Chrome Extension for Clipboard Sync: Complete Setup Guide

Setting up account-based clipboard sync takes about two minutes, but a few of the settings are easy to miss the first time through. Here is the complete setup walkthrough for CopyPaster's Chrome extension, including what auto-copy actually does and how to tell it is working correctly.

Before you start

You will need Chrome (or another Chromium-based browser) on each device you want synced, and an email address to sign in with — there is no password to create, just a one-time code sent to your inbox each time you sign in on a new device.

Step-by-step setup

1. Install the extension on your first device's Chrome browser.
2. Click the extension icon to open the popup, and enter your email address.
3. Check your inbox for a one-time sign-in code, and enter it in the popup.
4. Repeat steps 1 through 3 on your second device, signing in with the same email address.
5. Copy some text on either device to test the connection.
6. Check the other device's popup — the copied text should appear there within a few seconds.

Turning on auto-copy

By default, incoming clips show up as a click-to-copy list in the popup. If you would rather they land directly in your clipboard without an extra click, open the popup and toggle on auto-copy. With this enabled, a background connection stays open, and any clip from your other signed-in devices is written straight into your clipboard — a normal paste shortcut is all that's needed after that.

Confirming it is actually working

• Copy a short, distinct test phrase (like the current date) on one device.
• Check the other device within a few seconds — if auto-copy is on, try pasting directly; if it is off, check the popup for the new entry.
• If nothing appears, confirm both devices are signed into the same account by checking the email shown in each popup.

What happens when the browser is closed or idle

Chrome extensions built this way are occasionally suspended by the browser when idle, which can pause the background sync temporarily. A periodic check runs roughly every minute to catch back up automatically, and opening the popup manually always triggers an immediate refresh regardless of how long it has been idle.

Tip: if a clip does not seem to have synced and it has been a while since you last opened the popup on the receiving device, simply opening it manually usually catches it up immediately rather than needing to wait for the periodic background check.

Signing out or switching accounts

Open the extension popup and use the sign-out option to disconnect that device from your account — useful if you are moving to a different account or handing the device off to someone else.

The bottom line

The entire setup is: install, sign in with an email code, repeat on the second device, and optionally turn on auto-copy. Once that's done, clipboard sync runs quietly in the background without needing to be reconfigured again.