Complete setup on one device before adding another. Clypy does not require a user account; its local database and pairing identity are created on the device.

1. 1Finish the welcome flow and choose whether this device should stay local-only or sync.
2. 2Grant the platform permissions shown by Clypy. You can revisit them later in Settings.
3. 3Copy a harmless sentence and confirm it appears in the Library.
4. 4Open the Paste Strip with the shortcut shown in Settings → Shortcuts and paste the sentence into a text field.
5. 5Pair another device only after capture and paste work locally.

The answer depends on the operating system. Clypy explains a permission before opening the corresponding system screen.

1. 1macOS: Accessibility is required for Clypy to paste into other apps.
2. 2iOS/iPadOS: enable the Clypy keyboard and Allow Full Access to show shared history inside the keyboard.
3. 3Android: enable Clypy as an input method; camera access is only needed when scanning a pairing QR code or capturing an image.
4. 4Windows and Linux: no macOS-style Accessibility grant is used, though Linux compositor capabilities vary.

Pairing exchanges an encrypted device-group key. Either device can create the invite, and the other can scan the QR code, open the pairing link, or enter the displayed code.

1. 1On the first device, open Settings → Devices & License → Pair a device.
2. 2Create a pairing code and keep that screen open.
3. 3On the second device, open its pairing screen and scan the QR or enter the code.
4. 4Confirm the paired state appears on both devices before closing either screen.
5. 5Copy a new test clip and allow a moment for the first encrypted sync.

Open desktop Settings → Shortcuts, click the current shortcut, and press the new modifier-and-key combination. Clypy keeps the old shortcut if the operating system or another app already owns the requested combination.

Desktop Settings → Capture shows live capture health, the most recent capture, and the last reason an item was ignored. Start there instead of repeatedly copying the same item.

1. 1Check whether capture is paused indefinitely or for a timed interval.
2. 2If Capture needs attention, use Restart monitor and copy a fresh test sentence.
3. 3Check Privacy & security → Ignored apps & patterns for the source application.
4. 4Confirm the copied type is enabled: images, rich link previews, and file references have separate controls.
5. 5On macOS, revisit Accessibility if capture works but paste does not.

The strip and the final OS paste are separate operations. If you can browse clips but the destination app receives nothing, the library is healthy and the problem is usually permission or desktop integration.

1. 1Try pasting into a plain text editor to rule out restrictions in the destination app.
2. 2On macOS, confirm Accessibility access, then fully reopen Clypy if the grant just changed.
3. 3On Linux, review Settings → General → Linux integration and look specifically at Automatic paste and Global shortcuts.
4. 4Check whether the chosen snippet is restricted to a different application.
5. 5Use Copy instead of Paste once; if manual Ctrl/Cmd+V works, capture and decryption are fine and only automatic paste needs attention.

Yes. Desktop Settings → Privacy & security → Ignored apps & patterns supports app-specific and pattern-based rules. Use this for terminals, password tools, remote desktops, or any workflow that should never enter history.

Settings → Capture → Duplicate copies controls this behavior. Move existing brings the earlier clip back to the top, Keep both creates another item, and Ignore briefly suppresses rapid duplicate copies.

Yes. Desktop Clypy has a configurable Paste latest as plain text shortcut. You can also choose plain-text actions from clip menus where available. Images and files cannot be converted into meaningful plain text automatically.

Keyword search matches stored titles, previews, metadata, and—when enabled—non-sensitive clip text. Semantic search uses a local embedding model to find related meaning even when your query uses different words.

1. 1Start with a distinctive word, app, person, or topic.
2. 2Use the type filters to narrow results to links, images, code, files, or other clip types.
3. 3Enable Search inside clip text if you need full keyword matching beyond titles and previews.
4. 4Set up Embeddings under AI & models for meaning-based results.

Collections are groups you manage. Smart collections are derived views such as clip types or recent activity. Pinning is the fastest way to keep an individual clip above normal history without moving it into a collection.

A snippet is reusable text or code that can include fill-in placeholders. When pasted, Clypy asks for the placeholder values and expands them before the result reaches the destination app.

1. 1Create a new clip and choose the Snippet type.
2. 2Add reusable content and optional placeholders such as named fields or a final cursor position.
3. 3Optionally add a folder, abbreviation, aliases, or allowed applications.
4. 4Paste the snippet and complete the fill-in form; cancelling leaves the destination unchanged.

Paste Stack is an ordered queue for repetitive entry. Add several clips, start sequential paste, then use your normal paste command repeatedly; Clypy advances through the queue one item at a time.

1. 1Add clips to the stack in the order you need them.
2. 2Review or reorder the queue before starting.
3. 3Use Start sequential paste or its configurable shortcut.
4. 4Pause, skip, or cancel if focus moves to the wrong application.

