Clipboard manager for Ubuntu and Windows
Never lose track of what you've copied.
Automatically keep a history of your clipboard so you can easily view and recall past clips whenever you need them.
Press Ctrl Alt V, type a few letters, hit Enter.
Free. One Python file, no account, nothing sent anywhere. Needs Python 3.8 or newer.
ClipKeeper is hiding in the tray. Press Ctrl Alt V to bring it back.
This window works. Select and copy any text on this page and watch it land at the top.
Make it yours
These are the same options you get in the app's Settings window (Ctrl ,). Change them here and the window above follows.
Screen mode
Black & White and White & Black are high-contrast modes. Ctrl T switches modes in the app.
Accent colour
Fonts
The app lets you pick any installed font, for the list and the preview separately. Ctrl + and Ctrl − resize.
Animation
Window fades, the glow on new clips, and fading status messages.
How it fits into your day
You keep copying the way you always do. ClipKeeper sits in the background and hands anything back in about two seconds.
-
Copy as usual
Links, SQL, tracking numbers, addresses. Every text copy is saved, newest first.
CtrlC -
Call it up
The window opens right where your mouse is, with the search box ready.
CtrlAltV -
Type a few letters
The list filters as you type, across the whole text of every clip.
↓ to move into the list -
Pick it
The clip goes back on your clipboard and the window gets out of the way.
Enter or double-click -
Paste
Paste where you were. Turn on auto-paste and ClipKeeper does this step for you.
CtrlV
Everything it does
Small on purpose. Each feature is here because it saves a trip back to the original document.
- Pin what you reuse
- Pinned clips stay at the top and are never trimmed, no matter how long your history gets.
- Find by typing
- Instant filtering across the full text of every clip, with a full preview of the one you're on.
- Respects password managers
- Clips marked secret by KeePassXC, Bitwarden, 1Password and others are skipped. Pause capture any time.
- Lives in your tray
- Show, pause or quit from the tray icon. Closing the window keeps it running.
- Starts with your computer
- One command adds it to login startup and the app menu, on Ubuntu and Windows.
- Only one copy runs
- Launching it again brings the window forward, so it works with any GNOME keyboard shortcut.
- Six screen modes
- Light, Dark, Midnight, Sepia, plus two high-contrast black and white modes. Dark title bar on Windows 11.
- Your colours, your fonts
- Twelve accent colours, any custom colour, or Rainbow. Separate font and size for the list and the preview.
- Gentle animations
- Fades, a glow on new clips, fading status messages. Choose slow, normal or fast, or switch them off.
- Private by design
- History is a JSON file on your own machine. Nothing leaves it. Turn saving off to keep history in memory only.
Install in two minutes
Download clipkeeper.py, then run the commands for your system. The extras add the hotkey and tray icon; ClipKeeper still runs without them.
Keyboard shortcuts
| Keys | What happens |
|---|---|
| Ctrl Alt V | Show or hide ClipKeeper |
| Enter | Copy the selected clip |
| ↓ | Jump from search to the list |
| Ctrl P | Pin or unpin |
| Delete | Delete the selected clip |
| Ctrl F | Focus search |
| Ctrl , | Open settings |
| Ctrl T | Next screen mode |
| Ctrl + / − / 0 | Bigger, smaller, reset text size |
| Esc | Hide the window |
| Ctrl Q | Quit |
# system packages
sudo apt install python3-tk python3-gi gir1.2-ayatanaappindicator3-0.1 xclip
# hotkey + tray extras
python3 -m venv --system-site-packages ~/.venvs/clipkeeper
~/.venvs/clipkeeper/bin/pip install pynput pystray pillow
# start with login, then run it
~/.venvs/clipkeeper/bin/python clipkeeper.py --install-autostart
~/.venvs/clipkeeper/bin/python clipkeeper.py- On Wayland (Ubuntu's default), add the hotkey in Settings, then Keyboard, then Custom Shortcuts. Set the command to
~/.venvs/clipkeeper/bin/python /path/to/clipkeeper.pyand the shortcut to Ctrl Alt V. - Window fades need a compositor. GNOME has one built in.
# hotkey + tray extras
pip install pynput pystray pillow
# start with login, then run it
python clipkeeper.py --install-autostart
python clipkeeper.py- Get Python from python.org and tick "Add python.exe to PATH" during setup. Tkinter comes with it.
- Autostart runs silently with
pythonw, so no console window pops up at login.
Hi, I'm Sudhakar. I built ClipKeeper.
I build and fix online stores for a living. Shopify themes and apps, Magento 2, PHP. When a small thing slows down my day, I write a tool for it. ClipKeeper is one of those.
Stores I've worked on
- TangelosLuxury bedding brand with Shopify stores in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. Theme sections, integrations, SEO and Meta tracking.
- One Park LinensMagento 2 store on AWS. Security fixes, server health and speed.
- ScrewmaneCommerce build for a South African store.
Apps and tools I've built
- Multi-Shipment TrackerShopify app for tracking orders that ship in several parcels.
- Sudha SwatchesShopify app for colour and material variant swatches.
- Fitting RoomShopify app delivered as a theme app extension.
- Shopify Tracking ImportMagento 2 admin module for bulk tracking uploads into Shopify.
- PenduA small swinging-charm desktop app for Ubuntu.