Clipboard guides
How clipboard history and sync actually work on each platform, what the built-in features cover, and where they stop.
Best clipboard managers
The apps worth using on each platform, what each is best at, and where each one stops.
Best clipboard manager for Windows 11 and 10
Windows already keeps a short clipboard history, and for many people that is enough. Here is where it stops, and which free, open source and paid clipboard managers to use when you need more.
Best clipboard manager for Mac
macOS now keeps a short clipboard history in Spotlight. Here is when that is enough, and which free, open source and paid Mac clipboard managers to use when it is not.
Best clipboard manager for Android
Android lets only your keyboard or the app on screen read the clipboard, and that one rule decides which clipboard apps actually work. Here are seven options, from the keyboard you already have to apps that share the clipboard with a computer.
Best clipboard manager for iPhone
iOS keeps one copied item and does not let apps watch the clipboard in the background, so every iPhone clipboard manager saves through its keyboard, the share sheet, a shortcut or when you open it. Here are six options for iPhone and iPad, and how each one captures.
Best clipboard manager for Linux: Ubuntu, GNOME, KDE, Mint and Hyprland
On Linux the right clipboard manager depends on your desktop and on whether you run Xorg or Wayland. Here are the ones worth installing on each, what they keep, and where they stop.
Best cross-platform clipboard manager, and how to sync the clipboard across devices
Some clipboard apps run on every operating system; fewer connect them. This page separates the two, then compares the apps that sync between Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone and Android, and how each one moves your clips.
The best Pushbullet alternatives in 2026, by what you used it for
Pushbullet pushes links and files, mirrors Android notifications, sends texts from your computer and syncs copied text. No single app replaces all of that, so this list is organized by job, with what each alternative covers and where it stops.
Copy and paste between devices
What works between each pair of phone and computer, built in or not.
How to sync your clipboard between an iPhone and a Windows PC
Apple's Universal Clipboard only works between Apple devices, and Windows clipboard sync only works between Windows PCs. Here is what actually bridges the two.
How to copy and paste between a Mac and a Windows PC
Two machines on one desk, two clipboards that ignore each other. There are three real fixes, and which one you want depends on whether the PCs are side by side or rooms apart.
How to copy and paste between an Android phone and a Windows PC
Windows can do this itself on some Android phones, and a Microsoft keyboard covers part of the rest. Here is which phones each option supports, what it carries, and what to use when one item at a time is not enough.
How to copy and paste between an Android phone and a Mac
Apple's Universal Clipboard only works between Apple devices, and neither Google nor Samsung offers a Mac app that shares the clipboard. Here is what still works, and which popular advice is out of date.
How to copy and paste between an iPhone and a Mac
Apple builds this in, and it works well once three settings line up. Here is how to set it up, what to check when the paste comes out stale, and where it stops.
How to send files between your phone and computer without a cable
AirDrop, Quick Share and Phone Link each cover some pairs of devices and not others. Which one fits yours, how to set it up, and what to use when nothing built in does.
How to copy and paste between an iPhone and an Android phone
Apple and Google both built clipboard sharing, and each kept it inside its own devices. Here is what works for a single link or paragraph, and what to use when it happens every day.
How to share a clipboard between two computers
Two Windows PCs, two Macs, or one of each: the built-in answer depends on which, and sometimes there isn't one. Here is every option, from the free ones already on your computer to what to use when you want a history on both.
How to send a link from your phone to your computer
You found it on your phone and want it on the big screen. Here are the built-in ways in Chrome and on Apple devices, and what to use when the link is inside an app rather than a browser.
Universal Clipboard for Windows and Android: what to use on each pair of devices
Apple's Universal Clipboard only links Apple devices, and Apple makes no version for Windows, Android or Linux. Here is the closest equivalent for each pair of devices, what it carries, and what to use when nothing is built in.
Is there AirDrop for Windows or Android?
