DittoDuo Pro · AI assistant access

A clipboard MCP server for Claude, Cursor and other AI assistants

DittoDuo Pro includes an MCP server, so your AI assistant can search what you copied. Ask for “the stack trace I copied an hour ago” instead of finding it and pasting it in. Whatever your assistant reads is sent to its AI provider (such as Anthropic or OpenAI), under that provider’s terms. That’s why access is off until you turn it on, likely secrets are redacted before anything leaves DittoDuo, only recent clips are visible, and recent reads are logged on your Mac.

What is MCP?

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is the open standard AI tools use to connect to apps and data. An MCP server offers tools; the assistant calls them when it needs to. DittoDuo’s server runs on your Mac as a small helper inside the app, and it can only read your clipboard history, never change it.

Set it up in a minute

Install DittoDuo and activate Pro in Settings → License.
In Settings → MCP, turn on Allow AI assistants to read recent clips.
Add DittoDuo to your assistant using one of the configurations below.

Claude Code

claude mcp add dittoduo -- /Applications/DittoDuo.app/Contents/Helpers/DittoDuoMCP

Cursor, Claude Desktop and other MCP clients

Add this to the client’s MCP configuration (Settings → MCP → Copy configuration gives you one ready to paste), then restart or reload MCP in the client.

{ "mcpServers": { "dittoduo": { "command": "/Applications/DittoDuo.app/Contents/Helpers/DittoDuoMCP", "args": [], "type": "stdio" } } }

Then ask

› what was the stack trace I copied an hour ago?

› find the SQL query I copied this morning and explain why it’s slow

› list the links I copied yesterday

What your assistant can and can’t see

Nothing until you turn it on. Every request is refused while access is off. Turning it off takes effect on the next request, with no restart.
Recent clips only. The last 7 days by default; you can allow up to 90. Older clips stay on your Mac, out of reach.
Likely secrets redacted. Tokens, API keys, passwords, one-time codes and card numbers are replaced before anything leaves the helper. There’s no switch for raw text. Redaction is pattern-based, so it can’t catch everything.
Size limits. Lists hold at most 50 clips with an 80-character preview each. A single clip’s text is cut at 32 KB, and every response stays under 64 KB.
Read-only. The helper opens your history read-only. It can’t add, change or delete clips.
No image files. Assistants never get DittoDuo’s stored images or where they’re kept, only a small thumbnail (64 KB or less) when they ask for one. For clips of copied files, the files’ paths are included only when the assistant asks.
No network from DittoDuo. The helper itself makes no network calls. It answers only the assistant you connected, and that assistant sends what it reads to its AI provider (such as Anthropic or OpenAI) under that provider’s terms.

The tools

Both tools are marked read-only, so clients that ask before running tools can tell they change nothing.

Tool	What it returns
`list_clips`	Recent clips, newest first: id, date, kind, source app, character count and a short redacted preview. Optional `limit` (default 20, up to 50) and `kind` (`text`, `image`, `mixed` or `fileRef`) to return only that kind, so “the last screenshot I copied” finds it even after newer text.
`get_clip`	One clip by `id`. Metadata by default; optionally the redacted text (`includeText`), a thumbnail (`includeThumbnailPreview`) or copied files’ paths (`includeFilePaths`).

See what was read

DittoDuo keeps a small log on your Mac of each clip an assistant read. In the Pro Duo layout, those clips show a Read by AI marker, clips whose preview held a redacted secret show Secret hidden from AI, and the footer counts today’s AI reads. “Erase everything” deletes the log with the rest of your history.

Requirements

DittoDuo Pro ($19.99, one-time, on all your Macs). See pricing.
The direct-download edition of DittoDuo, on macOS 15 Sequoia or later.
An AI assistant that supports MCP servers over stdio.

See Pro How DittoDuo protects your history

Questions

Does DittoDuo send my clipboard to an AI company?

DittoDuo itself doesn’t: its MCP helper runs on your Mac and makes no network calls. But whatever your assistant reads from DittoDuo is sent to its AI provider (such as Anthropic or OpenAI) as part of your conversation, under that provider’s terms. If your assistant runs its model on your Mac, it stays on your Mac. That’s why access is off until you turn it on, likely secrets are redacted, only recent clips are visible, and recent reads are logged on your Mac.

Which AI assistants can use it?

Any MCP client that can launch a local stdio server, including Claude Code, Claude Desktop and Cursor. Settings → MCP has a configuration you can copy.

Can I see what an assistant read?

Yes. Each clip an assistant reads is logged on your Mac, and the Duo layout marks those clips “Read by AI” and shows how many AI reads happened today.

Is redaction perfect?

No. It’s pattern-based, so it catches common tokens, API keys, passwords, one-time codes and card numbers but can’t catch everything. Keep the window short and turn access off when you don’t need it.

Is the MCP server in the Mac App Store edition?

No. The App Store sandbox keeps a helper from reading DittoDuo’s history, so AI assistant access is only in the direct-download edition.