# CopyBuffer

> CopyBuffer is a security-first clipboard manager for macOS, built for developers. It lives in the menu bar, opens with ⌘⇧V under the text caret, and keeps clipboard history encrypted on the Mac only (AES-256-GCM, key wrapped by the Secure Enclave). It also has snippets, paste transforms, a sequential paste queue, on-device OCR search in images, a Touch ID password vault with TOTP, and a cbvault CLI that loads vault values into terminal environment variables. No cloud, no accounts, no analytics. A Windows version (Windows 10 version 2004 or later and Windows 11, x64) lives in the notification area, opens with Win+Alt+V, wraps the history key with DPAPI and protects the vault with a master password, DPAPI and Windows Hello.

Updated: 2026-11-09. Version 0.2.0 (macOS), 0.1.0 (Windows). Canonical source: https://copybuffer.hhcompany.app/ (the pages below are the authoritative, current descriptions).

- Category: macOS menu bar clipboard manager with a built-in password vault. Not on the Mac App Store: the sandbox prevents reading the caret position and browser URL, and sending the paste keystroke.
- Requires macOS 14 Sonoma or later on Apple Silicon, or Windows 10 version 2004 or later / Windows 11 on x64. One license key works on both.
- Price: 7-day free trial with every feature, then US$12.99 one-time purchase through Lemon Squeezy, no subscription. Lemon Squeezy emails a license key; registering it sends only that key, once, to the CopyBuffer license server, which returns a signed key that the app then verifies offline. After the trial, history keeps recording and the password vault always stays accessible.
- App languages: English, Korean, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Spanish, German, French, Hindi; follows the system language.
- Shortcuts: ⌘⇧V opens the panel; Tab switches between the Clipboard, Snippets and Password tabs; ⌥⇧⌘V pastes the current clipboard as plain text in any app; ⌃⌘C adds the selected text to the vault; ⌘T paste transforms; ⌘↩ marks items and ⌃⌘V pastes the next one.
- Storage: ~/Library/Application Support/CopyBuffer/, folder 0700, files 0600. Clipboard history, snippets and images use AES-256-GCM with a key wrapped by a Secure Enclave P-256 key, so they cannot be opened on another Mac.
- Password vault: data key wrapped with HKDF(PBKDF2-SHA256(master password, 3,000,000 iterations) ‖ Secure Enclave ECDH secret); Touch ID on each Secure Enclave use; 160-bit recovery key; secrets stay sealed in memory until used; encrypted, tamper-evident access log; auto-lock after 5 idle minutes, on sleep and screen lock; hidden from screenshots and screen sharing, and closed while the screen is recorded or shared.
- Clipboard hygiene: copies marked concealed by password managers are never recorded; Keychain Access, Passwords, 1Password, Bitwarden, KeePassXC and Proton Pass are excluded by default; vault passwords are placed on the pasteboard for this Mac only (no Universal Clipboard), restored after 1 second when pasted and cleared after 20 seconds when copied.
- OCR: Apple Vision on-device, Korean, English, Japanese and Chinese text plus QR codes and barcodes.
- Terminal: `cbvault run NAME... -- command` injects values into one command after Touch ID; also `cbvault export`, `get`, `list`, `shell-init` (cbload/cbunload). Only a cbvault signed with the app's certificate can connect (verified by kernel audit token), same user only, 5-minute approval per terminal and names.
- Network: none, except two user-triggered requests: the breach check (Have I Been Pwned range API, sends only the first 5 hex characters of the SHA-1 hash, with padding) and license registration (sends only the Lemon Squeezy license key, once, to the license server).
- Windows: notification-area app for Windows 10 version 2004+ and Windows 11 on x64. Win+Alt+V opens the panel, Win+Ctrl+Alt+V pastes plain text, Win+Alt+C adds the selected text to the vault. Data in %LOCALAPPDATA%\CopyBuffer (ACL: the user and SYSTEM only); history and snippets encrypted with a key wrapped by DPAPI; same vault format (master password with PBKDF2-SHA256 3,000,000 iterations + DPAPI, then a Windows Hello confirmation). Everything CopyBuffer writes to the clipboard is excluded from Windows clipboard history (Win+V) and cloud clipboard sync. Not on Windows yet: OCR search in images, sequential paste, cbvault. Not code-signed yet (SmartScreen may warn).
- Not included: device sync, browser autofill, team sharing, iOS or Android apps. No external security audit yet.

