Alternative to PopClip
PopClip for Chrome, Edge and Firefox: a toolbar on selected text.
PopClip is a paid macOS utility by Pilotmoon: select text in any app and a small bar appears with actions and extensions. Selection Toolbar is the same idea for the browser, and it runs wherever the browser does: Windows, Linux, ChromeOS and macOS, in Chrome, Edge, Brave, Arc, Vivaldi, Opera and Firefox. It cannot reach outside the browser, and it adds things a browser can do well: highlights that come back on the next visit, a sticky note that follows you across tabs, and a hand-off to the AI assistant you already use.
If you came here for
The things people say they miss when they look for a replacement.
- A bar that appears the moment you select text, with the action one click or one key away.
- Copy, search, translate, define, read aloud and calculate without leaving the page.
- Actions that show up only when they fit: a link, a sum, a price, an address, a colour.
- Something that works on Windows and Linux too.
- A way to arrange which actions show and in what order.
Side by side
| What | PopClip | Selection Toolbar |
|---|---|---|
| Where it works | Any macOS app, macOS only. | Inside the browser, on every operating system the browser runs on. |
| Actions | Built-in actions plus a large extension library. | 28 actions in the box: copy, search, site search, translate, define, read aloud, Wikipedia, LinkedIn, quote, hashtags, share, highlight, note, Save to Collections, four AI assistants, and nine smart actions that appear only when the selection matches. |
| Keyboard | Mouse first, with shortcuts for some actions. | A single key for every action while the bar is open, 1 to 9 for the first nine, Escape to close. |
| Highlights and notes | Not a focus. | Highlights in four colours that are restored on the next visit, a panel with notes and Markdown export, and a sticky note that follows you across tabs. |
| AI | Through extensions, some with their own keys. | Opens ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude or Perplexity in a new tab with your selection and prompt; no key to paste. |
| Price | One-time licence. | Free. |
Facts about PopClip are as published by its maker at the time of writing; tell us if one is out of date.
Not here
So you do not install it for the wrong reason.
- Nothing outside the browser. Text selected in Mail, Pages or a terminal is out of reach.
- No custom scripting or extension library; the actions are the ones listed above, and you choose which show.
- No clipboard history.
How it works
Three keys cover most of it.
- 1Select text on any page. The bar appears beside it. Press H to highlight; the picker under the bar changes the colour or removes it.
- 2Press Alt Shift H for the panel: this page, all pages, search, and a note on each highlight.
- 3Export copies or downloads everything as Markdown: a heading per page linking to the source, a quote per highlight, your note under it.
Questions
Does it work on macOS as well?
Yes, in any of the supported browsers. People who have PopClip often keep both: PopClip for the desktop, Selection Toolbar for the things only a browser extension can do, such as highlights that restore and a note that follows you across tabs.
Can I hide the bar on some sites?
Not per site in this version. Escape closes it, a click anywhere dismisses it, and the Position setting moves it to the side you find least in the way.
Is it free?
Yes. Highlights, notes, the panel and Markdown export are free with no account. Sync across devices is the first paid extra, Premium; nothing that is free today moves behind it.
Where do my highlights live?
In your browser's own extension storage, on your machine. Nothing is uploaded unless you later choose to sign in and turn on sync.
Try it on this page.
Install, come back, select a sentence, press H. It is highlighted the next time you open this page.