View Clipboard History on Mac | Top Mac Clipboard Managers

Cassie

Last updated: Sep 12, 2023

Summary: This post mainly introduces how to view and manage clipboard history on Mac. Some top Mac clipboard managers are introduced for your reference.

Wonder how to view clipboard history on Mac? Check the detailed analysis below.

Also Read: How to Copy and Paste on Mac (Sonoma/Ventura) – 5 Ways

How to View Clipboard History on Mac

Way 1. To open the Mac clipboard and view its history, you can open Finder, click Edit from the menu bar, and select Show Clipboard.

Way 2. Open the Terminal app on your Mac via Spotlight. In the Terminal window, type the following command pbpaste and press Enter to view the clipboard history in Mac Terminal.

After launching the Mac clipboard, it only shows the most recent content you copied. If you want to view more clipboard history on Mac, you may find nothing.

On Mac, if you copy something, it will store the content in your Mac’s memory for a short time. If much time has passed, your copied content will be removed from memory. Still, if a new item is copied, the old copied content on the clipboard will be replaced. Mac’s clipboard is designed to hold one item at a time.

tip

If you want to go back to several steps ago in your document, you may use the Command + Z shortcut to undo the actions. If you want to copy and paste between Mac and iPhone, you can use the Universal Clipboard feature.

How to Clear Clipboard History on Mac

Way 1. Copy a space on your Mac and it will replace the item in the clipboard.

Way 2. Click Apple > Restart to restart your Mac and it will delete the clipboard content on your Mac.

Way 3. Open the Terminal app via Spotlight on your Mac. Type the command pbcopy < /dev/null and press Enter.

Top Free Mac Clipboard Managers

As you can see, the Mac clipboard doesn’t track the history of the copied items and you can only view the most recently copied item. How to view clipboard history on Mac? You may install a third-party clipboard manager for Mac. Below are some choices for your reference.

Paste

Paste is a popular clipboard app for Mac. It tracks everything you copy on your Mac including text, images, screenshots, links, etc. To view your Mac clipboard history with Paste, you can press Shift + Command + V shortcut.

CopyClip

CopyClip is also a simple clipboard manager for Mac that has an intuitive interface. It lets you easily access and manage your clipboard history.

Alfred

This macOS clipboard app helps you get quick access to your copied text, files, images, etc. on your Mac. It offers many features to let you easily manage your clipboard history.

JumpCut

This macOS clipboard manager offers quick and intuitive access to your Mac clipboard history.

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Conclusion

This post mainly introduces how to view clipboard history on your Mac. If you want to access a more extensive clipboard history, you will need to use a third-party clipboard manager app for Mac. These apps typically provide graphical user interfaces and keyboard shortcuts to let you access and manage clipboard history efficiently.

Cassie

Cassie has been writing about technology for her entire career life - over 10 years. She enjoys diving into how Apple products work and then breaking it down in a way that anyone can understand.