AirDrop only runs on Apple devices, but some Android phones can now send to it, and Microsoft and Google each cover part of the gap on Windows. Here is the best route for each pair of devices people ask about, and what to use when nothing built in fits.
Clipboard history by platform
Where the clipboard is on each system, what it keeps, and how to open it.
Clipboard history: how to view it on Windows, Mac, Android and iPhone
Windows, macOS Tahoe and Android offer clipboard history in different places. iPhone shows only the current copied item. Here is the fastest route on each platform.
How to see clipboard history on Windows 10 and 11
Windows has had a built-in clipboard history since 2018 and most people have never turned it on. Here is how to enable it, and where it runs out.
How to see clipboard history on a Mac
macOS Tahoe and later include clipboard history in Spotlight. Older versions show only the current item in Finder. Here is how to check both.
How to see clipboard history on an iPhone
iPhone has no built-in clipboard history screen. You can paste the current item into Notes, but earlier copies require you to have saved them yourself or with an app.
How to see clipboard history on Android
Open the Clipboard panel in your active keyboard. Gboard and Samsung Keyboard put it in their toolbar, though their controls and retention differ.
How to see clipboard history on Linux (GNOME, KDE and Wayland)
KDE Plasma keeps a clipboard history out of the box. GNOME, and so Ubuntu and Fedora's default desktop, does not, and on Wayland only some tools are allowed to watch the clipboard at all. Here is what works on each.
Windows key + V not working? How to fix clipboard history on Windows 11 and 10
Most of the time clipboard history is simply off. When it isn't, the cause is a locked Windows key, a policy, or one of the limits Windows doesn't explain. Here is how to find which, in order.
Where is the clipboard on my phone or computer?
The clipboard is not an app or a folder, so there is nothing to find in your files. Here is what it is, and the exact place to look on an iPhone, iPad, Android phone, Samsung Galaxy, Windows PC, Mac and Chromebook.
Samsung clipboard: where it is on a Galaxy phone and how to use it
On a Galaxy phone the clipboard is part of Samsung Keyboard, not a separate app. This covers where to find it, turning the toolbar back on, what Samsung says about limits and deleted clips, fixing a missing button, and pasting on your Galaxy tablet.
Gboard clipboard: how to use it, how long it keeps clips, and fixes
Gboard keeps your recent copies in a Clipboard panel on Android. Here is how to turn it on, what Google says about how long clips last, pinning, privacy, why a cleared clip cannot be recovered, and what to check when it stops saving.
How to see clipboard history on an iPad
iPadOS has a clipboard but no history of past copies, even in iPadOS 27. Here is how to see what you copied last, the gestures and keyboard shortcuts for copy and paste, and what a clipboard app can and cannot do on iPad.
How to see clipboard history on a Chromebook
ChromeOS has a built-in clipboard that keeps your last five copies. Here is how to open it, what it holds, how to remove items, and what to check when the shortcut does nothing.
Tips and fixes
Shortcuts worth knowing, and what to check when copy and paste stops working.
How to clear clipboard history on Windows, Mac, Android and iPhone
Every platform hides this somewhere different. Here is how to clear the built-in history or current item on each one.
How to copy text from a picture or screenshot on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android
Every major platform can now read the words in an image and let you copy them, with nothing to install. Here is where each one keeps it, and how to find a screenshot again by the words in it.
How to paste without formatting on Mac and Windows
Paste from a web page or an email and its fonts, colors and links come along. Here is the shortcut that drops them in the places you are most likely to paste, and how to make plain text the default.
How to copy multiple things and paste them one at a time
The clipboard holds one item, but Windows, Mac, Chromebook, Android and Microsoft Office each have a way to keep several. Here is where that lives on each, and how to paste a list of items into a form in order.
Universal Clipboard not working? How to fix it on Mac, iPhone and iPad
Fixes organized by symptom: nothing arrives, it works one way only, it stopped after an update or sleep, or text crosses but pictures do not. Each fix is one Apple documents, and the few that are only reported by users are labeled that way.