Text Expansion

OctoFlow includes a built-in text expansion engine. Type an abbreviation anywhere on macOS and it expands into a full snippet instantly.

Creating Snippets

Open OctoFlow settings > Text Expansion
Click + to create a new snippet
Set an abbreviation (e.g., ;sig) and the expansion text

Abbreviations

Abbreviations are short triggers that expand into longer text. They are case-sensitive and triggered by typing the abbreviation followed by a space, tab, or return.

Abbreviation	Expansion
`;sig`	Your full email signature
`;addr`	Your mailing address
`;ty`	Thank you for your message!
`;date`	Today’s date (dynamic)

Dynamic Variables

Snippets support dynamic variables that are evaluated at expansion time:

Variable	Output
`{date}`	Current date (e.g., 2026-04-22)
`{time}`	Current time (e.g., 14:30)
`{datetime}`	Date and time combined
`{clipboard}`	Current clipboard contents
`{cursor}`	Place the cursor here after expansion
`{date+7d}`	Date 7 days from now
`{date-1m}`	Date 1 month ago
`{random:uuid}`	Random UUID

Date Math

Use {date+Nd} or {date-Nd} for relative dates. Supported units:

d — days
w — weeks
m — months
y — years

Example: {date+2w} expands to the date two weeks from today.

Multi-Field Templates

Create snippets with multiple fill-in fields using {field:label}:

Dear {field:Name},

Thank you for your inquiry about {field:Topic}. I'll get back to you by {date+2d}.

Best regards,
{field:Your Name}

When expanded, OctoFlow shows a popover with input fields for each placeholder. Press Tab to move between fields, Enter to confirm.

Autocorrect

OctoFlow can also use text expansion for autocorrect — fixing common typos automatically:

Typo	Correction
`teh`	`the`
`recieve`	`receive`
`occured`	`occurred`

Enable autocorrect in Settings > Text Expansion > Autocorrect.

Import & Export

Export: Settings > Text Expansion > Export to save your snippets as a .json file
Import: Settings > Text Expansion > Import to load snippets from a file
OctoFlow also supports importing from TextExpander (.textexpander) and Typinator (.tyset) formats