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FAQ

Does Keyed work in every app?​

Keyed uses CGEventTap for keystroke capture and synthetic Unicode key events for injection, so it works system-wide — including apps that reject clipboard-based expanders. The one exception is apps you have explicitly excluded (password managers and terminals are excluded by default).

Why does Keyed need Accessibility permission?​

CGEventTap cannot attach to the system-wide event stream without it. The permission is used only to watch for abbreviations; no keystrokes are logged or sent off the device. Without the permission Keyed has no way to see what you typed, and therefore no way to expand anything.

Does Keyed use the clipboard?​

No. Expansion is done by posting synthetic Unicode key events, so your clipboard is untouched. This also means snippets can be inserted into apps that reject clipboard-paste.

Why did my abbreviation not expand?​

The most common reasons:

  • Accessibility permission. Check the settings window — if permission has been revoked, expansion stops.
  • Word boundary. Abbreviations only fire at word boundaries. addr will not expand in the middle of address.
  • Excluded app. Check Settings → Excluded apps — password managers and terminals are excluded out of the box.
  • Master switch. The menu bar popover has an Enabled toggle.

Can I sync my snippets between Macs?​

There is no built-in sync. The snippet database lives in the standard application-support directory and can be symlinked into iCloud Drive, Dropbox, or Syncthing if you want cross-Mac sync. Full first-class sync is on the roadmap but not shipped.

Can I import from TextExpander or aText?​

TextExpander .textexpander files and generic CSV (abbreviation,expansion[,group]) are supported out of the box. aText users can export to CSV and import that.

Is there an App Store version?​

No. CGEventTap requires the app to be unsandboxed, which the Mac App Store does not allow. Direct download and Homebrew are the only distribution channels.

Is Keyed open source?​

Yes — source lives at github.com/mcclowes/keyed.