## Pages

- [CopyBuffer — English](https://copybuffer.hhcompany.app/): A Mac clipboard manager for developers: encrypted clipboard history, search inside screenshots, and API keys sent to your terminal with Touch ID instead of .env files.
- [CopyBuffer — 한국어](https://copybuffer.hhcompany.app/ko/): CopyBuffer는 macOS 메뉴 막대 클립보드 관리자입니다. ⌘⇧V로 복사 기록을 검색해 붙여넣고, 기록은 Secure Enclave 키로 암호화해 이 Mac에만 저장합니다. 스크린샷 글자 검색, Touch ID 비밀번호 보관함, 터미널 환경변수까지.
- [CopyBuffer — 日本語](https://copybuffer.hhcompany.app/ja/): 開発者向けの Mac クリップボード管理アプリ。クリップボード履歴を暗号化して保存し、スクリーンショット内の文字も検索できます。API キーは .env ファイルに置かず、Touch ID でターミナルに渡せます。
- [CopyBuffer — 简体中文](https://copybuffer.hhcompany.app/zh-hans/): 面向开发者的 Mac 剪贴板管理工具：剪贴板历史全程加密、只存本机，能搜索截图里的文字；API 密钥经 Touch ID 验证后直接交给终端，不必再明文写进 .env 文件。
- [CopyBuffer — 繁體中文](https://copybuffer.hhcompany.app/zh-hant/): 專為開發者打造的 Mac 剪貼簿管理工具：剪貼簿紀錄全程加密、只存在本機，還能搜尋截圖裡的文字；API 金鑰經 Touch ID 驗證後直接交給終端機，不必再以明文寫進 .env 檔案。
- [CopyBuffer — Español](https://copybuffer.hhcompany.app/es/): Gestor de portapapeles para Mac: historial del portapapeles cifrado, búsqueda en capturas y claves API en tu terminal con Touch ID, sin archivos .env.
- [CopyBuffer — Deutsch](https://copybuffer.hhcompany.app/de/): Zwischenablage-Manager für Mac-Entwickler: verschlüsselter Verlauf der Zwischenablage, Suche in Screenshots und API-Schlüssel per Touch ID statt .env-Datei.
- [CopyBuffer — Français](https://copybuffer.hhcompany.app/fr/): Gestionnaire de presse-papiers Mac pour développeurs : historique du presse-papiers chiffré, recherche dans les captures d'écran et clés d'API sous Touch ID.
- [CopyBuffer — हिन्दी](https://copybuffer.hhcompany.app/hi/): डेवलपर्स के लिए Mac क्लिपबोर्ड मैनेजर: एन्क्रिप्टेड क्लिपबोर्ड हिस्ट्री, स्क्रीनशॉट के अंदर सर्च, और .env फ़ाइल की जगह Touch ID से टर्मिनल तक API कुंजियाँ।

