diff --git a/shell/plugins/clipboard/Clipboard.qml b/shell/plugins/clipboard/Clipboard.qml
index 5b049695..6fc216f4 100644
--- a/shell/plugins/clipboard/Clipboard.qml
+++ b/shell/plugins/clipboard/Clipboard.qml
@@ -19,8 +19,6 @@ Item {
 
   property string historyPath: Quickshell.env("HOME") + "/.local/state/omarchy/clipboard-history.json"
   property string captureScript: root.omarchyPath + "/shell/plugins/clipboard/capture.sh"
-  property string initScript: root.omarchyPath + "/shell/plugins/clipboard/init.sh"
-  property string watchScript: root.omarchyPath + "/shell/plugins/clipboard/watch.sh"
   // Shares the [menu] surface tokens — themes that style the menu also
   // style the clipboard. Selected-row colors composed in the
   // singleton so consumers drop them straight into Rectangle bindings.
@@ -260,19 +258,22 @@ Item {
     onFileChanged: reload()
   }
 
+  // Reap watchers left behind by a previous shell instance, then start our
+  // own. The pdeathsig on the watchers makes the kernel kill them whenever
+  // the shell exits, however it exits, so no further lifecycle management.
   Process {
     id: initProc
-    command: [root.initScript, root.captureScript]
+    command: ["pkill", "-f", "wl-paste .*--watch .*/shell/plugins/clipboard/capture\\.sh"]
     onExited: {
-      currentProc.command = [root.captureScript]
       currentProc.running = true
-      watchProc.command = [root.watchScript, root.captureScript]
-      watchProc.running = true
+      textWatchProc.running = true
+      imageWatchProc.running = true
     }
   }
 
   Process {
     id: currentProc
+    command: [root.captureScript]
     stdout: StdioCollector {
       waitForEnd: true
       onStreamFinished: root.addClipboardJson(text)
@@ -280,7 +281,16 @@ Item {
   }
 
   Process {
-    id: watchProc
+    id: textWatchProc
+    command: ["setpriv", "--pdeathsig", "TERM", "wl-paste", "--type", "text", "--watch", root.captureScript, "text"]
+    stdout: SplitParser {
+      onRead: function(data) { root.addClipboardJson(data) }
+    }
+  }
+
+  Process {
+    id: imageWatchProc
+    command: ["setpriv", "--pdeathsig", "TERM", "wl-paste", "--type", "image/png", "--watch", root.captureScript, "image/png"]
     stdout: SplitParser {
       onRead: function(data) { root.addClipboardJson(data) }
     }
diff --git a/shell/plugins/clipboard/capture.sh b/shell/plugins/clipboard/capture.sh
index 105d616f..8af54863 100755
--- a/shell/plugins/clipboard/capture.sh
+++ b/shell/plugins/clipboard/capture.sh
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 
+# Captures the current clipboard as a JSON entry on stdout. In watch mode,
+# wl-paste invokes this with the payload on stdin and the mime as $1. Without
+# arguments, it snapshots the current selection itself.
+
 set -o pipefail
 
 STATE_DIR="${XDG_STATE_HOME:-$HOME/.local/state}/omarchy"
@@ -14,35 +18,10 @@ fi
 
 emit_image() {
   local mime="$1"
-  local ext="$2"
-  local tmp=""
-  local hash=""
-  local file=""
+  local ext tmp hash file
 
-  tmp=$(mktemp --tmpdir="$IMAGE_DIR" clipboard.XXXXXX) || return 0
-  if ! timeout 2s wl-paste --type "$mime" > "$tmp" 2>/dev/null || [[ ! -s $tmp ]]; then
-    rm -f "$tmp"
-    return 0
-  fi
-
-  hash=$(sha256sum "$tmp" | awk '{print $1}')
-  file="$IMAGE_DIR/$hash.$ext"
-  if [[ -e $file ]]; then
-    rm -f "$tmp"
-  else
-    mv "$tmp" "$file"
-  fi
-
-  jq -cn --arg mime "$mime" --arg path "$file" --arg captured_at "$(date +'%A %H:%M')" \
-    '{type:"image", mime:$mime, path:$path, capturedAt:$captured_at}'
-}
-
-emit_image_stream() {
-  local mime="$1"
-  local ext="$2"
-  local tmp=""
-  local hash=""
-  local file=""
+  ext=${mime#image/}
+  [[ $ext == jpeg ]] && ext=jpg
 
