Open it from any app

Press wherever you are. The panel opens centered on the screen you’re using, over full-screen apps too, with the search field ready, and the app you were in keeps focus. Press again or to close it.

Prefer the pointer? Click the Clipboard History icon in the menu bar and choose Open Clipboard History.

The Clipboard History panel: a search field, the All, Favorites and Launch tabs, and recent clips (a link, a message, formatted notes, an image, a PDF, a folder and three image files), each with its source app, its age and a ⌘1 to ⌘7 hint. — The hints on the right (⌘1, ⌘2 and so on) paste those clips directly. The copy hint in the footer doesn’t respond yet; right-click a clip and choose Copy instead.

Looking for Apple’s built-in clipboard history? On macOS 26 Tahoe and later it’s in Spotlight: press , then . The Mac clipboard history guide covers every macOS version.

Every shortcut, with pointer alternatives

These work while the panel is open. The search field has focus from the start, so typing always searches, and the keys below work at the same time.

Anywhere on your Mac

Keys	Action	With the pointer
	Open Clipboard History from any app, or close it againThe default. Record a different shortcut in Settings → General.	Click the Clipboard History icon in the menu bar and choose Open Clipboard History.

Navigate

Keys	Action	With the pointer
or	Move the selection up or down	Scroll the list.
or	Jump eight clips up or downPage Up and Page Down; on a laptop keyboard, fn with or .
or	Jump to the first or last clipHome and End do the same (fn with the left or right arrow on a laptop).
	Show All	Click the All tab.
	Show Favorites	Click the Favorites tab.
	Show one of your first seven groups, in tab order	Click the group’s tab.

Use a clip

Keys	Action	With the pointer
	Paste the selected clip into the app you were usingPasting for you needs the optional Accessibility permission. Without it the clip is copied and you press .	Click the clip.
	Paste one of the first nine clips directlyThe number is shown beside each clip.
	Preview the whole clip, with Paste and Copy buttonsWhile it’s open, and preview the neighboring clips.	Right-click the clip and choose Quick Look, which opens the app’s own preview rather than macOS Quick Look.
	Reveal a copied file or folder in Finder	Right-click the clip and choose Reveal in Finder.

Organize

Keys	Action	With the pointer
	Add the selected clip to Favorites, or remove it	Click the star that appears when you point at a clip.

Search & window

Keys	Action	With the pointer
or	Put the cursor back in the search fieldThe field is already focused when the panel opens, so you can just type.	Click the search field.
	Step back one layer: close the shortcut list or preview, then clear the search, then close the panel	Click anywhere outside the panel to close it.
	Show the app’s shortcut listA few keys on it don’t work yet in this version; every key listed here does.	Click “ shortcuts” at the bottom of the panel.

No shortcut: use the pointer

Action	With the pointer
Copy a clip without pasting it	Right-click it and choose Copy, or click Copy in the preview.
Delete a clip	Click the trash button that appears when you point at it, or right-click and choose Delete. It’s deleted at once, with no undo.
Create a group	Click + at the end of the tabs, or right-click a clip and choose Groups → New Group…
Add a clip to a group	Right-click it, choose Groups and pick the group. A clip can be in several groups.
Rename or delete a group	Right-click the group’s tab. Deleting a group doesn’t ask first. Its clips stay but count toward the history limit again, so older ones may be removed; star any you want to keep.
Resize or move the panel	Drag any edge to resize it; it keeps that size. Drag its background to move it; it opens centered again next time.
Switch between System, Light and Dark	Click the appearance button at the right of the search field.

The shortcut list in the app

Press in the panel, or click ⌘/ shortcuts at the bottom of it, to see the app’s own list. or closes it again. The same list is in Settings → Shortcuts.

This page lists only the shortcuts that work in the current release. If a key in the app’s list doesn’t respond, use its pointer alternative from the tables above.

Change the shortcut that opens it

is only the default, and it’s the one shortcut you can change. The keys inside the panel are fixed.

Open Settings.Choose Settings… from the Clipboard History menu in the menu bar.
Record a new shortcut.In General, click the field next to Open clipboard history and press the combination you want, such as . Pick one your other apps don’t use.
Try it.The new shortcut works right away, in every app.

To remove the shortcut, click the ⓧ in the field; you can still open the panel from the menu bar. You can also choose the shortcut during the first-run setup.

Clipboard History Settings, General tab: the Open clipboard history field showing ⇧⌘V, the Launch at login switch turned off, and Appearance set to Light. — Settings → General. Click the shortcut field and press a new combination.

Clipboard History Settings, General tab: the Open clipboard history field showing ⇧⌘V, the Launch at login switch turned off, and Appearance set to Dark. — Settings → General. Click the shortcut field and press a new combination.

If the shortcut doesn’t open the panel

Check that Clipboard History is running: its icon should be in the menu bar. If it isn’t, open the app from Applications. On a Mac with a notch, a crowded menu bar can hide icons behind it.
Another app may use the same combination and catch it first. Record a different one.
The shortcut is turned off while the Clipboard History menu is open. Close the menu and try again.

Clipboard History keyboard shortcuts

Open it from any app