Does macOS have a built-in shortcut to translate selected text?

Not a global one. The right-click Translate option works in some apps like Safari but not everywhere. Routing text through the clipboard with an AI action gives you translation in any app that supports copy.

Does the text get sent to ClipHistory's servers?

No. ClipHistory has no cloud and no account. The only network request is the call to the AI provider you configured with your own API key. Everything else stays on your Mac.

Which AI providers can I use for translation?

You can use Anthropic, OpenAI, DeepSeek, Google, or a custom endpoint. You supply your own API key, so translations are billed to your provider account.

Can I translate text from a PDF?

Yes. Copy the text from a PDF open in Preview, press Cmd+Shift+V, run the Translate action, and paste the result. The clipboard workflow reaches apps the right-click menu often can't.

How much does ClipHistory cost?

It's a one-time $19.99 purchase with a 12-month license and no auto-renewal. AI translation cost is whatever your chosen provider charges per token.

Translate Selected Text on Mac With a Shortcut

macOS doesn't ship with a system-wide "translate this" shortcut. You can select text in Safari and use the right-click menu, but that breaks the moment you're in Mail, a PDF, a terminal, or a chat app. The reliable pattern is to route translation through your clipboard: copy the text, trigger a translate action, and paste the result back.

This guide shows how to set that up on macOS 12 or later so translation works in any app that lets you copy text.

Why the clipboard is the right place for translation

Every macOS app shares one system clipboard. That's the one surface that's consistent across Safari, Mail, Notes, Slack, VS Code, Preview, and Finder. If your translation action reads from the clipboard, it works everywhere copy works — no per-app plugin, no browser extension, no switching windows.

The flow looks like this:

Select the text and press Cmd+C.
Trigger an AI translate action on that clip.
The translated text replaces (or sits next to) the original, ready to paste.

Setting it up with ClipHistory

ClipHistory keeps a running history of what you copy and can run AI transforms on any clip. Translation is one of the built-in AI actions, alongside summarize, rewrite, and clean.

Step 1: Open the clipboard history

Press Cmd+Shift+V to open ClipHistory. Your most recent copy is at the top of the list. You'll see the last 150 unpinned clips here, so the text you just copied is right there.

Step 2: Run the translate action

Select the clip you want and choose the Translate AI action. ClipHistory sends the text to the AI provider you configured and returns the translated version. You can specify the target language in the action so it always translates to, say, Spanish or English.

Step 3: Paste the result

The translated text is now on your clipboard. Switch back to your app and press Cmd+V.

Bring your own API key

ClipHistory's AI actions run through your own API key, with five provider choices: Anthropic, OpenAI, DeepSeek, Google, or a custom endpoint. You paste your key once in settings, and translations bill to your own account at the provider's rate.

This matters for translation specifically because:

The text stays local except for the provider call. ClipHistory has no cloud and no account. The only network request is the one your AI provider needs to process the text. There's no ClipHistory server sitting in the middle.
You pick the model. A fast, cheap model is fine for casual translation; a larger model handles nuance and idiom better. Your key, your choice.
No subscription tax on the translation feature. ClipHistory is a one-time $19.99 purchase. The translation cost is whatever your provider charges per token.

Building a repeatable translation habit

Once the action is set up, you can lean on it for common situations:

Reading foreign-language docs

Copy a paragraph from a PDF or webpage, translate it, and read it in your language without leaving the document. Because translation runs on the clipboard, it works on PDFs opened in Preview — which the right-click translate menu often can't reach cleanly.

Replying in another language

Write your reply in your own language, copy it, translate it to the recipient's language, and paste. You stay in your message app the whole time.

Quick word or phrase checks

Even single words work. Copy a term you're unsure about, translate, and you have the answer without opening a separate translation site.

A note on accuracy

AI translation is strong for general text but isn't a substitute for a professional translator on legal, medical, or contractual content. For everyday reading and writing — emails, articles, chat — it's more than good enough, and the clipboard workflow makes it nearly frictionless.

Keeping the original around

One advantage of the clipboard-history approach: the original text is still in your history after you translate. If you need to compare the source and translation, both are a Cmd+Shift+V away. Pin the original clip if you want to keep it past the 150-clip rolling limit.

Get ClipHistory for macOS

A system-wide translate shortcut on the Mac comes down to one thing: routing text through the clipboard and running an AI action on it. ClipHistory does exactly that, with your own API key and nothing leaving your machine except the provider call.

Get ClipHistory for macOS — $19.99, one-time (12-month license, no auto-renewal). Universal binary for Apple Silicon and Intel, signed and notarized by Apple.