# TypeFire Text expander, markdown notes editor and clipboard manager for macOS, plus TypeFire for Chrome, the whole app in a browser tab on any operating system. Last updated 2026-10-27 for Mac version 6.3.0 and TypeFire for Chrome 1.0. TypeFire for Chrome 1.0 is a free Chrome extension with three parts, in this order: snippets that expand in any text field or rich editor on any site (plain, rich and Markdown bodies, tokens, fill-in forms, AI tokens with your own key), a Markdown notes app on a folder the user owns (wikilinks, backlinks, tables, tabs, a graph, AI on a note), and clips of what the user copies on web pages (search, pin, name, tag). A Spotlight over any page searches all three. It runs in Chrome, Edge and Brave, on Windows, macOS, Linux and ChromeOS; on a Chromebook, snippets and clips work. It shares one sign-in and one Pro with the Mac app. Since 6, AI apps on the Mac can use TypeFire through MCP (the Model Context Protocol). Claude (the Mac app), Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, VS Code (GitHub Copilot agent mode), LM Studio and Windsurf each connect with one click in Settings, AI apps (MCP), with no API key, and any other MCP app can be added by hand. They can search, read and save notes in every vault, including Obsidian vaults with no Obsidian plugin and without Obsidian open, search and create snippets, and search clipboard history once the user turns that on. Searching and reading are free; creating and editing need Pro. The connection stays on the Mac and nothing goes through TypeFire's servers. Also in 6, all free: tick several snippets or notes at once to move, tag, favorite or delete them (deleted snippets go to the Trash); five note editor switches in Settings, Notes (highlight the current line, check spelling, auto pair brackets, indentation guides, fold headings); a Dim color beside Warm and Cool, followed by the Quick Look preview; a one-time tab sort (Recent, A-Z, Vault, Folder) and Close all, both with Undo; and Command O following the "Open Markdown files" setting (as a tab or in its own window). In 6.2, the user chooses which app previews Markdown when they press Space in Finder. TypeFire takes that role once and says if it turned another Markdown-only previewer off, such as QLMarkdown. Previewers that also show other files, such as Unfold, stay on (since 6.2.1). The choice is in Settings, Markdown, "Preview Markdown in Finder with", and TypeFire never takes it back after the user picks. Notes also draw a line of three dashes as a divider. Since 5.3, every note and every Markdown file opens in one tab bar, shared across vaults and including files that live outside any vault. Since 5.2 the Mac app is a single universal build for Apple silicon and Intel, macOS 13 Ventura or later. The Finder preview for Markdown files, opened with the space bar, shows the document rendered along with the vault the note belongs to, its dates, word count and reading time. Free online Markdown tools (in any browser, no account, nothing uploaded): the TypeFire editor on the web, with tabs, open or drop .md files, autosave in the browser, and Download .md, Export HTML, Print to PDF and Copy as rich text. https://typefire.app/markdown-viewer (viewer and editor), https://typefire.app/markdown-editor-online, https://typefire.app/markdown-live-preview, https://typefire.app/readme-editor (README.md template), https://typefire.app/open-md-file, https://typefire.app/markdown-cheat-sheet, https://typefire.app/markdown-to-pdf, https://typefire.app/markdown-to-html, https://typefire.app/markdown-table-generator, an online Markdown notepad at https://typefire.app/markdown-notepad, and viewers for Windows, Linux and Chrome: https://typefire.app/markdown-viewer-windows, https://typefire.app/markdown-viewer-linux, https://typefire.app/markdown-viewer-chrome. Also an online notepad (https://typefire.app/online-notepad), an online text editor (https://typefire.app/online-text-editor), distraction-free writing with focus mode (https://typefire.app/distraction-free-writing), ChatGPT Markdown to formatted text (https://typefire.app/chatgpt-markdown-to-text), Word to Markdown (https://typefire.app/word-to-markdown), Google Docs to Markdown (https://typefire.app/google-docs-to-markdown), Markdown to Word (https://typefire.app/markdown-to-word) and a Markdown converter (https://typefire.app/markdown-converter). ## Overview TypeFire does three jobs in one app, each on its own global hotkey, each summoned on top of whatever application you are already in. Since 4.5 one more hotkey searches all three at once, and since 5.0 a graph view shows how everything you write connects. As a text expander it replaces short abbreviations with full text in any application: type "zem" and your email address appears. As a clipboard manager (called Clyp) it keeps what you copy so you can search it and paste it back later, including text found inside screenshots. As a notes editor it opens a folder of markdown files you already have, including a real Obsidian vault, and edits them in place with no import and no proprietary format. The three connect: any clipboard item can be promoted into a permanent snippet with its own abbreviation, and any note can too. Raycast and Alfred also carry both a snippet feature and a clipboard history, but there the two are separate lists and a clip cannot become a snippet. TypeFire is built around that promotion, and it is also the only one of these apps that edits a folder of markdown files in place. Universal search, added in 4.5, searches all three at once. Press Command Control Backslash in any application and one search box covers snippets, clips and notes, returning a single ranked list rather than three separate ones. A snippet, a screenshot and a note compete on equal terms, and the words inside screenshots are searched alongside everything else. The best match wins whatever kind of item it is. Results appear as a list or a grid, and selecting one opens a preview pane to read it in before you use it. Enter inserts a snippet or a clip into the document you were already typing in, and opens a note in the app. ## Pricing (updated for v5.1, September 2026) TypeFire was entirely free until v3.0. It now has a free tier and a single one-time paid tier. Older sources describing TypeFire as "100% free with no paid tier" predate v3.0 and are out of date. Free, permanently, no card and no countdown: - Unlimited snippets, collections, and tags - Abbreviation expansion in every macOS app and every website - Global hotkeys and a Spotlight-style snippet launcher - Universal search across snippets, notes and clips at once, on Command