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ClipStream

A fast, native clipboard manager for Windows — built in C++ with Qt 6.

Windows C++ Qt License

ClipStream remembers everything you copy — text and images — and brings it back instantly with a global hotkey, full-text search, and one-keystroke paste.

Note: ClipStream was originally built with Tauri (Rust + Preact). It has been rebuilt from the ground up in C++/Qt 6 for a smaller, faster, fully native app. The original implementation lives on the legacy branch.

Features

  • Event-driven capture — listens to the OS clipboard, no polling, ~0% idle CPU
  • Global hotkeyCtrl+Shift+V opens the overlay anywhere, at your cursor
  • Full-text search — instant SQLite FTS5 search across your history
  • Text & images — images stored as files on disk (not bloating the database)
  • Smart actions — open URLs, reveal files, convert colours, evaluate maths
  • Format on paste — paste as UPPER / lower / Title / trimmed
  • Quick pasteCtrl+19 to paste the Nth clip instantly
  • Snippets — save reusable text (Ctrl+N), kept pinned at the top
  • Source tracking — shows which app each clip came from
  • Privacy first — masks detected secrets, excludes password managers, pause toggle
  • Themes — System / Dark / Light
  • Lightweight & native — ~39 MB bundle, single-file installer ~13 MB

Install

Download the latest installer from Releases, or build from source below.

Shortcuts

Shortcut Action
Ctrl+Shift+V Open / close the overlay
Navigate
Enter Paste selected
Shift+Enter Paste with formatting
Ctrl+19 Quick-paste the Nth clip
Ctrl+O Open link / file (smart action)
Ctrl+N New snippet
F2 Edit clip
Shift+Del Delete clip
Esc Close

Tech stack

  • Language: C++17
  • UI: Qt 6 Widgets (frameless translucent overlay, model/view, custom delegate)
  • Storage: SQLite + FTS5 via Qt SQL
  • Platform: Win32 (RegisterHotKey, SendInput, GetForegroundWindow) behind a cross-platform abstraction (Linux/macOS stubs ready to implement)
  • Build: CMake + Ninja (MinGW); packaged with windeployqt + Inno Setup

Build from source

Requires Qt 6 (MinGW kit), CMake, and Ninja.

# Configure (Release, Ninja)
cmake -S . -B build -G Ninja -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release `
  -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH="C:/Qt/6.11.1/mingw_64"

# Build
cmake --build build

# Bundle the Qt runtime to run anywhere
windeployqt --release --no-translations dist\ClipStream\ClipStream.exe

CI builds and packages an installer on every push (see .github/workflows/build.yml).

Project layout

src/
├─ main.cpp, theme.{h,cpp}, AppController.{h,cpp}
├─ core/      ClipboardMonitor · Database (SQLite/FTS5) · ContentClassifier · MathEval
├─ ui/        OverlayWindow · HistoryModel · EntryDelegate · SettingsDialog
└─ platform/  HotkeyManager · ForegroundApp · PasteSimulator · Autostart
              ├─ win/   (Windows implementations)
              └─ stub/  (Linux/macOS placeholders)

Author

Saqlain Abbas

LinkedIn GitHub

License

MIT License — feel free to use and modify.

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please read CONTRIBUTING.md first.

About

A lightweight, context-aware clipboard manager for Windows that feels native to the OS.

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