text_expander

Lightweight text expander for Wayland. Built as a minimal replacement for espanso that reads espanso-format config files.

Supports the most commonly used espanso match features (simple triggers, variables, shell commands). Advanced features like regex triggers, forms, and app-specific configs are not supported.

Requirements

• Linux + Wayland
• wtype (text injection)
• wl-paste (clipboard variable support)
• Root access for /dev/input/event*

Build

cargo build --release
sudo cp target/release/text_expander /usr/local/bin/

Usage

sudo text_expander        # foreground
sudo text_expander -d     # daemon mode

Config

Location: ~/.config/text_expander/

All .yml and .yaml files are loaded recursively.

Syntax (espanso-compatible)

matches:
  # Simple replacement
  - trigger: ":sig"
    replace: "Best regards,\nJohn"

  # Multiple triggers for one replacement
  - triggers: [":hi", ":hello"]
    replace: "Hello there!"

  # Date variable
  - trigger: ":date"
    replace: "{{date}}"
    vars:
      - name: date
        type: date
        params:
          format: "%Y-%m-%d"

  # Shell command
  - trigger: ":ip"
    replace: "{{ip}}"
    vars:
      - name: ip
        type: shell
        params:
          cmd: "curl -s ifconfig.me"

  # Clipboard
  - trigger: ":paste"
    replace: "{{clip}}"
    vars:
      - name: clip
        type: clipboard

Variable Types

Type	Params	Description
date	format	strftime format string
shell	cmd	Shell command output
clipboard	-	Current clipboard content (via wl-paste)
echo	echo	Static text

Supported espanso Features

• trigger (single string) and triggers (array of strings)
• replace with {{variable}} interpolation
• vars with date, shell, clipboard, and echo types
• global_vars for shared variables across matches
• Recursive YAML file loading

Not Supported

These espanso features are intentionally out of scope for this minimal tool:

• Regex triggers, word boundaries, case propagation
• Forms, choice dialogs, cursor hints ($|$)
• Rich text (markdown/HTML), image pasting
• App-specific configs, toggle key, search bar
• Config options (backend, clipboard_threshold, etc.)
• random, script, match variable types

Migrating from espanso

# Stop espanso
systemctl --user stop espanso

# Copy config
mkdir -p ~/.config/text_expander
cp -r ~/.config/espanso/* ~/.config/text_expander/

# Remove espanso (optional)
rm -rf ~/.config/espanso

Simple trigger/replace matches and basic variable types will work as-is. Matches using unsupported features (regex, forms, etc.) will be silently skipped.

How It Works

1. Reads keyboard input via evdev (prefers virtual keyboards like keyd/kmonad)
2. Buffers keystrokes and matches against triggers
3. On match: sends backspaces to delete trigger, types replacement via wtype

Systemd Service

/etc/systemd/system/text_expander.service:

[Unit]
Description=Text Expander
After=graphical.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/text_expander
Restart=always
Environment=SUDO_USER=yourusername
Environment=SUDO_UID=1000

[Install]
WantedBy=graphical.target

sudo systemctl enable --now text_expander

License

GPL-3.0