For macOS · Now with Android sync · Free download
Your clipboard,
remembered.
Copaste is a quiet little app that lives in your menu bar and keeps a tidy history of everything you copy — text, images, and screenshots. Bring any of it back with a single keystroke.
macOS 0.1.7 (~1.8 MB, macOS 13+) · Android 0.1.0 (~41 MB, Android 10+)
Features
Small app, big memory.
Copaste does one thing well: it remembers what you copy and gives it back to you instantly. Nothing more.
Hotkey-driven
Summon Copaste from anywhere with a global shortcut. Default ⌘⇧V — rebind it to anything from the menu bar.
Text and images
Every copy is preserved exactly as you made it, including images, file paths, and rich snippets.
Pin what matters
Pin frequently-used snippets so they stay close. Unpinned history can be cleared in one click.
Built-in screenshots
Capture any region of your screen and drop it straight into your clipboard history.
Quiet by design
Lives in the menu bar with no Dock icon. No accounts, no telemetry, no nagging.
Local first
Your clipboard never leaves your Mac. Stored in a small SQLite database under your account.
The popup
One keystroke. Everything you copied.
Press your shortcut anywhere — in your editor, your browser, your terminal. Copaste appears, you pick a clip with the arrow keys, and it pastes straight into the app you were in.
- Type to filter through your history
- Pin items with ⌘P, edit them inline, or delete with ⌫
- Optional Always on Top mode for reference snippets
- Configurable storage limits to keep things tidy
In motion
Three keys. Two seconds.
Press the shortcut anywhere, pick a clip, hit return — the popup disappears and your text is in the app you were already using.
Compared
Built for what macOS forgot.
The default clipboard remembers exactly one thing. Copaste fills the gap — quietly, locally, and with the same shortcut feel you already have.
How it works
Three steps. No setup.
- 01
Download and open
Drag Copaste into your Applications folder. Launch it and grant Accessibility access so it can paste for you.
- 02
Copy as you normally would
Copaste runs quietly in the background. Every copy is captured and added to your local history.
- 03
Press ⌘⇧V
Bring up the popup, pick a clip, hit return. It pastes into whatever app you were using — done. Want a different combo? Change it from the menu bar.
First launch
Opening Copaste the first time.
macOS will show a “developer cannot be verified” warning the first time you open Copaste. That’s not a bug — it’s Gatekeeper checking who signed the app. Copaste uses a self-signed certificate instead of a paid Apple Developer ID, so macOS asks you to confirm before opening it. After you say yes once, Copaste opens normally forever.
macOS 13 · 14
Ventura · Sonoma
- 1Drag Copaste.app from the DMG into your Applications folder.
- 2Open Finder → Applications.
- 3Right-click (or Control-click) Copaste → Open.
- 4Click Open in the warning dialog.
- 5Done. Copaste opens normally from now on, and macOS won’t ask again.
macOS 15 or later
Sequoia
- 1Drag Copaste.app from the DMG into your Applications folder.
- 2Try to open Copaste — macOS will block it with a warning.
- 3Open System Settings → Privacy & Security.
- 4Scroll down to “Copaste was blocked…” and click Open Anyway.
- 5Confirm with your Mac password, then click Open in the next dialog.
- 6Done. Copaste opens normally from now on, and macOS won’t ask again.
Is it safe? The warning is about who signedthe app, not about what the app does. Copaste runs entirely on your Mac — no servers, no sync, no telemetry — and stores everything in a local SQLite file under your account. See Privacy for the full picture.
Using Copaste
From install to muscle memory.
Once Copaste is in your menu bar, here’s the full walkthrough — setup, daily flow, and the handful of power features tucked into the menu.
One-time setup
Get Copaste ready
- 1Grant Accessibility.Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility, then toggle Copaste ON. Required so Copaste can paste into other apps.
- 2Launch at Login(optional). Click the menu bar icon → Launch at Login. Copaste will be ready every time you boot up.
- 3Customize the shortcut(optional). Menu bar → Change Shortcut… → press your preferred combo. Default is ⌘ ⇧ V.
