Download CTRLVC
CTRLVC is a portable clipboard history tool for Windows that stores text copied in any application and provides access to previous entries through a hotkey-driven window. It keeps up to two hundred records, supports pinning and postponing individual items, and writes all data to plain text files placed beside the executable. The program runs from the system tray, does not modify standard copy and paste behavior, and performs no network communication or telemetry collection.
The application is intended for people who work with text across multiple programs and need to retrieve previously copied fragments without leaving the current window. A configurable hotkey opens the history list at the cursor position, where entries can be pasted, pinned, postponed, or deleted directly. Pinned items are protected from automatic cleanup, and postponed items remain available in a separate tab until returned to the main list. Storage is portable, requiring no installation or registry entries beyond an optional autostart setting.
CTRLVC is distributed as a self-contained build for Windows and supports eleven interface languages, including Arabic with a right-to-left layout. History and configuration files use UTF-8 text and are written with immediate disk flushes and atomic replacement to reduce data loss during unexpected shutdowns. Duplicate detection compares each new snippet against the full history to avoid repeated records. The project was created by Babkin Vitalii and first released in 2026.
Use Cases for CTRLVC
| Event-driven clipboard monitoring via system update notifications | Immediate disk persistence of each captured text snippet |
| Configurable global hotkey opens cursor-positioned picker window | Single scrolling feed with click-to-paste behavior |
| Pinned entries protected from automatic capacity-based eviction | Manual reordering of pinned items via arrow controls |
| Postponed items hidden from main list without data loss | Restoration of pinned status upon return from postponement |
| Inline per-entry controls for pin, postpone, delete actions | Independent handling of multiple entries within one session |
| Text-only storage model excludes images and binary files | UTF-8 line-based format with escaped special characters |
| Full-history duplicate comparison against all existing entries | Prevention of repeated content accumulation over time |
| Portable plain-text storage co-located with executable | No registry or AppData writes except optional autostart |
| Atomic file replacement prevents corrupted writes on interruption | Per-line fault isolation during history loading |
| Grouped settings for capture, autostart, tray, language, clearing | Hotkey reassignment among predefined combinations |
| Ten interface languages including right-to-left Arabic layout | Language preference persisted in configuration file |
| Installer-free deployment with self-contained folder structure | Removal by deleting directory, no background services |
| Session-scoped mutex enforces single running process instance | Prevents duplicate tray icons and conflicting file writes |
| Zero network requests, no cloud sync, no telemetry | All clipboard processing confined to local machine |