Clipwell 2.1 — now with an app icon

Clipwell now has an app icon.

The mark is a stack of cards — your clipboard history — split down the middle into two panes, which is the window-snapping half of the app. Both features in one shape. It is drawn in code (Tools/make_icon.swift) rather than committed as binary art, so it is diffable and regenerates identically.

Until now the app shipped with no icon at all, so Finder showed the blank generic document.

Also: corrected the README, which still described the old click behaviour. A single click in the history panel pastes.

Everything else is unchanged from 2.0 — see those notes for the full feature list and migration guidance if you are coming from SnapBoard.

Install

Drag to Applications, then — required, this build is ad-hoc signed:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Clipwell.app

Otherwise macOS says "Apple could not verify Clipwell is free of malware". That is expected for any app not put through Apple's paid notarisation service; nothing is wrong with the download. Without Terminal: open it once, dismiss the error, then System Settings ▸ Privacy & Security ▸ Security ▸ Open Anyway. Right-click ▸ Open no longer works on macOS 15+.

Then launch it and grant Accessibility. Nothing snaps or pastes until you do.

SHA-256  6ae52579d7ddb9b20496c074e8e3cbf21f788d83c3b99513bd7af48b325dd098

macOS 15+. Universal (Apple silicon + Intel). MIT licensed.

Clipwell 2.0 — window snapping + clipboard history for macOS

Clipwell brings Windows-style window snapping and Win+V clipboard history to macOS. It lives in the menu bar, has no Dock icon, and uses no third-party code.

Previously released as SnapBoard. The name changed because SnapBoard is an existing company — same app, new name and bundle identifier. Upgrading from SnapBoard? See Migrating below.

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Window snapping

Shortcut	Action
Control + Command + ←	Snap to the left half
Control + Command + →	Snap to the right half
Control + Command + ↑	Maximize to the screen's usable area
Control + Command + ↓	Restore if maximized, otherwise minimize

(Control is the ⌃ key, not Shift.)

• Maximize fills the screen, it does not create a full-screen Space. No animation, no separate desktop, no losing your other windows.
• Press left or right again to walk across displays, the way Windows 11 does — left-half → the previous display's right-half, and so on.
• Restore returns the exact previous frame, not an approximation.
• Every shortcut is configurable, including an optional ⌘←/⌘→ mode (off by default, and warned about in Settings, because it overrides text navigation and browser back/forward).

Clipboard history — Command + Shift + V

• Text, rich text, images and files.
• Search as you type, arrow through results, Return or a click to paste. Clipwell re-activates the app you were in and presses ⌘V for you.
• Shift+Return pastes as plain text, stripping formatting.
• Pin the things you paste constantly with ⌘P — pinned items never expire and are never evicted.
• Survives reboots. Stored on disk, unlike Spotlight's clipboard. Keeps up to 500 items, with retention configurable to forever, 30 days or 7 days.
• Passwords are not recorded. Items marked org.nspasteboard.ConcealedType — the flag password managers set — are skipped, along with transient and auto-generated pasteboard data.

Screenshots

macOS only puts a screenshot on the clipboard when you hold Control (⌃⌘⇧4); the plain shortcuts save a file instead. Those are captured automatically. To catch the file-saving ones too, either swap the shortcuts in System Settings (no extra permission) or enable folder watching in Settings ▸ Clipboard. Both routes are documented in the README.

Also in this release

• Clipboard rows are clickable — a single click pastes
• The list no longer scrolls under your pointer; scrolling belongs to the arrow keys
• The history panel opens on the display holding the window you were typing in, rather than following your mouse
• Fixed a startup hang when screenshot folder watching was enabled

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Install

1. Download Clipwell-2.0.dmg below, open it, drag Clipwell to Applications.

2. This step is required. The build is ad-hoc signed, not notarised:

   xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Clipwell.app

   Without it macOS says "Apple could not verify Clipwell is free of malware" or "Clipwell is damaged and can't be opened." Neither is true — macOS says that about any app that has not been through Apple's paid notarisation service. Prefer not to use Terminal? Open the app once, dismiss the error, then System Settings ▸ Privacy & Security ▸ Security ▸ Open Anyway.

   ⚠️ On macOS 15+, right-click ▸ Open no longer works. Apple removed that bypass.

3. Launch it and grant Accessibility when the setup window appears. Nothing snaps or pastes until you do — the app cannot move another app's window without permission.

