PastePaw

What is PastePaw

PastePaw is a macOS clipboard manager that combines local history, privacy controls, and AI-friendly tooling in one desktop app. It is built natively with SwiftUI and designed to feel fast on macOS rather than like a web wrapper or cross-platform port.

The app stores clipboard data locally in a SQLite database, which means your copied text, images, and files stay on your machine. PastePaw also ships with a local MCP server, so AI agents can work with clipboard history as a controlled source of context instead of relying on cloud sync.

It is positioned as a lightweight, privacy-focused clipboard app with 29 visual themes and both horizontal and vertical layouts.

Key features

• Local clipboard history stored on-device in SQLite.
• Local MCP server for AI agents that need clipboard memory.
• AI actions for tasks like summarizing, translating, and custom prompting.
• Built-in clip tools for JSON, OCR, QR codes, Base64, YAML, XML, Markdown, HTML, JWT, hashes, color values, timestamps, numbers, and more.
• Smart Collections that can file clips automatically using rules.
• Secure Collections with encryption and Touch ID unlock.
• Sensitive app filtering to ignore clipboard content from password managers and other sensitive apps.
• Multi-select support for batching paste or drag-and-drop actions.
• Full preview panel with Markdown rendering, syntax-highlighted code blocks, and clickable links.
• 29 themes in total, including 18 horizontal strip layouts and 11 vertical sidebar layouts.

The app is also explicit about keeping everything local: there is no tracking, no cloud sync, and no data leaving the Mac according to the product copy.

How to use it

1. Install PastePaw on a Mac and open it as your clipboard manager.
2. Copy text, images, or files as you normally would; PastePaw collects them into history.
3. Use the shortcut for the main window, then search with ⌘F when you need an older item quickly.
4. Select a clip to open the preview panel and apply the right tool, such as formatting JSON, scanning a QR code, or extracting text from an image.
5. Create Smart Collections or manual folders to organize reusable snippets.
6. Move sensitive material into Secure Collections if you want encryption and Touch ID protection.
7. If you use AI workflows, connect your own API key for OpenAI-compatible models or DeepSeek and run actions on a clip.

The published shortcuts include:

• Toggle Window: ⌘⇧V
• Search History: ⌘F
• Paste Selected: Enter
• Delete Item: ⌫

Who it is for

PastePaw is a good fit for Mac users who copy and paste often and want a desktop clipboard utility that stays local. It will be especially useful for:

• developers who need JSON, YAML, XML, Markdown, JWT, or hash inspection;
• writers and editors who want translation, summarization, and searchable clip history;
• users who keep private snippets or credentials-like material in encrypted folders;
• AI power users who want clipboard data exposed to local agents through MCP;
• people who prefer a native macOS tool with themes and layout options instead of a browser-based app.

The free tier is limited to 4 themes and up to 50 clipboard items, so heavier users will likely want the paid plan.

What to know before you use it

PastePaw is a macOS-only application; the source material does not mention Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, or a browser version. The app description also does not promise cross-device sync, so it should not be treated as a cloud clipboard service.

A few capabilities depend on your own setup. AI actions require your own API key and work with DeepSeek or other OpenAI-compatible models. Secure Collections are encrypted and can unlock with Touch ID, but they still live on the same Mac. The local MCP server is designed for agent workflows, yet you decide what each tool may read, write, or delete.

The built-in clip tools are powerful, but they are format helpers rather than full editors or replacement parsers for every edge case. OCR, QR scanning, and image extraction can help with common tasks, but they are not a substitute for specialized OCR or forensic software when exact accuracy is critical. For sensitive or compliance-bound workflows, verify final output in the original source or an official tool before relying on it.

If you want a private clipboard manager that keeps data on-device, supports encrypted clip organization, and adds AI-assisted clipboard tools, PastePaw is aimed squarely at that workflow.