Set up ClipMind

Install

ClipMind runs on Apple Silicon Macs with macOS 15.4 or later.

1. Open the downloaded ClipMind.dmg and drag ClipMind into Applications.
2. Open ClipMind from Applications. A setup guide walks you through the next three steps.
3. ClipMind lives in the menu bar. Its icon has your recent clips, the Library, Settings and Pause Capture.

Allow clipboard access

This one is required. macOS asks before an app can read the clipboard, and ClipMind reads it each time you copy. When macOS asks, choose Allow.

If you chose something else, or never saw the prompt:

1. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Paste from Other Apps.
2. Find ClipMind and set it to Allow.

• Allow: everything you copy is saved. This is what you want.
• Ask: macOS would prompt you on every copy.
• Deny: ClipMind captures nothing. The menu bar shows “Capture Off”.

ClipMind only reads the clipboard. It skips password managers and anything an app marks as private, and nothing leaves your Mac.

Turn on auto-paste (optional)

With Accessibility access, pressing ↩ on a clip pastes it straight into the app you were in. Without it, ClipMind copies the clip and you press ⌘V yourself.

1. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility.
2. Turn on ClipMind. If it isn’t listed, click + and choose it from Applications.

ClipMind uses this permission only to press ⌘V for you after you pick a clip.

The search model

Search by meaning uses an AI model that runs on your Mac. ClipMind downloads it once, 865 MB in total, then works offline. Keyword search works the whole time, so you can start right away.

You can check the download, retry it or start it in Settings → Models. The menu bar footer says “Smart search ready” when it’s done.

Searching

Press ⌥⌘V anywhere and describe what you copied: “that error from the webhook”, “screenshot of a pricing table”. You don’t need the exact words.

Keys in the search panel

⌥⌘V

Open the search panel from any app

↩

Paste the selected clip

↑ ↓

Move between results

⌘P

Pin the clip, so it’s never cleared

⌘⌫

Delete the clip

esc

Close the panel

Filters

Mention a type, an app or a date and ClipMind turns it into a filter chip. Click a chip’s × to remove it.

Type

screenshot, image, photo, link, file, pinned

App

from Slack, from Chrome, from + any app name

Date

today, yesterday, this week, last week, past 3 days, this month, last month

Example: “screenshot of the pricing table from Slack yesterday” searches for “pricing table” in images from Slack, copied yesterday.

Change the shortcut

Go to Settings → General and record a new Smart Search shortcut. You can set a shortcut for Pause Capture there too.

The Library

The Library shows your whole history in one window. Open it with Open ClipMind in the menu bar, by clicking the Dock icon, or by opening the app again.

• The sidebar filters by kind (text, links, images, files), date and source app.
• Switch between list and grid views in the toolbar. Grid works best for images.
• The search field at the top works like the search panel, filters included.

Privacy and history

Leave apps out

In Settings → Privacy, add any app whose clips you don’t want saved. 1Password, Bitwarden, Apple Passwords and Keychain Access are skipped already, along with anything an app marks as concealed.

Pause capture

Choose Pause Capture in the menu bar to stop saving clips until you turn it back on.

How much is kept

In Settings → History, set how long clips are kept (30 days by default), a maximum number of clips, and a maximum size on disk. Pinned clips are never cleared. Clear History…deletes everything except pinned clips.

Your license

ClipMind is free for 14 days. To keep using it after the trial, buy a license and paste the key from your receipt email into Settings → License.

• One license works on up to 3 Macs.
• To move it to another Mac, deactivate it in Settings → License first, or in thePolar customer portal.
• Lost your key? It’s in the Polar customer portal under the email you bought with.

Troubleshooting

New copies don’t show up

• Check Paste from Other Apps is set to Allow (see above).
• Check capture isn’t paused in the menu bar.
• Check the app you copied from isn’t in your excluded list.

Return copies the clip but doesn’t paste

Auto-paste needs Accessibility access. If ClipMind is already turned on there, select it, remove it with–, and add it again. macOS sometimes forgets the permission after an update.

⌥⌘V does nothing

Another app may use the same shortcut. Record a different one in Settings → General.

Search only finds exact words

The search model hasn’t finished downloading. Check its status in Settings → Models.

“This key is already active on 3 Macs”

Deactivate a Mac you no longer use in the Polar customer portal, then activate again.