Clip Logger

A free, lightweight Windows clipboard logger / text-capture tray app for collecting debug context while you work. Press Ctrl+Alt+C to capture the currently-selected text into a dated .txt log file, with timestamps, source tracking, and separators between entries. Normal Ctrl+C is untouched — it's not a keylogger: it only captures the text you've selected, and only when you press its hotkey.

🌐 Website: https://saiviroop.github.io/ClipLogger/  ·  ⬇ Download for Windows (self-contained installer, no .NET needed)

Features

• Global hotkey capture (Ctrl+Alt+C) — normal copy/paste unaffected
• Live viewer (Ctrl+Alt+V or tray → Open Viewer): auto-refreshing window with a case-insensitive search/filter box
• Source tracking: each entry records which app/window the text came from, e.g. [2026-06-19 11:30:00] (from: chrome — GitHub)
• Dated log files: cliplog-YYYY-MM-DD_HH-mm.txt in a folder you choose
• Each entry: timestamp + your text + 4 blank lines + a dashed separator
• Distinct tray icon + live tooltip showing the entry count and logging state
• Tray menu: Open Viewer, New File, Stop/Start logging, Open Log Folder, Settings, Exit
• Configurable check-in interval (default 60 min) prompting Continue / New File
• Optional auto-start on login (per-user) — installer checkbox + Settings toggle
• Inno Setup installer (ClipLogger-Setup.exe), self-contained (no .NET needed)

Project layout

• src/ClipLogger.Core — platform-neutral, fully unit-tested logic
• src/ClipLogger.App — WinForms tray app (hotkey, clipboard, settings)
• tests/ClipLogger.Tests — xUnit tests for Core
• installer/ClipLogger.iss — Inno Setup script

Build & test

dotnet build
dotnet test
dotnet run --project src/ClipLogger.App

Build the installer

dotnet publish src/ClipLogger.App/ClipLogger.App.csproj -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true -o installer/app
"%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Inno Setup 6\ISCC.exe" installer\ClipLogger.iss

The installer is produced at installer/Output/ClipLogger-Setup.exe.

Changelog

1.1.0

• Fixed: the check-in prompt could stack endlessly — once it had been open for a minute it spawned a new copy every 60 s (a WinForms timer keeps firing while a modal dialog pumps messages). A re-entrancy guard now ensures only one check-in prompt is ever shown at a time.
• Added an embedded application icon (app.ico) so the exe and desktop shortcut show the clipboard glyph instead of the generic .NET icon.

Notes / trade-offs

• Captures selected text only (no images). A few apps that ignore a simulated Ctrl+C (some terminals, protected fields) won't capture.
• Ctrl+Alt+C leaves the captured text on the clipboard (by design).
• Logs are plain text on disk — avoid capturing secrets into them.

License

Released under the MIT License. Free to use, modify, and distribute.