What is the best clipboard manager for Mac?

Ember is a clipboard manager for Mac built for people who copy a lot during the day — developers, writers, and support teams. It keeps a searchable history of everything you copy, runs 100% locally in Rust, and opens with one keystroke (Ctrl+Space).

Is there a free clipboard manager for Mac?

Yes — Ember is free during its beta. Download it directly from emberclip.com, no account required.

Does a clipboard manager see my passwords?

Ember detects credential-shaped content (API keys, passwords, private keys) automatically and hides it from search and history — it never leaves your Mac, since Ember has no cloud sync or account.

Does Ember send my clipboard to the cloud?

No. Ember stores clipboard history in a local SQLite database on your Mac and has no cloud sync, account, or telemetry of any kind.

A private clipboard manager for Mac · macOS · beta

Everything you copyburns brightfor a moment.

Ember keeps the fire. Private, local, one keystroke away.

Download free betaCtrlSpace

git rebase -i HEAD~3https://linear.app/ACME-812#f59e0bkubectl logs -f api-7d4meet.google.com/abc-defgSELECT * FROM clips“ship it friday”npm run build && npm testsk-…nope, stays localthe paragraph you rewrote 4×ssh deploy@prod⌘⇧4 screenshotgit rebase -i HEAD~3https://linear.app/ACME-812#f59e0bkubectl logs -f api-7d4meet.google.com/abc-defgSELECT * FROM clips“ship it friday”npm run build && npm testsk-…nope, stays localthe paragraph you rewrote 4×ssh deploy@prod⌘⇧4 screenshot

You copy ~300 times a day.

Your Mac keeps one.

Every ⌘C overwrites the last. The command, the link, the paragraph — gone the moment you copy the next thing. You have felt this. Everyone has.

Watch it happen

Copy. Summon. Paste. — four seconds, no mouse.

zsh — api

➜ api docker compose exec api rails db:migrate

Release notes

Deploy checklist

1. merge release PR

2. run the migration ↓

⌕ Ctrl Space

⌘

docker compose exec api rails db:migrateTerminal · just now

↗

github.com/acme/app/pull/1842GitHub · 4 min ago

✦

Thanks {{name}}, taking a look…Snippet

↑↓ move · Enter paste · esc

CtrlSpace

⏎ Enter

REC · live usage

Ember Sparks

Some clips want to act.

Ember reads the shape of what you copy. A YouTube link isn’t text — it’s a video you meant to watch. A meet link is a room. A PR link is a review. Ember suggests the action; you press one key.

YouTube linkyoutube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

And when Ember doesn’t know your workflow — teach it. Create your own sparks: match a pattern, name the action, and every future clip that matches lights up ready to go.

01 · Developers

Your terminal has a memory now.

Commands, tokens, PR links, stack traces — the whole trail of a working day, searchable in one keystroke. Ember recognizes developer-shaped clips and keeps them ready to run again.

⌘docker compose exec api rails db:migratepaste into any terminal

↗github.com/acme/app/pull/1842reopen the PR you lost in Slack

⌕TypeError: cannot read properties…the trace you copied, still here

02 · Writers & editors

Every draft you almost lost.

The sentence you cut but might need. The quote from the doc. The reply you send every week — saved as a snippet with fill-in fields. Ember is a margin for your thinking.

❝the paragraph you rewrote four timescut, not gone

✦Thanks {{name}}, I’ll take a look and get back to you.fill → paste clean

▧screenshot of the layout noteimages remembered too

03 · Power users

One keystroke between apps.

Meeting links become Join buttons. YouTube links become Watch. Pin the clips you live in. Ember stays out of sight until Ctrl+Space, then gets out of the way again.

📹meet.google.com/abc-defg-hijJoin — one click

★the address / IBAN / license keypinned, forever one key away

⚡300 copies a dayzero of them lost

The boring, load-bearing part

Built in Rust .
Leaves your Mac never.

Your clipboard is the most sensitive stream on your computer — passwords pass through it. Ember stores everything in a local SQLite file, in a native Rust core that starts instantly and idles at nothing. No cloud. No account. No AI reading your clips.

100% localSQLite on diskNo accountNo telemetryOpen paste path Rust core

New · Password vault

Your passwords,
sealed on your Mac.

Copy a password and Ember tucks it into an encrypted vault — searchable by where it came from, but masked until you reveal it. The secret is encrypted on your device; the key lives in your macOS Keychain, so nothing ever leaves your Mac.

••••••••••••GitHub · me@work.com · ChromeReveal

••••••••••AWS · api key · 1PasswordReveal

Encryption key stored in your macOS Keychain

XChaCha20-Poly1305Key in macOS KeychainMasked by defaultReveal to useNever synced

Know before installing

Trust should be inspectable.

Permissions

Accessibility sends the paste keystroke. macOS Automation identifies and returns to the target app.

Private by design

Clips and images stay in local storage. No account, cloud processing, or telemetry.

Documented and supported

Docs Privacy Support

Keep the fire.

Free during beta. Your data stays on your computer — that part is not a beta.

Download Ember for MacCtrlSpace after install

v0.8.0

Universal MacApple silicon + IntelmacOS 11+100% localNo accountNo telemetry

Not notarized yet, so macOS blocks it on first launch — that's expected, not a broken download. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down, and click Open Anyway next to Ember. One more confirm and it launches normally from then on.