Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

espanso

An Open Source, Cross-platform Text Expander on steroids.

espanso

espanso Reviews and Details

This page is designed to help you find out whether espanso is good and if it is the right choice for you.

Screenshots and images

  • espanso Landing page
    Landing page //
    2024-10-18

Features & Specs

  1. Cross-platform compatibility

    Espanso works on Windows, macOS, and Linux, providing a consistent experience across different operating systems.

  2. Open-source

    Being open-source allows users to inspect the code, contribute to the project, and ensure there are no hidden issues or vulnerabilities.

  3. Highly customizable

    Users can create their own custom snippets and workflows, allowing for a tailored text expansion experience.

  4. Extensible with packages

    Espanso supports community-contributed packages, which can extend its functionalities and add new features.

  5. Supports various input types

    It supports a range of input types such as text, dates, clipboard content, and even shell commands.

  6. Lightweight and fast

    Espanso is designed to be resource-efficient, ensuring it runs smoothly even on older hardware.

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Videos

Complilation CD x CD32 Espanso, AMiGA 1200 Espanso e AMiGA 4000

Sfatiamo i miti riguardanti l'universo espanso (EU) di Star Wars!

Reviews

  1. User avatar
    Tomas
    ยท Customer Service at HPA ยท
     
    SO much better than PhraseExpress!

    This setup is a little more hands on to install and setup, but it is worth it. No weird glitches, crashing or other issues, it just a simple system works as it should.

    It doesn't have all the same features as PhraseExpress, but if you are like me and just want a text expander, they are features you will never need or use anyway.

    The setup instructions are clear and concise. They do take a minute to get your head around compared to other software installs that I am used to, but as the instructions are on point, it is not difficult.

    I am using this on macOS and will be trying it on Windows soon too.

    ๐Ÿ Competitors: PhraseExpress
    ๐Ÿ‘ Pros:    Works perfectly|Cost effective|Great, clear setup instructions
    ๐Ÿ‘Ž Cons:    Requries some more setup beyond the usual 'double click' and done

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Social recommendations and mentions

We have tracked the following product recommendations or mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you see what people think about espanso and what they use it for.
  • Life after the merge: why publishing an Obsidian plugin is just the beginning
    Espanso is the dominant system-wide text expander โ€” the one you reach for when you want expansion to work in any app, not just the editor you're in. It also has something Obsidian plugins almost never have: a packages ecosystem. Espanso users share package.yml files publicly, and the community has been growing that catalog for years now. Every text-expansion plugin I tried in Obsidian treated snippets as something... - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • TextExpander Alternatives for Mac in 2026: An Honest Comparison
    If you have a few dozen frequently-used phrases and you're tired of paying TextExpander's subscription, you can probably leave. QUICOPY ($9.99 lifetime) and Espanso (free) cover most personal use cases. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • When espanso breaks on long replacement strings (and how to fix it)
    Iโ€™ve been using espanso for a while now (itโ€™s a neat little open-source text expander that makes typing repetitive stuff a breeze). All was fine and dandyโ€”until I tried adding a longer replacement string, something like:. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • KiCad and Wayland Support
    The first google result for 'autokey wayland' is someone recommending https://espanso.org/ , that looks like it has good Wayland support. And you only need look at OBS to see screen video capture is perfectly possible on Wayland. Who is saying those are impossible use cases? I think those two apps are just not updated, that happens often with software. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • macOS Tips and Tricks
    A shout-out for https://espanso.org a wonderful and free text expander configurable in a YAML file. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Show HN: Timesaving Hotkey for Working with LLMs for Software Development
    On Linux this can be accomplished using a hot-string with Espanso (https://espanso.org/), install Espanso and then add the string to your match.yml file:. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • Ask HN: What is one software product that boosted your productivity?
    Espanso (https://espanso.org/) and a custom ~/.Xmodmap to easily type accented characters and mathematical symbols quickly. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • Espanso: A cross-platform Text Expander written in Rust
    The homepage shows you what you can expect: https://espanso.org/. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • You don't have to type faster to type faster
    If you want a standalone cross platform text expander I currently enjoy using Espanso[1] [1]: https://espanso.org/. - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • Add-on that makes it possible to paste one sentence?
    This should work for you. Free, cross-platform and works everywhere not just the browser. https://espanso.org/. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Bad Emacs Defaults
    Huh, didn't know abbrev had that limitation (wonder why?). Gave it a go in espanso (https://espanso.org/), and it does work there. - Source: Hacker News / almost 3 years ago
  • Show HN: I automated 1/2 of my typing
    I use a tool called "Espanso" to accomplish something similar at work. It only runs locally, so no weird data scraping issues to worry about. And it's easy to update as things changes becauase everything lives in a simple yml file. https://espanso.org/ It can do simple text replacement, so I have words, phrases, and sentences I use frequently compressed into a few keyboard clicks. It can also grab what is in your... - Source: Hacker News / almost 3 years ago
  • [DEV] Open source text expander - Bugs fixed, new updates, now available on IzzyOnDroid - might be worth trying again :D
    If you don't know what a text expander is, see: https://espanso.org. Source: about 3 years ago
  • A collection of useful Mac Apps
    Espanso - Price: Free Text expander for macOS that allows you to create custom abbreviations for your frequently used text. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Custom URL markdown?
    A bit overkill but you could consider using a text expander like Espanso? Source: about 3 years ago
  • Using printf in a function to replace echo
    Looks fine to me though it's not good practice to use shims unless you really need them. Printf '%s\n' "" is a bit of a pain to type but you can use completion built into your IDE or something like espanso to type it for you. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Writing Prettier Haskell with Unicode Syntax and Vim
    (For greek characters, there's a package that uses a syntax like \alpha\) [0]: https://espanso.org/. - Source: Hacker News / about 3 years ago
  • Whatโ€™s a piece of software that doesnโ€™t get enough coverage?
    Espanso. ( https://espanso.org/ ). Love this free open source text expansion software. - Source: Hacker News / about 3 years ago
  • Do you feel youโ€™re just bullshitting your way through tickets?
    As an alternative for those reading these lines, I'll humbly suggest espanso as it is free (as in speech, GPL-licensed) and works on all 3 main OS (Windows+Mac+Linux). However there are no configuration GUI like TextExpander seems to have, and it's configured with YAML files instead. But it has been working on both Linux and Windows for me on the same configuration files. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Open source text expander for android - just fixed a bug bug ๐Ÿฅฒ
    If you don't know what a text expander is, see: https://espanso.org. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Plugin/feature to save text and have it copy to clipboard?
    Hi. No Flow has no text expansion feature or plugin. I would suggest using the Espanso tool. Source: about 3 years ago

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espanso discussion

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  1. Stan Bright avatar
    Stan Bright
    ยท almost 2 years ago
    ยท Reply

    Everything you may need from a text expander. Bonus - It's open-source and FREE.

Is espanso good? This is an informative page that will help you find out. Moreover, you can review and discuss espanso here. The primary details have not been verified within the last quarter, and they might be outdated. If you think we are missing something, please use the means on this page to comment or suggest changes. All reviews and comments are highly encouranged and appreciated as they help everyone in the community to make an informed choice. Please always be kind and objective when evaluating a product and sharing your opinion.