BoardClip

Fast cross-platform clipboard history for desktop. BoardClip runs as a tray app, opens with a global shortcut, and keeps your useful text and image clips searchable, pinnable, and quick to paste.

Install

Everyday desktop builds are available from the website:

Download BoardClip

With a package manager:

# macOS (Homebrew): the app opens with no security prompt
brew install --cask tobq/tap/boardclip

# Windows (Scoop)
scoop bucket add tobq https://github.com/tobq/homebrew-tap
scoop install tobq/boardclip

# Any OS with Node.js 18+ (then run `boardclip`; update with `npm update -g @tobq/boardclip`)
npm i -g @tobq/boardclip

Or try it without installing: npx @tobq/boardclip.

Terminal install keeps a source checkout on your machine and reuses the same local lifecycle scripts for future updates. This path requires Git, and install/dependency updates also require npm. It also registers a normal launcher: BoardClip in the Windows Start Menu or ~/Applications/BoardClip.app on macOS.

macOS / Linux:

curl -fsSL https://boardclip.sh/install.sh | sh

Windows PowerShell:

irm https://boardclip.sh/install.ps1 | iex

Prefer to inspect first? Open the script URL in your browser, or download it before running:

curl -fsSLO https://boardclip.sh/install.sh
sh install.sh

Update

macOS / Linux:

curl -fsSL https://boardclip.sh/update.sh | sh

Windows PowerShell:

irm https://boardclip.sh/update.ps1 | iex

Local checkout update scripts are also available:

./update.sh

update.bat

Local update scripts are production-safe by default: they fast-forward only and refuse to run if tracked app files have local edits. Runtime data files are ignored and do not block updates. The public update commands above set BOARDCLIP_UPDATE_ALLOW_DIRTY=1, so normal installs can repair a dirty checkout with Git autostash. For a developer checkout, set that variable yourself only when you intentionally want Git to autostash local code changes.

Features

• Hotkey popup: Cmd+Shift+V on macOS, Win+V on Windows.
• Text and image history with automatic deduplication.
• Numpad quick-paste slots 1-9 for snippets you reuse constantly.
• Pins and groups for keeping durable clips organized, with include/exclude filters.
• Native cloud sync through Google Drive, OneDrive, and iCloud folders.
• Regex search, external editor support, and image export.
• Local-first data: no hosted clipboard database or BoardClip account.

Keyboard Shortcuts

| Shortcut | Action | | --- | --- | | Cmd+Shift+V / Win+V | Toggle popup | | Cmd+Numpad 1-9 / Win+Numpad 1-9 | Quick-paste slot | | 1-9 right after the popup opens | Quick-paste slot | | N right after the popup opens | New note | | Win+N (Windows; record one on macOS in Settings) | New note | | Arrow keys | Navigate items | | Enter | Paste selected item | | Escape | Close popup | | Cmd+N / Ctrl+N in the note editor | New note |

Development

Requirements:

• Git
• Node.js and npm

Run from a checkout:

npm install
npm test
npm start

Build desktop binaries locally:

npm run dist

Platform-specific package scripts are available as npm run dist:win, npm run dist:mac, and npm run dist:linux. Tagged releases matching v* are built by GitHub Actions and attached to the GitHub release.

Regenerate the shared app, installer, and site icons:

npm run sync:icons

Useful local scripts:

./start.sh
./update.sh
./kill.sh

start.bat
update.bat
kill.bat

Project Structure

• main.js: Electron main process, tray, shortcuts, clipboard polling, sync, IPC.
• index.html: single-file renderer UI.
• preload.js: safe renderer API bridge.
• lib/clipboard-model.js: shared pure history/pin/group merge logic.
• lib/cloud-accounts.js: Google Drive, OneDrive, and iCloud folder discovery.
• lib/windows-hook*: Windows low-level keyboard hook for Win+V / Win+N / Numpad.
• site/: static landing page and remote install/update scripts.

Data

Source installs store data in the app checkout. Packaged installs store data in Electron's per-user app data directory:

• clipboard-history.json
• clipboard-settings.json
• clipboard-images/
• clipboard-text/ for large text snippets

Cloud sync writes the same files into detected provider folders under clipboard-tray/. That folder name is retained for compatibility with earlier installs.

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome. Please run npm test before opening a PR and keep changes focused; most behavior should go through shared helpers in lib/clipboard-model.js instead of duplicating merge logic in UI or IPC code.

License

MIT