Paste MCP

Paste MCP connects your clipboard history to AI tools like Claude, Codex, Cursor, and other tools that support MCP.

With Paste MCP, your AI tool can search Paste, find specific copied items, and use saved context while you keep working in the tool you are already using.

What is MCP?

MCP stands for Model Context Protocol. It is an open standard that lets AI tools connect to apps and context in a structured way.

Paste uses MCP to make your clipboard history available to the AI tools you approve. Instead of copying the same notes, links, files, and references into every prompt, you can ask your AI tool to look in Paste and continue from there.

What Paste MCP can help with

Paste MCP is useful when the context you need already exists in your clipboard history.

You can ask your AI tool to:

• Find something you copied earlier.

• Use saved notes, links, files, or screenshots as context.

• Summarize items you collected during research.

• Draft an update from notes copied throughout the day.

• Help organize related items in Paste, when supported by the connected tool.

For example:

• Find the notes I copied today in Paste. Draft a team update for the launch using them.

• Find all research items I copied in Paste this week. Make a brief overview and suggest a structure for my presentation.

• Check Paste for what I copied today. Give me a brief recap of my work.

How to start

Paste MCP is available on your Mac. Make sure you have the latest version of Paste installed, then:

• Open Paste Settings → MCP & AI Tools.

• Turn on Enable MCP.

• Click Connect AI Tool and choose the tool you want to connect.

• Follow the setup guide for that tool.

Connect your AI tool

Paste includes step-by-step guides for the most common tools:

• Connect Paste to Claude Desktop

• Connect Paste to Claude Code

• Connect Paste to Codex

• Connect Paste to Cursor

• Connect Paste to VS Code

• Connect Paste to Windsurf

• Connect Paste to a custom AI tool

Privacy and control

Paste MCP runs locally on your Mac. When MCP is enabled, Paste runs a built-in local server that AI tools can connect to only after you approve access. Paste never shares your clipboard history on its own — a connected tool has to request context through the connection you approved.

Once connected, a tool can work with the Paste items and pinboards available through MCP, which may include your clipboard history, copied items, links, files, screenshots, and pinboards on your Mac. What happens to that content next can depend on the tool you use: some send your request to their own model provider, so it is worth reviewing the privacy settings of each connected tool as well.

If you connect a custom tool, keep its server details and token private — anyone who has them may be able to connect to Paste while MCP is enabled. Only connect tools you trust.

Manage connected tools

You can review and change which tools have access at any time in Paste Settings → MCP & AI Tools. From there you can:

• See which tools are connected.

• Remove a tool's access when you no longer need it.

• Turn off Enable MCP so no AI tools can connect to Paste.

Can’t find the MCP settings?

Paste MCP is available on Mac only. If you don’t see MCP & AI Tools in Paste Settings, make sure you’re running the latest version of Paste for Mac — if you installed Paste from Setapp, it may take a little longer to update to the newest version.