Text Snippet Expansion
Type a snippet trigger and press the marker key you set to replace it with the snippet in any app. Uses the snippets you already keep in Glaido.
Overview
Text Snippet Expansion replaces a typed trigger with its snippet. It uses the snippets on Glaido's Snippets page, the same ones you can say while dictating. See the Text Snippet Expansion page for an overview.
Requirements
Text Snippet Expansion stays off until you turn it on, because it reads what you type.
| System | Supported |
|---|---|
| macOS | Yes |
| Windows | Yes |
| Linux (Wayland) | Yes |
| Linux (X11) | Yes |
| Permission | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Read What You Type | Reads typed characters to match a snippet trigger, then replaces that abbreviation. |
| Write to the Clipboard | Copies results so you can paste them. |
| Use a Global Hotkey | Listens for its own shortcut while you work in other apps. |
| Add Tools to Command Mode | Lets you use it by voice in Command mode. |
Turn it on
Open in Glaido: Text Snippet Expansion. Opens this extension's setup in the Glaido desktop app.
Or open Extensions in the Glaido sidebar, choose Text Snippet Expansion, and turn it on.
Use it
Set a marker key, type a trigger, then press that key. Nothing expands until you set one.
- The trigger has to be a whole word at the end of what you typed, so
signaturefollowed by the marker key doesn't firesig. If two triggers match, the longer one wins. - Matching ignores case. A one-letter trigger never fires from the keyboard; you can still say it.
- When nothing matches, the marker key does what it always does.
- The snippet is pasted, and what you had on the clipboard is put back.
Set Marker position to Before the trigger to press the marker key first and then type the trigger. Glaido expands it once the word matches.
| Command | Say | Default shortcut |
|---|---|---|
| List Snippets: Lists every snippet in Spotlight. Type to filter by trigger or content, then press Enter to paste or copy it. | "Show my snippets", "What snippets do I have?" | Set your own |
| Insert Snippet: Pastes the snippet you name. If more than one matches, Glaido shows the matches and pastes nothing. | "Insert my email signature", "Expand the sig snippet" | By voice or Spotlight |
| Expand: The marker key. Type a trigger, then press it, and the trigger is replaced with the snippet. Set the key in the extension's settings, and choose whether you press it after the trigger or before it. | Set your own |
Voice commands
Say a trigger on its own while dictating and Glaido replaces it with the snippet. Or hold your Commands hotkey and say:
- "Show my snippets"
- "Insert my email signature"
From a terminal or an agent
Text Snippet Expansion adds no server of its own. With the command line on, AI agents reach its commands through glaido mcp. See Extensions.
Settings
| Setting | Options | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Marker Position | After the Trigger, Before the Trigger | After the Trigger |
The marker key is in the settings, not under Hotkeys: it isn't a shortcut, so the key keeps doing its usual job everywhere else when nothing matches.
Privacy
Text Snippet Expansion keeps only the characters since your last click, app switch, Escape or arrow key, to compare them with your triggers. Nothing you type is stored or sent. It pauses while Glaido is in front, while Spotlight is open, and while you're recording.
Troubleshooting
- The marker key does its usual job instead of expanding. Check that a marker key is set, that the trigger is a whole word at the end of what you typed, and that it has more than one letter.
- Linux: nothing expands. Some sessions only allow the desktop's shortcut portal, which can't see ordinary typing. The extension page says when that's the case. Spotlight and voice still insert snippets.
- Linux: the wrong letters. On Linux, letter keys follow US key positions.