Clatch user guide

Getting started

Clatch is a menu bar app for macOS 14 or later. Local use does not require an account. Installation instructions for the public release will be provided when available.

1. 01 Open your installed Clatch and choose Settings… from the menu bar. Keep your user-facing installation at /Applications/Clatch.app.
2. 02 Check the global shortcut: ⌘⇧V by default. Configure launch at login and Dock visibility if desired.
3. 03 Set up a Vault before saving launcher items, and authenticate on your Mac. Clipboard history works independently of the launcher Vault.
4. 04 Prepare a backup or recovery kit and check where it is stored before adding important items.

Open, search and run

Open the popup, type, select with the arrow keys and press Enter. Clipboard history and launcher items share the same entry point.

Find and organize your copies

History supports text, images, files and rich text, together with source-app information.

1. 01 Copy as usual, then open Clatch’s clipboard view. Search, select an entry and press Enter to paste.
2. 02 Pin useful entries or mark them as favorites. Add apps you do not want captured to the excluded-app list in settings.
3. 03 Move unwanted entries to Trash. Pinned entries can also be deleted, with confirmation.
4. 04 Select entries in Trash to restore or permanently delete them. Check the automatic deletion period in settings.

Use all nine launcher types

Press ⌘N or choose New Item from the menu bar. Pick a type, enter a title and its required fields. Use keywords, tags, nested folders and favorites to organize.

Protection levels and locking

Choose protection for each item. Normal items are also encrypted at rest. A protection level determines whether viewing and using an item requires authentication.

1. 01 Check auto-lock timing and the option to hide protected titles while locked. Avoid putting secrets in titles.
2. 02 Choose Lock Now from the menu bar or settings to discard unlock state and decrypted caches immediately.

Private URLs, browsers and profiles

Choose a browser and Normal / Private mode in the URL editor. Check detection, capabilities and launch tests in browser settings.

1. 01 Detect your browser, such as Chrome, Brave, Vivaldi, Firefox or Edge. Detection alone does not imply private-launch support, including for Safari.
2. 02 Map logical profiles to the physical profiles on this Mac. Repeat the mapping on each additional Mac.
3. 03 If private launch is unsupported, a profile is missing or permission is denied, explicitly select a supported private browser or correct the configuration.

Commands, SSH and terminals

Terminal.app, Ghostty, iTerm2 and Warp are used according to installation status and supported operations.

1. 01 Review the command and choose Background, Terminal or Copy Only. Enable confirmation and authentication where appropriate.
2. 02 Background mode shows standard output, standard error and exit code. Use Terminal for interactive commands and sudo.
3. 03 Prefer a Host alias in ~/.ssh/config. Authentication is handled by the system ssh client, ssh-agent and terminal.

Sensitive copies and permissions

Explicitly copying sensitive content, such as a Secure Note, keeps it out of Clatch’s regular history and supports clearing after a configured interval.

Accounts and multi-Mac sync

Sync uses Clatch Account and Clatch Sync Service with end-to-end encryption. It is being prepared as a paid feature; public availability and pricing are unannounced. Local use does not require it.

1. 01 When available, connect to the announced server and sign in from account settings.
2. 02 Register an additional Mac with the same account and approve it from a trusted Mac. Unlock state is not shared.
3. 03 Enable sync and check last sync time and pending changes. Sync covers launcher items and clipboard history. Sensitive copies are excluded from history and sync.
4. 04 Configure physical browser profiles, local file references and hotkeys separately on each Mac.

Background appearance and display mode

The popup background image, transparency, readability filter and display mode are configured under Popup background in the General settings.

1. 01 Choose, replace or remove a background image. The image is copied to this Mac and displayed to fill the window while keeping its aspect ratio; the original file is never modified.
2. 02 Adjust overall background transparency from 0 to 100%. 0% is fully opaque and 100% is fully transparent. It applies to the whole background including the image and filter; text and controls stay opaque.
3. 03 The readability filter lays a black layer in dark mode or a white layer in light mode over the image. Its transparency is configured separately from 0 to 100% and the filter is hidden when no image is set.
4. 04 Pick a display mode: follow system (default), dark, or light. Search and row colors follow the mode.

Encrypted backup and recovery

Local backups and sync recovery kits serve different purposes. Keep a separate backup even when using sync.

1. 01 Export an encrypted backup in settings with a dedicated backup password. It includes launcher data, history (including pins and Trash), keys and supported settings.
2. 02 Store the file and its password separately and securely. Sign-in sessions and unlock state are not included.
3. 03 Review what will be replaced before restoring. Replacement is the default and requires explicitly stopping sync. Do not reset unreadable data as a troubleshooting shortcut.
4. 04 If you create a sync recovery kit, store both the encrypted export and the recovery code in separate places. The code is shown only once at creation.

Troubleshooting

Start with the capability and error information in settings, then check the affected feature.