Floating tip near the pointer
Press Control Option V to see a text, image or file preview. The tip does not steal focus and hides after 2 to 20 seconds, which you set in Settings.
Open source · macOS 14+ · Universal binary · Clipboard
Know what you paste.
Before you paste it.
ClipPeekQueueMini shows a small floating tip with a preview, size and every format on your clipboard. Press Control Option V, then strip it to plain text with one key.
Free & MIT licensed · Apple Silicon & Intel · Latest release
Features
A clipboard you can see.
A small inspector that shows the pasteboard as it is and reduces it to the one format you need.
Every format, with sizes
See character count, pixel dimensions, file count and total bytes. A list of the types present shows friendly names and byte sizes.
One-key reductions
Press P for plain text, F for the first file path, I for a PNG image, or T for a trimmed single line. Both hotkeys can be re-recorded.
Paste as Plain Text hotkey
Control Option Shift V reduces the clipboard and sends Command V to the frontmost app in one step.
Undo the last five reductions
Original clipboard contents are kept for your last five reductions. Restore any of them from the tip with U or from the menu.
Optional automatic plain text
Turn on auto-reduce to strip rich text from every copy. It skips concealed content such as password manager entries and can be disabled per app.
Screenshots
See it in action.
Install
Up and running in a minute.
ClipPeekQueueMini is open source and not notarized with a paid Apple Developer ID, so macOS needs one extra step the first time.
- Download ClipPeekQueueMini-macOS.zip and unzip it.
- Move ClipPeekQueueMini.app to your Applications folder.
- Clear the quarantine flag once, then right-click the app and choose Open:
xattr -cr /Applications/ClipPeekQueueMini.app
- Optionally grant Accessibility in System Settings Privacy Security Accessibility so the Paste as Plain Text hotkey can send Command V everything else works without it.
Download
Get ClipPeekQueueMini for macOS
Free, forever. Built for macOS 14 Sonoma or newer, Apple Silicon and Intel.
Not notarized: on first launch right-click ClipPeekQueueMini.app → Open.
- macOS 14 Sonoma+
- Universal (Apple Silicon + Intel)
- MIT licensed · open source
- No ads, no accounts, no telemetry
- Built with Claude Code · how and why
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Is ClipPeekQueueMini really free and open source?
Yes. It is released under the MIT license, with no ads, accounts or paid tier. If it is useful to you, there is an optional Support button that links to Ko-fi.
What permissions does it need?
Accessibility is optional and is only used to send Command V for the Paste as Plain Text hotkey. It is requested the first time you use paste, after an explanation. Without it, the clipboard is still reduced and you press Command V yourself.
Where is my data stored?
Nothing leaves your Mac. The app has no backend and does not request network access. Your settings are stored locally, and the undo history of the last five reductions is held in memory only.
Why is the app not notarized?
Notarization requires a paid Apple Developer account, which this free project does not have. Right-click the app and choose Open once to run it, or build it yourself from source with the included instructions.
Was this written by AI?
Yes. ClipPeekQueueMini was generated by Claude Code from a written spec as a clean-room reimplementation, with no code or assets from any commercial app. The full source is on GitHub under MIT, so you can read every line before you run it. It has had less human review than a hand-written app, so bug reports are welcome.
Support ❤️
Built by one person, given away for free.
ClipPeekQueueMini is a free, open-source alternative to paid utilities. If it earns a spot on your Mac, a coffee keeps the updates coming.
☕ Support Or on Ko-fi