# Deck: a native, local-first clipboard manager for macOS, with a packaging caveat > Deck records text, images, files and colors on macOS 14+, searches them on-device, and keeps history local by default. Its README currently asks users not to download or auto-update the app, which changes the adoption decision more than any feature list does. **yuzeguitarist/Deck** — Deck is a modern, native, privacy-first clipboard manager for macOS. - Repository: https://github.com/yuzeguitarist/Deck - Website: https://deckclip.app - Stars: 1,447 · Forks: 48 - Language: Swift - License: NOASSERTION - Published: 2026-09-10 · Updated: 2026-09-10 · Language: en - Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/yuzeguitarist-deck ## What Deck solves, and who it is actually for macOS keeps one clipboard item at a time. Copy a second thing and the first is gone. Deck is a native SwiftUI app that keeps a searchable history of what you copied: text, images, files, colors, links and rich text. It targets people who copy constantly and lose things: developers moving snippets between editors and terminals, designers pulling values out of Figma, anyone who has pasted the wrong thing and had no way back. The privacy angle is the differentiator. The README states that data stays on the Mac by default, that semantic search runs on-device through NLEmbedding, and that usage statistics are computed locally and never uploaded. Sensitive data filtering uses the Luhn algorithm to detect bank card and identity or passport numbers and skips capture, and window-aware protection pauses capture when it detects sensitive window titles such as password fields or login pages. Those are concrete mechanisms, not slogans, and they are the reason to pick Deck over a cloud-synced clipboard tool. Who it is not for: anyone on Windows or Linux, since the platform badge says macOS 14+, and anyone who wants a managed, notarized installer without extra steps. The README is explicit that the app is not notarized through Apple's paid Developer Program. ## How Deck captures, stores and searches clipboard items The capture path starts at the system clipboard. Deck watches it, applies filters, and writes items into a local store. The filters run before storage: Luhn-checked card and ID numbers are skipped, and capture pauses entirely when the active window title matches a sensitive pattern. Pause mode is the manual version of the same switch. Search is the part worth understanding. Deck supports keyword, regex and type filters, plus slash-triggered search rules that filter by app, date or type with include and exclude values. On top of that sits semantic search using NLEmbedding, Apple's on-device embedding framework, so a query can match an item by meaning rather than exact substring. Ordering is context-aware: items are sorted by relevance to the app you are currently in, which is why a snippet copied from Xcode tends to surface when you are back in Xcode. Around the store sit the smart features. OCR extracts text from images in the background using the Vision framework. Smart Rules match conditions and run actions, including JavaScript script plugins. The IDE Source Anchor captures file path and line number when you copy from VS Code, Xcode, JetBrains, Cursor or Windsurf, and clicking the item jumps back. Sync is LAN-only, using AES-GCM encryption with TOTP verification, and there is a direct IP connection mode for when Bonjour or a VPN gets in the way. Nothing in the README describes a hosted backend. ## Installing Deck with Homebrew and pasting your first item The README opens its install section with a temporary notice: do not download or update Deck right now, keep using a working installed version, and do not use in-app auto update until further notice. Read that notice before running anything below. The commands are what the README gives for the Homebrew path. ```bash brew tap yuzeguitarist/deck export HOMEBREW_CASK_OPTS="--no-quarantine" brew install --cask deckclip ``` The tap adds the repository as a Homebrew source, the exported variable disables macOS quarantine for the cask because Deck is not yet notarized, and the cask name is deckclip. The manual alternative is to download the latest .dmg from Releases, drag Deck.app into Applications, and grant Accessibility plus Input Monitoring if prompted in System Settings, Privacy and Security. On first launch macOS may report that Deck cannot be opened because Apple cannot check it for malicious software. The README's fix is to open System Settings, Privacy and Security, scroll to the blocked message for Deck and click Open Anyway. Once the app runs, the Quick Start is three steps. Press Cmd + P to open the panel, use the arrow keys to move, and press Enter to paste. Typing immediately after opening the panel starts a search, and Shift + Enter pastes as plain text. Cmd + Number quick-pastes items 1 through 9, Option + Q toggles queue mode, Space toggles preview and Esc closes. ## The packaging notice is the real limitation right now Most clipboard managers fail on trust or on search. Deck's current problem is distribution. The README carries a temporary notice telling users not to download or update, and warns that new downloads or updates may still fail because of a packaging issue. That is unusual for a project with releases as recent as v1.4.5, published on 