Install clop with Homebrew Cask

Project links

• Homepage
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

No executable aliases were found in the local package database.

Project history

Clop was created by Romanian developers The Low-Tech Guys as a clipboard optimizer for macOS. Its name comes from the Romanian word for a traditional straw hat.

The project broadened into a local image, video, PDF, and clipboard optimizer. Clop 2 introduced its Pro tier alongside major additions such as video optimization, downscaling, watched paths, floating results, URL handling, and Shortcuts support, while later releases continued expanding media formats and batch workflows.

Adoption history

Clop is distributed directly by The Low-Tech Guys, through Homebrew Cask as clop, and as source code under GPLv3 on GitHub.

The project adopted a freemium model with Clop 2 while remaining open source. Its documented workflow grew from clipboard-image optimization to video, PDF, watched-folder, Shortcuts, SDK, and command-line automation.

How it is used

With Clop running, copied images can be optimized automatically. Users can also optimize selected Finder files, screen recordings, videos, and PDFs with hotkeys, drag-and-drop, watched folders, macOS Shortcuts, or the CLI. Originals can be retained in a backup folder, and processing normally occurs locally without sending file contents to a cloud service.

Clop Pro activation uses license files under ~/Library/Application Support/Clop/, as documented by the official troubleshooting guide.

Why package nerds care

Clop combines a polished macOS menu-bar workflow with established command-line encoders including pngquant, jpegoptim, gifsicle, FFmpeg, libvips, gifski, and Ghostscript. It is attractive to automation-minded Mac users because the GUI, hotkeys, Shortcuts, CLI, watched folders, and SDK all expose the same local optimization workflow.

Timeline

• Initial generation: Clop begins as a macOS clipboard-image optimizer.
• Clop 2: A freemium Pro tier and video, watched-folder, hotkey, floating-result, URL, and Shortcuts features are introduced.
• Clop 3: Supported media and workflow capabilities expand further, including additional formats and batch-oriented tools.

Related projects

• ClopSDK
• pngquant
• jpegoptim
• gifsicle
• FFmpeg
• libvips
• gifski
• Ghostscript

Sources

• Input field source_facts.package-manager.
• Official Clop 2 release notes: https://files.lowtechguys.com/ReleaseNotes/Clop-2.0.0.html
• Official product documentation: https://lowtechguys.com/clop
• Official releases: https://github.com/FuzzyIdeas/Clop/releases
• Official repository: https://github.com/FuzzyIdeas/Clop