apfel-clip: AI clipboard actions for macOS

macOS menu bar app

AI clipboard actions.<br>Instant. Private.

Copy anything. Hit ⌘⇧V . Pick an action. On-device AI transforms it in seconds. No cloud, no API keys, nothing leaves your Mac.

Download free<br>View on GitHub

MIT Open Source<br>macOS 26 Tahoe<br>Apple Silicon<br>100% On-Device

Everything runs on your device. No network calls. No data leaves your Mac.

How it works

Three steps from copy to done.

No setup beyond installation. Just copy and hit the hotkey.

Copy anything

Text, code, a stack trace, JSON. The app detects the content type and shows the right actions automatically.

Hit ⌘⇧V

The popover opens from any app with tailored actions for prose, code, errors, or JSON.

Pick, paste, done

Run an action. The result lands in your clipboard ready to paste, or review it first in the result panel.

Before you install

Requirements

apfel-clip runs entirely on your Mac using Apple's on-device model.

macOS 26 (Tahoe)

Required for Apple Intelligence. Apple menu > System Settings > Software Update.

Apple Silicon (M1 or later)

Apple Intelligence runs on-chip only. Apple menu > About This Mac must say M1, M2, M3, or M4.

Apple Intelligence enabled

Enable in System Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri. Requires English device language.

✅ Nothing else needed. Powered by apfel — the on-device AI engine — which is bundled inside the app . No separate install required.

Install

Get apfel-clip

Free. Signed and notarised. Apple Silicon only.

Download

Download the zip, unzip, drag apfel-clip.app to your Applications folder, and open it. That is it.

Download free (arm64)<br>Signed and notarised by Apple. macOS opens it without any security warning.

After installing

Open apfel-clip from Applications

The clipboard icon appears in your menu bar

Copy any text, code, or error message

Press ⌘⇧V and pick an action

The result lands in your clipboard instantly

Other install options

Homebrew

brew install --cask arthur-ficial/tap/apfel-clip<br>Handles updates with brew upgrade --cask apfel-clip.

Build from source

See GitHub for full build instructions.

Features

Everything you need.

Designed around the fastest copy, transform, paste flow.

Privacy

Fully on-device

No API keys, no network calls, no data sent anywhere. Powered by apfel — bundled inside.

Intelligence

Content-aware actions

Detects text, code, JSON, and errors. Shows only the relevant actions for what you copied.

Speed

Global hotkey

⌘⇧V opens the popover from any app, any time, no matter what is focused.

Customisation

Custom actions

Turn any prompt into a named action with a label. It shows up in the action list automatically.

Organisation

Favourites and reorder

Star, hide, and drag to sort your action list. Your workflow, your order.

Workflow

Auto-copy results

Enable auto-copy and the transformed text lands in your clipboard the moment the model finishes.

In action

Built for your whole workflow.

Smart content detection shows the right actions for whatever you copied.

Text

Text actions

Fix grammar, rewrite tone, translate, summarise, bullet points.

Code

Code actions

Explain, find bugs, add comments, simplify. Switched on automatically when you copy code.

Results

Clean result view

Side-by-side original and result. Edit in place, copy, or run the action again.

History

Persistent history

Every transformation saved locally. Re-copy or revisit past results without rerunning.

Free and open source.

MIT-licensed. Use it, fork it, ship it. Bug reports, pull requests, and new action ideas all welcome.

Star on GitHub<br>Report an issue<br>Releases