ClipGate has multiple surfaces: the public website, the CLI, official install channels, and the browser extension. They do not all behave the same way. This page explains those boundaries plainly so privacy expectations stay clear and trust stays earned.
The site exists to deliver docs, downloads, release notes, support paths, and product information. It does not read your clipboard from the CLI or browser extension.
The CLI is intended to run locally on your machine. Capture, classification, retrieval, search, and packing are designed to happen on-device.
Official installs can involve ordinary package-download or hosting requests through the site, PyPI, or Homebrew, similar to other software distribution paths.
The extension has its own browser permission model and storage behavior. Extension-specific details live on the dedicated extension privacy page.
If you only need the fast version, use this matrix. It separates the public site from the products so you do not have to guess which privacy expectations belong to which surface.
| Surface | Primary role | Where data lives | Account required |
|---|---|---|---|
| Website | Docs, downloads, release notes, support paths | Ordinary website and hosting logs | No |
| CLI | Local clipboard capture, classification, retrieval, packaging | On your machine, according to local runtime behavior and settings | No |
| Browser extension | Browser-native capture and browsing workflow | Inside the browser environment and extension storage | No |
| Install channels | Distribution through site, PyPI, and Homebrew | Package and hosting infrastructure logs typical of software delivery | No |
This is the product-wide privacy summary. It is meant to reduce ambiguity, not hide detail behind broad promises. Where behavior differs between the site, the CLI, and the extension, we call that out directly.
Short version: ClipGate is built around a local-first runtime model, but website access, downloads, support requests, and package installs still involve normal web infrastructure.
The ClipGate website may receive standard web request data needed to serve pages, downloads, and security protections. That can include IP address, browser type, requested URLs, referrer data, and ordinary hosting or CDN logs.
If you email support or submit a message, ClipGate receives the details you choose to send, such as your email address, system notes, and problem description.
The CLI is intended to do its core job locally. Clipboard capture, type classification, retrieval, search, and local storage should all remain usable on your machine without requiring an account for the basic workflow.
If you pipe ClipGate output into another tool, service, or AI assistant, that transfer is user-directed and follows the privacy and security model of that destination.
ClipGate currently uses the public site, PyPI, and Homebrew for official distribution. Those channels may create ordinary package and hosting logs as part of software delivery.
Use documented official install URLs and package names only. That keeps supply-chain confusion lower and makes support easier when something goes wrong.
Official distribution today means the ClipGate site, the clipgate package on PyPI, and the clipgate/tap Homebrew tap. If you are not using one of those, double-check before installing.
The browser extension has its own runtime environment, permission prompts, and local storage model inside the browser. This page is the high-level summary. The extension-specific privacy page is the source of truth for extension behavior.
ClipGate may rely on third-party infrastructure to host the site, distribute packages, serve static assets, and process support requests. Those providers may process operational metadata needed to deliver their services.
The goal is to avoid sending clipboard history or local runtime content to third-party services unless a feature explicitly requires it and that behavior is clearly documented.
Users should still apply judgment when handling secrets, credentials, customer data, or regulated information.
If you send output into another tool, assistant, or service, that destination has its own privacy posture.
This page should describe real current behavior, not planned sync, telemetry, or cloud features that have not shipped.
Teams evaluating ClipGate internally should review permissions, local storage behavior, distribution endpoints, and any downstream integrations as part of normal security review. Product behavior that changes privacy expectations should be reflected here and in release notes when relevant.
Source access and distribution are different things here: installs are public through official channels, while the product source itself is not required for everyday use of the free CLI and extension surfaces.