## Guides (English)

- [How to see your clipboard history on a Mac](https://copybuffer.hhcompany.app/guides/clipboard-history-mac/): macOS keeps only your last copy, and Spotlight in macOS Tahoe keeps more only for a limited time. Here is how to see and search everything you copied on a Mac.
- [How to paste without formatting on a Mac](https://copybuffer.hhcompany.app/guides/paste-without-formatting-mac/): Paste plain text on a Mac with Paste and Match Style, a system-wide keyboard shortcut, or CopyBuffer's ⌥⇧⌘V, which works in every app.
- [How to keep API keys out of .env files on a Mac](https://copybuffer.hhcompany.app/guides/api-keys-without-env-files/): Stop leaving API keys in plain-text .env files. Store them in the macOS Keychain or a Touch ID vault and pass them only to the command that needs them.
- [How to search for text inside screenshots on a Mac](https://copybuffer.hhcompany.app/guides/search-text-in-screenshots-mac/): Find an old error screenshot by the words in it. What Live Text and Spotlight can do on a Mac, and how to search screenshots you only copied to the clipboard.
- [How to keep copied passwords out of clipboard history](https://copybuffer.hhcompany.app/guides/keep-passwords-out-of-clipboard-history/): Copied passwords can end up in a clipboard manager's history or on your iPhone through Universal Clipboard. How to stop both on a Mac.
- [CopyBuffer user guide: every shortcut, vault and cbvault](https://copybuffer.hhcompany.app/guides/user-guide/): CopyBuffer setup, every ⌘⇧V shortcut, paste transforms, pasting in sequence, snippets, the Touch ID vault (2FA codes, backups), cbvault env vars and security design.

## Guides (한국어)

- [맥에서 클립보드 기록 보는 법](https://copybuffer.hhcompany.app/ko/guides/clipboard-history-mac/): 맥은 마지막으로 복사한 것 하나만 기억하고, macOS Tahoe의 Spotlight도 정해진 시간 동안만 남깁니다. 맥에서 복사한 것을 모두 다시 보고 검색하는 방법입니다.
- [맥에서 서식 없이 붙여넣는 법](https://copybuffer.hhcompany.app/ko/guides/paste-without-formatting-mac/): 맥에서 글꼴·색·링크를 빼고 텍스트만 붙여넣는 방법. 붙여넣고 스타일 일치, 모든 앱에 쓰는 단축키 설정, 그리고 어느 앱에서나 되는 CopyBuffer의 ⌥⇧⌘V.
- [API 키를 .env 파일 없이 터미널에 넘기는 법 (맥)](https://copybuffer.hhcompany.app/ko/guides/api-keys-without-env-files/): API 키를 평문 .env 파일에 두지 않고, macOS 키체인이나 Touch ID 보관함에 넣어 필요한 명령에만 넘기는 방법입니다.
- [맥에서 스크린샷 속 글자로 검색하는 법](https://copybuffer.hhcompany.app/ko/guides/search-text-in-screenshots-mac/): 예전에 찍은 에러 스크린샷을 그 안의 글자로 찾는 법. 맥의 라이브 텍스트·Spotlight로 되는 것과, 클립보드로만 복사한 스크린샷까지 검색하는 법.
- [복사한 비밀번호를 클립보드 기록에 남기지 않는 법](https://copybuffer.hhcompany.app/ko/guides/keep-passwords-out-of-clipboard-history/): 복사한 비밀번호는 클립보드 관리자 기록에 남거나 공통 클립보드로 아이폰에 넘어갈 수 있습니다. 맥에서 둘 다 막는 방법입니다.
- [CopyBuffer 사용 안내 — 단축키, 비밀번호 보관함, 터미널 환경변수](https://copybuffer.hhcompany.app/ko/guides/user-guide/): CopyBuffer 설치부터 ⌘⇧V 단축키 전체, 변환 붙여넣기, 차례로 붙여넣기, 자주 쓰는 문구, Touch ID 비밀번호 보관함(인증 코드·백업), cbvault 환경변수, 데이터 위치와 보안 설계까지 한 페이지에 정리했습니다.

## Optional

- [Full text of the site](https://copybuffer.hhcompany.app/llms-full.txt): every page above as Markdown
- [Download for macOS](https://copybuffer.hhcompany.app/download): 7-day free trial
- [Download for Windows](https://copybuffer.hhcompany.app/download/windows): 7-day free trial
- [Buy](https://copybuffer.lemonsqueezy.com/buy/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000): US$12.99 one-time through Lemon Squeezy, one license key for Mac and Windows