Free tool · runs in your browser
Clipboard inspector: see everything you copied
Copy something, then press Command V on this page. The inspector lists every format the copy carries, such as plain text, rich text (HTML or RTF), images and files, with each one's size and a preview. One copy often holds several versions of the same thing, and the app you paste into picks the one it understands.
Press ⌘V anywhere on this page
Copy something first: text from a web page, a cell from a spreadsheet, a screenshot or a file in Finder. It stays in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
Why one copy holds several formats
When you copy text from a web page, the browser puts the plain words and an HTML version with the formatting on the clipboard at once. A plain text editor takes the first, a mail or document app the second. That's why pasted text sometimes brings fonts and links along, and why Paste and Match Style (Option Shift Command V) exists.
Screenshots copied with Control Shift Command 4 arrive as an image. Files copied in Finder arrive as files, and browsers only share their names and sizes with a page.
What the Mac clipboard can't do
- It holds one copy at a time. Copying again replaces it, and there is no built-in history to go back to.
- Universal Clipboard shares that one item with your iPhone or iPad for a short while.
- A clipboard manager such as Notchet keeps every copy, including text read out of images, and pastes any of them back with a shortcut.
Going further: How to see your clipboard history on a Mac.
Questions
Is it safe to paste passwords here?
- Nothing leaves your browser, but it's still a good habit not to paste passwords into any web page. Clear it by reloading the page.
Why doesn't it show the full path of a copied file?
- Browsers only give web pages a file's name, type and size, never where it lives on your disk.
Does the Mac have a clipboard history?
- No. macOS keeps only the last thing you copied. A clipboard manager adds a history; the clipboard history guide compares the options.
Why is the HTML version so much bigger than the text?
- It carries the styles and tags around the words, which is what lets formatting survive a paste into Mail or Pages.