SnipExpand

Fast, config-based text expansion for Linux and Wayland. First-class support for Omarchy and Hyprland.

Features

• System-wide, clipboard-free expansion
• Immediate or terminator-based expansion
• Plain text and multiline replacements
• Cursor placement with $|$
• Recursive YAML configuration with automatic reload
• Multiple triggers for one replacement
• Regex triggers with named captures
• Reusable nested snippets and date variables
• Configurable word boundaries and case propagation
• Search labels and terms for picker integrations
• Immediate Backspace undo for simple expansions
• Application exclusions and per-application profiles
• Pause and resume controls through the CLI, IPC, and Omarchy plugin
• Deliberate duplicate-trigger selection by source
• Git-published snippet packs with pinned revisions and explicit updates
• Direct installation of strictly compatible Espanso packs
• Persistent Wayland injection with a uinput fallback
• Strict validation and diagnostics

Why SnipExpand?

Text expansion on Omarchy and Hyprland is still unreliable or awkward. Compare SnipExpand with the alternatives below.

Alternatives

Requirements

Run SnipExpand from a local Wayland desktop session with:

• libxkbcommon and Wayland client libraries
• Read access to keyboard devices under /dev/input/ (see setup below)
• wtype for the Unicode fallback path

Install

Install from crates.io:

cargo install snipexpand

Prebuilt x86_64 and aarch64 binaries are available from GitHub Releases.

Set up

snipexpand install --keyboard-access
snipexpand doctor

Run these commands as your desktop user. The --keyboard-access option requests administrator authentication to install a keyboard-only udev rule. The rule grants keyboard access to the active local session and applies again after a reboot or keyboard reconnect. It does not add your user to the input group.

Setup creates missing starter files without overwriting your config, then starts and enables the user service. It checks that a keyboard can actually be read before reporting success. If your system already provides keyboard access, you can use snipexpand install without the flag.

Manual keyboard permissions

On a system using systemd-logind and udev, an administrator can install the same rule manually. This also works with older SnipExpand releases that do not have --keyboard-access:

sudo tee /etc/udev/rules.d/71-snipexpand-keyboard.rules >/dev/null <<'EOF'
SUBSYSTEM=="input", KERNEL=="event*", ENV{ID_INPUT_KEYBOARD}=="1", TAG+="uaccess"
EOF
sudo udevadm control --reload-rules
sudo udevadm trigger --action=change --subsystem-match=input --property-match=ID_INPUT_KEYBOARD=1 --settle
systemctl --user restart snipexpand

Package maintainers can ship contrib/71-snipexpand-keyboard.rules in their distribution's udev rules directory. The CLI embeds the rule, so binaries and crates.io installs can configure it through --keyboard-access too. The automatic setup refuses to overwrite a different existing rule at its destination.

If your system does not support active-session udev access, follow its input device permission policy. Membership in the input group is another option, but grants access to additional input devices and requires a new login.

Service runs, but typed triggers do not expand

Run snipexpand doctor. A running service or a successful paste from the Omarchy panel only confirms that SnipExpand can send text. Automatic expansion also requires keyboard read access. Restarting the service cannot repair a missing permission. Current diagnostics test actual keyboard access; older releases check only input group membership and may report failure even with a working udev rule.

AI agents

SnipExpand installs an AI skill at ~/.config/snipexpand/SKILL.md. Point your coding agent at it and describe what you want:

Read ~/.config/snipexpand/SKILL.md, then set up my SnipExpand snippets.

The skill teaches agents how to scaffold and edit match files, change settings, use the CLI, validate changes, and check the running service. You can manage your entire setup this way without learning the commands below.

Add your first snippet

Add an expansion from the command line:

snipexpand add --label 'Email address' --search-term contact ';mail' 'user@example.com'

Match files

For more control, create or edit a YAML file below ~/.config/snipexpand/match/. SnipExpand offers best-effort compatibility with Espanso's YAML match format:

# Match files reload when saved.
global_vars:
  - name: today
    type: date
    params:
      format: "%Y-%m-%d"

matches:
  # Multiple triggers, one replacement
  - triggers: [";mail", ";email"]
    label: "Email address"
    search_terms: [email, contact]
    replace: "user@example.com"

  # Whole-word matching and multiline text
  - trigger: ";sig"
    label: "Email signature"
    word: true
    replace: |
      Best regards,
      Your Name

  # $|$ marks the cursor position after expansion.
  - trigger: ";function"
    replace: |
      fn example() {
          $|$
      }

  # Insert a formatted date
  - trigger: ";today"
    replace: "{{today}}"

  # Named regex captures become replacement variables.
  - regex: "issue-(?P<number>\\d{3})"
    replace: "Issue #{{number}}"

  # Reuse another snippet without running commands.
  - trigger: ";name"
    replace: "Your Name"

  - trigger: ";greeting"
    replace: "Hello from {{name}}"
    vars:
      - name: name
        type: match
        params:
          trigger: ";name"

Settings

Edit ~/.config/snipexpand/config.yml:

