About Ditto Clipboard Manager
The story behind the clipboard manager that Windows power users have relied on for over two decades.
Ditto Clipboard Manager is a free, open-source clipboard extension for Windows that saves everything you copy. Text, images, HTML, custom formats — all stored in a local SQLite database, searchable and ready to paste whenever you need them. No cloud accounts. No subscriptions. No telemetry. Just your clipboard history, kept safe on your own machine.
Since its first release, Ditto has grown into one of the most recommended Windows utilities on Reddit, tech forums, and “must-have software” lists. It sits quietly in your system tray, using minimal resources, while giving you instant access to thousands of previously copied items through a single hotkey.
The Story Behind Ditto
How a simple clipboard tool became a Windows essential.
The Beginning
Scott Brogden started building Ditto as a personal project. The Windows clipboard at the time could only hold one item, and there was no built-in history feature. Brogden, a developer who spent his days copying and pasting code snippets, wanted something better. He wrote Ditto in C and C++ to solve his own problem.
Open Source Release
Ditto was released as open-source software under the GPL-3.0 license and hosted on SourceForge. It gained a steady following among developers and power users who discovered it through word of mouth. The project attracted contributors, and the feature set grew to include network syncing, sticky clips, and theme support.
Modern Development
The project moved to GitHub under the handle sabrogden, where it accumulated over 6,100 stars. Development continued at a steady pace, with updates addressing Windows 10 and Windows 11 compatibility, improved image previews, and better Unicode handling. The codebase remains primarily C (78%) and C++ (20.7%).
Version 3.25
The latest release (v3.25.113.0, September 2025) is available as a traditional installer, a portable version, and through the Microsoft Store. It can also be installed via Chocolatey or Winget. Code-signed binaries are provided through SignPath.io, ensuring download integrity.
What Ditto Does
A clipboard manager that works the way you expect it to.
Unlimited History
Every copy operation is saved to a local SQLite database. You can scroll back through weeks or months of clipboard entries, or search for exactly what you need using regex-powered filtering.
Rich Format Support
Ditto handles plain text, rich text, HTML, images, and custom clipboard formats. Image entries show thumbnail previews right in the clipboard list, so you can find the right screenshot without guessing.
Network Sync
Share your clipboard between multiple Windows machines on the same network. The sync connection is encrypted, keeping your copied data private as it moves between computers.
Privacy First
No account required. No cloud service involved. No data leaves your machine unless you specifically enable network sync. Your clipboard history stays local, stored in a SQLite file you control.
Power users appreciate Ditto for its sticky clips feature (pin frequently used items to the top), customizable hotkeys, drag-and-drop pasting, and per-application paste shortcuts. It runs from the system tray and uses minimal memory, so you can keep it active all day without noticing it.
The Developer
One developer, two decades of consistent updates.
Scott Brogden
@sabrogden on GitHub
Scott Brogden has maintained Ditto as a solo open-source project for over 20 years. The software is released under the GPL-3.0 license, and the full source code is available on GitHub. Brogden continues to release updates, fix bugs, and respond to community feedback. The project’s longevity speaks for itself — it has outlasted dozens of competing clipboard managers that appeared and disappeared over the same period.
Why Users Trust Ditto
The clipboard manager that people install first on a fresh Windows machine.
On Reddit’s r/software and r/Windows communities, Ditto regularly appears in “what apps do you install on every new PC?” threads. Users describe it as the kind of tool that, once you start using it, you cannot go back to a single-item clipboard. The search function alone saves people hours of re-copying text they already had.
While Windows 10 and 11 added a built-in clipboard history (Win+V), many users still prefer Ditto for its deeper feature set. The built-in option has no search, limited history, and requires a Microsoft account for sync. Ditto offers unlimited history with regex search, local-only storage, encrypted network sync without any account, and the ability to paste multiple items at once. Alternatives like CopyQ (cross-platform, scriptable) and ClipClip (modern UI) exist, but Ditto’s combination of speed, reliability, and zero-telemetry design keeps it at the top of recommendation lists.
About This Website
An independent resource for Ditto Clipboard Manager users.
dittoclipboardmanager.com is not affiliated with Scott Brogden or the official Ditto project. This is an independently maintained informational website created by fans of the software.
We built this site because Ditto’s official presence is a minimal GitHub Pages site that, while functional, does not provide the kind of detailed guides and documentation that new users often need. Our goal is to help people discover Ditto, understand what it does, find official download links, and learn how to get the most out of it.
- We link to official sources for all downloads — GitHub Releases, Microsoft Store, SourceForge
- We do not host, modify, or redistribute the Ditto software
- We encourage users to support the official developer and contribute to the open-source project
- We respect the developer’s intellectual property and the GPL-3.0 license
All trademarks and product names belong to their respective owners.
Get in Touch
Questions about this website or feedback on our content?
Visit our Contact page to reach us. For official Ditto support, bug reports, or feature requests, please visit the Ditto GitHub repository.