How to Enable Clipboard History and Sync in Regedit

Windows provides built-in tools to store multiple copied items and synchronize them across your Microsoft devices using the cloud. While these options are available in the standard Settings menu, you can also configure and enforce them directly through the Windows Registry. This guide walks you through enabling Clipboard History and Cloud Clipboard synchronization using the Registry Editor (Regedit).

Step 1: Open the Registry Editor

  1. Press Win + R to open the Run dialog box.
  2. Type regedit and press Enter (or click OK).
  3. If prompted by User Account Control (UAC), click Yes.

Step 2: Navigate to the Clipboard Registry Key

Paste the following path into the address bar at the top of the Registry Editor and press Enter:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Clipboard

Note: If the Clipboard key does not exist under Microsoft, right-click the Microsoft folder, select New > Key, and name it Clipboard.

Step 3: Enable Clipboard History

  1. Inside the Clipboard key, look for a DWORD (32-bit) Value named EnableClipboardHistory.
    • If it does not exist, right-click an empty space in the right pane, select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value, and name it EnableClipboardHistory.
  2. Double-click EnableClipboardHistory.
  3. Set the Value data to 1.
  4. Click OK.

Step 4: Enable Cloud Clipboard Synchronization

  1. In the same Clipboard key, look for a DWORD (32-bit) Value named EnableCloudClipboard.
    • If it does not exist, right-click an empty space, select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value, and name it EnableCloudClipboard.
  2. Double-click EnableCloudClipboard.
  3. Set the Value data to 1.
  4. Click OK.

Step 5: Enable System-Wide Policies (Optional)

If your device is managed or you want to ensure the features are not blocked at the system policy level:

  1. Navigate to:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System
  2. Create or modify the following DWORD (32-bit) values:
    • AllowClipboardHistory: Set value data to 1
    • AllowCrossDeviceClipboard: Set value data to 1
  3. Click OK for each value.

Step 6: Apply the Changes

  1. Close the Registry Editor.
  2. Restart your computer or sign out and sign back into your Windows account.
  3. Press Win + V to open and verify the Clipboard History interface. Cloud synchronization will automatically link to the active Microsoft account on the system.