AutoClip

Screenshot/file → folder → clipboard → paste into app but in one step!

A macOS menu bar app that watches folders for new files and automatically copies them to the clipboard — the file (paste into Finder, Slack, AI tools) and the path (pbpaste in terminal). Watches your screenshot folder by default. Also great for Downloads.

Why not Cmd+Ctrl+Shift+4?

That copies image data, not a file. AI tools like Claude Code need a file path, and you lose the screenshot after pasting. With AutoClip, the screenshot is saved to disk and on your clipboard — paste anywhere.

Install

Download the latest .zip from Releases, unzip, move to /Applications/, and open. Signed and notarized.

From source

git clone https://github.com/jspiro/AutoClip.git
cd AutoClip
make install

Requires Xcode 16+ (xcode-select --install).

Usage

Take a screenshot or add a file to a watched folder. AutoClip handles the rest:

• Paste into Claude Code — screenshot path is ready immediately
• Cmd+V in Finder — pastes a copy of the file
• Cmd+V in Slack, Notes, etc. — pastes the image
• pbpaste — returns the full path in terminal
• Menu bar icon — recent files, re-copy, preferences

How it works

• Event-driven file watching via kqueue — zero CPU while idle
• Automatic updates via Sparkle
• No Dock icon, no Cmd+Tab — pure menu bar app

Preferences

• General — watched folders, start at login, notifications, recent file count
• File Types — all files or specific extensions
• About — version, updates, contribute, report a bug

Requirements

• macOS 13+

License

PolyForm Shield 1.0.0 — free to use, modify, and share; no competitive use.