How to set up text snippets on a Mac
Text expansion turns a short abbreviation like ;addr into the full text you type over and over. macOS has a basic version built in. Maclip adds snippets that work in more apps and can fill in the date, your clipboard and where the cursor ends up.
Updated
Text replacement built into macOS
- Open System Settings → Keyboard.
- Click Text Replacements… and then +.
- Type the abbreviation under Replace and the full text under With.
It is free and syncs through iCloud, but it only works in apps built on Apple's own text system. Browsers such as Chrome and apps such as Slack and VS Code often ignore it, and it has no placeholders, so every expansion is the same fixed text.
Snippets in Maclip
- Open the dashboard and choose Snippets under Tools.
- Click New Snippet, give it a name and an abbreviation such as
;addr. - Type the text. Click a placeholder to insert it.
- Type the abbreviation in any app. It expands as soon as you finish typing it.
Placeholders
| Placeholder | Becomes |
|---|---|
{date} | Today's date, such as 27 Sep 2026 |
{time} | The current time |
{weekday} | The day of the week |
{date:yyyy-MM-dd} | The date in any format you write |
{clipboard} | Whatever you copied last |
{cursor} | Where the text cursor sits after expanding |
Where snippets don't expand
- Password fields. macOS blocks every app from reading keys typed into them.
- Password managers such as 1Password and Bitwarden.
- Apps you have added to Maclip's ignored apps.
Expansion needs Accessibility access, the same permission ⌘⇧V uses to paste. Maclip keeps only the last few characters you typed in memory to spot an abbreviation. It never stores or sends what you type.