Support

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Need help with TypeSnap? I’m here for you.

Quick Links

• Import Guide - Migrating from TextExpander, TypeIt4Me, Raycast, Espanso, Alfred, or aText
• Features - What TypeSnap can do
• FAQ - Common questions

Contact Me

Email: [email protected]

I typically respond within 24 hours. Please include:

• Your macOS version (e.g., macOS 26.1)
• TypeSnap version (found in TypeSnap → About TypeSnap)
• A description of the issue
• Steps to reproduce, if applicable

FAQ

Granting Accessibility Permission (required)

TypeSnap requires macOS Accessibility permission to expand abbreviations system-wide. It needs this to observe your keystrokes across apps so it can detect when you type an abbreviation and replace it. Without this permission, expansions silently do nothing — TypeSnap appears to be running but never expands anything.

To set it up:

1. In TypeSnap, click Open System Settings on the “Text expansion is off” banner — or open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility yourself.
2. Turn TypeSnap on in the list. If it isn’t listed, click + and add TypeSnap from your Applications folder.
3. Authenticate with your password or Touch ID if macOS asks.
4. Expansion turns on automatically. (TypeSnap 1.3.2 and later restarts itself the moment you grant access. On earlier versions, quit TypeSnap with ⌘Q and reopen it — see below.)

To confirm it’s working, type one of your abbreviations in a compatible app — it should expand instantly, and the banner disappears once access is active.

TypeSnap uses Accessibility permission to detect triggers, inspect the focused control, and insert expansions. It processes a short typing buffer locally. Clipboard history separately stores copied text locally and can be switched off. Secure password fields are excluded by default, though a setting can override this protection. See the privacy policy.

The Accessibility banner won’t go away

If TypeSnap keeps showing “Text expansion is off — TypeSnap needs Accessibility access” even though TypeSnap is switched on in the Accessibility list, the permission is stale — macOS recorded it against an older copy of TypeSnap. This commonly happens right after an update, or when more than one copy of the app exists on your Mac. Work through these in order:

1. Quit and reopen TypeSnap. macOS only applies a newly granted permission to a freshly launched app. Press ⌘Q to quit fully (closing the window isn’t enough), then open TypeSnap again. (TypeSnap 1.3.2+ does this for you automatically, and also shows a Relaunch TypeSnap button in the banner.)
2. Remove and re-add TypeSnap. In System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility, click TypeSnap to select it, click the – (minus) button to remove it, then quit and reopen TypeSnap and turn it back on (or click + and add it from Applications).
3. Keep only one copy. Run TypeSnap from your Applications folder and delete any extra copies (for example in Downloads or on the Desktop). Duplicate copies are the most common cause of a stale permission.
4. Reset the permission (advanced). Open the Terminal app and run:

   tccutil reset Accessibility com.aaronhampton.TypeSnap
   

   Then reopen TypeSnap and grant access again. This clears every stored Accessibility entry for TypeSnap so the next grant is recorded cleanly.

Still stuck after that? Email me with your macOS and TypeSnap versions and I’ll help.

TypeSnap isn’t expanding my abbreviations

1. Make sure TypeSnap is running (check for the menu bar icon)
2. Verify the snippet is enabled (not grayed out in the list)
3. Check that Accessibility permission is granted (see Granting Accessibility Permission above):
   • System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility → TypeSnap ✓
4. If it’s switched on but expansion still doesn’t work, the grant may be stale — see The Accessibility banner won’t go away above

How do I back up my snippets?

Your snippets are stored at:

~/Library/Application Support/TypeSnap/

For a manual backup, open Preferences → Sync → Backup → Export All Snippets and save the JSON backup somewhere safe. To restore a saved backup, first export your current library, then use Import Backup in the same section. Importing a backup replaces the current library and settings.

If you copy or replace the data folder manually, quit TypeSnap first and keep a separate copy of the existing folder before replacing anything. Reopen the app after the copy is complete.

How do I sync between multiple Macs?

Enable iCloud sync in Preferences → Sync. Your snippets will sync via your private CloudKit database.

Can I use TypeSnap on iOS?

Not currently. TypeSnap is Mac-only. I may explore iOS in the future.

My snippets disappeared after an update

Check Recently Deleted for deleted snippets and a snippet’s Version History for previous saved versions. For a whole-library recovery, use a manual backup you previously exported through Preferences → Sync → Backup → Export All Snippets. Export the current library before using Import Backup, because a restore replaces it.

TypeSnap does not create scheduled whole-library backups in a Backups folder. If you have a separate filesystem backup, quit TypeSnap and preserve the current data folder before restoring it. Contact support if you do not have a usable backup.

How do I uninstall TypeSnap?

1. Quit TypeSnap (right-click menu bar icon → Quit)
2. Drag TypeSnap from Applications to Trash
3. Optionally, delete your data folder:

   ~/Library/Application Support/TypeSnap/
   

System Requirements

• macOS 26 (Tahoe) or later
• Apple Silicon or Intel Mac
• ~50 MB disk space