MacClip

macOS menu-bar tool: clipboard history + screen capture + annotation editor + capture library.

Features

Clipboard history

• Global hotkey picker (default Option + V), searchable
• Pin, copy, paste, delete per item
• Configurable history limit (10/20/30/40/50), in-memory only

Screen capture

• Option + Shift + R region · Option + Shift + W window · Option + Shift + F full screen
• Uses the system capture UI (Apple's screencapture)
• Every capture lands in the clipboard, the history picker, the library, and ~/Pictures/MacClip/

Annotation editor

• Opens after capture (toggleable in Settings)
• Tools: select, crop, arrow, rectangle, ellipse, line, freehand, text, highlighter, pixelate, step badges
• Annotations stay editable (vector) until export; ⌘Z undo
• ⌘C copy flattened · ⌘S save PNG · drag the image out into any app
• Edits persist — reopen any capture from the library and keep editing

Capture library (Option + Shift + L)

• Day-grouped thumbnail grid, blue dot = edited
• Double-click to edit; right-click: Edit / Copy Image / Save As… / Reveal in Finder / Delete
• Capped at 100 captures, oldest-unedited evicted first; "Clear Library…" wipes all

Install

npm i -g macclip
macclip install

Install with login autostart:

macclip install --autostart

Requires Xcode Command Line Tools (swift).

Permissions (both prompted on first use, both may reset after reinstall):

• Screen & System Audio Recording — asked on first capture (macOS 15+). Apple's boilerplate mentions audio; MacClip captures still images only, no audio, no video.
• Accessibility — needed only for auto-paste (⌘⏎). Plain copy works without it.

Use

| Hotkey | Action | |---|---| | ⌥V | Clipboard history picker | | ⌥⇧R | Capture region | | ⌥⇧W | Capture window | | ⌥⇧F | Capture full screen | | ⌥⇧L | Capture library |

In the history picker:

• Enter copy · Cmd + Enter (or double-click) paste · Space edit capture · Cmd + P pin · Esc close
• Row buttons: 📋 copy, 📌/📍 pin/unpin, 🗑 delete

Useful commands:

macclip start
macclip stop
macclip status
macclip autostart on
macclip autostart off
macclip uninstall

Data

• Every capture is also saved as a PNG in ~/Pictures/MacClip/ ("Open Captures Folder" in the menu; toggle off in Settings)
• Library internals (originals + annotation sidecars + thumbnails) live in ~/Library/Application Support/MacClip/
• Clipboard text history is in-memory only

Development

swift build            # debug build
swift build -c release
./.build/debug/macclip # run from checkout

See DESIGN.md for architecture and PLAN.md for the roadmap (screen recording, ScreenCaptureKit, OCR are v2).