provider you configure, Anthropic, OpenAI, DeepSeek, Google, or a custom endpoint, with your own API key. There's no ClipHistory account and no cloud sync. Your clipboard history (150 recent unpinned clips plus unlimited pinned) stays on your Mac. Only the text you choose to translate is sent to your provider.

That local-first design matters when the text you're translating is a private message or unreleased copy. You're calling an API you already trust, not uploading your clipboard to a translation service.

Tips for better translations

Clean before you translate. Text copied from PDFs or web pages often carries broken line breaks. Run the clean transform first so the translator sees coherent sentences.

Keep glossary terms as snippets. If certain product names or terms must translate a specific way, save the correct versions as snippets and swap them in after translating. Snippets are unlimited and don't count against your history.

Pin reference translations. A phrase you translate often? Pin it so it survives the rolling 150-clip limit and is one paste away.

Translate versus rewrite for tone

Sometimes you want a translation that also matches a register, formal vs casual. Translate first, then run rewrite with a tone instruction on the result. Two transforms, but you stay on your clipboard the whole time.

Reading direction and reply direction

It's worth being deliberate about which way you're translating, because the workflow differs slightly. When you're reading an incoming message, accuracy of meaning is what matters; a literal translation is fine because you only need to understand it. When you're writing a reply, fluency matters more; you want the translated text to read naturally to a native speaker. For replies in a language you don't speak well, translate your draft, then have a quick sanity check, or run a second pass asking for a more natural phrasing. The clipboard workflow makes that second pass cheap, since the text is already sitting there.

Why local translation matters

The messages you translate are often the private ones: a customer complaint, an internal note, copy that hasn't shipped. Web translators keep what you paste. ClipHistory keeps your clipboard history on your Mac and sends only the specific text you choose to translate, to a provider you already use under your own key. For anyone working under an NDA or handling customer data, that boundary is the reason to translate from the clipboard instead of a browser tab.

Install and license

ClipHistory is a universal binary, native on Apple Silicon and Intel, and needs macOS 12 or later. It's signed and notarized by Apple, so it installs without warnings. Add your API key once and translation is available everywhere via Cmd+Shift+V.

It's a one-time $19.99 purchase with a 12-month license and no auto-renewal.

Get ClipHistory for macOS

Translate and paste in any app without the browser round trip. Local clips, your own AI key, one shortcut. Get ClipHistory for macOS ($19.99).