Clip Log User Manual¶

Introduction¶

Clip Log is a minimalist clipboard manager for macOS. It captures text, images, files, audio, and MIDI items so you can restore anything you copied—weeks or months later—without breaking your workflow. Machine learning features extract text from images, detect programming languages, and (with Clip Log Pro) generate private AI summaries, all without leaving your desktop.

Features¶

Store and manage clipboard history for text, images, files, audio, and MIDI clips.
Restore any clipboard item back to macOS, including files and media.
Play back audio and MIDI clips inline without opening another app.
Automatically save copied images from the web or local files.
Extract text from images with on-device OCR.
Detect programming languages in copied code snippets.
On-device AI summaries (Clip Log Pro): Create concise summaries for text and PDF snippets directly on your Mac.
Search across text, extracted text, languages, and filenames with match-by-match navigation.
Filter panel: Focus on specific content types, tags, or bookmarked items from a single toolbar control.
Decode HTML entities in copied text for improved readability.
Keep the Clip Log window pinned above other windows when you need it.
Restore clipboard history automatically on launch.
Clear clipboard history and saved images with one click.
Resize images to fit within maximum dimensions when saving.
Save raw images from the web to disk automatically.
Use the context menu to copy, paste, edit, regenerate AI summaries, and more.
Group clipboard items by detected programming language or by time-based smart groups.
Assign custom colors to programming language tags.
Clipboard Monitoring Toggle: Turn clipboard capture on or off instantly.
Adjustable Text Size: Customize clipboard text from 10 px up to 50 px.
Layout Controls: Switch between single-column and multi-column views, and enable a compact layout.
Bookmarking: Pin favorite items for quick access in the Bookmarks group.
Tags View: Open the collapsible tags drawer to jump between language or content groups.
Session Tools: Save, load, or export your clipboard history—including HTML exports for sharing.
Image Storage Modes: Choose between referencing original image files or copying them into Clip Log, and collect assets as needed.
Quick Navigation Bubble: Jump back to the top or collapse expanded clips from anywhere in the list.

Tags View¶

Tags help you navigate long histories by grouping related items.

Click the Tags icon in the toolbar to toggle the drawer.
The drawer slides in from the left with a list of detected tags.
Selecting a tag highlights and scrolls to the matching group of clipboard items.
Tags inherit custom colors based on detected languages or categories.
Tag grouping integrates with the Group Items by Language feature.

Customizing Tags¶

Right-click a tag to edit its name or color.
Pick a color from the palette to help tags stand out.

AI Summaries (Clip Log Pro)¶

With an active Clip Log Pro license or trial, on-device AI summaries are available for text and PDF clips. Summaries appear as a bubble beneath each item once processing completes, and no data leaves your Mac.

Use the context menu on a clip to copy the AI summary or regenerate it after editing the source text.
Summaries show progress while generating and hide themselves once complete.
If generation fails, the bubble explains what happened and lets you retry when possible.
Toggle summaries from Settings → Enable AI Summaries without affecting stored clips.

Filters and Layout Options¶

Keep long histories manageable with filtering and layout controls in the unified toolbar.

Click the Filters icon (or press ⌘⇧F) to show the filter bar. Filter by content type, language tag, or bookmarks-only, and clear everything with one button.
Cycle between time-based smart groups and language tags from the toolbar (or press ⌘⇧G). Clip Log automatically opens the tags drawer when language grouping is active.
Use the More Actions menu to toggle multi-column view for side-by-side browsing.
Enable Compact View from the menu or settings for denser rows.

Session Management¶

Clip Log can save, restore, or export your clipboard history.

Save Session: Runs an asset check so you can collect referenced images before writing the backup file.
Save Without Collecting: Skips the copy step and continues using existing file references.
Load Session: Imports a previously saved session, restoring both regular and bookmarked items.
Export as HTML: Generates a readable HTML archive that can be shared or archived.

Image Storage and Asset Collection¶

Control how Clip Log manages image files.