Would rather not run an unverified binary? Entirely fair. Build it yourself — one command, no dependencies, and the result is signed on your own machine so Gatekeeper never objects:

git clone https://github.com/r-thirumaran/Clipwell.git && cd Clipwell && make install

SHA-256  a351d7b8b984531520092d3516b38dbcb4d9d1b0cf4696b628e60e45592d56ab

Migrating from SnapBoard

Your data comes across automatically on first launch — clipboard history, pinned items and settings are all migrated.

Two things you must do yourself:

1. Grant Accessibility again. macOS treats a new bundle identifier as a different app, so the old permission does not carry over.
2. Delete /Applications/SnapBoard.app. Running both means two apps polling the same clipboard.

Before you use this on a work machine

Clipboard history is stored unencrypted as plain JSON at ~/Library/Application Support/Clipwell/history.json. Everything you copy goes there, including anything pasted out of a password vault that does not set the concealed flag. Check your employer's policy; a 7-day retention is available in Settings. On a managed Mac, MDM may block Accessibility for apps not on IT's approved list.

Requirements

macOS 15 (Sequoia) or later. Universal — Apple silicon and Intel. MIT licensed.

Clipwell (formerly SnapBoard) 1.2.1

Documentation fix. No app code changed from 1.2 — if 1.2 is already running fine, you don't need this.

Why this exists

Installing on a second Mac produces:

"Apple could not verify "SnapBoard" is free of malware that may harm your Mac or compromise your privacy."

That message is expected for any app that hasn't been through Apple's paid notarisation service. But none of the previous docs actually quoted it, so there was no way to connect the error to the fix. Now the DMG's readme leads with it.

Getting past it

Drag SnapBoard to Applications, then either:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/SnapBoard.app

or, without Terminal: try to open it once, dismiss the error, then System Settings ▸ Privacy & Security, scroll to Security, click Open Anyway.

⚠️ On macOS 15 and later, right-click ▸ Open no longer works. Apple removed that bypass, so the advice most people have memorised silently fails. Use one of the two methods above.

Prefer not to run an unverified binary? Build it yourself — one command, no dependencies, and the result is signed on your own machine so Gatekeeper never objects:

git clone https://github.com/r-thirumaran/SnapBoard.git && cd SnapBoard && make install

Then launch it and grant Accessibility. Nothing snaps or pastes until you do.

SHA-256  ef3daff7ce4e93abe9b5456d85ea65fa7b14754a2e0d8aaaad6e2d226035e8c4

Requires macOS 15+. Universal (Apple silicon + Intel).

Clipwell (formerly SnapBoard) 1.2

Fixes the clipboard panel being unusable with the mouse.

Fixed

• History rows could not be clicked at all — neither single nor double click — while the keyboard worked fine. The panel had isMovableByWindowBackground = true, and because it uses full-size content the SwiftUI list covers the whole window; AppKit treated clicks on it as the start of a window drag and swallowed them before they reached a row. Rows were also built from stacked single- and double-tap gesture modifiers, which SwiftUI can drop both of. They are now buttons.
• A single click pastes, matching Win+V and the Return key.
• The list no longer scrolls under your pointer. Scrolling now happens only in response to the arrow keys. Hovering just draws a faint highlight so you can see what a click will hit; it never changes the selection. Scroll with the wheel, click what you want.

From 1.1

• Optional screenshot capture (off by default) — see the README for the permission-free route of remapping the system screenshot shortcuts
• Startup hang fixed: the Desktop permission prompt blocks until answered, and doing that on the main thread deadlocked the app before the menu bar icon appeared
• History panel opens on the display holding the window you were typing in, not the one your mouse was left on

Install

Drag to Applications, then — required, this build is ad-hoc signed:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/SnapBoard.app

Launch it and grant Accessibility. Nothing snaps or pastes until you do.

SHA-256  f42fdb06ecc8ad1fea58a4f51d88c2142640323acda81559e8b0ea61d84fefec

Updating from an earlier version? macOS keys the Accessibility grant to the code signature, which changes between ad-hoc builds, so you may need to remove the old SnapBoard entry from the Accessibility list and re-add it — or run tccutil reset Accessibility com.thiru.snapboard.

Requires macOS 15+. Universal (Apple silicon + Intel).

Clipwell (formerly SnapBoard) 1.1

Adds screenshot capture, plus a fix for a startup hang found while building it.

