Maccy vs Paste It!: Clipboard Workflows, OCR and MCP Compared
Maccy and Paste It! both offer local clipboard history and image text recognition. Both projects use the MIT license; their organization tools and paste workflows differ. Compare those against your requirements before switching.
Maccy offers a compact searchable list. Paste It! offers visual cards, pinned clips and custom folders, and optional MCP access to local history. Both projects are free and open source for personal and commercial use.
Disclosure and method: we make Paste It!. This comparison examines the documentation and release source for Maccy 2.7.1 and Paste It! 0.2.8, checked September 23, 2026. It is a feature and workflow comparison, not a measured test of speed, memory use, or OCR accuracy.
What differs, and what both apps do
| Decision | Maccy 2.7.1 | Paste It! 0.2.8 |
|---|---|---|
| Current project license | MIT; free builds from official GitHub releases | MIT; free builds from official GitHub releases |
| History interface | Searchable list with keyboard navigation | Visual cards and a preview pane |
| Reusable clips | Pins kept at the top of the list | Pinned clips and up to three custom folders |
| Image text search | Apple Vision recognition | Apple Vision recognition |
| Several pastes in sequence | Multi-select stack code is disabled in the reviewed release tag | Paste Stack with collection mode and direction controls |
| History access for agents | No built-in history MCP documented in the reviewed release | Optional local MCP with read-only history tools |
| History storage | Local Mac history | Local Mac history; no app history sync |
| macOS requirement | macOS 14+ | macOS 14+ |
Sources: Maccy's official site, 2.7.1 usage guide, image recognition source, and stack handling; Paste It! 0.2.8 features and current MIT license.
Recovering one old copy
In Maccy, open history, type a search, and choose an entry. Its usage guide distinguishes Return to copy from Option-Return to paste; the automatic-paste setting can change the default behavior. Direct pasting requires Accessibility permission.
In Paste It!, press Shift-Command-V, search, select one card, and press Command-C. Return to your destination and press Command-V. Selecting a card alone does not copy it. This copy-then-paste path does not require Accessibility permission. Return, double-click, and Command-1…9 use the configured primary action: Direct Paste is the default, and Copy Only is available in Settings → General. Direct Paste needs Accessibility. See the clipboard shortcuts.
For a few frequently reused values, Maccy's pins keep them near the top of one list. Paste It!'s Pinned view and custom folders let you keep separate groups, with a limit of three custom folders in 0.2.8. The practical question is whether you want one set of favorites or distinct collections for different tasks. More organization is only useful if you will maintain those collections.
Check whether sequential pasting is available in your version
Paste It!'s Shift-Command-C opens a collection session: subsequent copies enter a queue. You can choose oldest-first or newest-first order, remove an item, or use Move to Next. With Accessibility enabled, press Command-V in each target field to paste the next value. These controls are documented in the 0.2.8 usage guide and implemented in its stack controller.
Maccy 2.7.1 includes stack-related source files, but the reviewed release sets multiSelectionEnabled to false, and its stack-start action checks that flag. We therefore do not count that code as an available multi-select stack for users of this release. Evidence: release feature flag and stack entry point. Check newer release notes if you use a different version.
If sequential form filling is your reason to switch, try three harmless values in the actual form and verify the order. This comparison does not establish that either app completes your task faster.
Screenshot search is shared functionality
Both apps recognize text in copied images using Apple Vision. A feature checklist therefore cannot tell you which will find your screenshots more reliably.
To compare, copy the same image containing a distinctive string such as ORDER 4821, wait for recognition, and search for 4821. Avoid copying the string separately as text: otherwise a matching text entry could be mistaken for a successful image search. Check the returned image and its preview before copying it back. The screenshot OCR guide explains capture and reuse in Paste It!.
Choose by organization and agent access
If a compact list and a few pinned items cover your work, start with Maccy's official releases. If you want separate folders and visual previews, compare Paste It!'s panel using the same saved items. Both projects now use the MIT license, so licensing does not distinguish this choice.
If an agent needs to search your saved history, evaluate Paste It!'s local MCP tools. History tools can list, read, and search clips without adding or deleting them; a separate preview tool creates a temporary image. MCP is off by default. A connected AI client may send retrieved content to its model provider, so local history storage and downstream AI processing are separate considerations.
Paste It!'s official builds also enable anonymous usage analytics by default, excluding clipboard contents; you can disable analytics in Settings → Privacy. See the privacy policy. “Local history” describes clipboard storage, not a promise of zero network activity.
If you need saved history on an iPhone as well as a Mac, read Paste It! vs Paste. For additional free options, use the Mac clipboard manager selection guide.