   tmp=$(mktemp --tmpdir="$IMAGE_DIR" clipboard.XXXXXX) || return 0
   cat >"$tmp"
@@ -63,32 +42,22 @@ emit_image_stream() {
     '{type:"image", mime:$mime, path:$path, capturedAt:$captured_at}'
 }
 
-emit_text_stream() {
+emit_text() {
   jq -cRs 'select(length > 0) | {type:"text", text:.}'
 }
 
-case "${OMARCHY_CLIPBOARD_WATCH_MIME:-}" in
-text) emit_text_stream; exit 0 ;;
-image/png) emit_image_stream 'image/png' 'png'; exit 0 ;;
-image/jpeg) emit_image_stream 'image/jpeg' 'jpg'; exit 0 ;;
-image/webp) emit_image_stream 'image/webp' 'webp'; exit 0 ;;
-image/gif) emit_image_stream 'image/gif' 'gif'; exit 0 ;;
-image/bmp) emit_image_stream 'image/bmp' 'bmp'; exit 0 ;;
-image/tiff) emit_image_stream 'image/tiff' 'tiff'; exit 0 ;;
+case "${1:-}" in
+text) emit_text; exit 0 ;;
+image/*) emit_image "$1"; exit 0 ;;
 esac
 
-if grep -qx 'image/png' <<<"$types"; then
-  emit_image 'image/png' 'png'
-elif grep -qx 'image/jpeg' <<<"$types"; then
-  emit_image 'image/jpeg' 'jpg'
-elif grep -qx 'image/webp' <<<"$types"; then
-  emit_image 'image/webp' 'webp'
-elif grep -qx 'image/gif' <<<"$types"; then
-  emit_image 'image/gif' 'gif'
-elif grep -qx 'image/bmp' <<<"$types"; then
-  emit_image 'image/bmp' 'bmp'
-elif grep -qx 'image/tiff' <<<"$types"; then
-  emit_image 'image/tiff' 'tiff'
-elif grep -q '^text/' <<<"$types" || grep -qx 'UTF8_STRING' <<<"$types" || grep -qx 'STRING' <<<"$types"; then
-  wl-paste --type text --no-newline 2>/dev/null | jq -cRs 'select(length > 0) | {type:"text", text:.}'
+for mime in image/png image/jpeg image/webp image/gif image/bmp image/tiff; do
+  if grep -qx "$mime" <<<"$types"; then
+    timeout 2s wl-paste --type "$mime" 2>/dev/null | emit_image "$mime"
+    exit 0
+  fi
+done
+
+if grep -q '^text/' <<<"$types" || grep -qx 'UTF8_STRING' <<<"$types" || grep -qx 'STRING' <<<"$types"; then
+  wl-paste --type text --no-newline 2>/dev/null | emit_text
 fi
diff --git a/shell/plugins/clipboard/init.sh b/shell/plugins/clipboard/init.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index 20c617b8..00000000
--- a/shell/plugins/clipboard/init.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,39 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-
-current_script=${1:-}
-[[ -n $current_script ]] || exit 0
-
-is_clipboard_capture() {
-  local path=$1
-
-  [[ $path == */shell/plugins/clipboard/capture.sh ]]
-}
-
-watched_script_for_pid() {
-  local pid=$1
-  local -a args=()
-  local i
-
-  [[ -r /proc/$pid/cmdline ]] || return 1
-  mapfile -d '' -t args <"/proc/$pid/cmdline" || return 1
-  ((${#args[@]} > 0)) || return 1
-
-  for ((i = 0; i < ${#args[@]}; i++)); do
-    if [[ ${args[i]} == "--watch" ]]; then
-      printf '%s\n' "${args[i + 1]:-}"
-      return 0
-    fi
-  done
-
-  return 1
-}
-
-for pid in $(pgrep -x wl-paste 2>/dev/null || true); do
-  watched_script=$(watched_script_for_pid "$pid" || true)
-  [[ -n $watched_script ]] || continue
-  is_clipboard_capture "$watched_script" || continue
-
-  if [[ $watched_script == $current_script || ! -e $watched_script ]]; then
-    kill "$pid" 2>/dev/null || true
