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Download Shorthand-<version>.zip from the releases page, unzip it and move Shorthand.app to your Applications folder. Shorthand needs macOS 14 or later.

Releases aren't notarized by Apple yet, so the first time you open Shorthand macOS may refuse. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down and click Open Anyway. You only need to do this once.

To notice when you finish typing an abbreviation and to paste the snippet in its place. When asked, turn Shorthand on under System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility. Without it, nothing expands.

Open the editor from the Shorthand menu-bar icon and add a new snippet. Give it an abbreviation, like ;sig, and the text it should become. Type the abbreviation in any app and it's replaced as soon as you type its last character.

It's a habit, not a rule. A prefix like ; means an abbreviation never matches a word you type by accident. The editor warns you if two snippets share the same abbreviation.

Shorthand pastes the snippet, then puts your clipboard back the way it was. Clipboard managers are told to skip the temporary copy, so it won't clutter your history.

Check that Shorthand isn't paused in the menu bar and that the snippet is turned on in the editor. Password fields and some apps switch on Secure Input, which stops every text expander from seeing what you type; the menu shows when this is happening. Shorthand also doesn't expand inside its own editor and forms.

{date}, {time}, {isodate}, {clipboard}, and {cursor} for where the caret ends up. Saved variables work too: set {company} once with the {} Variables button in the editor and use it in any snippet.

Yes. Any other {Name} opens a small form when you insert the snippet. You can also use multi-line fields like {fill:Notes:multi}, menus like {choice:Tone:friendly|formal} and sections you can leave out with {optional:PS}…{/optional}. Fields with the same name are only asked for once. The editor's Add Placeholder menu lists them all.

No. Things like ${x}, { return x } and {a.b} are left exactly as typed.

Text you reuse without needing a shortcut, like AI prompts or standard replies. Any snippet without an abbreviation lives in the Prompt Bank.

Type ;; anywhere to open a searchable launcher. It previews each entry with its placeholders highlighted. Press Return to insert, ⌘C to copy, or Esc to close. You can also insert a prompt with one click from the Prompt Bank submenu in the menu bar.

On your Mac only, as JSON files in ~/Library/Application Support/Shorthand/. They're included in your Time Machine backups. There's no account and nothing is uploaded to us.

Not yet. Snippets are plain text for now.