Copy and Paste Not Working on Mac? 8 Fixes That Actually Work

Copy and paste is so basic that when it breaks, everything breaks. Usually it isn't your keyboard and nothing is lost: one background process has stopped responding. Work through these fixes in order; most people are back to normal after step 1.

1. Restart the pasteboard process (30 seconds)

macOS runs the clipboard through a background process called pboard. When it hangs, copy and paste stop working in every app.

1. Open Activity Monitor (Applications → Utilities).
2. Type pboard in the search field.
3. Select it, click the Stop (×) button in the toolbar, and choose Force Quit.

macOS starts it again immediately. Prefer Terminal? Run killall pboard. Then try copying and pasting again.

2. Test the menu bar instead of the keyboard

Select some text and choose Edit → Copy, then Edit → Paste from the menu bar.

• The menu works but the shortcut doesn't: it's a keyboard problem. Go to step 3.
• Neither works: it's the clipboard or the app. Go to step 4.

3. Fix the keyboard shortcut

• Check the ⌘ key: open TextEdit and try other shortcuts (⌘ A, ⌘ S). If none work, the Command key may be stuck or failing. Try the other ⌘ key.
• Check modifier keys: System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Modifier Keys. Make sure Command hasn't been remapped.
• Check app shortcuts: in the same Keyboard Shortcuts window, look under App Shortcuts for anything assigned to ⌘ C or ⌘ V.
• External keyboard? Windows keyboards swap Command and Option. Use the key labelled Alt or Win, or remap it in Modifier Keys.

4. Restart the app you're pasting into

If paste fails in only one app, quit it fully (⌘ Q) and reopen it. Browsers, Microsoft Office and Electron apps occasionally lose clipboard access until they're restarted. Some websites also block pasting into certain fields, such as password confirmations.

5. Check what's actually on the clipboard

In Finder, choose Edit → Show Clipboard. If it shows something unexpected, the copy worked but went somewhere else; if it's empty, the copy itself failed. A very large image or file on the clipboard can make pasting slow, so clear the clipboard and try again.

6. Quit clipboard and keyboard utilities

Clipboard managers, text expanders, window managers and remote-desktop tools all watch the clipboard or the keyboard. If you run more than one, they can conflict. Quit them one at a time and test after each. Run only one clipboard manager at a time.

7. Check Universal Clipboard

If pasting brings back something from your iPhone, or nothing at all after copying on another device, Universal Clipboard is involved. Turning Handoff off and on usually fixes it; see Universal Clipboard not working.

8. Restart, then update

A restart resets every clipboard-related process at once. If the problem comes back regularly, install the latest macOS update: clipboard bugs are often fixed in point releases.

Once it works: stop losing what you copy

When copy and paste breaks, the worst part is often losing the thing you'd just copied. A clipboard manager keeps every copy, so even if a paste fails or you copy over something, it's still there. In EasyPaste, press ⌃ ⌘ V, find it, and paste it again.

Frequently asked questions

Why did copy and paste suddenly stop working on my Mac?

Usually the pboard process that runs the clipboard has hung. Force quit it in Activity Monitor or run killall pboard in Terminal, and it restarts straight away.

Is killall pboard safe?

Yes. It only restarts the clipboard process. You'll lose whatever was on the clipboard at that moment, but nothing else is affected.

Why does copy and paste work in some apps but not others?

The app may need restarting, or the website may block pasting into that field. Quit and reopen the app, and try pasting into TextEdit to confirm the clipboard itself works.

Can a clipboard manager stop copy and paste from working?

Running two clipboard managers, or a clipboard manager alongside other clipboard tools, can cause conflicts. Keep one and quit the others.