Mac Clipboard Not Working — Copy and Paste Broken Fix

What Does This Error Mean?

The clipboard service on your Mac has crashed or got stuck. This happens more often than you'd think — it is rarely serious. Restarting the clipboard process fixes it instantly without restarting your Mac.

Affected Models

macOS Sequoia
macOS Sonoma
macOS Ventura
macOS Monterey

Common Causes

The pboard (pasteboard) daemon crashed in the background
An app placed corrupt or incompatible data on the clipboard
Universal Clipboard (Handoff between iPhone and Mac) caused a conflict
A third-party clipboard manager app is interfering
A permissions or sandbox issue is blocking clipboard access for a specific app

How to Fix It

Open Terminal (press Command + Space, type Terminal, press Enter).

Terminal lets you run background commands without restarting your Mac.
Type this command exactly and press Enter: killall pboard

This restarts the pasteboard service that manages copy and paste on your Mac.
Try copying and pasting something right away to test.

The fix usually works immediately. No restart needed.
If it still doesn't work, check if Universal Clipboard is causing conflicts. Go to System Settings, General, AirDrop and Handoff, and turn off Handoff.

This disables clipboard sharing between your iPhone and Mac temporarily.
Restart your Mac if the problem persists.

A full restart clears all cached processes and almost always resolves stubborn clipboard issues.

When to Call a Professional

You should not need professional help for a broken clipboard. This is almost always solved by restarting the pasteboard process.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does copy and paste randomly stop working on Mac?

The pboard daemon occasionally crashes, especially after heavy multitasking. It is a known macOS quirk that has existed for years. The killall pboard command in Terminal fixes it instantly.

Can a third-party app break my clipboard?

Yes — clipboard manager apps like Paste or Copied sometimes conflict. Try quitting those apps first before running the killall pboard command. If clipboard works after quitting the app, that app is the culprit.

Is it safe to run the killall pboard command?

Completely safe — it only restarts the clipboard service. You will lose whatever was on your clipboard at that moment. All your apps and files are completely unaffected.