What Is Edge Drop? The Windows Clipboard Shelf Explained

Edge Drop is a free, open-source clipboard manager for Windows 10 and 11, published at edgedrop.app. It keeps everything you copy (text, links, colour codes, screenshots and files) on a shelf that slides out when your cursor touches the edge of the screen or when you press Alt+C. Click a card to paste it, or drag an image or file straight into another app. It isn't Microsoft's Drop, the file-sharing pane Microsoft retired from the Edge browser in August 2026.

What Edge Drop does

Edge Drop runs in the system tray and records each new copy as a card. The shelf has filter tabs for All, Text, Links, Images, Files, Colors and an Emoji picker, plus a search box.

• Captures: text (with its formatting), links, colour codes such as #1E90FF or rgb() values, images including screenshots, and files or folders copied in File Explorer. Files are stored as references to the originals, not as copies.
• Pastes: clicking a card closes the shelf and pastes into the app you were using. The shelf never takes focus away from that app.
• Drags out: images and files can be dragged into Explorer, chat apps, editors or upload boxes. Text and link cards are click-to-paste only.
• Organises: pin cards so they're never removed, and drag images or files onto each other to make a stack of up to 10 that you can drag out together.
• Keeps history: 250 unpinned items by default (100, 250, 500 or 1,000), kept across restarts unless you turn on Clear unpinned on restart.

The shelf can sit on the left edge (the default), the right edge or the top edge, on whichever monitor you choose. Edge Drop in 10 minutes walks through first use.

Privacy and data

Edge Drop has no account, no cloud sync and no telemetry. History stays in a folder on your PC, and the history index is encrypted with Windows DPAPI. Images and long text are stored as ordinary files in the same folder.

It skips copies that apps mark as excluded from clipboard history, which includes many password managers. Incognito mode pauses recording, and an Auto-delete timer can purge unpinned items after 1 hour, 6 hours, 24 hours or 7 days. Is Edge Drop safe? covers the details.

What Edge Drop doesn't do

• No sync to phones or other PCs.
• No text expansion, snippets, scripts or macros.
• No screen capture; use Snipping Tool or ShareX and let Edge Drop keep the result.
• No OCR or search inside images.
• No export or import of history.
• No light theme, and no macOS, Linux or ARM64 build.

Edge Drop vs Win+V

Windows already has clipboard history. Press Windows logo key + V to open it. It holds 25 items of text, HTML or images up to 4 MB each, doesn't keep copied files, and clears unpinned items on restart.

Win+V is enough if you reuse a few snippets of text in one sitting. Edge Drop helps when you copy files and screenshots and need them later, or want to drag them into another app instead of pasting. Edge Drop vs Windows clipboard history compares the two in detail. If you mostly type to search through weeks of text, a keyboard-first manager such as Ditto, or the newly revived ClipX 2.0, may suit you better.

Is Edge Drop related to Microsoft Edge?

No. Microsoft Edge had a feature called Drop that sent files and notes between your own devices through OneDrive. Microsoft retired it in Edge version 152, released on August 27, 2026. What happened to Microsoft Edge Drop explains where your files went.

Edge Drop (edgedrop.app) is an independent app that was never part of the browser. It works on one PC and doesn't send anything to other devices. The Microsoft Store version is distributed by Microsoft, but not made by it.

Who makes it and where to get it

Edge Drop is made by Deepender Yadav and released under the Apache License 2.0. It's in public beta; the current version as of October 2026 is 0.3.2.

• Website: edgedrop.app
• Microsoft Store: Edge Drop, ID 9P3JMHN9M4NR
• Source code and installer: the Edge Drop repository on GitHub

The two builds have the same features. GitHub installer or Microsoft Store explains how they differ in updates. To get started, see how to install Edge Drop on Windows 10 and 11.

FAQ

Is Edge Drop free?

Yes. It's free and open source under Apache 2.0, with no paid tier. The project accepts optional donations.

Does Edge Drop work on Mac or Linux?

No. It runs only on Windows 10 and Windows 11, x64.

Can I change the Alt+C shortcut or turn off hover?

Yes. Both are in Settings → Behaviour: record a new Global Toggle Shortcut, or switch off Hover Activation so the shelf opens only with the shortcut. Changing the toggle hotkey has the steps.

What languages does it support?

31 interface languages, including right-to-left layouts for Arabic, Persian and Hebrew.

Related reading

• How to Install Edge Drop on Windows 10 and 11
• What Is a Clipboard Shelf? Shelf vs Clipboard Manager
• What Happened to Microsoft Edge Drop in 2026?
• Win+V Alternative That Keeps Files: Edge Drop vs Win+V

Sources

• Edge Drop on GitHub — licence, platforms, beta status.
• Edge Drop (Microsoft Store) — Store listing.
• Using the clipboard (Microsoft Support) — Win+V limits and behaviour.
• Microsoft Edge release notes for Stable Channel (Microsoft Learn) — "Drop is retired" in Edge 152.

Copy. Stack. Drop.

Transform your clipboard into an interactive edge shelf. Stack, pin, and drag assets into any app with zero friction.

Download for Windows Get from Microsoft Store

How to Install Guide · First 10 Minutes Guide · Drag & Drop Guide · Edge Drop vs Win+V · Support