Screenshots

macOS only puts a screenshot on the clipboard when you hold Control (⌃⌘⇧4). Plain ⌘⇧4 saves a file and never touches the clipboard, so it never reached history. Two ways to fix that, both now documented in the README:

1. Swap the system shortcuts (no extra permission) — in System Settings ▸ Keyboard ▸ Keyboard Shortcuts ▸ Screenshots, give Copy picture of selected area to the Clipboard the plain ⌘⇧4. SnapBoard already captures those.
2. Let SnapBoard watch the folder — Settings ▸ Clipboard ▸ Screenshots. Catches ⌘⇧3, ⌘⇧4 and ⌘⇧5 and still saves the file.

Option 2 is off by default on purpose: it needs Files-and-Folders access to your Desktop, a permission separate from Accessibility, and a clipboard tool shouldn't spring that prompt on you unasked.

Fixed

• Startup hang. The first open() on ~/Desktop raises a modal permission prompt that blocks until answered — and because SnapBoard has no Dock icon, that prompt can sit unseen behind other windows. On the main thread this deadlocked the app before the menu bar icon was even created. All file access now happens off the main thread.
• History panel opened on the wrong display. It followed the mouse pointer, which on a multi-monitor setup is often a screen you aren't looking at. It now opens on the display holding the window you were last typing in.
• Changing the history limit or retention no longer re-registers hot keys or raises a spurious "shortcut already taken" alert.

Install

Drag to Applications, then — required, this build is ad-hoc signed:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/SnapBoard.app

Then launch it and grant Accessibility. Nothing snaps or pastes until you do.

SHA-256  24dc9fe6e8220243e7a9358b067db3a1291e2c7b18ad6d7cf6c5fa9b295d7a38

Note: because the signature changes between builds, macOS may ask for Accessibility again after updating. Remove the old SnapBoard entry in the list and re-add it, or run tccutil reset Accessibility com.thiru.snapboard.

Requires macOS 15+. Universal (Apple silicon + Intel).

Clipwell (formerly SnapBoard) 1.0

Windows-style window snapping and Win+V clipboard history for macOS. Menu-bar only, no Dock icon, zero third-party dependencies.

Install

1. Download SnapBoard-1.0.dmg below, open it, drag SnapBoard to Applications.
2. Required — this build is ad-hoc signed, not notarised:

   xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/SnapBoard.app

   Without it macOS says "SnapBoard is damaged and can't be opened." Nothing is damaged — that is Gatekeeper refusing an unsigned download. Prefer to build it yourself? git clone then make install; it needs only the Command Line Tools, not full Xcode.
3. Launch it and grant Accessibility when the setup window appears. Nothing snaps or pastes until you do — the app cannot touch another app's window without it.

SHA-256  b0452df11b09ff7adf6a0c82c4b047028156b8a5a752182bcbe758eb065523df

Shortcuts

Key	Action
Control+Command+Left	Snap left half
Control+Command+Right	Snap right half
Control+Command+Up	Maximize
Control+Command+Down	Restore, or minimize
Command+Shift+V	Clipboard history

Press Left/Right again on an already-snapped window to move it to the next display. In the history panel: type to search, arrows to navigate, Return to paste, Shift+Return for plain text, Command+P to pin, Esc to close. All shortcuts are configurable in Settings.

Screenshots are captured if you use Control+Command+Shift+4 (goes to clipboard). Plain Command+Shift+4 saves a file to the Desktop and is not captured.

Requirements

macOS 15 or later. Universal (Apple silicon + Intel).

Please read before using this at work

Clipboard history is stored unencrypted as plain JSON at ~/Library/Application Support/SnapBoard/history.json. Everything you copy goes there, including anything pasted out of a password manager that does not set the concealed-type marker. It honours org.nspasteboard.ConcealedType, TransientType and AutoGeneratedType, but not every app sets them. Consider a 7-day retention in Settings, and check your employer's policy.

On a company-managed Mac, MDM may block Accessibility for apps that are not on IT's approved list. If the switch will not stay on, that is why.

Known limitations

• Updates may need the permission re-granted. macOS keys the Accessibility grant to the code signature, which changes on every ad-hoc build. Remove and re-add SnapBoard in the Accessibility list, or run tccutil reset Accessibility com.thiru.snapboard.
• Not notarised (needs a paid Apple Developer account).
• Sheets, popovers and system dialogs are deliberately not snapped.
• Some apps clamp their own size — Terminal quantises to a character grid — so they may not fill a half exactly. They still land at the right position.

Bug reports welcome: say which app, how many displays, what you pressed, and what happened instead.