Clipboard History Across Devices — Browser-Based, No Install

Most "online clipboards" hold one item at a time — paste, replace, paste, replace. Most clipboard managers (Maccy, Ditto, ClipboardFusion) keep a history but only on one device. Clipcroft is the cross-section: a persistent clipboard history of thousands of items, organised into texts, URLs, files, and images, live across up to 20 devices. Browser-only. No account, no install.

Why history matters across devices

You're working on a problem that involves three devices: your phone has the screenshot, your laptop has the code, your tablet is in the meeting where you'll present. A one-paste-at-a-time online clipboard forces you to handle each item as a discrete transfer, replacing whatever was there before. Native cross-device clipboards (Apple Universal Clipboard, Microsoft Phone Link) carry only the most recent paste — there is no history to browse.

Clipcroft holds everything you've pasted, on every device at once. The screenshot you took an hour ago is still there. The URL you copied this morning is still there. The five code snippets from yesterday are still there. They're organised, searchable, exportable.

An organised history, not a flat list

Every item gets categorised automatically. The clipboard sidebar groups items into:

• Texts. Anything pasted as text — code snippets, notes, paragraphs, log lines.
• URLs. Pasted links, auto-detected. Open in new tab, copy back to system clipboard, share, or export them all together.
• Files. Drag-and-dropped files and whole folders, plus pasted screenshots.
• Images. Pasted screenshots and picture files, with auto-generated names like Pasted image — Apr 24 at 14.30.png.

Each category has its own bulk operations, so you can act on twenty items at once without clicking each one.

Bulk operations per category

How this compares

vs. local clipboard managers (Maccy / Ditto / Pastebot / ClipboardFusion)

Local managers keep history on one device — install per OS, keystroke shortcut, deep system integration. Clipcroft is browser-only and crosses devices: open the same named clipboard on phone, laptop, and tablet, and you have the same history on all three at once. The trade-off is depth of OS integration: local managers can intercept system-wide hotkeys; Clipcroft is a browser tab.

vs. native cross-device clipboards (Apple Universal Clipboard / Microsoft Phone Link)

Both Universal Clipboard and Phone Link carry only the most recent paste — they're a one-item bridge, not a history. They also gate on ecosystem: Apple ID for one, Microsoft account + Windows for the other. Clipcroft has no ecosystem requirement and keeps thousands of items.

vs. one-paste online clipboards (cl1p.net and similar)

Most online clipboards present a single textarea — paste new content and it overwrites the previous content. Clipcroft adds every paste to the history, organises it, and lets you operate on items in bulk.

vs. file-transfer tools (Snapdrop / Wormhole / Send Anywhere)

File-transfer tools are one-shot: pick a file, send it, the operation completes and the artifact is gone. Clipcroft keeps every transferred item in the history on both sides — sender and receiver — so you can re-download, re-share, or export later without re-uploading.

Multiple clipboards per device — work, personal, family

One device can hold history for many independent clipboards at once. Switch between them from the "Switch clipboard" dialog, type a new clipboard name, and Clipcroft loads that history without losing the others. Each clipboard has:

• Its own independent history (texts, URLs, files, images).
• Its own optional password — different secrets for different contexts.
• Its own retention setting — keep work for 1 day, family for 30 days.
• Its own list of devices — your work clipboard's 20-device cap is separate from your family clipboard's.

This is uncommon. Most online clipboards treat "the clipboard" as a single global thing per session. Universal Clipboard and Phone Link have no concept of named clipboards at all. Local clipboard managers (Maccy, Ditto) generally maintain one history. Clipcroft's per-clipboard-id model gives you "profiles" without an account system.

Practical examples:

• work + personal. Work-related links, snippets, and PDFs in one clipboard; personal stuff in another. Switch contexts in two seconds. No accidental cross-posting.
• family-shared. A clipboard everyone in the household joins for shared photos, recipe links, and shopping notes — separate from your individual contexts.
• project-X. One clipboard per active project. Drop everything related to project X here; archive (delete-all) when the project ends.
• kiosk or library-pc. A throwaway clipboard you use once on a public computer, then forget — your other clipboards stay separate.

