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DropKit is a macOS menu bar utility with a shake-to-summon floating file shelf and a searchable clipboard history.
Moving files between apps on macOS has always been awkward: open Finder, arrange windows, drag across — all while losing your place in the app you were using. DropKit solves this with a floating shelf you summon by shaking your mouse mid-drag, so you never need to break your workflow. A persistent clipboard history panel pairs with the shelf so copied text, images, and files are always a keystroke away.
- Shake your mouse left-right while dragging a file to summon the shelf instantly
- Drop files onto the shelf for temporary staging; drag them out to any destination when ready
- Grid and list view modes
- Collapses to a compact overlay; expand to see all staged files
- Automatic clipboard monitoring — text, images, files, and URLs are captured as you copy
- Full-text search across your history
- Pin important items so they are never pushed out
- Press Space to quick-look the selected item
- Configurable item limit and retention period (Settings → Clipboard)
- Respects password-manager concealed-type entries and an app blacklist — those are never saved
- Persistent menu bar icon for instant access
- Global keyboard shortcuts work from any app
- Runs as a background agent (no Dock icon)
DropKit is being prepared for Mac App Store distribution. Until the store version is available, build from source:
| Requirement | Version |
|---|---|
| macOS | 14.0 (Sonoma) or later |
| Xcode | 15.0 or later |
| XcodeGen | latest (brew install xcodegen) |
git clone https://github.com/chenyuxiaojin/DropKit.git
cd DropKit/DropKit
xcodegen generate # generates DropKit.xcodeproj from project.yml
xcodebuild -scheme DropKit -configuration Release buildThe built .app appears in build/Release/DropKit.app. Move it to /Applications and launch.
DropKit needs Accessibility permission to detect mouse shake gestures:
- Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility
- Click the lock icon and authenticate
- Enable DropKit in the list
- Restart DropKit for the change to take effect
Without this permission the shelf shake-summon feature is unavailable; clipboard history still works.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Toggle Shelf | ⌘⇧S |
| Open Clipboard History | ⌘⇧V |
| Open Settings | ⌘, |
| Quit | ⌘Q |
- Summon: Shake your mouse left-right while dragging a file
- Add files: Drop files onto the shelf while it is visible
- Use files: Drag files out of the shelf to any destination
- Expand view: Click the expand button to see all staged files
- Keyboard: Press
⌘⇧Sat any time to show or hide the shelf
- Open: Click the menu bar icon → "Clipboard History", or press
⌘⇧V - Paste an item: Click it or press Return
- Search: Type to filter items in real time
- Preview: Press Space to Quick Look the selected item
- Pin: Right-click → Pin (pinned items are never auto-deleted)
- Delete: Right-click → Delete
| Feature | DropKit | Yoink | Dropover | Maccy | Paste |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Floating file shelf | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — |
| Shake-to-summon shelf | Yes | — | — | — | — |
| Clipboard history | Yes | — | — | Yes | Yes |
| Shelf + clipboard in one app | Yes | — | — | — | — |
| Menu bar icon | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Local storage, no cloud sync | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Price | Free (open source) | Paid | Paid | Free | Subscription |
Note: Feature comparisons are based on publicly available product information as of 2026. Verify current feature sets before making purchasing decisions.
Why does DropKit need Accessibility permission?
The shake-to-summon shelf detects mouse acceleration during a drag gesture using macOS's Accessibility APIs (NSEvent.addGlobalMonitorForEvents). Without this permission the OS blocks global mouse event monitoring. The permission is only used for shake detection — DropKit does not read screen content or control other apps.
How do I summon the shelf?
Two ways: (1) while actively dragging a file, shake your mouse left-right a few times — the shelf appears automatically; (2) press ⌘⇧S from any app.
Where is my clipboard data stored? Is there a privacy mode?
All clipboard history is stored locally on your Mac at ~/Library/Application Support/DropKit/clipboard_history.json. No data is sent to any server. DropKit skips items from apps on your configured blacklist (Settings → Clipboard → Excluded Apps) and respects the org.nspasteboard.ConcealedType flag used by password managers — those items are never recorded.
How do I install DropKit?
DropKit is currently source-only (App Store release in progress). Clone the repo, run xcodegen generate then xcodebuild, and move the resulting DropKit.app to /Applications. See Build from Source above for full steps.
Can I set a limit on how many items the clipboard history keeps?
Yes. Open Settings → Clipboard to configure the maximum item count and the retention period (in days). Set either value to 0 to keep items indefinitely. Pinned (favorited) items are exempt from automatic cleanup.
- macOS 14.0 (Sonoma) or later
- Accessibility permission (for shake-to-summon shelf only)
MIT License — see LICENSE for details.