-  fi
-done
diff --git a/shell/plugins/clipboard/watch.sh b/shell/plugins/clipboard/watch.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index 786d9488..00000000
--- a/shell/plugins/clipboard/watch.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,46 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-
-set -o pipefail
-
-capture_script=${1:-}
-[[ -n $capture_script && -x $capture_script ]] || exit 1
-
-owner_pid=$PPID
-watchdog_pid=""
-
-cleanup() {
-  local pid
-
-  if [[ -n $watchdog_pid ]]; then
-    kill "$watchdog_pid" 2>/dev/null || true
-  fi
-
-  for pid in $(jobs -p); do
-    [[ $pid == $watchdog_pid ]] && continue
-    kill "$pid" 2>/dev/null || true
-  done
-
-  wait 2>/dev/null || true
-}
-
-stop() {
-  cleanup
-  exit 0
-}
-
-trap cleanup EXIT
-trap stop HUP INT TERM
-
-(
-  while kill -0 "$owner_pid" 2>/dev/null; do
-    sleep 1
-  done
-
-  kill -TERM "$$" 2>/dev/null || true
-) &
-watchdog_pid=$!
-
-OMARCHY_CLIPBOARD_WATCH_MIME=text wl-paste --type text --watch "$capture_script" 2>/dev/null &
-OMARCHY_CLIPBOARD_WATCH_MIME=image/png wl-paste --type image/png --watch "$capture_script" 2>/dev/null &
-
-wait
diff --git a/test/shell.d/clipboard-test.sh b/test/shell.d/clipboard-test.sh
index 7293112e..055c3e66 100644
--- a/test/shell.d/clipboard-test.sh
+++ b/test/shell.d/clipboard-test.sh
@@ -162,6 +162,18 @@ assert(
   !/onContainsMouseChanged:[\s\S]*root\.selectedIndex/.test(clipboardQml),
   'clipboard does not select rows from containsMouse'
 )
+assert(
+  clipboardQml.includes('command: ["setpriv", "--pdeathsig", "TERM", "wl-paste", "--type", "text", "--watch", root.captureScript, "text"]'),
+  'clipboard text watcher dies with the shell via pdeathsig'
+)
+assert(
+  clipboardQml.includes('command: ["setpriv", "--pdeathsig", "TERM", "wl-paste", "--type", "image/png", "--watch", root.captureScript, "image/png"]'),
+  'clipboard image watcher dies with the shell via pdeathsig'
+)
+assert(
+  clipboardQml.includes('command: ["pkill", "-f", "wl-paste .*--watch .*/shell/plugins/clipboard/capture\\\\.sh"]'),
+  'clipboard init reaps stale watchers before starting new ones'
+)
 JS
 
 TMPDIR=$(mktemp -d)
@@ -245,17 +257,22 @@ capture_output=$(XDG_RUNTIME_DIR="$TMPDIR" XDG_STATE_HOME="$TMPDIR/state" PATH="
 [[ $capture_output == '{"type":"text","text":"terminal copy"}' ]] || fail "clipboard capture records normal text events"
 pass "clipboard capture records normal text events"
 
-capture_output=$(printf 'closing app copy' | OMARCHY_CLIPBOARD_WATCH_MIME=text WL_PASTE_TEXT="stale read" XDG_RUNTIME_DIR="$TMPDIR" XDG_STATE_HOME="$TMPDIR/state" PATH="$TMPDIR/bin:$PATH" "$ROOT/shell/plugins/clipboard/capture.sh")
+capture_output=$(printf 'closing app copy' | WL_PASTE_TEXT="stale read" XDG_RUNTIME_DIR="$TMPDIR" XDG_STATE_HOME="$TMPDIR/state" PATH="$TMPDIR/bin:$PATH" "$ROOT/shell/plugins/clipboard/capture.sh" text)
 [[ $capture_output == '{"type":"text","text":"closing app copy"}' ]] || fail "clipboard capture records watched text from stdin"
 pass "clipboard capture records watched text from stdin"
 
