Search recent copies in Spotlight
Check your version in Apple menu → About This Mac. Apple’s clipboard-history instructions apply to macOS 26 Tahoe and later. The first visit may ask for permission: macOS 26 calls the button Enable; macOS 27 calls it Allow. Consider whether you want copied private information to appear before accepting.
- Press Command + Space to open Spotlight, then Command + 4 to choose Clipboard.
- Accept Enable or Allow if you want to turn on clipboard search.
- Search for a word from the copy, select its result and press Command + C.
- Click in the destination app and press Command + V.
Start a Clivra history on macOS 14 or later
Clivra runs on Apple silicon and Intel Macs with macOS 14 or later. The native app requires a paid licence and activation before capture and Quick Paste become available. Its browser demo is a separate library for content you add yourself; it cannot watch your Mac clipboard.
Automatic saving starts only after you opt in. If you skipped it during onboarding, open Settings → General and turn on Allow automatic clipboard saving. Leave Capture mode on Automatic and Pause automatic capture off for this check. Clivra does not pull in items you copied before capture was enabled.
- Install Clivra, open Settings → License and activate your licence key.
- Allow automatic clipboard saving, then switch to TextEdit and copy a harmless phrase such as “Blue notebook on Tuesday”.
- Copy a second harmless phrase so the first is no longer the current clipboard item.
- Press Control + Command + V, the default Quick Paste shortcut, and search for notebook.
- Select the saved phrase and press Enter. For direct insertion, allow Clivra in macOS Accessibility settings; otherwise switch back to your destination and press Command + V to paste the copied result.
Narrow results by app or content type
A search can combine remembered words with filters. @Safari notebook searches Safari copies; @"Google Chrome" narrows to Chrome; @link searches saved links. Quotes matter when an app name contains a space. The Library also offers a source-app menu and type filters, and these search tokens work in Quick Paste.
Browser clips come from text or links you copied. Clivra does not record every website you visit, and a browser appears as a source only after an eligible copy has been saved. Background clipboard changes can be attributed to the wrong app, so source filters are a useful clue rather than a browsing-history record.
Choose what should stay in history
Under Settings → Privacy, review Ignored apps and Saved types. Password managers and Keychain Access are excluded by default when identified as the source or current app. Skip likely passwords, keys and payment details is on by default, but its pattern detection can miss secrets or reject harmless text. Do not use that safeguard as a guarantee.
Pause automatic capture before a private task, or choose Manual capture and use Save Current Clipboard only when needed. Pausing does not disable deliberate manual saves or file imports. In General, the history-count limit is disabled and Delete unused clips after is set to Never by default; choose your own limits if you do not want clips kept indefinitely.
If a copy is missing
First check that your licence is active, capture is allowed and not paused, the source app is not ignored, and the copied content type is enabled. Copy fresh non-sensitive text from TextEdit to separate a capture-setting issue from a particular app’s protected clipboard format. If you changed a shortcut, use its current setting in Settings → Shortcuts.
Neither installing Clivra nor turning on capture reconstructs an overwritten copy that was never saved. If it is absent from every existing history, return to the original document or website and copy it again. Deleting a clip or applying retention can also remove it from Clivra’s results.
Know the current storage and connection limits
Clivra 1.2.5 keeps its library on the Mac; iCloud sync and Dropbox sharing are disabled in this stable release. Licence activation and periodic checks require an internet connection. After a successful check, the signed licence receipt permits offline access for 30 days, so local clipboard storage does not mean permanent offline activation.