/Users/$USER/Library/Application Support/espanso/match/base.yml

  # Print the current date
  - trigger: ":date"
    replace: "{{mydate}}"
    vars:
      - name: mydate
        type: date
        params:
          format: "%Y-%m-%d"

    - trigger: ";tod"
      replace: "{{mydate}}"
      vars:
      - name: mydate
        type: shell
        params:
          cmd: date --iso-8601

I have it in `~/.config/espanso/match/base.yml`.

I've seen people using it to insert emojis, lorem ipsum text, or fixing common typos. It's quite powerful because you can even do HTTP requests and mash them with your text.

There is Expanso Hub here, it contains numerous other examples: https://hub.espanso.org/

I'm now thinking about writing an expansion to help me reference tickets, e.g. expand :searchticket <string> to a list of up to 5 URLs. Since it happens inline, I don't have to "submit" the list to anything/anyone until I've cleaned up the message.

In System Settings > Keyboard > Text Input > Text Replacements

Basically, it's a simple replacement tool, which works for some repetitive stuff (i.e. my name, my email address, my phone number, or a short string for closing out emails). Epsanso, and tools like it, do so much more.

Edit to add: Data detectors on macOS/iOS look for existing strings of text that you can then get more contextual options for. Things like dates and times might open up a calendar view, phone numbers might offer a menu to dial it, or addresses might offer the ability to open a map for it. Absolutely useful, but not the same thing.

I agree, though, seems like a ripe piece of low-hanging fruit that could be better integrated and safer. Even if the lower level stuff just hands it off to a dedicated tool that handles the replacement text, at least the OS/WM should be the one watching the keys.

  - ,.a.macro
  - ,.b.macro