How to Clear the Clipboard in Windows 11

Every time you copy text, an image, or a link in Windows 11, it is stored in the clipboard. If Clipboard History is enabled, Windows keeps the last 25 copied items in a running list that anyone with access to your PC can view by pressing Windows and V.

Clearing the clipboard removes that stored data. There are four ways to do it, ranging from a two-second keyboard shortcut to a command line approach.

Method 1: Using the Clipboard History Panel (Quickest)

Press Windows and V together. The clipboard history panel opens showing everything you have copied recently.

To clear everything at once, click Clear all in the top right corner of the panel. All non-pinned items are removed immediately.

To remove a single item without clearing everything else, click the three-dot menu next to that entry and select the trash icon. This is useful when you have copied a password or sensitive detail you want to remove without losing everything else in the history.

Pinned items are not removed by Clear all. To remove a pinned item, open the three-dot menu next to it, unpin it first, then delete it.

Method 2: Through Windows Settings

Press Windows and I to open Settings. Click System in the left sidebar, then click Clipboard on the right.

Under the Clear clipboard data section, click Clear. Windows removes all clipboard contents immediately. A confirmation message appears briefly confirming the action completed.

This method clears both the current clipboard item and the full history including any synced cloud clipboard items, except pinned entries.

Method 3: Command Prompt (One Line)

Open Command Prompt by pressing Windows and S, typing cmd, and pressing Enter. In the Command Prompt window, type the following and press Enter:

echo.|clip

This pipes an empty value into Windows' built-in clip utility, replacing whatever was stored in the clipboard with nothing. The command completes in under a second with no confirmation message.

This method only clears the most recently copied item rather than the full clipboard history. For clearing individual current clipboard contents rather than the entire history, this is the fastest approach.

Method 4: PowerShell

Open PowerShell by pressing Windows and S, typing PowerShell, and pressing Enter. Type the following and press Enter:

Set-Clipboard -Value $null

This sets the clipboard value to null, effectively clearing it. Like the Command Prompt method, this clears the current clipboard contents quickly and works well inside scripts or automated tasks.

What About Pinned Items?

Pinned items in clipboard history are exempt from all clearing methods. They are designed to persist until you manually remove them. To delete a pinned item, press Windows and V to open the clipboard panel, click the three-dot menu on the pinned item, select Unpin, and then delete it through the same menu.

Turning Off Clipboard History Entirely

If you would rather Windows not store a history at all, you can disable the feature. Go to Settings, then System, then Clipboard, and toggle Clipboard history to Off. From that point Windows only stores the single most recently copied item, which is automatically replaced the next time you copy something. No history is maintained.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does clearing the clipboard delete pinned items?

No. Pinned items are protected from the Clear all function and from the Settings clear button. To remove a pinned item, open the clipboard history panel with Windows and V, click the three-dot menu next to the pinned item, select Unpin, and then delete it.

Will the clipboard clear automatically when I restart my PC?

Yes. The clipboard history, excluding pinned items, is cleared automatically every time Windows restarts. Pinned items survive restarts and remain in the clipboard history until you manually delete them.

Can someone else see what I have copied?

Anyone who presses Windows and V on your PC can see everything in your clipboard history, including text, images, and links, until you clear it. If you are stepping away from your computer and have recently copied sensitive information such as a password, clearing the clipboard beforehand is a good habit.