PocketryHow to clear your clipboard and its history on Mac
There are two different things to clear: what is on the clipboard right now, and any history a clipboard manager has saved. This guide covers both.
Clear what is on the clipboard now
- Copy something harmless. Type a single space anywhere, select it and press ⌘C. The old contents are replaced.
- Or use Terminal. Run
pbcopy < /dev/nullto empty the clipboard. - Or restart. The clipboard is held in memory, so it is empty after a restart or shutdown.
To check what is there, choose Edit → Show Clipboard in Finder.
Clear a clipboard manager’s history
The built-in clipboard keeps no history, but a clipboard manager does, and it is saved on disk. Look for a “clear history” command in its menu or settings. If it has none, you may have to delete its data folder yourself.
In Pocketry
- Clear one entry: right-click it and choose Delete.
- Clear everything: right-click the menu bar icon and choose Clear History….
- Clear the clipboard itself: right-click the menu bar icon and choose Clear Clipboard.
- Let it forget automatically: in Settings, set old copies to be removed after a day, a week or a month. Pinned entries stay.
- Self-deleting entries: right-click an entry and have it delete itself in an hour.
- Pause before something private: right-click the menu bar icon and choose Pause Recording.
Passwords and other secrets
A copied password sits on the clipboard until something replaces it. Password managers clear it after a short time. Pocketry never saves copies from password managers, hides keys, tokens and card numbers it recognizes, deletes them from its history after two minutes, and clears them from the clipboard once you paste them. All of this can be changed in Settings.
Common questions
How do I clear the clipboard on a Mac?
Copy something harmless, such as a single space, to replace what was there. Or run pbcopy < /dev/null in Terminal to empty it.
Does restarting the Mac clear the clipboard?
Yes. The clipboard lives in memory, so it is empty after a restart or shutdown. A clipboard manager’s saved history is stored on disk and stays.
How do I delete my clipboard manager history?
Use its clear-history command. In Pocketry, right-click the menu bar icon and choose Clear History, or set auto-delete in Settings to remove old copies after a day, a week or a month.
Will a copied password stay on the clipboard?
Until you copy something else or restart, yes. Password managers clear it after a short time. Pocketry also clears secrets it recognizes from the clipboard after you paste them.
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