Clipster vs CopyQ

Where CopyQ shines

Power and flexibility. CopyQ stores clipboard content in tabs you design, lets you edit items, add notes and tags, sort them and drag them around. You can ignore copies from specific windows (handy for password managers), use a Vim-like editor and assign global shortcuts to custom commands.

Scripting. This is CopyQ's superpower. It has a command-line interface (copyq add, copyq read, copyq clipboard…) and a scripting API, plus a community repository of commands. You can make it react whenever the clipboard changes. Nothing in Clipster comes close here.

Linux and open source. CopyQ runs on Linux, Windows and macOS, and its GPL-licensed code is public. It's actively maintained, with a new release in October 2026. If you need Linux, CopyQ is the better choice, full stop: Clipster has no Linux version.

Where Clipster is different

Your phone. CopyQ is desktop-only. Clipster has an iPhone app and, with sync turned on, syncs your copies between Windows, Mac and iPhone over the internet: copy a link on your phone, paste it on your PC a minute later. On iPhone, the Clipster keyboard pastes any copy into any app.

Sync without plumbing. CopyQ's "Synchronize" feature keeps a tab in sync with files in a folder. Put that folder in a cloud drive and you have a DIY sync between computers. It works, but it's a setup you maintain, and it's per tab and file-based. Clipster's sync is built in: you switch it on in the app, and each copy is encrypted on your device (AES-256-GCM) before it leaves. Our server only stores ciphertext it can't read.

Interface. CopyQ's appearance is fully customizable, but out of the box it's a dense, functional list. Clipster shows cards with previews, code with syntax highlighting, the icon of the app each copy came from, Pins with their own icons, drag and drop into other apps, and a light or dark theme. That's a matter of taste, not a technical advantage.

Less to configure. Clipster aims to work well with defaults. If you enjoy configuring, that's a point for CopyQ.

Privacy

Both are local-first. CopyQ never sends anything anywhere by itself, and it can encrypt its stored tabs with a password (optionally saved in your system's key store). Clipster also keeps everything on your device until you turn on sync, and then it only sends end-to-end encrypted ciphertext. If you forget your master password, synced data can't be recovered; that's the price of zero-knowledge.

Clipster's limits, honestly

• Not open source, no scripting, no command line.
• No Linux and no Android.
• A young app, while CopyQ has years of history.

CopyQ is the better pick if you…

• use Linux, or want one tool on Linux, Windows and Mac
• want open source
• want to script and automate your clipboard
• want a long history and lots of control
• don't need your clipboard on your phone

Clipster is the better pick if you…

• want your clipboard on your iPhone too
• want sync that works out of the box, end-to-end encrypted
• prefer a modern, visual interface over a configurable list
• want to organize reusable copies into named Pins with little setup

Switching from CopyQ

There's nothing to migrate in the clipboard history itself: it rebuilds as you copy. If you have a CopyQ tab with reusable snippets, recreate the ones you really use in a Clipster Pin. Then quit CopyQ (or disable its clipboard monitoring) so the two apps don't record every copy twice.

Download Clipster: lightweight and fast, built with Tauri (Rust, not Electron). Also compare with Ditto and Maccy.