ClipNest
A smart clipboard history manager for Visual Studio Code.
ClipNest captures every copy and cut you make in the editor — and everything you copy outside it — and organises your snippets in a rich, searchable sidebar panel. Find anything in your history with fuzzy search, filter by snippet type, pin the entries you need to keep, tag them for organisation, and paste back into your editor in one click.
Features
- Automatic capture — Intercepts
Copy and Cut commands in the editor; also polls the system clipboard every 1.5 seconds to catch copies made in the browser, terminal, or any other app
- Smart classification — Every snippet is automatically labelled as one of:
import, function, class, variable, comment, markup, sql, json, or snippet
- Fuzzy search — Instantly filter the list by typing; matches against snippet text, language ID, source file path, and tags
- Type filter pills — One-click filters for All, Pinned, and any type that has entries in your current history
- Syntax highlighting — Colour-coded highlighting for TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, Rust, Go, and more, using a lightweight built-in highlighter with no external dependencies
- Pinned snippets — Pin important snippets so they are never auto-removed and always appear at the top of the list
- Tags — Add custom tags to any snippet inline; press
Enter to confirm, Escape to cancel
- Copied! feedback — Click any snippet card to copy it to the clipboard; the card flashes green and shows a "Copied!" badge. Paste anywhere with
Cmd+V / Ctrl+V
- Jump to source — Click the file icon on a card to open the file where the snippet was copied from
- Persistent history — Saved to VS Code's extension storage on disk; survives restarts and workspace changes
- Dark and light themes — Adapts to VS Code's active colour theme using native CSS variables; no hardcoded colours anywhere
Installation
From the VS Code Marketplace
- Open the Extensions view (
Cmd+Shift+X / Ctrl+Shift+X)
- Search for ClipNest
- Click Install
Usage
- Click the ClipNest icon in the Activity Bar to open the panel
- Copy or cut text anywhere — it appears in the panel automatically
- Click any snippet card to copy it to your clipboard; then paste with
Cmd+V / Ctrl+V
- Search with the search bar at the top — fuzzy matching across all fields
- Filter by type using the pill buttons below the search bar
- Pin a snippet by clicking the pin icon — pinned snippets never leave the list
- Tag a snippet by clicking the
+ button in the tags row; type a tag and press Enter
- Jump to source by clicking the external-link icon next to the file path
- Delete a snippet with the x button, or clear all non-pinned entries with the trash icon in the header
Settings
| Setting |
Type |
Default |
Description |
clipnest.maxHistory |
number |
50 |
Maximum number of non-pinned entries to keep. Range: 1-500. Oldest entries are evicted when the limit is exceeded. |
clipnest.ignoredLanguages |
string[] |
[] |
VS Code language IDs to skip (e.g. ["plaintext", "log", "output"]). |
clipnest.minLength |
number |
5 |
Minimum character length a copied string must have to be saved. |
clipnest.debug |
boolean |
false |
Enable diagnostic logging to the developer console (Help > Toggle Developer Tools). |
Commands
Open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P) and type ClipNest:
| Command |
Description |
ClipNest: Open Panel |
Focus the ClipNest sidebar panel |
ClipNest: Clear History |
Clear all non-pinned entries (prompts for confirmation) |
Snippet Types
| Type |
Detected by |
IMPORT |
import, require, from ... import, #include, using |
FUNCTION |
function, arrow functions, def, fn, func |
CLASS |
class declaration |
VARIABLE |
const, let, var, val assignment |
COMMENT |
//, #, /*, """, ''' |
MARKUP |
HTML/JSX/TSX tags |
SQL |
SELECT, INSERT INTO, UPDATE, DELETE FROM, CREATE/ALTER/DROP TABLE |
JSON |
Valid JSON object or array |
SNIPPET |
Everything else |
Copyright (c) 2026 ClipNest. All rights reserved.
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