Mac Clipboard Shortcuts (⌘C, ⌘V & Paste History)
Command-C copies. Command-V pastes. The clipboard only keeps the last thing you copied.
Copy, cut, paste without formatting, and “screenshot goes to the clipboard” are real system shortcuts. Paste history is not. There is no one key on a Mac that opens older copies. On macOS Tahoe, Apple put a short list inside Spotlight — two steps, and you cannot assign your own shortcut. If you came here for a paste history shortcut, that is a clipboard manager: Shift-Command-V in Paste It!.
| What you want | Shortcut | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Copy | ⌘C | Copies what you selected |
| Paste | ⌘V | Pastes the last thing you copied |
| Cut | ⌘X | Copy, then delete, in apps that support it |
| Undo | ⌘Z | Undoes the last edit — not a list of old copies |
| Paste history | ⇧⌘V | Paste It! — one key, in any app |
| Paste and Match Style | ⌥⇧⌘V | Apple apps; paste without formatting |
| Screenshot → clipboard | ⌃⇧⌘3 / ⌃⇧⌘4 | Hold Control so it does not save a file to the Desktop |
| Second clipboard (in one app) | ⌃K / ⌃Y | A separate copy/paste that only works in the app you are typing in |
| Tahoe Spotlight list | ⌘Space, then ⌘4 | Not a shortcut you can change — opens Spotlight, then the clipboard tab. What it can and cannot do |
Apple’s full keyboard list: Mac keyboard shortcuts.
Copy, paste, cut
Select something. Command-C copies it. Click where it should go. Command-V pastes it. Command-X copies it and deletes the original.
The clipboard holds one thing at a time. Copy a Wi-Fi password, then an address, then a Slack message, and Command-V only pastes the Slack message. Your Mac is not broken. The new copy replaced the old one.
Command-Z undoes the last change in the app you are in. It does not bring back something you copied over. If the password is gone from the clipboard, undo will not restore it.
What is the paste history shortcut on Mac?
Shift-Command-V — if a clipboard manager is running. In Paste It! that opens the history panel from whatever app you are in. Type to search, press Return to paste, or press ⌘1 through ⌘9 for the first nine items.
That is the shortcut people are looking for. macOS does not ship one.
On macOS Tahoe (26), Spotlight can show recent copies: Command-Space, then Command-4. It is a tab inside search, not a history shortcut. You cannot remap it. Items only stay for a few hours unless you change the setting. If you want the built-in list, use that path — details live in Does Mac have clipboard history?. This page will not walk you through Spotlight. The job here is the keys; the one-key answer is a manager.
On Sonoma, Sequoia, and earlier, there is no system list at all. How clipboard history works on Mac.
Other apps pick different keys. Maccy defaults to Shift-Command-C. The Paste app also uses Shift-Command-V. Run one manager — two at once will fight over the same keys.
Paste It! is the one we make — free, open source, history that stays on your Mac. After download:
| What you want | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Open history | ⇧⌘V |
| Search history | ⌘F (or just type) |
| Copy the 1st–9th item | ⌘1 … ⌘9 |
| Paste the highlighted item | Return |
| Paste that item as plain text | ⇧Return |
| Copy the highlighted item | ⌘C |
| Preview | Space |
| Edit | ⌘E |
| Close the panel | Esc |
| Select several items, then paste them in order | ⌘-click, then Return |
| Paste Stack (copy several things, then ⌘V through them in order) | ⇧⌘C, then ⌘V |
| Paste the last copy as plain text | ⌃⌘V |
| Stop saving copies for a while | ⇧⌘T |
More: history panel, Paste Stack. A shortlist of free apps: best free clipboard managers for Mac.
Shift-Command-C is also Finder’s Go → Computer window. While Paste It! is running, those keys open Paste Stack instead. If you still need Computer, use the Go menu — or change the Paste Stack shortcut.
