How to Keep Clipboard History Between Reboots on Mac
Maccy keeps your clipboard history across reboots by default, because it writes every copied item to a local database on disk rather than holding it in memory. If history disappears after a restart, one of three things is almost always responsible: « clear history on quit » is on, Maccy app isn’t relaunching at login, or you switched install methods.
Quick answer
- macOS itself keeps only one clipboard item, and it is gone after a restart. There is no built-in history.
- A clipboard manager with on-disk storage (Maccy is one) is what makes history survive reboots.
- Check three settings: Launch at login, Clear history on quit, and which copy of Maccy you are running.
- For must-keep snippets, pin them. Pinned items are meant for long-term storage and are not removed by a normal history clear.
Why does the Mac clipboard forget everything on restart?
The system pasteboard is a single shared slot in memory. When you copy something, the previous contents are replaced. When you restart, the slot is emptied. Universal Clipboard, which moves your latest copy between an iPhone and a Mac, doesn’t change that: it syncs the current item, not a history.
A clipboard manager works differently. It watches the pasteboard, and each time the contents change, it saves a copy of the item into its own storage. Whether that history outlives a reboot depends entirely on where the manager stores it. Memory-only tools lose everything on quit. Tools that write to disk, as Maccy mac does, don’t.
Does Maccy save clipboard history after a restart?
Yes. Maccy clipboard stores history in a local database inside your user Library folder, and it reloads that database on launch. Nothing is sent to a server, and no account is involved. In a default setup, you restart, Maccy launches, and the history is there. Pinned items return along with it.
The catch is that « default setup » has to actually be true on your Mac. The sections below cover the cases where it isn’t.
Step-by-step: make history survive every reboot
1. Make sure Maccy launches at login
History can’t be recorded while Maccy isn’t running. If it doesn’t start after a reboot, anything you copy before opening it is never captured, and it can look as though history was lost.
- Click the Maccy icon in the menu bar, or open it with its hotkey (⌘ ⇧ C by default).
- Open Settings (⌘ ,) and go to the General tab.
- Turn on Launch at login.
- Cross-check in System Settings → General → Login Items. Maccy should be listed and enabled under « Open at Login » or « Allow in the Background ».
2. Turn off « clear history on quit »
Maccy has an option to wipe history when the app quits. It is off by default, but it is the most common reason history vanishes: someone enabled it once for privacy and forgot. Look in Settings for the option (it sits on the General or Advanced tab depending on your version) and make sure it is off.
3. Confirm you’re running one copy of Maccy
Maccy can be installed from the Mac App Store, from the GitHub release, or through Homebrew. Different builds can keep their data in different locations, particularly when one is sandboxed and another isn’t. If you switch from one to another, the new copy can start with an empty history while the old database still sits untouched on disk. Pick one install method and stay with it.
4. Raise the history size if older items fall off
This isn’t a reboot problem, but it looks like one. Maccy keeps a limited number of items, and the oldest are dropped once you pass the limit. Open Settings → Storage and check the history size. If you copy heavily, a small limit can make « last week’s items » disappear without any reboot involved.
5. Pin anything you can’t afford to lose
Pinning is the right tool for snippets you reuse: an email signature, a command you always forget, an address. Select the item in the Maccy window and press ⌥ P. Pinned items stay at the top and are kept when you clear ordinary history. If you really want to clear everything, including pins, Maccy has a separate shortcut for that (⌥ ⇧ ⌫).
Quick troubleshooting table
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| History is empty right after every restart | « Clear history on quit » is enabled | Turn it off in Settings |
| History is intact, but recent copies are missing | Maccy didn’t launch at login | Enable Launch at login; check Login Items |
| History looks reset after switching install method | A different build is reading a different data location | Go back to the original build, or keep one build only |
| Old items vanish over days, not at reboot | History size limit reached | Raise the limit in Settings → Storage; pin what matters |
| Passwords never appear in history | Working as intended: concealed items are ignored | Nothing to fix; see below |
| Everything is gone and Maccy behaves oddly | Possible database corruption or a manual cleanup | Restore the data folder from Time Machine (see below) |
Why are some items never saved, even though history persists?
Persistence and capture are separate questions. Maccy skips some copies on purpose. Password managers mark what they copy as concealed or transient on the pasteboard, following a community convention, and well-behaved clipboard managers honor it. Maccy also lets you ignore specific apps and pasteboard types under Settings → Ignore, including regular-expression patterns for content you never want stored. If a particular item is missing, check those rules before assuming something is broken.
This matters for trust. Persisted history lives on your disk, so anything it records is readable by anyone who has access to your user account. That is the reason to keep the Ignore rules tight and to leave password managers excluded.
Can you back up or restore clipboard history?
Because the history is a file in your Library folder, normal Mac backups include it. Time Machine will back it up along with the rest of your home folder, so you can restore the Maccy data folder to an earlier state if something goes wrong. To do that, quit Maccy first, restore the folder, then relaunch.
The usual locations are under ~/Library/Application Support/Maccy/ for non-sandboxed builds and under ~/Library/Containers/ for the sandboxed App Store build. Don’t edit the database by hand while the app is running.
One honest limit: Maccy keeps data locally and doesn’t sync history between Macs. If you want the same history on two machines, you would need a different approach, and you’d be trading away some of the privacy that comes from local-only storage.
What about security? Is persistent history risky?
It is a trade-off, and it’s worth being direct about it. A history that survives reboots is convenient because it remembers; it is a risk for the same reason. Three habits keep it sensible:
- Keep FileVault on, so the disk, and the history database with it, is encrypted when your Mac is off.
- Exclude password managers and banking apps from capture.
- Clear history manually after copying anything sensitive that slipped through.
The short version
macOS gives you one clipboard slot and wipes it on restart. A clipboard manager that stores history on disk fixes that, and Maccy does so by default. If yours doesn’t, the cause is nearly always a login item, a « clear on quit » toggle, or a mixed-up install, and each takes under a minute to check. Pin what you truly can’t lose.
If you’re setting Maccy up fresh, you can get it from maccy.app. And one question to take with you: which three things do you copy so often that they deserve a pin?
Frequently asked questions
Does the Mac keep clipboard history after a restart?
No. macOS holds only the most recent copied item, and a restart clears it. To keep history across reboots you need a clipboard manager that saves to disk, such as Maccy.
Why did my Maccy history disappear?
The usual causes are « clear history on quit » being enabled, Maccy not launching at login, a switch between install methods, or hitting the history size limit. Check those four in order.
Where does Maccy store clipboard history?
Locally, in a database inside your user Library folder. Nothing is uploaded. The exact path depends on how you installed it.
Can I keep certain clipboard items permanently?
Yes. Pin an item with ⌥ P and it stays at the top of the list and survives a normal history clear.
Is saved clipboard history safe?
It is as safe as the rest of your user account. Turn on FileVault, ignore password managers, and clear history after handling sensitive text.
If you want to try it yourself, maccy.at is a free, open-source clipboard manager for macOS — the clipboard history guide covers the rest.