Your first run

Prefer to watch? Every section of this guide has its video, and the whole playlist walks through every world in a few minutes each. It is also one click away under the Help menu.

If you open TypeFire straight from the downloaded installer or your Downloads folder, it first offers to move itself to Applications. Say yes: a copy left in the installer or in Downloads disappears when the installer is ejected and can't update itself.

When you first open TypeFire you sign in with your email (a one-time code is sent to you). Your sign-in is kept in the macOS Keychain, not in a settings file. Then you walk through onboarding:

1. Agree to the terms, once, on the welcome screen.
2. Meet the three worlds: snippets, clips and notes, one app.
3. Choose a vault folder. Every snippet is a plain Markdown file in this folder. Pick anywhere on your Mac. You can open, edit and back up these files with any other tool.
4. Try the expansion tutorial. Type a sample abbreviation and watch it expand.
5. Two details about you, so the starter snippets carry your name.
6. Pick starter snippets for your kind of work.
7. Apple Intelligence, if your Mac supports it: free on-device AI in one click.
8. Grant Accessibility permission, if it is not already granted. Expansion cannot work without it.

How expansion works

TypeFire watches for the abbreviation, deletes the characters you typed, and puts the snippet body in their place. No modifier keys, no popup. It works in any app that accepts text.