How to see your clipboard history on a Mac

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The Mac clipboard holds one thing at a time. Copy a link, then copy a sentence, and the link is gone. To get back something you copied earlier, you need a clipboard history.

See what's on your clipboard now

In Finder, choose Edit → Show Clipboard. A window shows the one thing you copied last. That's all macOS has kept on Sonoma and Sequoia.

Clipboard history in Spotlight (macOS 26 Tahoe and later)

macOS 26 Tahoe added a clipboard history to Spotlight. Press ⌘Space, then ⌘4 to switch to the Clipboard view; the first time, macOS asks to turn it on. It keeps copies for 8 hours by default, and you can change that to between 30 minutes and 7 days in System Settings → Spotlight. It needs Tahoe, so it isn't there on macOS 14 or 15.

A full clipboard history with Helix

Helix keeps your last 50 copies, text and images, and opens them around your pointer. Hold ⌥Space, point at Clipboard and let go. A panel lists what you copied, with the app it came from and when.

  • Type to search everything you copied.
  • Use the arrow keys to pick one and press Return to paste it into the app you were in.
  • Copies from password managers are never saved.
  • Pick how long copies stay, from an hour to until you remove them, or pause recording any time.

It works on macOS 14 Sonoma and later, so you get a full history even where Spotlight has none, and copies stay until you remove them if you like, not just for Spotlight's 7 days at most.

Other clipboard managers

If all you want is clipboard history, these are good too. For prices and a side-by-side table, see the best clipboard managers for Mac.

  • Maccy: a small, free and open-source clipboard manager that lives in the menu bar.
  • Paste: a subscription app with a visual history that syncs across your Apple devices.
  • Raycast: a launcher with clipboard history built in, if you already search for everything by typing.

Helix is for when you want your clipboard next to your other everyday tools, one flick away instead of one more app.

Questions

Does a Mac keep a clipboard history?

Before macOS 26 Tahoe, no. The clipboard holds one thing, and copying something new replaces it. macOS 26 Tahoe added a clipboard history to Spotlight. For a longer, searchable history on any recent macOS, use a clipboard manager like Helix.

How many items does Helix keep?

Your last 50 copies, text and images. You choose how long they stay: an hour, a day, a week, a month, or until you remove them.

Does it save passwords I copy?

No. Password managers mark the passwords you copy as private, and Helix never saves those. You can also list apps whose copies Helix should ignore.

Where is my clipboard history stored?

Only on your Mac, in Helix's folder in your user Library. Nothing is uploaded, and there's no account.

Helix is a one-time purchase for macOS 14 or later, with 16 tools in one ring. See how it works.

Get Helix

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