Rule-based auto-grouping
Automatically groups clips into categories such as URLs, code, JSON, shell commands, secrets, and paths so the history stays easier to scan.
Ortu
Ortu is a free, open-source clipboard manager for macOS, Windows, and Linux that keeps history local on your device. It supports text, images, and files, with paste stack, search, secret masking, and encryption features.
Overview
Ortu is a cross-platform clipboard manager for macOS, Windows, and Linux. It keeps clipboard history local on the device and is built with Rust and Tauri for a native app experience.
The product is aimed at people who move quickly between apps and need keyboard-first access to recent clips, including text, images, and files. Its core workflow centers on local-first storage, a paste stack for ordered multi-paste, and full-text search over a growing clipboard history.
Features
Multi-format clipboard capture
Stores text, images, and files, and shows thumbnails for visual items instead of limiting history to plain text.
Paste stack
Queues multiple clips and pastes them in sequence with global hotkeys, which is useful when you need to replay a copy order.
Instant full-text search
Uses SQLite FTS5 full-text search with fuzzy ranking to keep search responsive across large clip histories.
Secret masking and encryption
Detects secrets, masks them when they are copied, and encrypts them at rest with AES-256-GCM until the user chooses to reveal them.
Keyboard and text workflow tools
Lets users rebind every global shortcut, apply retention rules, create reusable snippets, and transform copied content with formats like JSON, Base64, URL-encode, case changes, and slugify.
Use Cases
Review and reuse past clips
Keep a running clipboard history across apps on the same machine and recall older items without switching back to the original source.
Multi-step pasting
Queue several copied items and paste them one after another in the order they were copied, rather than inserting only the latest clip.
Store mixed clipboard content
Capture images, files, and text together while working, with thumbnails helping you identify non-text items in history.
Find a clip fast
Search a long clipboard archive by content when you need to find a specific code fragment, URL, path, or snippet quickly.
Handle sensitive clipboard data
Keep sensitive tokens or keys local, masked, and encrypted at rest instead of leaving them exposed in plain clipboard history.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Cross-platform on macOS, Windows, and Linux.
- Local-first design with no cloud sync and no telemetry.
- Supports text, images, and files, not just plain text snippets.
- Search uses SQLite FTS5 with fuzzy ranking for large histories.
- Includes privacy features such as secret masking and AES-256-GCM encryption at rest.
- Keyboard-first workflows are supported through rebindable global shortcuts.
Cons
- The site does not document integrations or broader import/export compatibility beyond clipboard history.
- macOS Gatekeeper and Windows SmartScreen warnings may appear for the downloadable builds, according to the installation notes.
FAQ
Is Ortu free and open source?
Yes. Ortu is MIT licensed and free to use, and the site says you can inspect the source code and contribute through GitHub.
Does Ortu send clipboard data to cloud servers?
No. Ortu is described as local-first and stores clipboard history on your device using local storage, with no cloud sync or telemetry.
What platforms does Ortu support?
Ortu is available on macOS, Windows, and Linux. The download section notes that macOS may show Gatekeeper warnings for the .dmg build, and Windows may show an unsigned-app SmartScreen prompt.
Can keyboard shortcuts be changed?
Yes. The site says global shortcuts are customizable in-app, with one-click restore to defaults.
What does the latest release add?
The release notes on the site say v2.0.0 added image and file capture, paste stack, encryption at rest for detected secrets, FTS5 search, customizable shortcuts, snippets and transforms, and flexible history retention.
Quick Facts
- Category
- Productivity / Developer Tool
- Platforms
- macOS, Windows, Linux
- Pricing
- Free and open source
- License
- MIT
- Data storage
- Local SQLite database on device
- Source domain
- ortu.abhijithpsubash.com
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