One code snippet library, every editor

The Free Code Snippet Expander for Mac Developers

IDE snippets stop working when you leave the IDE. TypeFire expands code in every editor, terminal, browser, and chat tool on macOS. One canonical library, zero configuration per app, completely free.

Download TypeFire for freeUniversal binary · macOS 12+ · 11 MB

Why developers outgrow IDE snippets

VS Code snippets, JetBrains live templates, and Vim UltiSnips are useful within their editor. The problem is the rest of the day.

Only work in one IDE

VS Code snippets are invisible in Cursor. Cursor snippets do not work in JetBrains IDEs. JetBrains live templates do not work in Sublime. Switching tools means re-creating the same library.

Stop working outside the editor

The minute you write a commit message in iTerm, a PR description on GitHub, a Slack message to a teammate, or an email to a vendor, your IDE snippets are gone.

No dynamic data

Most IDE snippet engines only support placeholder tab-stops. They cannot insert today's date, your clipboard contents, or your cursor position dynamically.

Hard to share across machines

Some IDEs sync settings through their account, others through dotfiles, others through plugins. Maintaining the same snippet library across two machines and three IDEs is its own ongoing project.

Common developer snippets

Six patterns developers store on day one. The dynamic tokens resolve at expansion time so each snippet adapts to its context.

clogexpands to
console.log({{clipboard}});

Print whatever you just copied. The {{clipboard}} token resolves to your current clipboard contents.

trycexpands to
try {
  {{cursor}}
} catch (err) {
  console.error(err);
}

Try/catch scaffold. The {{cursor}} token positions your caret inside the try block ready to type.

todoexpands to
// TODO ({{date:YYYY-MM-DD}} - NR): {{cursor}}

Dated TODO with your initials. Useful when you want to grep TODOs by age later.

rcexpands to
import React from 'react';

export function {{cursor}}() {
  return (
    <div></div>
  );
}

React functional component scaffold with the cursor jumping to the component name.

routeexpands to
export async function GET(request: Request) {
  {{cursor}}
  return Response.json({ ok: true });
}

Next.js API route scaffold. Adapt for POST/PUT/DELETE as separate snippets.

envexpands to
process.env.{{cursor}} ?? ''

Safe env access pattern with a fallback. Cursor lands at the variable name.

Snippets can run code

For cases that go beyond static templates, TypeFire supports JavaScript and AppleScript snippets that run when triggered.

JavaScript snippets

Write JS that reads the clipboard, transforms it, and returns the result. TypeFire pastes the return value.

// Pretty-print clipboard JSON
const obj = JSON.parse(clipboard);
return JSON.stringify(obj, null, 2);

Trigger this snippet after copying minified JSON to get formatted JSON pasted at the caret.

AppleScript snippets

Use AppleScript to query other Mac apps and paste the result. Same expansion mechanism, deeper system access.

tell application "Safari"
  return URL of current tab of window 1
end tell

Trigger this snippet to paste the URL of the active Safari tab without leaving your editor.

Built for the way developers actually work

Multiple editors, terminal-heavy days, AI-assisted writing, version control. TypeFire is designed around all of it.

Works in every editor

VS Code, Cursor, Zed, all JetBrains IDEs, Sublime, Nova, Xcode, Vim and Neovim in terminals, Emacs GUI. One library, every app.

Works in your terminal too

iTerm, Terminal, Warp, Alacritty, kitty. Your dev shorthand fires in shell prompts, git commit messages, and inside tmux just like it does in your editor.

Snippet vault is git-friendly

Snippets are plain Markdown files. Point your TypeFire vault at a git repo and version, diff, and share changes with normal git workflows.

AI tokens inside snippets

Drop {{ai:rewrite}} into a snippet to rewrite a selection, {{ai:summarize}} for a TL;DR, or {{ai:custom:explain-this-code}} for a custom prompt. Works with Apple Intelligence (free), Claude, OpenAI, Gemini, or local Ollama.

Global hotkeys per snippet

Bind your most-used snippet to a hotkey like Cmd+Shift+L. Press it from anywhere, paste happens immediately, no abbreviation needed.

Spotlight-style snippet finder

Press Cmd+Shift+P, type a few letters of a snippet name, paste it. Great for the long tail of snippets you do not memorize abbreviations for.

iCloud Sync across Macs

Edit a snippet on your desktop, the change appears on your laptop within seconds. Syncs through your own iCloud Drive, encrypted by Apple.

No vendor lock-in

All snippets are plain Markdown files. If you ever stop using TypeFire, your library remains readable in any text editor. No proprietary database to extract from.

Frequently asked questions

Developer-specific questions about using TypeFire as a code snippet expander.

TypeFire, a free code snippet expander for Mac

Same library, every editor

Get TypeFire, build your snippet library once, and stop re-creating the same scaffolds in every tool you use.

Download TypeFire for free

Free forever · macOS 12+ · Apple Silicon native