Flycut Was Last Updated in 2020. It's Time to Move On.
Flycut (a fork of Jumpcut) was once a popular open-source clipboard manager for macOS. But it hasn't received meaningful updates since 2020. It doesn't support Apple Silicon natively, has no image support, no code previews, and crashes on newer macOS versions. If you're searching for a Flycut alternative, you're not alone.
Pasty is built from scratch in Swift for Apple Silicon and macOS Sonoma. It handles text, images, files, videos, and code — with real-time syntax highlighting, AES-256 encryption, and 120Hz Liquid Glass animations powered by Metal 3.
Flycut vs Pasty — Why Developers Are Switching
| Feature | Pasty | Flycut |
|---|---|---|
| Clipboard History | ✓ | ✓ |
| Text-Only | Text + Images + Files + Video | Text only |
| Apple Silicon Native | ✓ | ✗ (Rosetta) |
| macOS Sonoma+ Support | ✓ | ⚠️ Crashes |
| Search & Filter | ✓ | ✗ |
| Syntax-Highlighted Code View | ✓ | ✗ |
| Video / Image Previews | ✓ | ✗ |
| AES-256 Encrypted History | ✓ | ✗ |
| 120Hz ProMotion | ✓ | ✗ |
| Cursor-Anchored Hotkey | ✓ | ✗ |
| Actively Maintained | ✓ (2026) | ✗ (2020) |
| Price | $9.99 once | Free (abandoned) |
Flycut 🪦
Abandoned Open Source: Flycut hasn't been updated in over 5 years. It runs through Rosetta on Apple Silicon, leaks memory on macOS Sonoma, and has known crashes on Sonoma. The GitHub repo has 200+ open issues with no responses.
Text Only: Flycut can only store text snippets. No images, no files, no videos, no code highlighting. It's a plain text ring buffer from 2015 — functional but frozen in time.
Pasty ⚡
Built for 2026: Pasty runs natively on Apple Silicon with zero translation overhead. Every feature is built for modern macOS — ProMotion displays, Liquid Glass compositing, Notification Center integration.
Developer-Grade: If you loved Flycut's simplicity, Pasty keeps the same cursor-anchored hotkey workflow — but adds syntax highlighting, video previews, encrypted storage, and a resizable panel that stays on top while you work.
Common Questions
The End of the Flycut Era
Flycut earned a loyal following among developers who valued its simplicity and open-source philosophy. As a fork of Jumpcut, it provided a minimalist clipboard history with keyboard-driven navigation — no menus, no visual clutter, just a bezel-style popup showing your recent copies. For years, it was the clipboard manager that developers recommended to other developers.
The project stopped receiving meaningful updates in 2020. The last commit to the GitHub repository addressed minor compatibility issues, and the original maintainer has not responded to any of the 200+ open issues. More critically, Flycut was never compiled for Apple Silicon. It runs through Rosetta translation on M-series Macs, which introduces unnecessary overhead and occasional stability issues.
On macOS Sonoma and later, users report crashes related to Flycut's use of deprecated accessibility APIs, memory leaks during long sessions, and permission dialogs that fail to properly grant clipboard access. These are not bugs that will be fixed — the project is effectively abandoned.
Pasty was purpose-built for the current generation of macOS and Apple Silicon. It runs natively on M1, M2, M3, and M4 processors with zero translation overhead. It uses modern macOS APIs for clipboard monitoring, sandbox-compliant storage, and Metal-based rendering. Where Flycut stored only plain text in a ring buffer, Pasty captures text, images, files, video thumbnails, and code with full fidelity.
For developers who loved Flycut's keyboard-first approach, Pasty preserves that philosophy. The cursor-anchored hotkey panel spawns instantly at your typing position, navigates entirely with arrow keys and Return, and dismisses itself after pasting. The workflow is the same — the capabilities are dramatically expanded.
How to Switch from Flycut to Pasty
- Download Pasty from the Mac App Store for $9.99 — a one-time purchase with no subscription.
- Set your hotkey. We recommend ⌥V (Option+V) for fast muscle memory.
- Grant Accessibility permissions when prompted. This allows Pasty to monitor your clipboard and anchor the panel to your cursor.
- Quit Flycut and revoke its permissions in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility.
- Start copying. Everything you copy is captured with full fidelity and encrypted automatically. Press ⌥V to browse, search, and paste.
