Clipboard manager for Mac OS X? Tero for macOS

Find a previous copy, then act on it

Tero keeps a local clipboard history so you can find an earlier copy and choose an action suited to its content. Open Tero with nothing selected, choose Clipboard, and browse saved text, links, images or file references. You can copy an entry again, search for a detail, pin something you will need later, or open the available actions for that entry.

View and search your history

Copying a second item should not force you to reconstruct the first one. For example, keep a delivery address while you copy an order number, then return to the address when the checkout asks for it. Search can use an entry’s content, filename, type or source application. Source application attribution is best-effort, so a remembered phrase is often a more useful search term than an app name.

Tero keeps unpinned history for seven days, with a budget of 100 entries and 30 MB. These limits matter if you copy many images or large selections. History begins with what Tero captures while clipboard capture is available; installing a tool cannot reconstruct copies made before it started observing them. A history is useful working storage, but it is not a permanent document archive.

Keep useful items with pins

Select an entry and choose Pin, or use Command-P, to keep it beyond the normal seven-day window. You can pin up to 20 entries. Pins survive a Tero restart and still count toward the history budget. Save a delivery address or a frequently reused explanation, then remove the pin when the information is no longer useful. Unpinning an item older than seven days expires it immediately. Clearing history removes pinned entries too.

Choosing the best clipboard manager for Mac

The best clipboard manager for Mac depends on the work you repeat. A dedicated history utility suits someone who mainly searches and pastes. Tero suits a workflow where an earlier copy becomes the starting point for another task. Select a paragraph, open Actions or press Command-K, and choose a supported text action. A result opens in a reading card so you decide where to put it. Copied images offer local text extraction or an AI summary, with different privacy implications.

If your priority is the best free clipboard manager Mac users can install for basic history, compare the built-in options on your version of macOS and dedicated free tools before choosing. Tero’s local actions remain available after the daily AI allowance is used. Free includes three AI recommendation requests and three AI actions each UTC day; Pro provides a larger shared allowance rather than unlimited AI.

Clipboard history stays on your Mac and does not sync to your Tero account. Choosing an online AI action sends the content needed for that action. File entries are references, so moving or deleting a file may make an old entry unavailable. Read the clipboard history instructions and Mac clipboard guide for the practical steps and version differences.

Resize and convert supported files from a selection

Tero can resize and convert supported images and documents selected in Finder, creating new outputs beside the originals. Select downloaded regular files, open Tero and choose an available action. The source type determines the formats and options shown, so the list is narrower and more useful than a promise to convert every possible file.

Images and document formats

For images, available outputs can include PNG, JPEG, HEIC, TIFF and BMP, depending on the source and macOS encoders. Resize offers suggested smaller sizes and a Custom choice. A longest-edge value or percentage preserves the aspect ratio. An explicit width and height for one image can change its proportions, so choose that deliberately. Static images are limited to 40 megapixels; an otherwise familiar format or file size may still be unsupported.

Document conversion supports families of related formats. Word and text files can offer PDF, DOCX, ODT, RTF and TXT. Spreadsheets can offer PDF, XLSX, ODS, CSV and TSV. Presentations can offer PDF, PPTX and ODP. Office conversion requires LibreOffice installed locally. Converting a downloaded spreadsheet does not edit a live Google Sheets document. Exporting CSV or TSV keeps the first sheet’s values and loses formulas, formatting and other sheets.

A PDF with selectable text can become TXT or a text-only Word document. That does not reconstruct the original page layout. For scanned pages, text extraction is a separate step. Start with a short representative document, then inspect the generated output before converting a larger set. Preserve your source when layout or formulas matter.

Audio and video conversion on Mac

If you need an audio file converter for Mac, Tero’s current beta does not provide audio transcoding. Apple Music can convert supported songs using its import settings. Our audio conversion guide explains a practical workflow and the difference between a smaller file and better audio. Use a converter designed for the source and output you need rather than changing a filename extension.

A video file converter for Mac also needs a media engine and the right codec support. Tero does not currently transcode video. The Mac video conversion guide covers QuickTime export and HandBrake presets. A container such as MOV or MP4 and the video codec inside it are separate choices. Keeping that distinction clear avoids promising compatibility from the suffix alone.

