Paste without formatting on Mac

![Paste without formatting on Mac](/api/v1/images/c88edf2d-a056-403f-8eae-9c1df34b8262)

You copy a sentence from a website and paste it into an email — suddenly it's blue, 18pt, and in a completely different font. Sound familiar? Here's how to fix that forever.

## The shortcut

**Shift + Option + Cmd + V** — pastes as plain text in most Mac apps (Pages, Mail, Notes, Notion, Google Docs, etc.).

If that doesn't work in a specific app, look for **Edit > Paste and Match Style** in the menu bar.

## Make it the default (permanently)

You can rewire **Cmd + V** itself to always paste without formatting:

1. Open **System Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > App Shortcuts**
2. Click **+** to add a new shortcut
3. Application: **All Applications**
4. Menu Title: type exactly **Paste and Match Style**
5. Shortcut: press **Cmd + V**
6. Click **Done**

Now every Cmd + V across your Mac pastes plain text. The old formatted paste moves to Shift + Option + Cmd + V (reversed!).

## Where it works

| App | Plain paste shortcut |
|---|---|
| Most Mac apps | Shift + Option + Cmd + V |
| Google Docs (Chrome) | Cmd + Shift + V |
| Slack | Cmd + Shift + V |
| VS Code | Always plain by default |

## When you actually want formatting

Occasionally you *do* want to keep formatting (e.g., copying styled text between Pages documents). In that case, use **Edit > Paste** or temporarily disable the system shortcut override.