I’ve been using Raycast for years, and it’s one of my favorite Mac apps. It does a lot without getting in the way, which is exactly what you want in a productivity tool. So naturally, when Raycast 2.0 arrived, I updated within minutes.
For the most part, I like all the new features and interface changes that came with the new update. But there is one change that has been quietly annoying me every day since I updated, and I need to talk about it.
Clipboard change that broke my workflow
The case is an updated clipboard history feature. In Raycast 2.0, the clipboard now saves the original format you copied and restores it when you paste it. On paper, that sounds like a huge improvement. Actually, at least for me, it’s been a nightmare.
The problem was that I was relying on old behavior. Previously, when I copied text from a website or document and pasted it somewhere, Raycast would strip the formatting and give me clean, plain text. That made it incredibly easy to paste copied content anywhere without worrying about broken fonts or mismatched styles bleeding into my notes or documents.
I had to use a keyboard shortcut if I wanted to paste text with original formatting. Raycast has now withdrawn this behavior. By default, all attachments are loaded with whatever formatting the source has, and I spend more time cleaning things up than ever. It sounds like a small thing, but it seriously affected my workflow. I spend more time cleaning up pasted text than ever before.
So, how do you fix it?
The good news is that there are two ways to deal with this. The first is the built-in keyboard shortcut that Raycast supports. If you bring up the clipboard manager and want to paste something without formatting, use Command + Control + Enter instead of the usual Enter. This pastes the copied content as plain text and skips all formatting entirely.
While I’m glad this option exists, it’s been days since I posted an update, and I still haven’t built up your muscle memory. If only Raycast allowed us to change the default behavior to plain text and use another keyboard shortcut to paste with saved formatting.
There is also a free Raycast extension called Clipboard Formatter, developed by Josh Temple. It removes all formatting from any text sitting on your clipboard, returning it as clean, plain text. The problem is that it doesn’t automatically remove the formatting, it requires you to manually activate it.
Both options require user input, which adds a step to the entire process. I wish Raycast would let me set clear text embedding as the default behavior.
What else is new in Raycast 2.0?
Clipboard complaint aside, Raycast 2.0 is a really nice update. The chat AI has been tweaked and now includes a Memory feature that captures context about you over time, so the chat should start to feel more personal.
File search now works within root search, and results appear faster and more accurate. Captions and Quicklinks both get tagging support, which is great if you’ve built a large collection over the years.
Dictation is a brand new add-on that transcribes your speech and pastes it directly into whatever app you’re working on. It’s part of Raycast Pro, though. Overall, a good review. So yes, update to Raycast 2.0. Just make sure to adjust the clipboard state first.
