I used CleanClip for years until a macOS update broke it. Everything else I tried was either a subscription or a Swiss army knife. Kurenai keeps what you copy, lets you paste it back with a couple of keys, and stays out of the way the rest of the time.— the developer
Things to copy
- Invoice #2048 is due on Friday
- 221B Baker Street, London NW1 6XE
- git commit -m "fix login redirect"
- Thanks, got it! I'll reply tomorrow.
- #c8232f
- Meeting moved to 3:30, same link
Your document
Turn on the paste queue, copy a few lines, then press ⌘V here again and again.
Copy a line on the left. I'll keep it.Everything from the keyboard
History
Text and images, newest first, with search. ⌘1 to ⌘9 pastes one of the top nine without touching the mouse.
Saved lists
For things you paste a lot, like replies or addresses. A digit pastes a line.
Paste queue
Copy a few things, then each ⌘V pastes the next one.
Split into lines
Select a column and press ⇧⌘C. Kurenai cuts it into lines and queues them, which is great for moving a spreadsheet column into a web form.
Your data stays yours
- Passwords copied from password managers (1Password, Bitwarden, Apple Passwords and others that mark them as concealed) are never saved.
- You pick apps to ignore. Keychain Access and Passwords are on the list from the start.
- History and images are encrypted on disk. Honest caveat: the key is stored next to them for your user account, so this stops a leaked file, not someone sitting at your Mac.
- Kurenai's windows are marked private. macOS screenshots skip them, and they stay hidden when you share your screen in Telegram. A few recording apps ignore that flag, so check yours if it matters.
- No account, no analytics. The only network request is an update check, and it's off until you enable it.
Up and running in a minute
brew install --cask lorder19/tap/kurenai- Download Kurenai.zip, unzip it and drag Kurenai into Applications.
- Open it. macOS will complain about an unidentified developer because I don't pay Apple for a certificate yet. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway.
- Allow Accessibility when asked. Kurenai uses it only to press ⌘V for you.
Questions
Why not just use the clipboard history in macOS Tahoe?
It's fine for finding something you copied. Kurenai is built around pasting: numbered items, saved lists and the paste queue, all from the keyboard.
A shortcut sometimes does nothing
When a password field is focused, macOS turns on Secure Input and blocks global shortcuts for every app. Some password managers forget to turn it off. Switching apps, or restarting the password manager, fixes it. Kurenai shows a warning in its menu when this happens.
I can't find the menu bar icon
On MacBooks with a notch, extra icons can hide behind it. The shortcuts still work, and opening Kurenai again from Spotlight brings up Settings.
How do I uninstall it?
Quit Kurenai, delete the app, then delete ~/Library/Application Support/Kurenai.
Will it stay free?
Yes, everything you see here stays free. I might add a paid version later with extras like keeping rich text formatting, to pay for an Apple developer account.
