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A Raycast Snippets alternative that opens right at your cursor
Raycast is a great free launcher, and its Snippets and clipboard history are genuinely useful. OnePaste does one job: your personal and sensitive details, right next to your cursor. The two work well together.
Raycast Snippets vs OnePaste: a launcher feature vs a dedicated tool
Raycast is a free Mac launcher that does a lot. Among its many features are Snippets and clipboard history. Raycast Snippets can be found by searching or expanded with a keyword, so they suit both people who remember shortcuts and people who don't. If you already live in Raycast, using its snippets costs you nothing extra.
OnePaste does one thing. You double-tap ⌥ ⌥, a small overlay appears right next to your text cursor, you type a few letters and press Return. It's built for the details people ask you for, like links, contact info, addresses, ID numbers, and bank and card details, and it treats the sensitive ones with care.
What Raycast does well
Raycast is good software, and it's free. Having a launcher, snippets and clipboard history in one place means one app to learn and one app to keep updated. Its Snippets support both styles of use: search when you've forgotten, keyword expansion when you haven't. And Raycast clipboard history covers the other half of the problem, getting back something you copied a few minutes ago. For many people that's plenty.
Alfred, the other well-known Mac launcher, offers snippets and clipboard history too. Alfred snippets are part of its paid Powerpack. The same reasoning applies: if you already use it, it may already cover you.
Who should stick with Raycast (or Alfred)
- People who use their launcher all day and like having everything in one place.
- Anyone who wants clipboard history and snippets together in a free tool.
- People who mostly store everyday, non-sensitive text like canned replies, code and links.
- Anyone who likes keyword expansion for a few frequent snippets.
Where OnePaste is different
It opens where you're typing
OnePaste's overlay appears next to your text cursor, so your eyes don't leave the line you're writing. It never steals keyboard focus from the app you're in, which keeps pasting reliable in browsers and in Electron apps like Slack, Notion and Figma. In fields that don't report the cursor position, it opens in the center of the screen instead.
The trigger is a double-tap of a single modifier key: ⌥ by default, or ⌘, ⌃ or ⇧. It doesn't need a key combination of its own, so it's easy to fit around the shortcuts you already use.
It's built for sensitive data
- Masking. Card, PAN and Aadhaar numbers show only their last four characters. Hold ⌥ to peek.
- Clipboard care. Sensitive items you copy are marked so clipboard managers skip them, and wiped from the clipboard after one minute. After any paste, your previous clipboard comes back.
- Screen-share safe. The overlay is excluded from screen sharing and recordings, so a card number won't appear on a call.
- Local only. Your library is a file on your Mac. No account, no cloud, no tracking.
The clipboard point matters if you use any clipboard history, Raycast's included. Clipboard history records what you copy, so it helps when sensitive values are marked to be left out.
Multi-field snippets
Some details come in parts. Save a card as Number, Expiry, CVV and Name on card, then press → in the overlay to paste each part on its own. Searching "cvv" goes straight to that field. The same works for a bank account, an address, or anything else with several pieces. The features page has the full list.
Raycast Snippets vs OnePaste comparison
| OnePaste | Raycast Snippets | |
|---|---|---|
| How you trigger it | Double-tap ⌥ (or ⌘, ⌃, ⇧) in any app; the overlay opens at your cursor | Open Raycast and search, or type a keyword to expand |
| What you need to remember | Nothing. You search by name or alias | Nothing if you search; your keywords if you expand |
| Where your data lives | A local file on your Mac, no account | See Raycast's own documentation |
| Pricing model | One-time purchase | Part of a free launcher (at the time of writing) |
| Platforms | Mac only (macOS 14 or later, Apple silicon) | Mac launcher; see Raycast's site for other platforms |
| Best for | Personal and sensitive details, pasted right where you're typing | Launcher users who want snippets and clipboard history in one place |
Using Raycast and OnePaste together
For a lot of people this is the best setup, and the two fit together naturally. Keep Raycast as your launcher, for clipboard history and for snippets like code or canned replies. Put your personal details in OnePaste: social and portfolio links, calendar link, address, phone, PAN or other ID numbers, and bank, UPI and card details.
Moving snippets across is simple. Copy the ones you want into a note as "Label : value" lines, one per line, and paste the list into OnePaste's import. OnePaste can also read the links on your website or link-in-bio page, or pull your details from your Contacts card.
The bottom line
If Raycast Snippets already cover what you paste, and none of it is sensitive, you probably don't need another app. Raycast is excellent, and it's free. OnePaste earns its place if you want a single-purpose tool that opens at your cursor, keeps card and ID numbers masked, handles multi-field details, and stays off screen shares. It's a one-time purchase (see pricing).
For the difference between history and a curated library, read clipboard manager vs snippet manager. If you're weighing text expanders too, see our guide to the best text expanders for Mac.
Frequently asked questions
Does Raycast have snippets?
Yes. Raycast, a free Mac launcher, includes a Snippets feature you can use by searching or with keyword expansion, along with clipboard history and many other features.
Are Alfred snippets free?
No. In Alfred, snippets and clipboard history are part of the paid Powerpack. Raycast's Snippets come with its free launcher.
Can I use Raycast and OnePaste together?
Yes. They use different triggers and do different jobs. Raycast stays your launcher, and OnePaste handles the details you paste most often, including sensitive ones.
Is OnePaste a clipboard manager like Raycast clipboard history?
No. Clipboard history remembers what you copied recently. OnePaste is a curated, permanent library of things you choose to keep, and it restores your clipboard after pasting.
Does OnePaste hide sensitive snippets?
Yes. Card, PAN and Aadhaar numbers are masked so only the last four characters show. Copied sensitive items are marked so clipboard managers skip them, and wiped from the clipboard after one minute.
Why pay for OnePaste if Raycast is free?
If Raycast's Snippets cover what you need, you may not need OnePaste. It's for people who want a dedicated tool that opens at the cursor, masks sensitive data and handles multi-field snippets like cards. It's a one-time purchase.