An exe file converter for Mac cannot turn a Windows application into a native Mac application. An executable is a program built for an operating system, rather than a document format. Look for the developer’s Mac version or a suitable Windows execution environment. Tero does not run or translate Windows executables.

Keep originals and check limits

Generated outputs create new files. Rename and Move are different: they change the selected files after confirmation. Tero checks changed sources and conflicting destinations. General file selections are capped at 20 files, 100 MB per file and 500 MB combined; individual actions may have smaller limits. Folders and symbolic links are unsupported. See the file manual and image resizing instructions before a batch.

Correct or translate selected text where you work

Tero corrects and translates selected text, then replaces it in a supported writing field or shows the result in a reading card. Select the passage first and open Tero with Command-Backslash. Suggestions depend on the selection and the context the source application exposes. You can also search for an action instead of using a suggestion.

Correct a message without changing its meaning

Suppose your draft says, “i recieved your mesage lets talk tomorow.” Correct is the action for spelling and grammar while keeping your wording, tone and language. Read the proposed result before using it, especially when the passage contains a name, number or date. A correction should preserve what you meant rather than invent an explanation or promise.

Rewrite serves a different task: rephrasing a passage with a Natural, Professional or Casual style. Adjust tone offers Warm, Direct or Diplomatic choices. Choosing the action that matches the problem helps preserve the parts of your original draft that already work. For a short email, correcting two errors may be more useful than rewriting every sentence.

Translate a selection into a chosen language

Select “Could we meet tomorrow morning?”, choose Translate and pick the target language. Language search helps when the list is long, and recent choices are easier to reach. Review the translation in the context of your message before replacing or copying it. Product names, abbreviations and regional expressions may need a human check even when the sentence reads naturally.

In an editable field that Tero supports, Tero rechecks the selection before replacing it. If you selected a paragraph on a web page or another reading surface, the result appears in a card you can read or copy. Tero leaves sending a message to you. That separation gives you an opportunity to check the result and choose the destination.

Online text actions send the selected content and required instructions through Tero’s backend for AI processing. Selection access varies between applications, and password fields are excluded. If a field does not expose a usable selection, copying the passage into Clipboard can provide another starting point. See the text action manual for the available actions and selection troubleshooting when the panel cannot read your text.

Turn selected commitments into reviewed reminders

Tero can turn selected plans and commitments into items for Apple Reminders or Calendar, with a review step before creation. Select the relevant text where you are reading it and choose the matching action. This gives a message, note or document a route into your planning tools without manually retyping the whole passage.

Start from one concrete commitment

For example, select “Send the revised proposal to Maya on Friday afternoon.” A reminder should keep the actual task, recipient and deadline from that selection. Review the proposed title and timing before creating the item. “Friday afternoon” may need a precise date and time, and a short message can omit the timezone or other context you need. Add those details deliberately rather than treating a generated suggestion as a confirmed plan.

A passage can contain several commitments. Use Create tasks to review the items you want to save. Extract tasks produces written action items instead; it is useful when you want a list to copy without adding anything to Apple Reminders. These are separate outcomes. Decide whether the next step is planning or simply understanding what a paragraph asks you to do.

Distinguish a reminder from an event

A reminder is useful for work you must complete. A Calendar event is useful for reserved time, such as a meeting. If the selected message says “Meet Maya at 14:00 on Friday,” inspect the proposed date, time and duration before saving an event. A missing year, informal weekday reference or timezone can change the intended result. Your review is where those ambiguities should be resolved.

Tero asks for Calendar or Reminders access when you use the relevant action. You can manage those permissions in System Settings under Privacy & Security. Reading a selection also depends on the source app exposing text through supported macOS interfaces. When that access is unavailable, copy the specific passage and use the available clipboard actions or enter the item directly in your planning app.

Online recommendations or AI actions can send the selected content needed to understand the request. Keep sensitive commitments out of online processing when you cannot share them. The Calendar and Reminders manual explains the current workflow. To compare this selection-first approach with a dedicated clipboard tool or command launcher, read the clipboard tool comparisons.