-capture_output=$(printf 'png-data' | OMARCHY_CLIPBOARD_WATCH_MIME=image/png XDG_RUNTIME_DIR="$TMPDIR" XDG_STATE_HOME="$TMPDIR/state" PATH="$TMPDIR/bin:$PATH" "$ROOT/shell/plugins/clipboard/capture.sh")
+capture_output=$(printf 'png-data' | XDG_RUNTIME_DIR="$TMPDIR" XDG_STATE_HOME="$TMPDIR/state" PATH="$TMPDIR/bin:$PATH" "$ROOT/shell/plugins/clipboard/capture.sh" image/png)
 image_path=$(jq -r '.path' <<<"$capture_output")
 jq -e '.type == "image" and .mime == "image/png" and (.capturedAt | type == "string")' <<<"$capture_output" >/dev/null || fail "clipboard capture records watched png images"
 [[ -s $image_path && $(<"$image_path") == "png-data" ]] || fail "clipboard capture stores watched png image data"
 pass "clipboard capture records watched png images"
 
-capture_output=$(printf 'secret' | CLIPBOARD_STATE=sensitive OMARCHY_CLIPBOARD_WATCH_MIME=text XDG_RUNTIME_DIR="$TMPDIR" XDG_STATE_HOME="$TMPDIR/state" PATH="$TMPDIR/bin:$PATH" "$ROOT/shell/plugins/clipboard/capture.sh")
+capture_output=$(printf 'jpg-data' | XDG_RUNTIME_DIR="$TMPDIR" XDG_STATE_HOME="$TMPDIR/state" PATH="$TMPDIR/bin:$PATH" "$ROOT/shell/plugins/clipboard/capture.sh" image/jpeg)
+image_path=$(jq -r '.path' <<<"$capture_output")
+jq -e '.mime == "image/jpeg"' <<<"$capture_output" >/dev/null && [[ $image_path == *.jpg ]] || fail "clipboard capture stores watched jpeg images with jpg extension"
+pass "clipboard capture stores watched jpeg images with jpg extension"
+
+capture_output=$(printf 'secret' | CLIPBOARD_STATE=sensitive XDG_RUNTIME_DIR="$TMPDIR" XDG_STATE_HOME="$TMPDIR/state" PATH="$TMPDIR/bin:$PATH" "$ROOT/shell/plugins/clipboard/capture.sh" text)
 [[ -z $capture_output ]] || fail "clipboard capture ignores sensitive watched text"
 pass "clipboard capture ignores sensitive watched text"
 
@@ -288,39 +305,24 @@ chmod +x "$TMPDIR/bin/wl-paste"
 
 clipboard_lifecycle_dir="$TMPDIR/clipboard-lifecycle"
 current_script="$clipboard_lifecycle_dir/current/shell/plugins/clipboard/capture.sh"
-other_script="$clipboard_lifecycle_dir/other/shell/plugins/clipboard/capture.sh"
-missing_script="$clipboard_lifecycle_dir/missing/shell/plugins/clipboard/capture.sh"
-watch_log="$clipboard_lifecycle_dir/wl-paste.log"
-mkdir -p "$(dirname "$current_script")" "$(dirname "$other_script")"
+mkdir -p "$(dirname "$current_script")"
 cp "$ROOT/shell/plugins/clipboard/capture.sh" "$current_script"
-cp "$ROOT/shell/plugins/clipboard/capture.sh" "$other_script"
-chmod +x "$current_script" "$other_script"
-
-WL_PASTE_LOG="$watch_log" PATH="$TMPDIR/bin:$PATH" wl-paste --type text --watch "$current_script" &
-current_pid=$!
-PIDS_TO_KILL+=("$current_pid")
-WL_PASTE_LOG="$watch_log" PATH="$TMPDIR/bin:$PATH" wl-paste --type text --watch "$other_script" &
-other_pid=$!
-PIDS_TO_KILL+=("$other_pid")
-WL_PASTE_LOG="$watch_log" PATH="$TMPDIR/bin:$PATH" wl-paste --type text --watch "$missing_script" &
-missing_pid=$!
-PIDS_TO_KILL+=("$missing_pid")
+chmod +x "$current_script"
 
