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What is cli-expander

cli-expander is a terminal-native text expander written in Rust. It detects when you type a specific keyword (trigger) and replaces it with predefined text or an interactive form.

Unlike traditional text expanders that use GUI popups for forms, cli-expander renders forms directly in your terminal using the Cursive TUI framework. This makes it ideal for developers and system administrators who live in the terminal.

Use Cases​

  • Save typing — Expand common phrases, code snippets, email templates
  • Interactive templates — Forms that prompt for input before expansion
  • Dynamic content — Inject dates, clipboard content, shell command output
  • System-wide automation — Expand triggers in any application, not just the terminal

Architecture​

                    ┌─────────────┐
                    │  texpand    │
                    │  (CLI bin)  │
                    └──────┬──────┘
          ┌────────────────┼────────────────┐
          v                v                v
  ┌────────────┐   ┌────────────┐   ┌──────────────┐
  │  Config    │   │  Match     │   │  Render      │
  │  Parser    │──▶│  Engine    │──▶│  Template    │
  └────────────┘   └────────────┘   └──────┬───────┘
          ┌────────────────────────────────┼──────────┐
          v                                v          v
  ┌────────────┐                   ┌────────────┐  ┌──────────┐
  │  Detect    │                   │  Inject    │  │  UI      │
  │  (evdev)   │                   │  (uinput)  │  │(Cursive) │
  └────────────┘                   └────────────┘  └──────────┘

What's Next​

Continue to Installation to set up cli-expander on your system.