Five shortcuts that all use the V key
Easy to mix up. If a shortcut “does nothing” or does the wrong thing, you are often on a different V combination than you thought.
| Shortcut | Name | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| ⌘V | Paste | Pastes as-is — fonts, colors, and links often come with it |
| ⌥⌘V | Paste Style | Changes how selected text looks. It does not paste the words. |
| ⌥⇧⌘V | Paste and Match Style | Apple’s “make this match the document I’m pasting into” |
| ⇧⌘V | It depends | Google Docs: paste without formatting. Paste It! / Paste: open clipboard history |
| ⌃⌘V | Paste It! plain paste | Pastes the last copy as plain text, then puts the formatted version back on the clipboard. Word for Mac often uses these keys for Paste Special — change one of the shortcuts if they overlap. |
If Shift-Command-V opens a history panel while you are in Google Docs, the clipboard app’s shortcut is taking over. Change one of them: Paste It! shows Shift-Command-V in the menu bar; in Docs, use the Edit menu if you would rather keep the history shortcut.
Step-by-step for clean paste, including Docs and Word: paste without formatting on Mac.
Screenshot straight onto the clipboard
The usual screenshot shortcuts save a file on the Desktop:
| Capture | Save a file | Copy to the clipboard instead |
|---|---|---|
| Entire screen | ⇧⌘3 | ⌃⇧⌘3 |
| Selection | ⇧⌘4 | ⌃⇧⌘4 |
| A window (after ⇧⌘4, tap Space) | click the window | hold Control as you click |
Control is the difference between “another PNG on the Desktop” and “Command-V into Slack, Mail, or a doc.” Those clipboard screenshots can later be found by the words in the picture — screenshot OCR via clipboard history. Apple’s page: Take a screenshot on Mac.
Shift-Command-5 opens the Screenshot app if you want a timer, to pick a window, or to record. You can change these shortcuts in System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Screenshots.
A second clipboard inside the app you’re typing in
In many Mac apps where you type (TextEdit, Mail, Notes, Terminal, and similar):
- Control-K cuts from the cursor to the end of the paragraph into a separate clipboard that only that app can use.
- Control-Y pastes from that clipboard.
Apple’s wording: it is “available only to the app from which it was cut.” It does not replace Command-C. You can keep a paragraph here and still Command-V something else. It does not show up in Spotlight or in a clipboard manager. Handy while editing. It will not help you find something you copied an hour ago in another app.
FAQ
What is the clipboard shortcut on a Mac?
Command-C to copy, Command-V to paste, Command-X to cut. There is no extra key to “open the clipboard” for the last copy — that is already Command-V. For older copies, you need a paste history shortcut.
What is the paste history shortcut on a Mac?
Shift-Command-V in Paste It! (other managers pick their own). macOS has no one-key history shortcut. On Tahoe, Command-Space, then Command-4 opens a list inside Spotlight — two steps, not a shortcut you can set.
How do I paste without formatting?
In Apple apps that have the menu item: Option-Shift-Command-V (Edit → Paste and Match Style). Paste It!: Control-Command-V (plain paste, then the formatted copy is still on the clipboard). In Google Docs: Shift-Command-V — those keys also open history in many clipboard apps. Longer answer: paste without formatting on Mac.
How do I copy a screenshot to the clipboard?
Hold Control with the usual screenshot keys: Control-Shift-Command-3 (full screen) or Control-Shift-Command-4 (selection). Then Command-V wherever you want the image.
Can I change Spotlight’s clipboard shortcut?
You can change Command-Space (Spotlight) in Keyboard settings. Command-4 only works after Spotlight is already open. You cannot give that clipboard tab a shortcut of its own. For a history shortcut you choose, use a clipboard manager.
Does Universal Clipboard have a shortcut?
No extra key. Copy on one Apple device you are signed into, paste on another. That moves whatever you copied last, not a list of older copies.
Need a one-key history shortcut? Download Paste It!.