What should it do?
Allow assigning a global keyboard shortcut to an individual snippet.
Example use case: I have a snippet called Paste as Plain Text whose content is:
{clipboard}
I would like to assign something like ⌥⇧V to that snippet so pressing the shortcut immediately expands it into the currently focused application.
The important part is that this should use Tinycast’s existing snippet expansion path, rather than introducing a separate paste mechanism. That way existing behavior remains intact, including:
- {clipboard} and other snippet variables
- argument prompting
- cursor positioning
- Accessibility/injection handling
- temporary pasteboard handling and restoration
- snippet confirmations
From the current code structure, this seems conceptually similar to the existing hotkey support for Quicklinks, Custom Commands, Quick Actions, etc.
HotKeyAction could support something like:
case snippet(id: StoredSnippet.ID)
and dispatch that to the existing SnippetCoordinator.expandSnippet(id:target:) path.
I’m not asking for another snippets browser or another general “Search Snippets” shortcut. That functionality already exists. This request is specifically about binding a shortcut to one individual snippet.
A possible UI would simply add a hotkey field to each snippet, consistent with how Tinycast already handles shortcuts for other individual launcher items.
Why does it belong in Tinycast?
Snippets are already executable launcher items, and Tinycast already has a mature global-hotkey system for other individual items.
The missing piece is that snippets cannot currently participate in that same system.
This is especially useful for snippets that behave more like commands than text templates. A good example is Paste as Plain Text:
{clipboard}
Using a snippet for this is preferable to a shell command because Tinycast’s snippet engine already preserves and restores the original clipboard correctly.
Without per-snippet hotkeys, the alternatives are:
- open Search Snippets and select the snippet
- remember and type a keyword
- use a Custom Command that manipulates the system clipboard
- simulate typing a snippet keyword
All of those add unnecessary indirection for something Tinycast already has the internal machinery to execute directly.
This would reuse the existing snippet engine and existing hotkey infrastructure rather than introducing a new subsystem.
Contribution
What should it do?
Allow assigning a global keyboard shortcut to an individual snippet.
Example use case: I have a snippet called Paste as Plain Text whose content is:
{clipboard}I would like to assign something like ⌥⇧V to that snippet so pressing the shortcut immediately expands it into the currently focused application.
The important part is that this should use Tinycast’s existing snippet expansion path, rather than introducing a separate paste mechanism. That way existing behavior remains intact, including:
From the current code structure, this seems conceptually similar to the existing hotkey support for Quicklinks, Custom Commands, Quick Actions, etc.
HotKeyAction could support something like:
case snippet(id: StoredSnippet.ID)and dispatch that to the existing SnippetCoordinator.expandSnippet(id:target:) path.
I’m not asking for another snippets browser or another general “Search Snippets” shortcut. That functionality already exists. This request is specifically about binding a shortcut to one individual snippet.
A possible UI would simply add a hotkey field to each snippet, consistent with how Tinycast already handles shortcuts for other individual launcher items.
Why does it belong in Tinycast?
Snippets are already executable launcher items, and Tinycast already has a mature global-hotkey system for other individual items.
The missing piece is that snippets cannot currently participate in that same system.
This is especially useful for snippets that behave more like commands than text templates. A good example is Paste as Plain Text:
{clipboard}
Using a snippet for this is preferable to a shell command because Tinycast’s snippet engine already preserves and restores the original clipboard correctly.
Without per-snippet hotkeys, the alternatives are:
All of those add unnecessary indirection for something Tinycast already has the internal machinery to execute directly.
This would reuse the existing snippet engine and existing hotkey infrastructure rather than introducing a new subsystem.
Contribution
approved