PasteWand Docs

Installation

Current downloads: macOS 13 or later · Apple Silicon (M-series) only; Windows 10 version 2004 (build 19041) or later · x64 · WSL 2 required. An Intel Mac installer is not currently offered.

• Download the app from the download page.
• The macOS release is signed and notarized by Apple. The Windows website installer has no Authenticode signature and may trigger SmartScreen. Automatic updates use a separate signed update channel.
• Open the app once; it lives in the macOS menu bar or Windows system tray and asks for the operating-system permissions needed to read your current selection when you capture it.
• The first launch shows a short security notice. PasteWand works on a temporary copy and shows you every change before anything is applied.

PasteWand is open to everyone. If you do not have a download link yet, create an account from the download page.

Configure an AI provider

Open Settings from the menu bar or system tray icon (PasteWand → Settings). The app works without an account: connect a model directly, or use PasteWand Cloud when you want everything configured for you.

Bring your own model

Pick a provider preset or enter a custom OpenAI-compatible endpoint. The request goes straight from your computer to that provider, and PasteWand's SaaS never sees it.

For any OpenAI-compatible gateway, choose Custom OpenAI-compatible and fill in the endpoint:

Provider:   Custom OpenAI-compatible
Base URL:   https://your-gateway.example.com/v1
Model:      your-model-name
API key:    your-key

• API keys are stored only in the macOS Keychain (or Windows Credential Manager) and are bound to their endpoint.
• The model must support tool calling; PasteWand relies on it to read files and run commands inside the sandbox.

PasteWand Cloud

PasteWand Cloud is an optional managed provider with account-based credits. The desktop client still runs everything locally; only the model requests go through PasteWand's gateway.

Capture anything

Press the global shortcut (default ⌘ ⇧ Space on macOS or Ctrl ⇧ Space on Windows) and PasteWand reads the current selection.

• Plain text from any app, up to 128 KiB.
• Files or folders from Finder or File Explorer: up to 100 selected roots, 20,000 regular files, or 1 GiB of input.
• Symbolic links and special files are rejected.

Copying alone never starts a request. PasteWand reads the clipboard only when you open the command window.

Ask, review, apply

1. Ask - type an instruction or use a preset (improve the writing, make it clearer, make it shorter, translate).
2. Review - inspect text changes with local line and word diffs, preview images inline, and open document copies in your default app. Follow-up instructions continue in the same workspace.
3. Apply - PasteWand verifies every source hash before writing. One conflict stops the entire batch, and a successful Apply is recorded as one encrypted group you can undo.

Originals stay untouched until you choose Apply, and the result stays on your clipboard as a fallback if write-back is not possible.

For copied text, Copy result only updates the clipboard; Replace selection verifies the original app and selection before replacing it. For files, select the changes to apply; any remaining changes stay available for review and a later Apply.

After applying changes, use Undo on the result to undo the last applied operation in the current task. Files changed afterward are protected from being overwritten. For text selections, the original text is copied to the clipboard for manual paste.

Safety model

• The AI runs inside a disposable VM with a private copy of your scope. It has root, shell, network, and package-install access inside that VM only.
• Host originals, credential stores, and every path outside the private captured copy are not mounted.
• The VM, staging files, and task directory are destroyed when the task ends.

Keyboard shortcuts

You can change the global shortcut in Settings.

Troubleshooting

• Authentication errors (401) - check that the API key and Base URL match the provider, and that the key is entered for the same endpoint you use.
• "Model is not available" - the model must support tool calling. For custom endpoints, use the exact model ID your gateway exposes.
• Apply stops with a conflict - an original file changed after capture, so the hash check refused the batch. Re-capture and try again.
• Rich text formatting is lost - the first release writes back plain text, so bold, links, and other formatting may not survive.

Feedback

Invited testers can send product and safety feedback to support@pastewand.com.

Inspect and export results

For documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and images, use Open original copy and Open result copy to inspect independent copies in your default app. Editing these copies does not update the task result. Save a copy exports to a new filename without overwriting an existing file. Review copies support up to 256 MiB per file and are temporary: save anything you want to keep before starting a new task or clearing the cache.