Pickclip can hand your AI assistant a private, read-and-manage window into your clipboard. Ask Claude "what was that address I copied earlier?" or "make me an action that formats JSON" — and it works directly with your real clipboard history and your Pickclip actions, over a local server that never leaves your Mac unless you point it at a cloud model.

The short version

Pickclip runs a local MCP server — off until you switch it on in Settings → AI Tools.
Your assistant can read your clipboard history, read full clip contents, and create, edit, and delete custom actions.
It's localhost-only and token-protected. Password-manager and concealed clips are never shared.
One-click install as a Claude Desktop extension — no Node, no config files. Also works with Claude Code and Cursor. Free during your trial; needs a license afterward.

What your assistant can do

See and search your clipboard history — recent copies with previews, source app, and timestamps.
Read full clip contents — the complete text of any clip, or the image itself, plus whatever is on the clipboard right now.
Manage your custom actions — list them, and create, update, or delete them from plain-language instructions (Pickclip decides whether each becomes an AI prompt or a small script, exactly like building one by hand).

Writing to the clipboard and running actions through your local models aren't part of this first release — the assistant reads and curates, it doesn't paste over your clipboard.

Connect Claude Desktop — one click

Claude Desktop installs local MCP servers as extensions, and Pickclip builds one for you. No config files, no Node, nothing to copy.

Turn it on. In Pickclip, open Settings → AI Tools and switch on "Let AI tools read your clipboard and manage actions."
Install the extension. Click Install Extension. Pickclip builds a Pickclip.mcpb and hands it to Claude Desktop, which shows its one-click install dialog. Confirm, and you're connected.
Ask away. Try "Using Pickclip, what are the last few things I copied?" or "Make me a Pickclip action that formats JSON."

There's no token or port to manage — the extension carries a tiny helper that reads those from Pickclip each time it connects, so it never goes stale and holds no secrets. If Pickclip isn't running when Claude connects, the helper launches it for you.

Other clients (manual setup)

For Claude Code, Cursor, or any MCP client that launches a command — or to edit Claude Desktop's config by hand — use the Copy config button under Manual setup in Settings → AI Tools. It puts this on your clipboard, with the command path matching wherever Pickclip is installed:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "Pickclip": {
      "command": "/Applications/Pickclip.app/Contents/Helpers/pickclip-mcp-bridge"
    }
  }
}

For Claude Desktop, merge it into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (create it if needed; add "Pickclip" alongside any servers already there) and restart the app. Other clients: point their MCP configuration at the same command.

Privacy & security

Off by default. Nothing is exposed until you turn on AI Tools.
Local and authenticated. The server binds to 127.0.0.1 only and requires a per-install access token, so other apps and websites can't reach it. You can regenerate the token anytime to disconnect existing clients.
Secrets stay secret. Clips from password managers and other concealed or transient copies never enter Pickclip's history, so they're never shared.
Your data, your choice of model. When your assistant runs in the cloud, the clipboard text it reads is sent to that service like any other prompt. If that matters to you, connect a local model.
Licensing. AI Tools is free to try during your Pickclip trial; once the trial ends it needs a license, like the rest of Pickclip.

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