Productivity utilities · checked 2026-10-20

Can I vibecode Paste?

KINDA· weekend project

A Mac-only clipboard history is a small job: poll the pasteboard, store items in SQLite, show a hotkey panel and paste into the previous app. Maccy and Clipy already prove it. The weekend goes on what Paste is paid for: searching text inside screenshots with Vision, pinboards and rules that skip passwords, and above all the iPhone and iPad apps with sync through iCloud, which a personal build can't match without a paid Apple developer account and a lot of testing. The prompt builds the Mac half only.

$3.99/moprice

$48you'd save a year

weekendbuild time

—people replaced it

Before you start

What you need on hand.

DifficultyIntermediate · Some system setup or keys.

TimeA weekend to match Maccy; the Mac half only

Claude Code, Codex or CursorAny of them can run the prompt.
A Mac with XcodeThe build uses xcodebuild; a free Apple ID is enough to run your own copy.
Accessibility permissionSystem Settings > Privacy & Security; without it the panel can copy but not paste.
An Apple Developer accountOnly if you later add iCloud sync; the Mac-only version doesn't need one.

Before you buildCheck Maccy before building: it is free, open source and covers the Mac history panel. macOS Tahoe also has a built-in history, which Paste's own write-up says keeps items for 30 minutes, 8 hours or 7 days, with no pinning.

1. Install one agent: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor.
2. Make an empty folder and open it in the agent.
3. Paste the prompt below, press enter, and answer its questions as it builds.

The prompt

Build me a clipboard history manager for macOS to replace Paste. Requirements:

- Swift 6 + SwiftUI, macOS 14 or later, built with Xcode and `xcodebuild`. A menu bar app
(LSUIElement, no Dock icon). A global hotkey (default Shift-Cmd-V, set up with the
`KeyboardShortcuts` package) opens a floating NSPanel along the bottom of the screen with a
horizontal strip of cards.
- Capture: poll NSPasteboard.general.changeCount every 0.4 seconds. Store text, URLs, images
(PNG), file paths and RTF with the source app's bundle id and name, a timestamp and a content
hash. A repeated copy moves the existing card to the front instead of adding a new one.
- Storage: SQLite through GRDB in ~/Library/Application Support/ClipHistory/, image files next to
it. History is capped by count (default 5,000) and age (default 90 days); pinned cards never expire.
- Pinboards: named boards with a colour. Drag a card onto a board or press 1 to 9 to pin it.
- Search: SQLite FTS5 over text, URL and app name; filters by app, type and date. Run Vision
`VNRecognizeTextRequest` on images in the background and index the recognised text too.
- Paste: Return restores the pasteboard and sends Cmd-V to the previous app with CGEvent;
Shift-Return pastes as plain text. Escape closes the panel.
- Privacy: ignore items marked org.nspasteboard.ConcealedType or TransientType, and a list of apps
to ignore (default: Keychain Access, 1Password, Bitwarden). A menu item clears all history.
- Local only. No accounts, no telemetry, no iCloud.
- Out of scope: iPhone and iPad apps, sync, a keyboard extension, teams, App Store packaging.
- README: why pasting needs the Accessibility permission, where history is stored, how to build
and run, and a menu item that exports history to JSON.

Opens your agent with the prompt filled in, you press enter. Or copy it and paste it into an empty folder.

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Then keep going

Next prompts, same folder.

The first prompt builds the core. Run these one at a time in the same folder to grow it into your own Paste.

Extend the clipboard manager in this folder. Requirements:

- A stack mode toggled with Shift-Cmd-C: every copy is queued instead of replacing the previous item.
- Cmd-V pastes the oldest queued item and removes it; Esc leaves stack mode and keeps the items in history.
- A small floating counter shows how many items are queued.
- Update the README.

Add link cleaning to the clipboard manager in this folder. Requirements:

- When a copied item is a single URL, remove utm_*, fbclid, gclid and mc_eid query parameters and store both the cleaned and the original URL.
- Pasting uses the cleaned one; Option-Return pastes the original.
- A rules file in Application Support lets me add parameter names and domains to skip.
- Add unit tests for ten example URLs.
- Update the README.

Add sync to the clipboard manager in this folder. Requirements:

- Mirror items and pinboards through CloudKit's private database with `CKSyncEngine`; images upload as CKAssets.
- Conflicts resolve by newest timestamp; deletions sync as tombstones for 30 days.
- A setting turns sync off and removes the cloud copy.
- Never upload items from the ignore list or marked concealed.
- Update the README with the signing and iCloud entitlement steps and the Apple Developer account this needs.

