⚡️ PowerClip

A modern, privacy-focused clipboard manager with AI-powered search

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Features • Installation • Shortcuts • Config • Dev

📖 Introduction

PowerClip is a lightweight, fast, and privacy-focused clipboard history manager with AI-powered semantic search capabilities.

Powered by Rust backend performance and Tauri 2.0 lightweight architecture, PowerClip provides a smooth experience while consuming minimal system resources. All data is stored locally in a SQLite database, ensuring your clipboard history stays private and under your control.

✨ Features

Core Features

• ⚡️ Blazing Fast - Rust-powered, millisecond startup and search
• 🔒 Privacy & Security - Data stored locally in SQLite, no network uploads required
• 📋 Multi-type Support - Tracks text, images, and file references
• 🖥 System Integration - Native system tray support and window experience
• ⌨️ Keyboard First - Full keyboard navigation with customizable global hotkeys
• 🎨 Modern UI - Apple HIG-inspired design with smooth animations

Smart Features

• 🔍 AI Semantic Search - Find clipboard items using natural language queries (supports OpenAI-compatible embedding APIs)
• ⭐ Quick Commands - Save frequently used snippets with custom aliases for instant access
• 🏷️ Smart Lists - Filter history by type (Text/Image/File) or time period (Today/This Week)
• 🔌 Extensions System - Run shell commands on clipboard content with custom pipelines
• 📌 Auto-paste - Optionally paste content automatically after selection

Advanced Features

• ⚙️ Hot-reloadable Config - Change settings without restarting the app
• 🪟 Resizable & Draggable - Window position and size are remembered
• 🌙 Transparent Window - Adjustable window opacity for seamless desktop integration

📥 Installation

Download the latest release from the Releases page:

• macOS: Download the .dmg file
• Windows: Download the .msi or .exe installer

⌨️ Keyboard Shortcuts

Global Hotkeys

Action	macOS	Windows / Linux
Toggle window	Cmd + Shift + V	Ctrl + Shift + V
Add clipboard to Quick Commands	Cmd + Shift + S	Ctrl + Shift + S

Note: Windows uses Ctrl instead of Cmd.

All hotkeys are customizable in the settings file.

In-Window Navigation

Key	Action
↑ / ↓	Navigate through history
← / →	Switch filter tabs (history) / Toggle views
Enter	Copy selected item (and paste if enabled)
Tab	Open extension selector (on selected item)
/	Focus search input
Esc	Close window
Cmd/Ctrl + P	Toggle between History and Quick Commands
Cmd/Ctrl + ,	Open config file in editor

🔧 Configuration

PowerClip uses a JSON configuration file for all settings. Press Cmd/Ctrl + , to open it in your default editor.

Configuration Location

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/PowerClip/settings.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%/PowerClip/settings.json

Example Configuration

{
  "auto_cleanup_enabled": false,
  "max_items": 100,
  "hotkey_modifiers": "Meta+Shift",
  "hotkey_key": "KeyV",
  "window_opacity": 0.95,
  "auto_paste_enabled": false,
  "semantic_search_enabled": false,
  "embedding_api_url": "https://api.openai.com/v1",
  "embedding_api_key": "sk-...",
  "embedding_api_model": "text-embedding-3-small",
  "embedding_api_dim": 256,
  "add_to_snippets_hotkey_enabled": true,
  "add_to_snippets_hotkey_modifiers": "Meta+Shift",
  "add_to_snippets_hotkey_key": "KeyS",
  "extensions": [
    {
      "name": "Uppercase",
      "command": "tr '[:lower:]' '[:upper:]'",
      "timeout": 5000,
      "close_on_success": true
    }
  ]
}

Key Settings

Setting	Description	Default
max_items	Maximum history items to keep	100
auto_paste_enabled	Auto-paste after selection	false
semantic_search_enabled	Enable AI-powered search	false
embedding_api_url	OpenAI-compatible API URL	-
embedding_api_key	API key for embedding service	-
extensions	List of shell command extensions	[]

🤖 AI Semantic Search

PowerClip supports natural language search through embedding APIs. To enable:

1. Set semantic_search_enabled to true in settings

2. Configure your embedding API credentials:

   • embedding_api_url: Any OpenAI-compatible endpoint
   • embedding_api_key: Your API key
   • embedding_api_model: Model name (e.g., text-embedding-3-small)
   • embedding_api_dim: Embedding dimension (typically 256-1536)

3. Save the config file - indexing will start automatically

Compatible with OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, and any OpenAI-compatible embedding services.

🔌 Extensions

Extensions allow you to process clipboard content through shell commands. When you select an item and press Tab, you can choose an extension to run.

Extension Configuration

{
  "extensions": [
    {
      "name": "JSON Format",
      "command": "python3 -m json.tool",
      "timeout": 5000,
      "close_on_success": true
    },
    {
      "name": "Base64 Encode",
      "command": "base64",
      "timeout": 3000,
      "close_on_success": false
    }
  ]
}

• name: Display name in the extension selector
• command: Shell command to run (clipboard content via stdin)
• timeout: Maximum execution time in milliseconds
• close_on_success: Whether to close the window after successful execution

🛠 Tech Stack

PowerClip is built with modern, cross-platform technologies:

Layer	Technology
Core	Rust & Tauri 2.0
Frontend	React 18 + TypeScript
Styling	Tailwind CSS
Database	SQLite (bundled, local storage)
Build	Bun

💻 Development

Prerequisites

• OS: macOS 10.15+ or Windows 10+
• Rust: 1.70+ (install via rustup)
• Bun: 1.0+ recommended (install via bun.sh)

Getting Started

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/Skyminers/PowerClip.git
cd PowerClip

2. Install dependencies

cd frontend
bun install
cd ..

3. Run development mode

bun tauri dev

This starts both the frontend dev server and Tauri window with hot reload.

Build for Release

bun tauri build

Build artifacts will be located in src-tauri/target/release/bundle/.

Project Structure

PowerClip/
├── src-tauri/           # Rust backend
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── main.rs      # Application entry point
│   │   ├── commands/    # Tauri command handlers
│   │   ├── db/          # Database operations
│   │   ├── semantic/    # AI search implementation
│   │   ├── clipboard/   # Clipboard monitoring
│   │   ├── hotkey/      # Global hotkey handling
│   │   └── window/      # Window management
│   └── tauri.conf.json  # Tauri configuration
├── frontend/            # React frontend
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── components/  # UI components
│   │   ├── hooks/       # React hooks
│   │   ├── utils/       # Utility functions
│   │   └── App.tsx      # Main application
│   └── package.json
└── README.md

📄 License

This project is open-sourced under the Apache License 2.0.

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Made with ❤️ by Sky_miner