Clipboard Inspector

Free Online Clipboard Viewer & MIME Type Checker

Inspect your clipboard online: paste or drag & drop anything to instantly reveal all MIME types and data formats. Need a clipboard cleaner? Wipe your clipboard contents with one click. All inspections are saved to your clipboard history — review, compare, and revisit past pastes anytime. Free, private, runs entirely in your browser — no installation, no signup.

📋 All MIME Types🆓 100% Free🔒 No Data Sent🗑️ Clear Clipboard📜 Clipboard History
Clipboard Inspector
⌨️
Keyboard Paste
Press Ctrl+V / ⌘+V anywhere on the page
🖱️
Drag & Drop
Drop files or text here
📂 Clipboard History 0
No items yet — paste something to start recording

How to Inspect Clipboard Data

1

Copy Something

Copy text, images, files, or any content from any app on your computer.

2

Paste or Drop

Press Ctrl+V / ⌘+V anywhere on this page, or drag and drop files into the drop zone.

3

Inspect Data

See all MIME types, data formats, and the actual content — instantly, right in your browser.

4

Debug & Learn

Understand exactly what your app receives when users paste content. Copy individual values for testing.

Key Features

🎯

MIME Type Detection

Reveals every MIME type available in your clipboard — text/plain, text/html, image/png, and many more application-specific formats.

📁

File Inspection

When you copy files, see their name, size, type, and last modified date. Image files are previewed directly in the browser.

🖱️

Drag & Drop

Test drag-and-drop events by dropping files or content onto the inspector. See exactly what dataTransfer contains.

🔌

Clipboard API

Use the modern async Clipboard API to read clipboard data programmatically, the same way your web app would.

🔒

100% Private

All processing happens in your browser. No clipboard data is ever sent to a server. Your data stays yours.

⚡

Instant Results

Zero loading time. Paste or drop and see results immediately. No signup, no installation, no configuration needed.

🗑️

Clipboard Cleaner

Clear your clipboard contents with one click. Useful when you've copied sensitive data like passwords or API keys and want to wipe them from memory.

📜

Clipboard History

Every paste and drop is automatically saved to a local history log. Browse, revisit, and compare past clipboard inspections — stored privately in your browser, never on a server.

🖼️

Image & Video Preview

Image files open in a full-screen lightbox with pinch-zoom, drag-to-pan, and fit-to-screen. Video files play inline with native controls — no external viewer needed.

📲

Install as App (PWA)

Install Clipboard Inspector as a desktop or mobile app via your browser's install prompt. Works offline and launches instantly — no app store, no download.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Clipboard Inspector?
When you copy something — text, an image, a file, or rich content — the operating system stores it in multiple formats simultaneously. A clipboard inspector reveals all of those formats (called MIME types) and their raw content, which is invaluable for debugging paste handling in web applications.
Why are there multiple MIME types when I paste text?
When you copy text from a web page or document, the clipboard typically contains several representations: text/plain (plain text without formatting), text/html (the full HTML with styles and structure), and sometimes application-specific formats. Web browsers and apps provide multiple formats so that the receiving application can choose the most appropriate one — a plain text editor uses text/plain, while a rich text editor might use text/html.
Is my clipboard data safe? Does it get sent anywhere?
Your clipboard data is completely safe. This tool runs entirely in your browser using JavaScript. No clipboard content is ever transmitted to any server. You can verify this by checking the browser's Network tab in DevTools while using the tool. All processing happens locally on your device.
What is the Clipboard API and how is it different from paste events?
There are two ways to read clipboard data in browsers. The traditional approach uses paste event listeners which fire when the user presses Ctrl+V/⌘+V. The modern Clipboard API (navigator.clipboard.read()) allows programmatic clipboard reading at any time, but requires explicit user permission. Both approaches are supported by this inspector. The Clipboard API button uses the async API, while pasting uses the event-based approach.
How do I use this to debug my web application?
Copy the same content your users would paste into your app, then paste it here to see exactly what MIME types and data your paste event handler will receive. This helps you understand why certain content looks different after pasting, debug rich text editor paste behavior, implement correct file upload handling, and ensure your app handles all the clipboard formats users might paste.
What MIME types are commonly found in clipboard data?
Common clipboard MIME types include: text/plain (plain text), text/html (HTML with formatting), text/uri-list (URLs), image/png (PNG images), image/jpeg (JPEG images), application/json (JSON data), and custom types from specific applications like application/x-vnd.google-docs-document-slice-clip+wrapped (Google Docs).
How do I clean or clear my clipboard?
After pasting your clipboard content, click the Clear Clipboard button that appears in the inspector. This overwrites the clipboard with empty content using the browser's Clipboard API, effectively wiping any sensitive data — passwords, API keys, or personal information — from your clipboard memory.
Does this work on mobile devices?
Mobile browsers have limited clipboard API support due to security restrictions. The tool works best on desktop browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge). On mobile, you may need to use the Clipboard API button after granting clipboard permission, as the paste event may not fire the same way. iOS Safari and Android Chrome have partial support.
How do I check what is in my clipboard?
Go to clipboardinspector.com and press Ctrl+V (or ⌘+V on Mac) anywhere on the page, or click the "Read Clipboard via API" button. The tool instantly shows every data format and MIME type currently stored in your clipboard, along with the actual content — no signup or installation required.
What is a MIME type in clipboard data?
MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) types identify the format of clipboard data. When you copy content, the OS stores it in multiple MIME types simultaneously — for example, copying a web page selection typically stores both text/plain (plain text) and text/html (formatted HTML). Web applications read the most appropriate format for their needs.
Can I use this tool to debug paste events in my web app?
Yes. Copy the same content a user would paste into your application, then inspect it here to see exactly what MIME types and values your paste event handler will receive via event.clipboardData. This is invaluable for debugging rich text editors, file upload handlers, and any feature that processes pasted content.
Why does pasted text look different in different applications?
Different applications read different MIME types from the clipboard. A plain text editor reads text/plain and strips all formatting, while a rich text editor reads text/html and preserves bold, colors, and structure. Clipboard Inspector shows you all available formats so you can understand exactly what each application will receive when a user pastes.
Does Clipboard Inspector save my clipboard history?
Yes. Every paste or drop is automatically saved to a local clipboard history stored in your browser's localStorage. You can browse, revisit, and compare past inspections at any time. History is stored entirely on your device — nothing is sent to a server — and persists until you manually clear it.
Can I install Clipboard Inspector as an app?
Yes. Clipboard Inspector is a Progressive Web App (PWA). When supported by your browser, an Install App button appears in the top bar. Click it to install the tool as a standalone desktop or mobile app that launches instantly without opening a browser tab.

Common Use Cases

✏️

Rich Text Editors

Debug why pasted content from Word, Google Docs, or web pages looks wrong in your editor by seeing the exact HTML being pasted.

📸

Image Paste Handling

Verify that screenshot paste (e.g., from Print Screen) produces image/png data your upload handler expects.

🔗

URL & Link Handling

Inspect whether copied links contain just the URL (text/plain) or rich link HTML (text/html) with anchor tags.

📊

Spreadsheet Data

See how Excel or Google Sheets data appears when copied — typically as text/html table HTML and text/plain TSV.

🔐

Sensitive Data Cleanup

Copied a password, API key, or personal data and want to clear it? Use the Clear Clipboard button to instantly wipe your clipboard memory and reduce exposure risk.

📜

Review Past Inspections

Clipboard history lets you go back and compare multiple pastes from a debugging session — useful when testing how different sources format the same content.