Floatcut for Windows

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Floatcut for Windows is a native clipboard manager for Windows 11. It follows the interaction model of the macOS version, runs in the system tray, stores clipboard history locally, and can optionally sync new clips directly with paired devices. The core is implemented in C++20; the interface uses native WinUI 3 controls.

Current version: 4.0

The Windows user guide covers installation, keyboard controls, settings, pairing, and troubleshooting. It includes screenshots of the actual Windows interface using sample data. A German user guide is also available.

The application currently displays German UI labels. The English guide provides translations alongside the relevant labels; these documentation translations do not change the application's interface language.

Features

• Text and image history with search, favorites, and duplicate filtering
• Small image thumbnails in fixed-height list entries; text-only clips do not reserve empty thumbnail space
• A favorite action beside each entry
• Global hotkeys for history and search
• Automatic pasting into the previously active window
• System-tray operation without a permanently visible main window
• Automatic tray-icon recovery after an Explorer restart or temporary Windows shell unavailability
• Single-instance protection, including compatibility with older Flycut instances
• Local storage encrypted with Windows DPAPI
• No cloud or iCloud synchronization
• System, light, and dark modes using native Windows 11 theme resources
• Settings sidebar for General, Keyboard shortcuts, Appearance, Synchronization, Diagnostics, and Acknowledgments
• Automatic, full-color, light, or dark system-tray icons
• Right-aligned popup with a 5 px gap at the top, right edge, and taskbar
• Full available monitor height and DPI-scaled width starting at 450 px at 100%
• Blue Floatcut app icon in Explorer, windows, and the taskbar, with contrasting monochrome tray variants
• Migration of existing Flycut settings, favorites, and history
• Optional direct text and image exchange using Sync Protocol V2, explicit pairing, mutual TLS authentication, and per-device controls

The popup commands use two rows: Clear all and Merge texts share the first; Settings, About, and Quit occupy the second. A star button next to the search field switches between history and favorites. The separate About window is centered in the primary monitor's work area and shows the app icon, version, slogan, and copyright information.

Requirements

• Windows 11 x64
• To build: Visual Studio with the Desktop development with C++ workload, WinUI XAML build tools, and support for the project's v145 platform toolset. The verified build used Visual Studio 18 Community and MSVC 14.44.35207.
• Windows SDK, CMake 3.20 or later, and Ninja supplied with Visual Studio. cmake and ctest must be available in the environment configured by the script.
• Internet access for the initial NuGet restore if packages/ is absent. Versions are pinned in packages.config; the project uses Windows App SDK 1.7.250310001.

Visual Studio, CMake, and Python are not required to run the release package. The retired Python sync reference client is not used by the application or build.

The release includes the Windows App SDK as a self-contained deployment, so a separate Windows App SDK runtime installation is not required on the target PC.

Build

Run from the repository root:

powershell.exe -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass `
  -File .\build.ps1 `
  -Configuration Release `
  -Architecture x64

The script:

1. Generates the multi-resolution app icon.
2. Configures CMake/Ninja, builds the C++ tests, and runs CTest.
3. Restores NuGet packages if needed and builds Floatcut.WinUI.vcxproj.
4. Runs six isolated application validations covering UI, settings, About, lists/performance, image codec, and sync; checks version metadata.
5. Publishes the complete package to dist/Floatcut.
6. Creates dist/Floatcut_current_release.zip for distribution.

Existing packages at these two output locations are replaced. The script also removes legacy dist/Flycut outputs. Do not keep personal files in generated output directories. -Configuration Debug is supported but uses the same distribution paths; use Release for distribution.

Intermediate files are placed in build-x64-tests-<MSVC-version> and x64/Release/Floatcut.WinUI. CMake alone does not build the current WinUI frontend; always use build.ps1 for the complete package.

UI validations require an interactive Windows session. The native clipboard integration test uses an isolated window station to protect the real clipboard. If permission is denied, that test is reported as skipped. A successful build does not replace macOS interoperability or RDP acceptance testing.

Start the release using:

dist/Floatcut/Floatcut.exe

Keep the entire dist/Floatcut directory together: it contains the self-contained WinUI 3 components. Generated releases are excluded from Git.

Basic usage

• Left-click the tray icon to open clipboard history.
• Right-click it to open the context menu.
• Ctrl+Shift+V opens history; Ctrl+Shift+B opens search.
• Use the arrow keys or J/K to navigate entries.
• Single-click a clip or press Enter to activate it. Star buttons only change favorite status.
• Press Delete to remove the selected entry.

Implementation plans and outstanding acceptance work are kept in plans/, including the Windows 11 UI plan, open tasks, and upstream porting plan. These plans are currently written in German.

Privacy

By default, clipboard contents stay on the computer. If you explicitly enable optional P2P synchronization and pair a device by checking its verification code, Floatcut sends newly captured local text and PNG images directly to currently connected, enabled peers on the local network using Sync Protocol V2.

You can disable all sync for an individual device. Its gear button also lets you disable only outgoing images; PNG and JPEG images can still be received while device sync is enabled. Favorites, existing history, and sensitive or skipped contents are not transmitted. Entries recognized as remote clips are not relayed.

With RDP clipboard sharing enabled at the same time, contents can arrive through a second channel. Echoes without origin markers cannot always be identified unambiguously. There is no cloud, persistent offline queue, or later catch-up transfer. Floatcut honors supported Windows exclusion markers for sensitive clipboard contents.

Local history and protected sync state are encrypted for the current Windows user account. The non-exportable TLS key remains in CNG. The normative protocol documentation and reports distinguishing automated checks from outstanding external testing are in docs/Protocol/.

Project structure and documentation

• src/, include/: C++ implementation, WinUI interface, and sync
• resources/: app/tray icons and Windows resources
• tests/: automated tests; scripts/: build and documentation helpers
• docs/: English user guide, German user guide, Sync V2, and stability verification report (German)
• plans/: implementation plans and outstanding acceptance checks
• dist/: generated application package and release archive

License

Floatcut for Windows is released under the MIT license. See license.txt.