Normal deletion moves a clip to Trash, where it can be restored until permanently purged. Clear all clips and Factory reset are broader destructive actions and show confirmation because their effects are different.

Same-network P2P connects paired devices directly and is normally fastest. Relay works when devices are on different networks. Google Drive stores encrypted Clypy deltas in hidden app data. iCloud is available on supported Apple surfaces. You can enable more than one path.

Work through the delivery chain in order. Changing several settings at once makes it harder to identify the actual failure.

1. 1Confirm both devices still appear under Paired devices.
2. 2Make sure Local-only mode is off on the device that created the clip.
3. 3Confirm at least one common transport is enabled and neither device is offline.
4. 4Copy a new, harmless text clip; secrets and some app-restricted clips are intentionally not synced.
5. 5Check the sync status and wait for any queued backlog to drain before re-pairing.
6. 6Only remove and pair the device again after the checks above fail.

Capture and local search keep working offline. Encrypted changes wait locally and are delivered when an enabled transport becomes reachable again. Same-network P2P naturally requires both devices to be awake and on the same network at the same time.

Removing a device stops future sync with it and releases its activation slot. Existing clips remain on that device. If you no longer control it, remove it from the paired list and separately reset or erase Clypy on that device when possible.

The relay can see operational delivery metadata needed to move a message, but synced clip payloads are encrypted before upload. The device-group keys required to decrypt them stay with paired devices.

No. Semantic embeddings, OCR, classification, and supported writing assists run with local runtimes on your device. Model installation may download model files, but your clip content is not sent with that download or used to train a model.

Where the operating system identifies a password-manager copy, Clypy excludes it. Content detected as sensitive is concealed, skipped by AI and full-text indexing, and omitted from backup exports. You can also require system authentication before revealing concealed clips.

Local-only mode disables network sync and keeps captured clips on the current device. It does not disable clipboard capture, search, collections, or local AI. Turn capture off separately if you want Clypy to stop recording new clips.

Clypy uses Full Access so its keyboard can read your shared Clypy history and participate in queued sync. It does not log or transmit keystrokes. iOS switches back to the system keyboard for secure password fields, and managed apps can block third-party keyboards entirely.

Choose a retention period in Settings → Advanced on desktop or Settings → Data on mobile. Older unpinned clips are removed automatically; pinned clips are kept. Retention and safe storage cleanup are separate controls.

Desktop Settings → Advanced can export an authenticated, encrypted .clypy backup containing clips, collections, and associated images. Import validates the file before offering two modes.

1. 1Merge keeps the current library and adds items missing from the backup.
2. 2Replace removes the current synced library before restoring the backup and requires explicit confirmation.
3. 3Keep the backup file private and retain access to the device group that created it.
4. 4Verify restored counts and collections before deleting the original backup.

Safe cleanup removes orphaned blobs and derived search or AI rows that are no longer referenced. It does not delete live clips. Retention, emptying Trash, Clear all clips, and Factory reset are the actions that remove user history.

Clear all clips removes content while retaining this installation’s settings, pairing identity, and license. Factory reset removes the local database, settings, license, pairing identity, sync credentials, and encryption keys. Removing a paired device stops sync with that device. Deactivating releases this device’s paid license seat but does not need to erase its clips.

No user account is required. A purchase provides a license key, and pairing links your devices cryptographically. Keep the purchase email and license key somewhere outside Clypy so you can recover them after a factory reset.

macOS permission state can lag behind the checkbox, especially after an app update or replacement.

1. 1Quit Clypy completely, not only its main window.
2. 2In System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility, turn Clypy off and back on.
3. 3If there are duplicate Clypy entries, remove the stale entry and allow the installed app again.
4. 4Reopen Clypy and test in TextEdit before testing the original destination app.

Another application or Windows itself already owns that global shortcut. Click the shortcut in Settings → Shortcuts and choose a different combination. Clypy reports the rejected combination and continues using the last shortcut that registered successfully.

Open Settings → General → Linux integration. Clypy tests global shortcuts, active-app detection, clipboard monitoring, automatic paste, PRIMARY selection, portals, and CLI fallback against the current desktop session. A degraded or unavailable badge includes the relevant backend and guidance.

The keyboard must be enabled and granted Full Access before it can read shared Clypy history.

1. 1Open Clypy → Settings → Setup & diagnostics → Keyboard setup.
2. 2Open iOS Keyboard settings and add or enable Clypy.
3. 3Open Clypy in the keyboard list and switch on Allow Full Access.
4. 4Return to Clypy and refresh the status check.
5. 5Remember that password fields and some managed work apps prohibit third-party keyboards.

Some manufacturers aggressively stop background work. Confirm Clypy is enabled as a keyboard, allow its requested background behavior, and exclude it from vendor battery restrictions if the operating system repeatedly suspends it. Exact menu names vary by device maker.