Introduction
Introduction to Clipboard Recast
Section titled “Introduction to Clipboard Recast”Clipboard Recast Transformer is a native macOS menu bar application that watches your clipboard and provides context-aware AI transformations. Define custom workflows to automatically process clipboard content based on type (code, text, errors, URLs) and trigger intelligent actions with a single hotkey.
What is Clipboard Recast?
Section titled “What is Clipboard Recast?”Clipboard Recast is a powerful productivity tool that brings AI capabilities directly to your macOS clipboard. Instead of copying content, switching to a web browser or AI chat interface, pasting your content, and then copying the result back, Clipboard Recast streamlines this entire process into a single hotkey press.
Key Capabilities
Section titled “Key Capabilities”Smart Content Detection
Section titled “Smart Content Detection”Clipboard Recast automatically recognizes 12+ different types of content:
- Code: Detects programming code (keywords, syntax, indentation)
- Error Messages: Identifies error messages and stack traces
- URLs: Recognizes web addresses (http/https links)
- Screenshots: Clipboard images and desktop screenshots
- JSON: JSON-formatted data
- XML: XML-formatted data
- Markdown: Markdown-formatted text
- HTML: HTML content
- CSV: Comma-separated values
- Email: Email content
- File Paths: File system paths
- Text: General text content (fallback)
AI-Powered Transformations
Section titled “AI-Powered Transformations”With support for 8+ AI providers, you can:
- Explain code in plain English
- Fix grammar and spelling errors
- Summarize long text
- Translate between languages
- Search for error solutions
- Generate code from descriptions
- Simplify complex text
- Create custom transformations with your own prompts
36+ Built-in Actions
Section titled “36+ Built-in Actions”Beyond AI transformations, Clipboard Recast includes powerful utility actions:
- Text Manipulation: Convert case (uppercase, lowercase, snake_case, camelCase), count words/characters
- Encoding/Decoding: Base64 encode/decode, URL encode/decode
- Developer Tools: Format/minify JSON, format XML, generate UUIDs, timestamp conversion
- Format Conversion: Markdown ↔ HTML, JSON ↔ YAML, escape/unescape HTML
- File Actions: Save to folder, desktop, or downloads
- System Actions: Open in browser, reveal in Finder, show notifications
Workflow Automation
Section titled “Workflow Automation”Create custom workflows that:
- Trigger automatically based on content type
- Match specific keywords for targeted processing
- Execute multiple steps in sequence
- Use conditional branching for dynamic logic
- Support 9 condition types for smart decision-making
- Work seamlessly in the background
MCP Server Integration
Section titled “MCP Server Integration”Extend Clipboard Recast with external tools via the Model Context Protocol (MCP):
- Connect to file systems, databases, and APIs
- Use GitHub, Slack, and other services in workflows
- Query PostgreSQL and SQLite databases
- Automate browser actions with Puppeteer
- Add custom MCP servers for your specific needs
Supported AI Providers
Section titled “Supported AI Providers”Clipboard Recast works with your preferred AI provider:
- Claude (Anthropic)
- OpenAI
- Google Gemini
- Google Vertex AI
- OpenRouter
- Cerebras
- Together AI
- z.ai
System Requirements
Section titled “System Requirements”- macOS: 13.0 (Ventura) or later
- API Key: From one of the supported AI providers
Privacy First
Section titled “Privacy First”Your privacy is paramount:
- API keys are stored locally in macOS UserDefaults
- No data collection or analytics
- The app runs entirely on your machine
- Data is only sent to your chosen AI provider when you trigger a transformation
- No telemetry or tracking
Next Steps
Section titled “Next Steps”Ready to get started? Head over to the Installation Guide to download and install Clipboard Recast.