Show HN: A keyboard-centric clipboard history app for macOS

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

A new macOS clipboard manager, ClipBook, aims to offer a keyboard-centric, highly resizable, text-focused history viewer as an alternative to established tools like Alfred, Raycast, Maccy, CopyQ, and Flycut. Commenters praise its clean UI and focus on large previews and fast navigation, but note missing features such as image support, snippets, and robust controls for excluding passwords or sensitive data. Security and trust are recurring themes, with many urging open-sourcing and local-only operation given the app’s full access to clipboard contents and relatively large binary size.

Overall reception

  • Many commenters find the UI clean and the concept useful, especially the keyboard-centric design and large, resizable preview area.
  • Some say they will stick with existing tools that already work well for them, mainly due to trust, open‑source preference, or missing features.

Comparison with existing clipboard managers

  • Frequently mentioned alternatives: Alfred, Raycast (including its clipboard extension), LaunchBar, Maccy, Flycut, CopyQ, Keyboard Maestro, BetterTouchTool, Paste, and Clipy.
  • Several argue Alfred/Raycast/LaunchBar already meet the listed requirements (keyboard control, search, previews, history).
  • A recurring differentiator for this app is the ability to resize the history window and see a much larger text preview; users say competing tools often limit preview size.
  • Some prefer single‑purpose clipboard tools over multi‑function launchers; others prefer consolidating into a launcher they already use.

Features, limitations, and requested additions

  • Currently text‑only; image and file support are explicitly “on the roadmap.”
  • No snippets by design; users are pointed to other tools for that.
  • Widely requested features:
    • Excluding passwords and specific applications from history.
    • Customizable keyboard shortcuts (including avoiding conflicts with “paste unformatted” and command palettes).
    • Better handling of very large entries (e.g., big Excel ranges) and optional auto‑purging rules.
    • “Quick edit” of a clipboard item before pasting.
    • Opening the window on the active screen (by cursor or focused window).
  • Some users report missed clipboard events; at least one reproduction is unclear to the developer.

Privacy, security, and trust

  • Strong concern that any clipboard manager approaches a keylogger; multiple commenters say they only trust open‑source or OS‑bundled tools.
  • The developer states:
    • No telemetry or network calls except update checks.
    • Local‑only operation is intended.
    • Plans to open‑source the app.
  • Discussion includes techniques like blocking outbound connections (e.g., via firewall) and relying on password‑manager clipboard flags or heuristics to exclude secrets.

Implementation and distribution

  • App is built as a hybrid: React UI + C++/Cocoa via a custom Electron‑like SDK, leading to large binaries (~245–600 MB).
  • Initial download issues due to a cloud storage billing problem were quickly fixed; a GitHub mirror is planned.