What you lose

The iPhone and iPad apps and sync across devices
Polished search, filters and previews, including text inside screenshots at Paste's quality
Family Sharing and team seats
Automatic updates and a support address that answers

Why people still pay

People who copy all day want the history to be there on every device without thinking about it. Paste is a few dollars a month, which is less than the hour it takes to notice a self-built panel stopped pasting after a macOS update.

Moatexecution polish switching costs

Do the math

Paste or your own copy?

Over

Your usage

Count my time12h ×$/h

Paste, 1 yr$48

Your own copy, 1 yr$8running + build session

You keep$40pays for itself in 2 months

Estimate · Runs on your Mac with no running cost. Syncing to an iPhone later would need a paid Apple Developer account. The build is token usage on your agent plan.

Leaving Paste

Take your data, then cancel.

1 · Take your data out of Paste

1We found no export feature in Paste's help or privacy pages.
2History and pinboards are stored locally on your Mac or iOS device in binary and human-readable formats, so a copy of the app's data folder is the practical backup.
3Paste keeps a copy in your own iCloud storage when sync is on; you can delete it and revoke access in System Settings.
4Cancelling doesn't delete local history: the download page says it is kept for when you buy a plan again.

2 · Cancel Paste

1App Store purchase: open Apple's subscription settings and turn off renewal for Paste.
2Website purchase: sign in at hub.pasteapp.io/licenses/manage with the email you bought with and cancel there.
3Setapp: cancel the membership in the Setapp app.
4Access continues until the end of the period you already paid for.

Plans don't transfer between channels: to move from Setapp or the App Store to the website you cancel and buy again.
To switch from a subscription to Lifetime, cancel, wait out the paid period, then buy Lifetime. Setapp has no Lifetime.
Refunds follow the channel: Apple at reportaproblem.apple.com for App Store purchases, Paste support for website orders, Setapp support for Setapp.
Before you leave, copy out the pinboards you rely on: they are the part that is hard to rebuild.

Checked 2026-10-20 against Paste's docs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

The escape hatch

Don't feel like building it? These are already free.

MaccyOpen sourceMIT clipboard manager for macOS built around fast search; no iPhone app and no sync.★ 22k · active Oct 2026 · one-click install
macOSVisit ↗ClipyOpen sourceMIT clipboard extension for macOS with history, snippets and a menu bar list.★ 8.9k · active Oct 2026 · one-click install
macOSVisit ↗CopyQOpen sourceGPL-3.0 clipboard manager with tabs, scripting and tagged items; desktop only.★ 13k · active Oct 2026 · one-click install
macOS, Windows, LinuxVisit ↗

All 4 free alternatives to Paste ›

The numbers

Paste pricing

Plan	Monthly	Annual, per month	What you get
Personal	$3.99	$2.50	Unlimited clipboard history, pinboards, search and sync on Mac, iPhone and iPad with one Apple Account.
Family	—	$5	Up to six people in one Family Sharing group, billed annually.
Lifetime	custom	—	One payment with future updates; no renewals.
Team	custom	—	Bought from the website, priced per seat, with volume discounts and one invoice.

Free tier: No free plan; the trial is seven days with every feature.
Billing: Monthly and annual plans renew until cancelled. Prices are in USD, exclude tax and vary by country. Switching from a subscription to Lifetime means cancelling and waiting for the paid period to end. Students and educators get 30% off the first year of an annual plan by contacting support before buying on the website. Setapp members get Paste inside their Setapp subscription, with iOS use only on a Setapp plan that includes iOS devices.
Hidden costs: The App Store list also shows a $9.99 Legacy Plan. Purchases don't carry between channels (App Store, website, Setapp), so moving means buying again. iPhone and iPad apps come only from the App Store.
Source: pasteapp.io

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Questions

Paste, briefly

Not answered here? Tell us and we'll add it.

Ask a question ›

No free plan: a 7-day trial unlocks every feature on all your devices; the website download needs no card and never converts to a charge.

Kinda. The core is a weekend build with the prompt on this page, but real gaps remain: The iPhone and iPad apps and sync across devices, Polished search, filters and previews, including text inside screenshots at Paste's quality.

About $3.99 a month on the Personal, monthly plan, $47.88 a year (checked 2026-10-20).

The iPhone and iPad apps and sync across devices; Polished search, filters and previews, including text inside screenshots at Paste's quality; Family Sharing and team seats; Automatic updates and a support address that answers. If any of those matter to you, keep paying.