In Settings → Image Handling, choose between referencing original files or copying images into Clip Log.
View the asset summary to see how many images are internal, referenced, or missing.
Run Collect All Assets to copy referenced images into Clip Log for reliable offline access.

Audio and MIDI Clips¶

Expand an audio or MIDI item to access the inline player. Listen back, scrub through the timeline, toggle looping, and switch instruments for MIDI clips without leaving Clip Log.

Editing Clipboard Items¶

Edit saved clips directly from the list.

Click the pencil icon on text items to modify captured content. Syntax highlighting adapts to the detected language.
For images with extracted text, use the same edit button to correct OCR results so searches stay accurate.

When you scroll away from the top or expand multiple clips, a floating bubble appears in the lower corner. Use it to jump back to the top instantly or collapse every expanded item at once.

Keyboard Shortcuts¶

Clip Log supports several keyboard shortcuts to speed up your workflow:

Shortcut	Action
⌘F	Focus search box
⌘⇧F	Toggle filters panel
⌘⇧G	Cycle grouping mode (Smart Groups ↔ Language Tags)
⌘⇧L	Toggle language grouping
⌘⇧S	Toggle tags drawer
⌘⇧M	Toggle multi-column view
⌘B	Toggle bookmarks-only filter
⌘,	Open settings

Note: On Windows/Linux, use Ctrl instead of ⌘

Getting Started¶

Launch Clip Log from your Applications folder.
Copy text, code snippets, images, audio, or files. Clip Log automatically records new items while monitoring is enabled.
Click any item to restore it to the macOS clipboard.
Use the Tags drawer or search box to locate specific text, code, images, or extracted text quickly.

Settings Reference¶

Open Settings from the toolbar (or press ⌘,). Each option updates immediately so you can dial in the ideal experience.

Clipboard Monitoring: Enable or disable clipboard capture. When disabled, Clip Log pauses recording new items.
Auto Code Detection: Let Clip Log tag new text snippets automatically, or toggle it off to manage languages manually.
Always on Top: Keep the Clip Log window visible above other windows.
Compact View: Reduce row padding for a denser list.
Decode HTML: Automatically convert HTML entities in copied text for better readability.
Restore Clipboard: Reload previous clipboard history when the app starts.
Start at Login: Launch Clip Log automatically when you sign in to macOS.
Hide on Startup: Start Clip Log in the background until you open the window.
Text Size: Set clipboard text size between 10 px and 50 px.
Syntax Theme: Choose the color theme used for code snippets.
Group Items by Language: Automatically group the list by detected programming language.
Tags View: Enable or disable the tags drawer.
Image Handling: Decide whether Clip Log references originals or copies images into its library, and monitor missing files.
Enable AI Summaries: Available to Clip Log Pro users—turn summaries on or off without affecting stored clips.

Search Functionality¶

Use the search box to find text, extracted text, programming languages, image file names, or bookmarks. Matches are highlighted inside each clip.

Press Enter or use the arrow buttons next to the search field to move between matches.
Clip Log automatically expands and scrolls to the relevant clip when the current match is off-screen.

Support and Feedback¶

Visit the Support and Feedback page for help or to share suggestions.
Open the User Manual from the app menu at any time.

FAQ¶

How do I enable the Tags View?: Click the Tags icon in the toolbar or press ⌘⇧S to open the Tags drawer.
Can I customize tag colors?: Yes. Right-click a tag in the list to choose a new color or rename it.
Can I use Group Items by Language with tags?: Absolutely. Enable Group Items by Language in the toolbar or settings (or press ⌘⇧L) and the Tags drawer will mirror those groups.
What keyboard shortcuts are available?: Press ⌘F to search, ⌘⇧F for filters, ⌘⇧G to cycle grouping modes, ⌘⇧S for tags, ⌘⇧M for multi-column view, ⌘B for bookmarks, and ⌘, for settings. See the Keyboard Shortcuts section for the complete list.