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Auto-Delete

Set clips to automatically delete after a specified time. Keep your clipboard clean without manual maintenance.

How It Works​

  1. A clip is stored with an expiration timestamp (if one is set)
  2. A background job checks for expired clips every minute
  3. Expired clips are permanently deleted

Setting Expiration at Upload​

The upload area includes an expiration dropdown next to the upload button. Choose how long the clip should live:

  • No Expiry (default)
  • 15 minutes
  • 1 hour
  • 6 hours
  • 24 hours
  • 7 days

The selected expiration applies to every clip uploaded until you change it.

Setting Expiration on Existing Clips​

Right-click a clip card to open the context menu and select Set Expiration. A popover appears with the same presets (15m, 1h, 6h, 24h, 7d). Choosing a preset sets the expiration relative to the current time.

Canceling Expiration​

Right-click a clip that has an active expiration and select Cancel Expiration from the context menu. The clip reverts to no expiry and the Temp badge is removed.

warning

Archiving a clip does not cancel its expiration. The cleanup job deletes expired clips regardless of archive status.

Bulk Operations​

When multiple clips are selected, the bulk toolbar provides two expiration actions:

  • Set Expiration -- opens the preset popover and applies the chosen duration to all selected clips
  • Clear Expiry -- removes expiration from all selected clips

Press X as a keyboard shortcut to open the Set Expiration popover for the current selection.

Visual Indicator​

Clips with an active expiration display an enhanced Temp badge in the top-left corner of the card. The badge includes the remaining time:

  • Temp · 23m -- minutes remaining
  • Temp · 2h -- hours remaining
  • Temp · 3d -- days remaining

The remaining time refreshes automatically when the app window regains focus, so the badge stays accurate even after switching away.

Automatic Cleanup​

Background Job​

mahpastes runs a cleanup job that:

  • Runs every 60 seconds
  • Checks for expired clips
  • Deletes them from the database

View Filtering​

Expired clips are also filtered out of the gallery view in real time. All clip queries exclude rows where the expiration timestamp has passed, so a clip may vanish from the UI before the background job deletes it from the database. The cleanup job then permanently removes the database record up to 60 seconds later.

What Gets Deleted​

  • The clip content (image, text, etc.)
  • The database record
note

The cleanup job only runs a SQL DELETE. It does not clean up temporary files or emit plugin events for expired clips. This differs from manual deletion, which cleans up temp files, orphaned tags, and emits clip:deleted plugin events.

What Doesn't Get Deleted​

  • Clips with no expiry (the default)
  • Clips where expiration was canceled via the context menu

Use Cases​

  • Sensitive content -- passwords, tokens, or private data that auto-deletes after 15 minutes
  • Quick transfers -- temporary clips that clean up on their own
  • Work sessions -- content relevant only during a session, set to expire after a few hours

Interaction with Archive​

Archiving does not affect expiration. Archived clips with an active timer will still be auto-deleted when their time expires.

Tips​

Security Consideration​

Auto-delete is not a security feature:

  • Content exists in the database until the cleanup job runs
  • The database file may retain traces after deletion
  • Use proper secret management for truly sensitive data

Troubleshooting​

Clip Not Deleted​

If a clip isn't deleted at expected time:

  • The cleanup job runs every 60 seconds
  • There may be up to 60 seconds delay
  • Ensure mahpastes is running

Accidentally Deleted​

Auto-deleted clips cannot be recovered. To avoid losing content:

  • Use no expiry for anything you might need later
  • Archive important clips (but note this does not cancel expiration)
  • Create backups regularly

REST API & CLI​

You can manage expiration programmatically through the REST API or the mp CLI:

# Set expiration via CLI
mp clip expire <id> --minutes 60

# Cancel expiration via CLI
mp clip expire <id> --clear

See the REST API reference for the PUT and DELETE endpoints on /api/v1/clips/{id}/expiration.