1.  [Features](https://clacky.app/features/)
2.  ›
3.  [My Kit](https://clacky.app/features/#my-kit)
4.  ›
5.  Text Expander

My KitLive

# Text Expander

Type :sig, get your signature. Your snippets, anywhere you type.

[Try free for 7 days](https://clacky.app/try/)

![Text Expander settings: the :sig snippet and how it is inserted](https://clacky.app/features27/text-expander-light.webp)![Text Expander settings: the :sig snippet and how it is inserted](https://clacky.app/features27/text-expander-dark.webp)

## What it is

Text Expander turns a short trigger into the full text. Type :sig and get your signature, an address, a reply you send every day, in any app you type in.

Snippets can hold placeholders: {date}, {time}, {clipboard} and {cursor}, where the cursor lands after.

To spot a trigger, Clacky keeps only the last few characters in memory while they could still become one of your triggers, and never records, stores, logs or sends what you type. Password fields, password managers and apps you exclude are skipped.

## How to use it

1.  1
    
    Open Text Expander
    
    Open Clacky from the menu bar and click the Text Expander card in My Kit (add it from Explore if it isn’t there).
    
2.  2
    
    Turn it on
    
    Switch on Text Expander and press Allow in System Settings…: it needs Accessibility to type your snippet.
    
3.  3
    
    Add a snippet
    
    Press Add, then type a trigger (2–32 characters, no spaces) and the text it stands for.
    
4.  4
    
    Use it
    
    Type the trigger anywhere. It expands in place.
    

## Tips

-   Two examples come ready: :date and :shrug. Change or delete them.
-   Import… and Export… move your snippets as a file.
-   Insert with lets you paste the text (your clipboard comes back after) or type it in.

## Questions

Does Clacky read everything I type?

No. It holds only the last few characters, in memory, and only while they could still be one of your triggers. Nothing is recorded, stored or sent.

Can I stop it in one app?

Yes. Add the app under Never expand in. Password managers are always skipped.

Related features

-   ![](https://clacky.app/features27/clipboard-history-light.webp)![](https://clacky.app/features27/clipboard-history-dark.webp)
    
    [Clipboard History](https://clacky.app/features/clipboard-history/)
    
    Your last 50 copies: search, pin, paste. Off by default and kept in memory; you can keep them across restarts, encrypted on this Mac. Copies from password managers are never kept.
    
-   ![](https://clacky.app/features27/voice-light.webp)
    
    [Voice to Prompt](https://clacky.app/features/voice-to-prompt/)
    
    Speak, and your words are copied as a prompt, with the ums taken out, on your Mac. Turn on Paste automatically and it’s pasted where you were typing.
    
-   ![](https://clacky.app/features27/shortcuts-light.webp)![](https://clacky.app/features27/shortcuts-dark.webp)
    
    [Shortcuts](https://clacky.app/features/shortcuts/)
    
    Every Clacky shortcut in one list. Change any of them; if the keys are taken, Clacky says by whom.
    
-   ![](https://clacky.app/features27/keyboard-sounds-light.webp)![](https://clacky.app/features27/keyboard-sounds-dark.webp)
    
    [Keyboard Sounds](https://clacky.app/features/keyboard-sounds/)
    
    Typing sounds as you type. Each key press becomes a sound on your Mac and is never recorded, stored or sent. Password fields stay quiet.
    

[Everything in My Kit →](https://clacky.app/features/#my-kit)

## Make something on your Mac today.

Seven days free, every feature, cancel anytime.

[Try free for 7 days](https://clacky.app/try/)