+PATH="$TMPDIR/bin:$PATH" wl-paste --type text --watch "$current_script" text &
+stale_pid=$!
+PIDS_TO_KILL+=("$stale_pid")
 sleep 0.2
-PATH="$TMPDIR/bin:$PATH" "$ROOT/shell/plugins/clipboard/init.sh" "$current_script"
-process_gone "$current_pid" || fail "clipboard init kills watchers for the current capture script"
-process_gone "$missing_pid" || fail "clipboard init kills stale temp-root watchers"
-process_alive "$other_pid" || fail "clipboard init preserves watchers for another existing capture script"
-kill "$other_pid" 2>/dev/null || true
-wait "$other_pid" 2>/dev/null || true
-pass "clipboard init cleans current and stale watchers without killing other live roots"
+pgrep -f 'wl-paste .*--watch .*/shell/plugins/clipboard/capture\.sh' | grep -qx "$stale_pid" || fail "clipboard reaper pattern matches running watchers"
+kill "$stale_pid" 2>/dev/null || true
+wait "$stale_pid" 2>/dev/null || true
+pass "clipboard reaper pattern matches running watchers"
 
 watch_owner="$clipboard_lifecycle_dir/watch-owner.sh"
 watch_pid_file="$clipboard_lifecycle_dir/watch.pid"
-: >"$watch_log"
 cat >"$watch_owner" <<SH
 #!/bin/bash
-WL_PASTE_LOG="$watch_log" PATH="$TMPDIR/bin:\$PATH" "$ROOT/shell/plugins/clipboard/watch.sh" "$current_script" &
+PATH="$TMPDIR/bin:\$PATH" setpriv --pdeathsig TERM wl-paste --type text --watch "$current_script" text &
 printf '%s\n' "\$!" >"$watch_pid_file"
 wait
 SH
@@ -331,21 +333,17 @@ owner_pid=$!
 PIDS_TO_KILL+=("$owner_pid")
 
 for _ in {1..40}; do
-  [[ -s $watch_pid_file && $(wc -l <"$watch_log") -ge 2 ]] && break
+  [[ -s $watch_pid_file ]] && break
   sleep 0.1
 done
 
 watch_pid=$(<"$watch_pid_file")
-mapfile -t watch_child_pids < <(awk '{print $1}' "$watch_log")
-[[ -n $watch_pid && ${#watch_child_pids[@]} -ge 2 ]] || fail "clipboard watch helper starts text and image watchers"
-PIDS_TO_KILL+=("$watch_pid" "${watch_child_pids[@]}")
+[[ -n $watch_pid ]] && process_alive "$watch_pid" || fail "clipboard watcher starts under setpriv"
+PIDS_TO_KILL+=("$watch_pid")
 
 kill "$owner_pid" 2>/dev/null || true
-process_gone "$watch_pid" || fail "clipboard watch helper exits when its owner exits"
-for child_pid in "${watch_child_pids[@]}"; do
-  process_gone "$child_pid" || fail "clipboard watch helper stops child wl-paste watchers"
-done
-pass "clipboard watch helper cleans up when its owner exits"
+process_gone "$watch_pid" || fail "clipboard watcher dies with its owner via pdeathsig"
+pass "clipboard watcher dies with its owner via pdeathsig"
 
 jq -n --arg text "$(printf 'large block line 1\nlarge block line 2\n')" '[{type:"text", text:"ignored"}, {type:"text", text:$text}]' >"$TMPDIR/home/.local/state/omarchy/clipboard-history.json"