Clipboard History

Clipboard History

Clipboard Recast automatically keeps a history of everything you copy, so you can go back and retrieve anything at any time — even hours later.

Opening the History Window

There are two ways to open the Clipboard History window:

• Global shortcut: Press Cmd+Shift+H from any app (default, customizable in Settings)
• Menu bar: Click the Clipboard Recast icon → History…

The window opens wherever you left it and remembers its size between sessions.

The Three-Panel Layout

The history window is divided into three panels:

┌──────────────┬──────────────────────┬────────────────────────┐
│   Sidebar    │     Item List        │        Preview         │
│              │                      │                        │
│ All Items    │  ● My copied text…   │  Full content here     │
│ Text         │  ● https://example…  │                        │
│ Code         │  ● { "key": "val… }  │  [Copy] [Pin] [Delete] │
│ URLs         │  ● SELECT * FROM…    │                        │
│ Images       │                      │                        │
│ …            │                      │                        │
└──────────────┴──────────────────────┴────────────────────────┘

Left Panel — Sidebar

Filters items by content type. Click any category to narrow the list:

Category	What it shows
All Items	Every item in history
Text	Plain text
Code	Programming code
URLs	Web links
Images / Screenshots	Copied images and screenshots
JSON	JSON-formatted data
Markdown	Markdown text
HTML	HTML content
CSV	Comma-separated values
Email	Email content
File Path	File system paths
Error	Error messages and stack traces

The count badge next to each category shows how many items of that type are in your history.

Middle Panel — Item List

Shows all clipboard items matching the current filter, most recent first. Pinned items always appear at the top, marked with a pin icon.

Each row shows:

• A content-type icon
• A short preview of the content
• The source app that copied it (when available)
• A pin indicator (📌) for pinned items

Click a row to select it and see the full content in the preview panel.

Right Panel — Preview

Displays the full content of the selected item with syntax-aware rendering:

• Text/Code: Shown in a scrollable text view with monospace font for code
• URLs: Displayed as a clickable link
• Images/Screenshots: Full image preview
• JSON/XML/HTML: Formatted for readability

Action buttons at the bottom let you Copy, Pin/Unpin, or Delete the selected item.

Filtering and Searching

Filter by Content Type

Click any category in the sidebar to show only items of that type. The item list updates instantly.

Filter by Source App

Use the app dropdown at the top of the sidebar to show only items copied from a specific application. The dropdown is automatically populated with every app that has contributed items to your history.

Select All Apps to clear the app filter.

Search

Type in the search bar to filter items by their content. The search is:

• Case-insensitive
• Applied on top of any active sidebar or app filter
• Live — results update as you type

Combine all three filters together to quickly find exactly what you’re looking for.

Working with Items

Copying an Item

To copy an item back to your clipboard:

• Click to select it, then press Enter
• Or click the Copy button in the preview panel
• A brief notification confirms the copy

The item is immediately ready to paste anywhere.

Pinning Items

Pin important items to keep them permanently at the top of the list, safe from automatic cleanup:

• Press P with an item selected in the list
• Or click the Pin / Unpin button in the preview panel

Pinned items:

• Always appear at the top of the list, sorted by most recently copied
• Are never removed by the 100-item history limit
• Show a 📌 pin icon in the list

To unpin, select the item and press P again, or click Unpin in the preview.

Deleting Items

To remove an item from history:

• Press Delete (or Backspace) with an item selected
• Or click the Delete button in the preview panel

After deletion, the next item in the list is selected automatically so you can keep working without reaching for the mouse.

Excluding Items from History

If you don’t want certain clipboard copies to appear in history at all (e.g. passwords or sensitive data), you can use the Exclude from History workflow action. Any item processed through that action is never saved.

See Workflows for how to set this up.

Keyboard Shortcuts

When the history window is focused, these shortcuts are available:

Shortcut	Action
↑ / ↓	Navigate the item list
Enter	Copy selected item to clipboard
Delete / Backspace	Delete selected item
P	Pin / Unpin selected item
Esc	Close the history window

History Limits and Storage

• Capacity: Up to 100 unpinned items are stored. When the limit is reached, the oldest unpinned item is removed to make room for the new one.
• Pinned items: Not subject to the 100-item limit — they are kept indefinitely until you manually unpin or delete them.
• Persistence: History is saved to disk and survives app restarts and reboots.
• Privacy: History is stored locally in macOS UserDefaults — it never leaves your Mac.

Tips

1. Pin things you use often

Pin recurring snippets — boilerplate code, email signatures, frequently used URLs — so they’re always one click away at the top of the list.

2. Use the app filter to retrace your steps

If you’re trying to find something you copied in a specific app, use the app dropdown to filter by source. This is especially useful if you copy a lot and the list is long.

3. Combine search with type filter

Click a content type in the sidebar first, then search — this dramatically narrows down results when you know the type of thing you’re looking for.

4. Keep the history window open while working

The window updates in real time as you copy new items. You can keep it open on a second monitor or in the corner of your screen as a live clipboard scratchpad.

Troubleshooting

History window opens off-screen

If the window opens partially off-screen, the app will automatically clamp it to your display’s visible area the next time you open it. You can also drag it back into view manually.

Item not showing in history

Some items are excluded intentionally:

• Duplicate copies of the most recent item are not added again
• Items processed through the Exclude from History workflow action are skipped
• Passwords copied from Keychain or password managers are typically not exposed to the clipboard

History is empty after reinstalling

History is stored in macOS UserDefaults under the app’s bundle identifier. Reinstalling the app (without clearing data) preserves history. If you deleted the app’s data or used a fresh install, history starts empty.

Next Steps

• Keyboard Shortcuts: Learn how to customize the History global shortcut
• Workflows: Set up an “Exclude from History” workflow for sensitive content
• Screenshots: Learn how screenshots integrate with clipboard history