While you're cycling, tap X on the highlighted item. Clipen looks at what that item actually is — and shows only the actions that make sense for it. Switch the type below to see the menu change.
Every ⌘C is captured into a ring. Text, code, URLs, images — all content types auto-detected and stored silently.
Text cycles right where your cursor is — you read it in place. For images, PDFs, videos or 3D models you can't "read", hold Space mid-cycle to peek a full preview. Let go and you're still mid-cycle, still holding ⌘, still free to keep tapping V.
Mid-cycle, hit X to open transforms — and only the ones that fit what you're holding. A receipt screenshot? OCR. A PDF? Pick specific pages. ALL CAPS text? Case tools. A hex color? Color tools. No 42-item menu, ever.
Semantic search understands meaning. OCR extracts text from screenshots. Auto-capture adds new screenshots to your ring.
Beyond cycling, previewing and transforming — a set of trackpad gestures and quiet productivity moves that bring Clipen into the places ⌘V doesn't go.
A normal double-tap on the trackpad drops the most recent clipboard item right at your cursor. No shortcut, no menu — just tap twice and it pastes.
Some places refuse ⌘V. Grab anything from the picker and drag it straight onto the target. Upload boxes, design tools, email attachments — all covered.
Double-click any item to pin it to a small floating panel on screen.
Up to 5 items, always visible, always one glance away.
Tap X on any item to transform it before pasting. Change case, clean formatting, or convert.
Add a short note to any pinned item. Context that survives restarts.
Tweak text or sketch quick annotations inline. Edit once, paste or keep pinned.
Hold ⌘V and tap items to mark them. Release to paste the whole set in order.
Clipen is a clipboard manager for macOS. Every time you copy something — text, code, a URL, an image — Clipen stores it silently in a ring. You retrieve it later with a two-key shortcut, no mouse required.
Hold ⌘ instead of tapping it. While held, tap V repeatedly to cycle through your clipboard ring — a floating preview shows exactly what will paste. Release ⌘ to paste the highlighted item instantly. One fluid chord, zero context-switching.
Core clipboard ring, cycling, and preview are free forever — no trial, no nag screen. Pro features (OCR, semantic search, screenshot capture) are available as a one-time purchase with no subscription.
100% on-device. Clipen never sends your clipboard contents to any server. Everything is stored locally in an encrypted SQLite database. No cloud sync, no analytics, no telemetry.
Clipen requires macOS 13 Ventura or later. It runs natively on both Apple Silicon (M-series) and Intel Macs. A universal binary is included in every release.
While cycling (holding ⌘, tapping V), hit the Delete key to instantly remove the highlighted item. No confirmation dialog — it's gone. You can also clear the full ring from the menu bar icon in one click.
Hold Space mid-cycle to peek a full preview of the highlighted item — full-size image, scrollable PDF, playable video, 3D model. Let go and the preview disappears; you're still mid-cycle, still holding ⌘, still free to keep tapping V. Nothing is committed until you release ⌘.
Tap X mid-cycle to open transforms for the highlighted item. The menu is contextual — OCR on a screenshot, "paste specific pages" on a PDF, case tools on text, color conversions on a hex code. You only ever see actions that make sense for what you're holding.