The default clipboard on every operating system holds exactly one thing at a time. Copy A, copy B, and A is gone. If you are cross-referencing a document, comparing two data points, or pasting the same few strings into different fields, you need multiple copy-paste — a clipboard history that lets you access older entries without re-copying them.
This page covers three approaches: the OS-level clipboard history on Windows, Mac, and mobile; clipboard manager apps; and the browser-based clipboard history built into Clipboard Inspector, which saves every paste you make for later review.
Windows: built-in clipboard history
Windows 10 and 11 have a clipboard history that keeps the last 25 items you copied.
- Press
Win + V. - If clipboard history is off, click Turn on. Once enabled, every copy from any app is saved.
- Click any entry to paste it at the cursor. Pin items to keep them across reboots.
To clear the whole history: Settings → System → Clipboard → Clear clipboard data. To disable it entirely, toggle Clipboard history off.
macOS: no built-in history (and what to use instead)
macOS does not ship a clipboard history tool. The standard copy+paste only remembers the last entry. The usual workarounds:
- Raycast — free, keyboard-first, clipboard history out of the box.
- Paste (paid) — visual clipboard history with search and pinning.
- Alfred (paid Powerpack) — clipboard history integrated with Alfred's launcher.
- CopyClip — free menu-bar app, minimal.
Each of these runs as a background agent that records every copy. Consider the trust implications — the app sees every password, API key, and private string you copy — and prefer ones that offer exclusion rules for sensitive apps (1Password, browser password fields).
iOS and iPadOS: handoff clipboard
Apple's Universal Clipboard sync works between a Mac, iPhone, and iPad on the same Apple ID — copy on one device, paste on another within ~2 minutes. But there is still only one current clipboard entry; no history. For multiple copy-paste on iOS, third-party keyboard apps (Gboard, SwiftKey) include a clipboard history panel.
Android: keyboard-level history
Most Android keyboards include a clipboard panel:
- Gboard: tap the clipboard icon in the toolbar, enable Clipboard. Entries expire after an hour unless pinned.
- SwiftKey: long-press the mic icon, choose Clipboard.
- Samsung Keyboard: tap the kebab menu, then Clipboard.
Stock Android 13+ also shows a floating toolbar after any copy with an "Edit clipboard" entry — useful for quick edits before paste.
Browser-based clipboard history
If you do not want to install a clipboard manager, Clipboard Inspector keeps a local history of every paste you make on its page. Open the history panel to revisit any previous paste, see all its MIME types, and copy individual values back out for reuse. Entries are stored in localStorage — on your device, not on a server — and persist across tabs and sessions until you clear them.
This is useful for:
- Debugging. Compare paste payloads from different sources (Word vs. Google Docs vs. Notion) side by side.
- Re-using clipboard entries. After a copy is overwritten by a newer one, the older version is still in history.
- Forensics. Investigating a paste bug that happened an hour ago.
Building your own multiple copy-paste feature
If you are a developer and want to implement clipboard history inside your own web app:
const history = JSON.parse(localStorage.getItem('clip-history') || '[]')
document.body.addEventListener('paste', (e) => {
const plain = e.clipboardData.getData('text/plain')
if (plain) {
history.unshift({ text: plain, ts: Date.now() })
history.splice(50) // keep last 50
localStorage.setItem('clip-history', JSON.stringify(history))
}
})Caveats: the browser can only see pastes that land on your page, not every copy on the system. For a global OS-level clipboard, you need a native app with accessibility permissions — browsers deliberately do not expose that.
Multiple copy-paste vs. clipboard managers: trade-offs
- Built-in OS history is private (never leaves your device) and always on. Limited UI, limited search.
- Third-party clipboard managers are powerful (search, pin, categorise) but see every copy — sensitive data included. Trust the vendor.
- Browser-based history like this site is scoped to pastes you explicitly make on the page. Private, sandboxed, and good for debugging.