Where the history lives

On the devices, not on Clipcroft's servers. Text and URLs live in the browser's localStorage. File binaries live in IndexedDB, which typically gets a substantial fraction of the device's free disk space — often several gigabytes. The retention window is 3 days by default, configurable in Settings. Items expire automatically; nothing persists on Clipcroft's servers.

If you want the history to be private even from Clipcroft's signaling server, set an optional clipboard password — that turns on AES-GCM encryption with a key derived locally in your browser, so only ciphertext leaves the device. See the password-protected clipboard guide for the full security model.

Use cases

One developer, three machines

Open the same clipboard on your laptop, your home desktop, and your phone. Code snippets, error messages, log lines, and bug-tracker URLs all flow live in one history. Export the URLs as an HTML bookmarks file at the end of the day to file them.

Researcher gathering links and notes from a phone

Browse on the phone, paste interesting URLs into the clipboard, paste any notes alongside, drag in any PDFs you save. At the desk, open the same clipboard in your laptop's browser and the entire history is there — URLs grouped together, notes grouped together, PDFs in the Files section.

Family / shared kitchen tablet

One clipboard called family open on the kitchen tablet and on each person's phone. Drop a recipe URL on your phone, the tablet shows it. Drop a shopping list. Drop a photo of a coupon. Everyone sees the running history; nothing requires accounts.

Workshop / classroom handouts

Up to 20 devices can join one clipboard at the same time. Drop links, slides, PDFs, code samples — every participant sees the running history live, and can ZIP-export it at the end.

Frequently asked questions

Can Clipcroft keep a clipboard history across devices?

Yes. Clipcroft is built around a persistent clipboard history that lives on every device that joined the clipboard at the same time. Thousands of items per clipboard, organised into Texts, URLs, Files, and Images sections, synced live across up to 20 devices including deletions.

How is this different from Apple Universal Clipboard or Microsoft Phone Link?

Universal Clipboard and Phone Link only carry the most-recent paste — they're a one-item bridge between two devices. Clipcroft is a full history with thousands of items per clipboard, categorised, with bulk export and multi-select. It also works between any browsers on any operating system, not only inside Apple's or Microsoft's ecosystems.

How is this different from local clipboard managers like Maccy or Ditto?

Local clipboard managers (Maccy, Ditto, Pastebot, ClipboardFusion) keep a clipboard history on one device. Clipcroft adds the cross-device piece — open the same clipboard in a browser on another device and the entire history is there, live, with real-time sync. No install, no per-OS app, no account.

Where is the history stored?

On the devices, not on a server. Text and metadata live in the browser's localStorage; file binaries live in IndexedDB. Items are kept for 3 days by default and the retention window is configurable in Settings. Clipcroft's servers only relay short text and signal WebRTC connections — they do not store any of your clipboard items.

How many items can the history hold?

Practically thousands per clipboard. Text and URLs are tiny, so the localStorage cap (a few megabytes) is rarely the bottleneck; for files, IndexedDB typically gets a substantial fraction of the device's free disk space, often gigabytes. The retention window expires items after 3 days by default to keep the history tidy.

Can I export the whole history?

Yes. Bulk export per category is built in: download all files together or as a ZIP, copy or share all texts, export all URLs as a text file or HTML bookmarks file, or download the entire clipboard — texts, URLs, and files combined — as a single ZIP. Multi-select also lets you take a custom subset across categories.

Can I keep separate clipboards for work and personal?

Yes. One device can hold many independent clipboards at the same time — for example a work clipboard, a personal clipboard, and a shared family clipboard. Each has its own history, its own optional password, its own retention setting, and its own set of connected devices. Switch between them from the "Switch clipboard" dialog. The same device shows different histories depending on which clipboard you're in, and there's no account system to manage.