ClipNotes

ClipNotes is a cross-platform tool to monitor your clipboard and save its contents along with contextual information. It includes both a command-line interface and a graphical user interface for easier use, supports encryption for sensitive data, and now offers regex-based content filtering.

Installation

From PyPI

pip install clipnotes

From source

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/yourusername/clipnotes.git
   cd clipnotes
   

2. Install the package and dependencies:

   pip install -e .
   pip install -r requirements.txt
   

   Note: Some dependencies are platform-specific and will only be installed on the relevant operating system.

Usage

Command-line Interface

Run ClipNotes from the command line:

clipnotes [-h] [-o OUTPUT] [-i INTERVAL] [-s SEPARATOR] [-f {txt,json,csv}] [-d DEDUP_LIMIT] [-e] [-p PASSWORD] [--include INCLUDE] [--exclude EXCLUDE]

Options:

• -h, --help: Show help message and exit
• -o OUTPUT, --output OUTPUT: Output file name (default from config)
• -i INTERVAL, --interval INTERVAL: Polling interval in seconds (default from config)
• -s SEPARATOR, --separator SEPARATOR: Separator between clipboard entries (default from config, only for txt format)
• -f {txt,json,csv}, --format {txt,json,csv}: Output file format (default from config)
• -d DEDUP_LIMIT, --dedup-limit DEDUP_LIMIT: Number of recent entries to keep for deduplication (default from config)
• -e, --encrypt: Enable encryption of clipboard contents
• -p PASSWORD, --password PASSWORD: Password for encryption (required if --encrypt is used)
• --include INCLUDE: Regular expression pattern to include content
• --exclude EXCLUDE: Regular expression pattern to exclude content

Example:

clipnotes -o my_notes.json -i 1 -f json -d 500 -e -p mypassword --include "^https?://" --exclude "^file://"

This will save encrypted clipboard contents to my_notes.json in JSON format, check for changes every 1 second, keep the last 500 entries for deduplication, use "mypassword" for encryption, include only URLs starting with "http://" or "https://", and exclude URLs starting with "file://".

Graphical User Interface

To launch the ClipNotes GUI, run:

python clipnotes_gui.py

The GUI provides an easy-to-use interface for configuring and running ClipNotes:

• Select the output file
• Choose the output format (txt, json, or csv)
• Set the polling interval
• Set the deduplication limit
• Enable or disable encryption and set a password
• Set include and exclude regex patterns for content filtering
• Start and stop monitoring with a single click
• View the last copied content in real-time

Output Formats

Text (txt)

The text output format will contain entries in the following format:

---
Timestamp: 2023-06-10 15:30:45
Source: Firefox - New Tab
Copied content goes here (or encrypted content if encryption is enabled)

JSON

The JSON output format will be an array of objects, each representing a clipboard entry:

[
  {
    "content": "Copied content goes here (or encrypted content if encryption is enabled)",
    "timestamp": "2023-06-10 15:30:45",
    "window_info": "Firefox - New Tab"
  },
  ...
]

CSV

The CSV output format will have the following columns: timestamp, window_info, content

timestamp,window_info,content
2023-06-10 15:30:45,"Firefox - New Tab","Copied content goes here (or encrypted content if encryption is enabled)"

Encryption

When encryption is enabled, the clipboard content is encrypted using Fernet symmetric encryption from the cryptography library. The encryption key is derived from the user-provided password using PBKDF2. This ensures that the stored clipboard contents are protected from unauthorized access.

Note: The encryption is applied only to the clipboard content, not to the timestamp or window information.

Content Filtering

ClipNotes supports regex-based content filtering, allowing you to selectively include or exclude clipboard content based on regular expression patterns. This feature can be useful for various scenarios, such as:

• Capturing only specific types of data (e.g., URLs, email addresses)
• Excluding sensitive information (e.g., credit card numbers, social security numbers)
• Focusing on content from specific applications or websites

To use content filtering, specify the --include and/or --exclude options in the command-line interface, or use the corresponding fields in the GUI.

Cross-Platform Compatibility

ClipNotes is designed to work on Windows, macOS, and Linux. The active window information capture is implemented differently for each platform:

• Windows: Uses win32gui and win32process
• macOS: Uses AppKit
• Linux: Tries to use Xlib first, then falls back to psutil if Xlib is not available

Project Status

ClipNotes is currently in beta stage (v0.7.0). We are actively working on improving its functionality and reliability.

Roadmap

1. Improve error handling and recovery mechanisms
2. Add more comprehensive tests for cross-platform functionality, encryption, and regex filtering
3. Enhance the GUI with additional features and customization options
4. Implement a secure way to store and manage encryption keys
5. Add support for plugins to extend functionality

Development

To set up the development environment:

1. Create a virtual environment:

   python -m venv venv
   source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows, use `venv\Scripts\activate`
   

2. Install development dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt
   

3. Run tests:

   ./run_tests.sh
   

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.