# Choose when expansion happens.
trigger_mode: space        # immediate | space
terminators: [space]       # any of: space, enter, tab

# Optional. Override which characters delimit word-boundary matches.
# word_separators: [" ", ".", ",", "!", "?"]

# Maximum characters retained while evaluating regex triggers.
regex_max_buffer: 256

# Prefer native Wayland injection and fall back to uinput.
injection_backend: auto    # auto | wayland | uinput

# Tune these only if an application drops or reorders characters.
injection_delay_ms: 1
wayland_injection_delay_ms: 0
uinput_injection_delay_ms: 1
injection_settle_ms: 10

# Backspace immediately after a simple expansion to restore its trigger.
undo_enabled: true         # true | false

# Optional. Disable expansion in matching applications. Default: []
app_exclusions:
  - class: "^1Password$"
  - class: "^org\\.keepassxc\\.KeePassXC$"

# Optional. The first matching profile overrides behavior for that application.
app_profiles:
  - name: Browser
    filter:
      class: "^(firefox|chromium)$"
    include_match_files: [browser.yml]
    trigger_mode: space
    injection_delay_ms: 1

Run snipexpand detect while an application is focused to find the title, class, and executable values needed for an exclusion or profile.

Snippet packs

Install a native SnipExpand pack or a compatible Espanso pack directly from a Git repository:

snipexpand pack inspect espanso:arrows
snipexpand pack install espanso:arrows

snipexpand pack inspect https://github.com/example/useful-symbols
snipexpand pack install https://github.com/example/useful-symbols

Use --path DIR when a repository contains several packs and --ref REF to select a tag, branch, or commit. SnipExpand records the exact resolved commit. Installed packs are read-only, independently enableable collections. Updates are always explicit:

snipexpand pack list
snipexpand pack disable useful-symbols
snipexpand pack enable useful-symbols
snipexpand pack update useful-symbols
snipexpand pack remove useful-symbols

SnipExpand validates every pack before enabling it. Espanso packs using unsupported fields, scripts, forms, or variables are rejected rather than partially installed. The espanso:NAME shorthand selects the latest stable version of a compatible package from the official Espanso Hub.

Commands

snipexpand [COMMAND]
sxp [COMMAND]                    Short form

(no command)                     Run the daemon in the foreground
init                             Explicitly create starter configuration
add TRIGGER TEXT                 Add or replace a generated expansion
remove TRIGGER                   Remove a generated expansion
list                             List triggers and source files
check                            Validate configuration
detect                           Inspect the focused application
reload                           Reload the running daemon
enable                           Enable automatic expansion
disable                          Pause automatic expansion
toggle                           Toggle automatic expansion
paste [--source PATH] [--delay-ms N] TRIGGER
                                Insert a configured expansion
status [--json]                  Show daemon and configuration status
doctor                           Diagnose setup and runtime requirements
install                          Install and start the user service
uninstall                        Remove the service; preserve configuration
pack inspect SOURCE              Validate a Git-published pack
pack install SOURCE              Install and enable a pack
pack list                        List installed packs
pack update NAME                 Update a pack explicitly
pack enable NAME                 Enable an installed pack
pack disable NAME                Disable an installed pack
pack remove NAME                 Remove an installed pack

Duplicate triggers may coexist for picker use. Automatic typing expands only when the active app profile leaves one matching snippet. A picker can select an exact duplicate with paste --source PATH TRIGGER, using the source returned by list --json.

Limitations

• Hyprland is the only supported and tested compositor. Other Wayland compositors may work but are not yet part of the test matrix.
• Undo works only immediately after a plain, single-line expansion. Multiline and cursor-positioned expansions cannot be undone back to their trigger.
• SnipExpand does not run scripts or shell commands, display forms, insert rich text or images, or provide a package registry.
• Regex triggers use a bounded rolling buffer and support named captures, but do not implement Espanso's full regex behavior.
• Variables are limited to formatted dates, regex captures, and safe nested snippet references. Shell, script, and form variables are intentionally unsupported.
• Application exclusions operate at the application level. Wayland does not expose a browser's focused field type, so SnipExpand cannot automatically identify password fields inside an allowed browser.
• SnipExpand reads global keyboard events, including sensitive input. Application exclusions stop expansion but do not stop the daemon from receiving those events. Install only binaries you trust.

SnipExpand does not execute snippets, access the clipboard, or contact online services.

See the compatibility matrix for the complete supported configuration surface.

Documentation

• Prioritized tasks
• Espanso compatibility
• Espanso-informed design notes
• Publishing and managing snippet packs

Development

cargo fmt --check
cargo clippy --all-targets -- -D warnings
cargo test

License

GNU General Public License v3.0 or later.

Other platforms offer polished text expansion built in or through expensive software. Linux users should not have to settle for less or pay a costly subscription for basic infrastructure. SnipExpand is free and open source so anyone can use it, study it, improve it, and share it.

Anyone who distributes a modified version must make its source available under compatible terms. The project cannot be repackaged and distributed as closed-source software. Private use and private modifications remain private.