Everything you need to get going.

The first five minutes

1. Download and unzip Clipkeep – steps for Windows and macOS below.
2. Open the program. It appears as an icon in your system tray or menu bar.
3. Copy any text with Ctrl/⌘+C, then press Ctrl/⌘+Shift+V to see it in your history.
4. Pin one thing you paste often – your email signature is a good start.

Install on Windows

1. Download the Windows ZIP from the Download page.
2. Right-click the file → Extract All, and choose a folder such as Documents.
3. Open the folder and double-click Clipkeep.exe.
4. If SmartScreen says “Windows protected your PC”, click More info → Run anyway. This appears because the program is not yet code-signed.

Tip: right-click Clipkeep.exe → Send to → Desktop (create shortcut) for quick access.

Install on macOS

1. Download the ZIP for your Mac – Apple Silicon or Intel. Check under → About This Mac: “Chip: Apple M…” means Apple Silicon.
2. Double-click the ZIP and drag Clipkeep.app into Applications.
3. The first time, right-click Clipkeep → Open → Open. If macOS still blocks it, go to System Settings → Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway. The app is not yet notarized by Apple.

Using Clipkeep

Collecting clips

Copy text as usual with Ctrl/⌘+C. Clipkeep checks the clipboard about once a second and adds new text to the top of the list. Copying the same text again moves it back to the top instead of duplicating it.

Opening and pasting

Press Ctrl+Shift+V (Windows) or ⌘+Shift+V (Mac) from any app. Type to search, use ↑ ↓ to move, and press Enter. The clip goes back on your clipboard – paste it with Ctrl/⌘+V where you need it.

Pinning

Click the pin icon to keep a clip permanently – handy for addresses, email signatures or code snippets.

Pausing and deleting

Tick Pause saving before copying something sensitive like a password. Delete a single clip with ✕, or clear all unpinned clips with Clear (keep pinned).

Tray and start at login

Closing the window keeps Clipkeep running in the system tray / menu bar. Quit from the tray menu. Turn on Start at login if you want it running after every restart (off by default).

Tips for daily use

• Pin your standards. Email signatures, your address, standard replies – pin them once and they survive every “Clear”.
• Pause before passwords. When you copy from a password manager, tick Pause saving first – or delete the clip right after with ✕.
• Search instead of scrolling. Type any word you remember from the clip – a name, part of a link, an order number.
• Clear now and then. Clear (keep pinned) empties everything except your pinned clips, which keeps the list fast to scan.

Troubleshooting

• The shortcut does nothing. Another program may already use Ctrl/⌘+Shift+V. Open Clipkeep from the tray icon instead, or quit the conflicting program.
• Nothing is being saved. Check that Pause saving is not ticked, and that you are copying text (not an image or file).
• macOS says the app is damaged. Download the ZIP again and use right-click → Open, as described above.
• Where is my history stored? Windows: %APPDATA%\clipkeep. macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/clipkeep.

Still stuck? Contact support.

Known limitations

• Text only – images, files and formatted content are not saved in version 1.0.0.
• Up to 500 unpinned clips are kept; the oldest unpinned clip is removed when the limit is reached.
• No sync – history stays on the computer where it was copied.
• The keyboard shortcut is fixed at Ctrl/⌘+Shift+V and cannot be changed in this version.
• No automatic updates – new versions are downloaded manually from the Download page.

Update

Clipkeep does not check for updates automatically. Quit Clipkeep, download the latest version and replace the old folder or app. Your history is kept, since it is stored separately in your user folder.

Uninstall

Windows: Quit Clipkeep from the tray, then delete the Clipkeep folder. To also delete your history, delete %APPDATA%\clipkeep.

macOS: Quit Clipkeep from the menu bar and drag it from Applications to the Trash. To also delete your history, delete ~/Library/Application Support/clipkeep.

If you turned on “Start at login”, turn it off first. There are no accounts or subscriptions to cancel.

Frequently asked questions

Does Clipkeep save images or files?

No. Version 1.0 saves plain text only. Images, files and formatted content are ignored.

How many clips are kept?

Up to 500 unpinned clips. When the limit is reached, the oldest unpinned clip is removed. Pinned clips are never removed automatically.

Does it need the internet?

No. Clipkeep makes no network requests and works fully offline.

Can I change the keyboard shortcut?

Not in version 1.0. The shortcut is always Ctrl+Shift+V on Windows and ⌘+Shift+V on macOS.

Is my history synced between computers?

No. History stays in a single file on the computer where it was copied.

Can I move my history to a new computer?

Yes. Quit Clipkeep on both computers, then copy the history file from the data folder (see Troubleshooting for the path) to the same folder on the new computer before starting Clipkeep there.

Does Clipkeep slow down my computer?

No. It checks the clipboard about once a second and otherwise idles in the tray or menu bar, using very little memory.