Day to day
The 5-second flow
- 1Press ⌘ ⇧ V from anywhere — the popup appears.
- 2Type to filter, or use ↑ ↓ to scroll through your history.
- 3Hit ↵— the clip pastes into the app you were just in.
- 4Pin (⌘ P) clips you reuse. Delete with ⌘ ⌫.
- 5Switch tabs to browse Text, Images, or Groups.
From the menu bar
Power features
- 1Take Screenshot…— capture any region of your screen and drop it straight into your clipboard history.
- 2Always on Top— keep the popup floating above other windows for reference snippets.
- 3Storage Limits…— tune how many text and image clips Copaste keeps. Pinned clips are never trimmed.
- 4Clear Unpinned History— one click wipes everything except your pins.
- 5Reset Accessibility Permission…— the fix-it button if pasting ever stops working after a macOS or Copaste upgrade.
Cheat sheet
Also on Android
Pair your phone.
Copy anywhere.
Install the Copaste companion on your Android phone. The two devices find each other over WiFi, pair once with a 6-digit code, and from then on everything you copy on one shows up on the other — encrypted end-to-end with AES-GCM and never touching a server.
- LAN-only — clips never leave your network
- AES-GCM encrypted, with a key minted at pair time
- Two-way: phone → Mac and Mac → phone
- Quick share: long-press text → Share → Copaste
Sideload: tap the APK in your downloads, allow installs from your browser if Android asks, then enable Accessibility for Copaste in Settings.
Copaste
Linked with Alex’s MacBook
Privacy
What we keep, and where.
A clipboard quietly accumulates the most sensitive things you handle — passwords, tokens, drafts, addresses. Copaste’s defaults assume that.
Stays on your Mac
Clips live in a single SQLite file under your account. Nothing is uploaded, synced, or shared.
Only what you copy
Copaste reads from the system pasteboard. It does not log keystrokes, screen contents, or anything else.
No accounts, no telemetry
There’s nothing to sign up for. The app makes no network calls of its own — not even for analytics.
Database location: ~/Library/Application Support/Copaste/clips.sqlite. Open it, inspect it, delete it — it’s your file.
Questions
Frequently asked.
Is Copaste free?
Yes. Copaste is free to download and use. There are no accounts, subscriptions, or in-app purchases.
Does my clipboard data leave my Mac?
No. Everything is stored locally in a small SQLite database under your user account. Copaste does not connect to any servers.
What macOS versions are supported?
Copaste runs on macOS 13 (Ventura) or later, on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.
Can I change the keyboard shortcut?
Yes. Open Copaste from the menu bar and choose “Change Shortcut…” to pick whichever combination you like.
How do I clear my clipboard history?
Click the menu bar icon and choose “Clear Unpinned History.” Pinned clips are kept; everything else is removed.
Why does it ask for Accessibility permission?
Pasting into another app on macOS requires Accessibility access. Copaste only uses it to deliver the clip you select.
How does the Android companion work?
It discovers Copaste on your Mac via Bonjour over your local WiFi, pairs once with a 6-digit code shown in the Mac app's Sync menu, and from then on every copy is exchanged both ways — encrypted with AES-GCM using a key minted at pair time. Nothing leaves your local network and no servers are involved.
Is the Android app on the Play Store?
Not yet. For now the APK is a free direct download from this site. Sideload it like any other APK: open the file from your downloads, allow installs from your browser when Android asks, then enable Accessibility for Copaste in Settings so it can read the clipboard for sync.
Why does macOS warn about Copaste on first launch?
Copaste is signed with a self-signed certificate, not an Apple Developer ID — that’s how it stays free. Gatekeeper doesn’t recognise the signature, so it asks you to confirm before opening. See “First launch” above for the exact steps; after you confirm once, Copaste opens normally forever.
Is it safe to install despite the warning?
Yes. The warning is about who signed the app, not what the app does. Copaste runs entirely on your Mac, makes no network calls, and stores everything in a single SQLite file under your account. You can inspect (and delete) that file at any time.
Get Copaste.
Tiny downloads, no installer, no account. Drag the Mac app to Applications, sideload the Android companion, and they’ll pair themselves the rest of the way.