CopyQ 17.0.0

Comprehensive Clipboard Management with CopyQ

CopyQ is a feature-rich, open-source clipboard manager maintained on GitHub by hluk (Lukas Holecek). Built with Qt and actively developed with thousands of commits and community contributions, CopyQ delivers a fast, extensible clipboard history for Linux, Windows and macOS. It provides unlimited searchable history, robust multi-format support, and advanced automation—making it a top choice for power users, developers and teams who need reliable clipboard productivity and integration.

Multi-Format Clipboard Capture and Preview

CopyQ stores text, formatted (rich) text, HTML, images and custom data types for each clipboard item so you can paste the best format for the target application. The built-in viewer and editor let you preview, edit or convert items before pasting. Add notes and tags to entries for contextual organization and faster retrieval.

Powerful Commands, Scripting API and Automation

CopyQ includes a comprehensive command system and a scripting API (QtScript/JavaScript) to automate workflows: create custom actions, transform clipboard content on the fly, run shell commands, and bind everything to global keyboard shortcuts. Watch rules, filters and ignore patterns give fine-grained control over what is captured. Plugins and user-defined commands extend functionality for advanced use cases.

Fast Search, Tabs and Organization

Search is instant with fuzzy matching and filters for content type, tags and timestamps. Items can be organized into tabs (workspaces), pinned, locked or grouped. Custom columns and item metadata improve discoverability, while export/import and session saving let you back up or move histories between machines.

Cross-Platform Support and Integration

CopyQ runs on Linux (X11/Wayland), Windows and macOS 13+ and integrates with desktop environments via tray/menu icons, global shortcuts and DBus where available. A command-line interface and scripting hooks make CopyQ ideal for developer workflows, shell scripts, CI environments and automation servers.

Security, Privacy and Portability

For sensitive data, CopyQ supports encrypted storage with a user-defined password so clipboard histories are protected at rest. Portable builds and a downloadable portable zip for Windows let you run CopyQ without installing, useful on shared machines. The project is licensed under GPLv3 and maintains public issue tracking and release notes on GitHub.

Performance and Resource Control

CopyQ is responsive even with large histories and image-heavy clips. Memory and CPU usage remain modest in typical scenarios, and configurable limits (history size, automatic removal of old items) help keep resource usage under control. The app is implemented with performance-conscious Qt code and supports plugins and translations from the repository.

Install and Update Options

1. Windows: use the official installer (setup.exe) or portable zip from GitHub releases; packages are also available via Chocolatey and Scoop.
2. macOS: Homebrew cask provides an easy install path; note macOS 13+ support and recommended post-install commands for code-signing issues.
3. Linux: packages available for Debian/Ubuntu (PPA), Fedora, Arch and other distros; AppImage and Flatpak builds (Flathub) offer universal installs.
4. Build from source: follow the repository documentation and build instructions for custom setups or unsupported distributions.

Key Benefits for Productivity and Developers

• Unlimited, searchable clipboard history that preserves multiple formats per item
• Extensive automation via commands, scripting API and CLI integration
• Tabs, tags, notes and custom columns for advanced organization
• Cross-platform compatibility with installers, AppImage, Flatpak, and portable options
• Encrypted storage for clipboard privacy and portable builds for ephemeral use
• Active open-source project with frequent releases, plugins, translations and community support on GitHub