Ferrocast A free clipboard manager for Mac that skips your passwords
Ferrocast keeps a local history of the text, links, colours, files and images you copy, so you can paste them later from the launcher. Anything copied from a password manager such as 1Password is skipped. It is free, MIT-licensed and runs on Apple Silicon.
I build Ferrocast, so read the table with that in mind: every claim about another app comes from its own website or from Apple, and what a source does not state is marked as such. Ferrocast is independent and not affiliated with Apple, Maccy or Paste.
Download FerrocastFree · MIT · Apple Silicon · no account
Ferrocast vs Spotlight (macOS Tahoe) vs Maccy vs Paste
| Ferrocast | Spotlight (macOS Tahoe) | Maccy | Paste | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free (MIT) | Built into macOS | Free and MIT from maccy.app; the Mac App Store listing shows $9.99 | Personal plan $2.49/month billed $29.99 a year; a Lifetime plan exists; 7-day trial |
| Password-manager copies | Skipped (pasteboard types marked concealed, transient or auto-generated, plus 1Password and KeeWeb) | Apple: “Sensitive information may appear on the Clipboard” | “If your password manager removes a copied password from the clipboard, so will Maccy” | Not stated on its pricing page |
| Pinning | Yes (⌘.) | Not stated in Apple’s guide | Not stated on its website | Pinboards |
| Clear all | Clear History… (pinned entries stay) | Clear History | Not stated on its website | Not stated on its pricing page |
| Sync | Optional, through iCloud Drive, from 0.4.0 | Not stated in Apple’s guide | Everything is stored on your computer, per its site | Across Mac, iPhone and iPad |
| Platforms | Mac, Apple Silicon | Mac | Mac, macOS 14 or later | Mac, iPhone and iPad |
Ferrocast: clipboard docs and the app’s source code. Spotlight: Apple Support. Maccy: maccy.app and its App Store listing. Paste: pasteapp.io/pricing. All checked on 28 October 2026.
Get started
- Install Ferrocast. Download the DMG or install it with Homebrew.
- Check the settings. In Settings → Clipboard keep Record history on and choose Keep history for: 1 Day, 7 Days, 1 Month, 3 Months, 1 Year or Unlimited.
- Copy as usual. Ferrocast records what you copy and skips what a password manager marks as sensitive.
- Paste from the launcher. Open the Clipboard view, search for the entry and paste it. Pasting into another app needs the Accessibility permission.
Install Ferrocast with Homebrew
brew tap drumst0ck/ferrocast
brew install drumst0ck/ferrocast/ferrocast
ln -sfn "$(brew --prefix)/opt/ferrocast/Ferrocast.app" \
/Applications/Ferrocast.app
open /Applications/Ferrocast.appHow it knows what is a password
It does not guess from the content. Password managers and other apps tag what they copy with special pasteboard types defined at nspasteboard.org: concealed (ConcealedType), transient (TransientType) or auto-generated (AutoGeneratedType). Ferrocast ignores any copy carrying one of those tags, and also copies from 1Password and KeeWeb.
If an app does not tag its copies, Ferrocast cannot know they are sensitive. Delete the entry with ⌃X, or turn Record history off for a moment.
Pin, delete and keep what matters
⌘. pins or unpins an entry and ⌃X deletes it. The detail pane lists type, source, when, how many times, length and whether it is pinned. With the mouse, hover a row for Pin and Delete, or use Clear History… at the top right to delete everything after a confirmation; pinned entries stay.
Retention is your choice, from 1 day to unlimited. Pinned entries are kept.
Where your history lives
In a JSON file (clipboard.json) in ~/Library/Application Support/Ferrocast. It is not encrypted. Ferrocast’s backup export leaves it out, and deleted clipboard images are removed from disk. See Data and privacy.
Between Macs
Sync with iCloud is available from version 0.4.0 and is off by default. When you turn it on in Settings → Advanced, your clipboard history (with the images of image entries) goes through your iCloud Drive folder, so it leaves your Mac and is not encrypted beyond what iCloud itself provides. Entries from password managers are never recorded, so they are never synced. Leave sync off if you do not want that. Details in the sync docs.
When Maccy or Paste is the better pick
- Maccy does one job: it keeps your copy history and nothing else, with a keyboard-first design. It is also open source (MIT) and free from its website.
- Paste runs on iPhone and iPad as well as the Mac, with pinboards and sync across your devices. It is a subscription or a one-time Lifetime plan.
- Ferrocast is for people who also want snippets, a launcher and local file conversion in the same free app. It has no iPhone or iPad app and runs only on Apple Silicon Macs.
Related guides
Questions
Is there a free clipboard manager for Mac?
Yes. Ferrocast (MIT) keeps text, links, colours, files and images you copy, lets you pin entries and choose how long history is kept, from 1 day to unlimited. Maccy is another free, open-source option; Paste is a paid app with iPhone and iPad versions.
Does Spotlight’s clipboard history in macOS Tahoe store passwords?
Apple’s own guide warns that sensitive information may appear on the Clipboard and offers Clear History to erase it. Ferrocast ignores copies that password managers mark as concealed or transient, plus copies from 1Password and KeeWeb.
Does Ferrocast save passwords I copy from 1Password?
No. Copies from 1Password and from any app that tags them as concealed, transient or auto-generated are skipped. If an app does not tag its copies, Ferrocast cannot tell, and you can delete the entry with ⌃X.
Is Ferrocast’s clipboard history encrypted?
No. It is stored in a JSON file on your Mac, unencrypted, and Ferrocast’s backup export leaves it out. It is not uploaded anywhere unless you turn on Sync with iCloud, which is off by default.
How long does Ferrocast keep the history, and can I pin items?
You choose in Settings: 1 day, 7 days, 1 month, 3 months, 1 year or unlimited. Press ⌘. to pin an entry; pinned entries stay.
Can I clear the whole clipboard history at once?
Yes. Clear History… in the Clipboard view deletes every entry after a confirmation; pinned entries stay.
Does the clipboard history sync between Macs?
Optionally. Sync with iCloud is off by default and available from version 0.4.0; when on, the history travels through iCloud Drive without extra encryption.
Does it run on Intel Macs?
No. Ferrocast needs an Apple Silicon Mac.