Maccy not capturing clipboard items

1. Make sure Maccy is running and not paused

Confirm the menu-bar icon is there. Maccy can be temporarily paused (for example, by Option-clicking the icon). Click the icon and ensure recording is enabled; relaunch the app if you are unsure.

2. Check the ignore list

If the app you are copying from is in Settings → Ignore, Maccy deliberately will not record from it. Remove it if you want its copies captured. See the ignored-apps configuration guide.

3. Concealed and transient copies are skipped by design

Maccy ignores clipboard items marked transient or concealed — this is how it avoids storing passwords from 1Password, Bitwarden, and similar. Some non-password apps also mark their copies this way, so those items will not appear. That is intended privacy behaviour, not a bug. Details in does Maccy see your passwords.

4. You are copying an unsupported item

Maccy captures text, rich text, images, file references, and URLs. A few apps put unusual custom pasteboard types that are not stored. Copying the same content as plain text usually works.

5. Restart Maccy (and check storage limits)

Quit and relaunch Maccy to clear a stalled monitor. While you are in Settings, check your history size limit under Storage — if it is very low, items can be purged almost immediately. See history retention and size limits.

6. Reinstall as a last resort

If nothing helps, reinstall the latest version. Your existing history is kept, and a fresh install resolves rare corrupted-state issues. The troubleshooting guide covers deeper cases.

Why Maccy stops capturing clipboard items

If items you copy are not appearing in Maccy’s history, one of these is the cause:

• Accessibility permission was revoked (most common)
• The app you copied from is on Maccy’s ignore list
• The item type is excluded (images, files) in Preferences
• Maccy is not running
• The history database is full or corrupted

Fix 1: Check Accessibility permission

Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility. Find Maccy and ensure it is enabled. Toggle it off and on, then relaunch Maccy.

Fix 2: Check the ignore list

Maccy may be silently ignoring the app you are copying from:

1. Open Maccy Preferences (⌘, when Maccy is active)
2. Go to the Ignore tab
3. Check if your app’s bundle ID is listed
4. Remove any entries that should not be ignored

The default ignore list includes password managers (1Password, Bitwarden) intentionally. Non-password apps should not appear here.

Fix 3: Check content type settings

Maccy can be configured to ignore certain content types:

1. Open Maccy Preferences → Appearance
2. Check that Images, Files, and Text are all enabled

If “Ignore only next copy” is enabled, a single item was excluded. This is triggered by pressing the shortcut twice in quick succession.

Fix 4: Verify Maccy is running

Open Activity Monitor and search for “Maccy”. If it is not running, relaunch from Applications. Enable “Launch at Login” to prevent this.

Fix 5: Clear the database if corrupted

rm ~/Library/Application\ Support/Maccy/Maccy.sqlite

This deletes the clipboard history database and starts fresh. Maccy creates a new one on next launch. Only do this if you are OK losing existing history.

Specific apps not being captured

Some apps mark their clipboard writes as “secure” at the macOS level, which prevents any app (including Maccy) from reading them. This is intentional for security reasons and cannot be overridden. Common examples:

• Password manager autofill (the actual fill, not manual copy)
• Some banking apps that flag transactions as sensitive
• Enterprise apps with DLP (Data Loss Prevention) controls

If a specific non-sensitive app is not being captured, check its own privacy settings for a “Prevent clipboard reading” option.