ClipSlots

Stop losing what you just copied.
9 keyboard-triggered clipboard slots for macOS.
Press a hotkey to save, press another to paste — in any app, instantly.

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How it works

Ctrl + Option + 3  →  saves your clipboard to slot 3
Ctrl + 3           →  pastes slot 3, just like Cmd+V

That's it. Works with plain text, images, screenshots, files from Finder, rich text from browsers — anything your clipboard can hold. Keybindings are fully configurable — use whatever modifier + key combo you want.

Why ClipSlots

9 clipboard slots — Copy something, press Ctrl+Opt+3, it's saved. Press Ctrl+3 later, it's back. Slots persist until you clear them.

Works in every app — System-wide hotkeys that work in VS Code, Chrome, Figma, Terminal. No focus switching.

Not just text — Images, RTF, HTML, file references. What you copy is what you paste.

Fully configurable keybindings — Don't like the defaults? Change them to any modifier + key combo. cmd+shift+{n}, option+{n}, whatever suits you.

Starts on login, stays hidden — A launchd daemon. No menubar icon, no dock icon, no interruptions.

One config file — Edit ~/.config/clipslots/config.toml to change hotkeys, slot count, and logging. Hot-reloads on save — no restart needed.

Install

Download the .pkg installer — or build from source:

git clone https://github.com/olafglad/clipSlots.git
cd clipSlots
swift build -c release
sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/bin
sudo cp .build/release/clipslots /usr/local/bin/

Grant accessibility permission (required for global hotkeys):

clipslots permissions

This opens System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility. Find clipslots in the list and toggle it on.

Start the daemon:

clipslots start

Done. Hotkeys are live.

Usage

$ clipslots --help

OVERVIEW: Lightweight clipboard slot manager for macOS

USAGE: clipslots <subcommand>

OPTIONS:
  --version               Show the version.
  -h, --help              Show help information.

SUBCOMMANDS:
  save                    Save current clipboard content to a slot
  paste                   Load slot content to clipboard
  list                    Show all slots with content preview
  clear                   Clear one or all slots
  start                   Start the ClipSlots daemon
  stop                    Stop the ClipSlots daemon
  restart                 Restart the ClipSlots daemon
  status                  Show daemon status and configuration
  config                  Show or edit configuration
  permissions             Check and guide through permission setup

$ clipslots status

ClipSlots Status
────────────────
Daemon:      Running (PID: 12838)
Accessible:  Yes
Pasteboard:  Allowed
Slots:       5
Logging:     on (change in 'clipslots config --edit')

Keybinds:
  Save:      ctrl+option+{n}
  Paste:     ctrl+{n}

Configuration

Edit ~/.config/clipslots/config.toml:

slots = 5

[keybinds]
save = "ctrl+option+{n}"
paste = "ctrl+{n}"

Use any combo you want. Modifiers: ctrl, option, cmd, shift — Keys: 0-9, a-z, f1-f12

Config changes hot-reload — no restart needed.

Your Mac won't notice it

One Swift binary. No GUI, no Electron, no subscription.

Requirements

• macOS 13+ (Ventura)
• Swift 5.7+

Links

• clipslots.dev — Website
• Ko-fi — Buy me a coffee
• GitHub Sponsors — Sponsor this project

License

MIT