Rebind

marketplace/text

Text Expander

v0.1.0

@rebindfree

Type short abbreviations like ;sig or /date and press Tab to expand them anywhere.

Install in Rebind

Gallery

Text Expander preview

Readme

Short abbreviations become your email, your signature, or today's date when you press Tab. It works in every app, because it types for you rather than living inside one.

TypeThen TabBecomes
@@Tabyour email
;sigTabyour signature
/dateTabtoday's date, such as 2026-10-19

Needs Rebind 3.5.0 or newer on Windows or macOS. No extra permissions.

Settings

  • Expand with: default Tab. When no abbreviation comes right before it, Tab works as usual.
  • Snippets tab: three abbreviations, each with the text it expands to. Write {date} anywhere in a text to insert today's date. Text changes apply right away.

Limits

  • Write abbreviations in lowercase; what you type is matched in lowercase.
  • Abbreviations can use letters, digits, ; / . , - and @. The @ is read as Shift+2, so it works on US-layout keyboards.
  • The expansion is pasted, so it replaces what was on the clipboard.
  • Mouse clicks and arrow keys do not reset what it has seen you type; press Space or Enter to start fresh.
  • Live use remains unverified on Windows and macOS.

Stop

Stop the package from the editor toolbar, or press Left Ctrl + Left Alt + K to stop all scripts.

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Source

Version 0.1.0 (current)

main.luau

-- Text Expander: type an abbreviation, press the expand key, and it is
-- replaced by its text. It types for you, so it works in every app.

local cfg = UI.Schema({
  trigger = UI.Keybind("Tab", { label = "Expand with" }),
  abbr1 = UI.Text("@@", { label = "Abbreviation 1", tab = "Snippets" }),
  text1 = UI.Text("you@company.com", { label = "Expands to", tab = "Snippets" }),
  abbr2 = UI.Text(";sig", { label = "Abbreviation 2", tab = "Snippets" }),
  text2 = UI.Text("Best,\nAlex", { label = "Expands to", tab = "Snippets" }),
  abbr3 = UI.Text("/date", { label = "Abbreviation 3", tab = "Snippets" }),
  text3 = UI.Text("{date}", {
    label = "Expands to ({date} is today's date)",
    tab = "Snippets",
  }),
})

local SHIFTED = { ["2"] = "@" }
local PUNCT = { Semicolon = ";", Slash = "/", Period = ".", Comma = ",", Minus = "-" }
local buffer = ""

local function snippets()
  local out = {}
  for n = 1, 3 do
    local abbr = cfg[`abbr{n}`]
    if abbr ~= "" then
      out[abbr] = cfg[`text{n}`]:gsub("{date}", os.date("%Y-%m-%d"))
    end
  end
  return out
end

local function typed(key)
  local mods = Input.GetModifiers()
  if mods.ctrl or mods.alt or mods.win then
    return nil
  end
  if mods.shift then
    return SHIFTED[key]
  end
  return PUNCT[key] or (if #key == 1 then key:lower() else nil)
end

local function expand(abbr, text)
  Run(function()
    for _ = 1, #abbr do
      HID.Press("Backspace", 10)
    end
    Clipboard.Set(text)
    HID.Press(if _REBIND.platform == "macos" then "LWin+V" else "LCtrl+V")
  end)
end

function OnDown(key)
  if key == cfg.trigger then
    for abbr, text in snippets() do
      if buffer:sub(-#abbr) == abbr then
        buffer = ""
        expand(abbr, text)
        return false
      end
    end
    return true
  end
  local char = typed(key)
  if char then
    buffer = (buffer .. char):sub(-30)
  elseif key == "Backspace" then
    buffer = buffer:sub(1, -2)
  elseif key == "Space" or key == "Enter" then
    buffer = ""
  end
  return true
end