How to clear the clipboard on a Mac

The quickest way: copy something else

The Mac clipboard holds one item at a time, so copying anything replaces it. Select a single space or a harmless word and press ⌘C. The old content is gone from the clipboard.

Empty it completely with Terminal

1. 1Open Terminal from Applications → Utilities.
2. 2Type the command below and press Return.

pbcopy < /dev/null

This puts nothing on the clipboard, so a paste afterwards pastes nothing. If clipboard behaviour itself has gone wrong, see copy and paste not working.

Where else it might still be

• Your iPhone or iPad. With Universal Clipboard on, what you copy is offered to your nearby devices for a short time.
• Spotlight in macOS Tahoe. macOS 26 keeps its own clipboard history in Spotlight. See clipboard history on a Mac.
• A clipboard manager. Its whole job is to remember what you copy, so clear it there too (below).

Clear history in Maclip

• One clip. Select it in the dashboard and delete it. It goes to the Trash, and Empty Trash removes it for good.
• Everything. In the Floating Shelf, open the … menu and choose Clear All History. Pinned clips are kept.
• Before you copy something private. Press ⇧⌥I for Incognito Mode and nothing is recorded for 15 minutes.
• Automatically. 2FA codes are erased minutes after you copy them, and app rules can erase everything copied in an app like your bank after a set time.

Password managers such as 1Password and Bitwarden are skipped automatically, and clips Maclip spots as passwords or API keys stay hidden until you click Show. See is a clipboard manager safe?.

Questions