A transformer for your clipboard!
Why Optimus Clip • Features • Quick Start • AI Providers • Custom Transformations • Development
Your clipboard is dumb. Optimus Clip makes it smart.
Every day you copy text that needs work before you can use it:
- Terminal output with awkward line breaks
- Emails wrapped at 72 characters from the 1990s
- Code snippets that need cleaning
- Notes that need formatting
- Prose that needs grammar fixes
Instead of pasting into a text editor, cleaning it up, and copying again—press one hotkey. Optimus Clip intercepts your clipboard, transforms it instantly, and pastes the result.
No windows. No context switching. Just transformed text.
Transform clipboard content without leaving your current app. Copy text, press a hotkey, and the transformed result is instantly pasted. No windows, no context switching.
The reason this tool exists. If you use CLI tools like Claude Code, Cursor, or any terminal application, you know the pain: copy text and it's full of leading spaces, wrapped lines, and formatting artifacts.
Clean Terminal Text fixes this instantly—no LLM required.
Example: Before & After
Input (copied from terminal):
This is a paragraph of text that was displayed in a
terminal window with a specific width. Each line has
leading spaces and hard line breaks that make it
unusable when pasted elsewhere.
Here's another paragraph with the same problem.
Output (after Clean Terminal Text):
This is a paragraph of text that was displayed in a terminal window with a specific width. Each line has leading spaces and hard line breaks that make it unusable when pasted elsewhere.
Here's another paragraph with the same problem.
The real power: create custom transformations that use AI to process your clipboard. Each transformation gets its own hotkey.
Format As Markdown ships as a default—paste any messy text and get clean, structured markdown:
Example: Before & After
Input (copied from a webpage or document):
Getting Started First, install the dependencies. You'll need Node.js
version 18 or higher. Then run npm install. Configuration Create a
config.json file in the root directory. Required fields: apiKey (your
API key), endpoint (the server URL), timeout (in milliseconds).
Output (after Format As Markdown):
## Getting Started
First, install the dependencies. You'll need Node.js version 18 or higher. Then run `npm install`.
## Configuration
Create a `config.json` file in the root directory.
**Required fields:**
- `apiKey` — your API key
- `endpoint` — the server URL
- `timeout` — in millisecondsCreate as many transformations as you need, each with its own hotkey:
| Use Case | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Translate | Translate any copied text to your language |
| Summarize | Get a concise summary of any text |
| Extract Content | Copy an entire webpage, extract just the article |
| Fix Grammar | Clean up writing without changing meaning |
Every transformation is logged—search and filter through past inputs and outputs, grouped by date.
- macOS 15.0 (Sequoia) or later
- For AI transformations: API key from any supported provider
Download the latest release:
Or build from source:
git clone https://github.com/chrisedwards/optimus-clip.git
cd optimus-clip
make start- Grant Accessibility Permission — Required for global hotkeys and paste simulation
- Set Your Hotkeys — Open Settings → Transformations and assign keyboard shortcuts
- (Optional) Add an AI Provider — Enable AI transformations by adding an API key
- Transform! — Copy text, press your hotkey, done
The built-in Clean Terminal Text transformation works immediately—no API key needed. To use Format As Markdown or create custom AI transformations, configure a provider in Settings.
Optimus Clip supports multiple AI providers. Choose based on your needs:
- Anthropic
- OpenAI
- OpenRouter
- Ollama (local)
- AWS Bedrock
The real power of Optimus Clip is creating transformations tailored to your workflow.
Each transformation has:
- Name — What you'll see in the menu and history
- Hotkey — The keyboard shortcut to trigger it
- System Prompt — Instructions telling the AI what to do
Translate to Spanish
Translate the following text to Spanish.
Maintain the original formatting (paragraphs, lists, etc.).
Return only the translation, no explanations.
Summarize in 3 Bullets
Summarize the following text in exactly 3 bullet points.
Each bullet should be one sentence.
Focus on the most important information.
Return only the bullet points.
Extract Article Content
Extract the main article content from this webpage text.
Remove navigation, ads, footers, and other non-content elements.
Preserve headings and paragraph structure.
Return only the article content in clean markdown.
Explain Like I'm 5
Explain the following text in simple terms a 5-year-old could understand.
Use short sentences and common words.
Include a simple analogy if helpful.
- End with "Return only..." — Prevents the AI from adding explanations
- Be explicit about formatting — "Return as markdown" or "Return as plain text"
- Test with the preview — Use the test button in the transformation editor before saving
- macOS 15.0+
- Xcode 16+ (for Swift 6.0)
- Swift 6.0
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/chrisedwards/optimus-clip.git
cd optimus-clip
# Build and run
make start
# Or build only
make buildmake check # Run linting and format checks
make test # Run all tests
make check-test # Run both checks and tests
make format # Auto-format code
make package # Create .app bundle
make stop # Stop running instancesoptimus-clip/
├── Sources/
│ ├── OptimusClip/ # Main app (UI, system integration)
│ │ ├── Views/ # SwiftUI views
│ │ ├── Managers/ # System managers (hotkeys, clipboard)
│ │ ├── Services/ # LLM clients, history, settings
│ │ └── Onboarding/ # First-run experience
│ │
│ └── OptimusClipCore/ # Shared library (testable, no UI)
│ ├── Transformations/ # Transformation implementations
│ ├── LLMClients/ # Provider protocols
│ └── History/ # SwiftData models
│
├── Tests/ # Unit tests
├── Scripts/ # Build automation
└── assets/ # App icons and images
- Swift 6 Strict Concurrency — All types are
Sendable, async/await throughout - Protocol-Oriented —
Transformationprotocol for all transforms,LLMProviderClientfor providers - SwiftUI + AppKit Hybrid — Menu bar with SwiftUI settings window
See AGENTS.md for detailed development guidelines.
MIT