2026-05-09, and it means the install path above may not produce a working app today. The second constraint is notarization. Because the app is not signed through Apple's paid Developer Program, you either disable quarantine for the cask or walk through the Open Anyway flow. On a managed Mac, that may conflict with policy, and Accessibility plus Input Monitoring are broad permissions for a clipboard tool to request. The README says the source is public for reference only and directs users to the official compiled app from Releases, so building from source is not presented as a supported path. The last push to the repository was on 2026-05-09. That is more than four months before today, so treat Deck as a project with a paused release channel rather than one shipping fixes weekly. The README does not document rollback if an update fails, which matters given the explicit warning against in-app auto update. ## Deck compared with Maccy and the other apps it migrates from The README lists migration from Paste, Maccy, CopyClip and other clipboard apps, which tells you where the audience is coming from. Maccy is the closest open source comparison: a lightweight macOS clipboard history built around a searchable list and keyboard navigation. The difference in approach is scope. Maccy is a history list. Deck layers OCR, semantic search, Smart Rules with JavaScript plugins, a template library, text transformations such as JSON format and Base64, a CLI Bridge, Siri Shortcuts through App Intents, and LAN sync with AES-GCM and TOTP on top of the same core. That breadth is also the trade-off. Every added subsystem is another thing that can break, another permission to grant and another surface to audit, and the packaging notice shows how a distribution problem can block the whole product regardless of feature depth. If you want a small clipboard history and nothing else, a narrower tool is the better fit. Deck is for people who want the extras and accept the larger footprint. The LAN sharing deserves a specific note. AES-GCM with TOTP is a reasonable design for peer-to-peer sync, and the direct IP connection mode is a pragmatic answer to Bonjour failures and VPN interference. But the README does not describe key exchange or device pairing in detail, so if sync between machines is your main reason for choosing Deck, verify how pairing works before you rely on it. ## Licence, updates and the cost of staying current The licence badge reads AGPL v3 for deckclip and ARR for the rest, and the repository LICENSE is reported as NOASSERTION by GitHub's classifier, so the split is worth reading directly rather than assuming. In practice: the deckclip portion is AGPL v3, and the remaining parts are all rights reserved. The README says the source is public for reference only and asks users to use the official compiled app from Releases. If you plan to fork, redistribute or embed any part of Deck, read the LICENSE file and the README's licence section yourself. This is a description of what the repository states, not legal advice. Upgrade cost is dominated by the packaging situation. The README says auto updates check daily by default, with a manual check available in Settings, and then asks users not to use in-app auto update for now. That leaves two options: track the Releases page and install manually once the notice is lifted, or build from source and accept that the README does not present that as the supported route. Either way, budget time for the Accessibility and Input Monitoring grants on each machine, and for the Open Anyway step if quarantine is not disabled. ## Conclusion Deck suits engineers on macOS 14+ who want a local-first clipboard history with search, OCR and scripted rules, and who are willing to build from source or wait out the packaging notice. It is not for anyone who needs a signed, notarized installer today, and not for Windows or Linux users, since the project targets macOS only. Before adopting it, read the install notice in the README, check the latest release notes, and confirm whether Accessibility and Input Monitoring permissions are acceptable in your environment. ## FAQ ### What is Deck, the clipboard manager for macOS? Deck is a native SwiftUI clipboard manager for macOS 14+ that records text, images, files, colors, links and rich text, and makes them searchable. The README describes it as local-first, with on-device semantic search and no upload of usage statistics. ### How do I install Deck with Homebrew? The README gives three commands: brew tap yuzeguitarist/deck, export HOMEBREW_CASK_OPTS="--no-quarantine", and brew install --cask deckclip. The quarantine variable is needed because the app is not yet notarized. The README also carries a temporary notice asking users not to download or update right now. ### Is Deck available for Windows or Linux? No. The platform badge in the README specifies macOS 14+ and the requirements section lists Apple Silicon or Intel, so the app is macOS only. ## Sources - [Issues](https://github.com/yuzeguitarist/Deck/issues) - [Project website](https://deckclip.app) - [README](https://github.com/yuzeguitarist/Deck/blob/main/README.md) - [Releases](https://github.com/yuzeguitarist/Deck/releases) - [yuzeguitarist/Deck on GitHub](https://github.com/yuzeguitarist/Deck) --- Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/yuzeguitarist-deck