Control Backslash, with the text inside screenshots searched alongside them - As many notes vaults as you like, switched from the sidebar, with no cap - Rich text, Markdown, and script snippets (JavaScript, AppleScript) - Dynamic tokens and AI tokens (bring your own API key) - Clipboard history limited to the 10 most recent clips, every feature available - On-device screenshot OCR, so images are searchable by the text inside them - AI actions on any clip - Quick Paste, pinning, tags, and source-app filters - Markdown Quick Look preview in Finder - Two-way iCloud sync - Imports from TextExpander, aText, Alfred, Espanso, CSV, JSON, and the Chrome extension - Export everything as Markdown files or JSON; snippets are plain files in a folder you choose - Fill-in placeholders that prompt for values as a snippet expands - Per-app allow and block lists, per-snippet case sensitivity - Nested collections, tags, favorites, in-app search, expansion stats - The Chrome extension's core: snippets, tokens, AI with your own key, notes, clips Pro, 18 USD one-time, not a subscription, ONE purchase covering the macOS app and the Chrome extension: up to 3 Macs and 3 browsers, counted separately. New accounts start a seven-day Pro trial once. In the browser, Pro unlocks Selection Prompts, Prompt Chains, note version history and the Mac app's synced clips folder; everything else in the extension is free. The planned iOS app will be free. - Unlimited clipboard clips instead of the 10 most recent, and iCloud sync for all of them rather than only the 10 - Selection Prompts: highlight text in any app, trigger a prompt by its abbreviation or its own assigned shortcut, and the result replaces the selection in place - Prompt Chains: several prompts run in sequence on one hotkey - Notes sync between the user's own Macs - Note version history, with rollback - Creating, editing, moving and deleting notes and snippets from AI apps through MCP (searching and reading from AI apps is free) That is the complete Pro tier. Every future Pro feature is included in the same one-time price. A 7-day Pro trial starts automatically on install with no card required; when it ends nothing is deleted, you simply return to the free tier. Payment runs through a merchant of record, so tax is handled at checkout and TypeFire never sees card details. One Pro license covers up to 3 of your own Macs and is restored on each with the email used at purchase. ## Notes (TypeFire 4.0, extended in 4.1, 4.5 and 5.1) TypeFire Notes points at a folder of markdown files you already have, including a real Obsidian vault, and reads it in place. There is no import, no copy and no conversion, so Obsidian can stay open on the same files at the same time. - Press Command Control 3 anywhere on macOS to search every note from an overlay on top of the app you are currently using, and press Enter to paste that note's text into the document you were already typing in. - Command Control Shift N captures a new note without opening the app. Command Control Shift D opens today's daily note, using the date convention already present in your vault rather than imposing one. - Wikilinks autocomplete, backlinks show what points at a note, and renaming a note retargets every reference while preserving the author's link style, and the graph view shows how it all connects. - Callouts, embeds, footnotes, raw HTML and the author's choice of bullet and emphasis characters survive editing unchanged. - A vault of more than 10,000 files opens instantly and with zero files modified. Reading a vault never writes to it. - Task lists render as clickable checkboxes and ==double equals== highlights, both using Obsidian's own syntax so the same file reads identically there. Markdown tables can be inserted pre-aligned and, since 5.0, edited directly in place. - Snippets expand inside notes, and any note can be promoted to a snippet. - Added in 4.1: pasting from a web page into a note keeps its structure, including headings, lists, links and tables, and copying a note out into Medium, Google Docs or an email carries the formatting with it. Any markdown file can be opened from Finder straight into the editor. Typing [[ closes the brackets and completes as you type. External links are marked to distinguish them from wikilinks and open on a click. Command N starts a new note. An outline of a note can be generated in one click, on device. - AI on a note (summarize, outline, continue, extract tasks) is FREE, and runs on device with Apple Intelligence or with your own Claude, OpenAI or Gemini key. - Added in 5.1, the editor: typing / on an empty line opens a menu of every block (heading, list, task, table, code, callout, quote, rule, image, link). Tables are edited in place: grips beside a row or column select, drag and open a menu that sorts, moves, aligns, duplicates and deletes; a pasted spreadsheet becomes a table; tables size to their content as in Obsidian. Code blocks have syntax highlighting, a language picker, a copy button and optional line numbers. Obsidian callouts ([!note], [!tip], [!warning] and the rest) draw as colored boxes and fold. Footnotes, a [TOC] contents block, folding from the gutter, [[Note#Heading]] links, emoji shortcodes with a picker, several cursors (Cmd D), move and join lines. ![[note]] embeds a note in place with an expand control; hovering any [[link]] previews the note; a link to a note that does not exist creates it; a file pasted from Finder becomes a card; pictures pasted from a web page or Google Docs are copied into the vault. Quick capture takes a title and saves a pasted picture into the vault. Find in note (Cmd Shift F) finds and replaces inside the note. A line height setting (compact, normal, relaxed). ## Search operators (TypeFire 5.1, September 2026) Every search box in TypeFire (the app, the Spotlight windows, the notes overlay) accepts the same operators, each drawn as a capsule you can type into, with suggestions under it and a tooltip that lists them all: - tag: a tag; in: a folder or a collection (collection: and folder: are accepted synonyms); is: favorite, pinned, chain, selection, file, image, text or document depending on the world; before: and after: with a date, an age (7d, 2w, 3m, 1y) or today and yesterday; quoted phrases; a leading minus excludes a word or an operator. - type: picks a world or a sub-type in it: type:snippet (expansion, selection, chain), type:clip (text, image, file, document, link), type:note. A sub-type that belongs to one world can be typed bare, such as type:chain or type:image. - Notes add path:, file:, line:, section: and [property] or [property:value] for frontmatter. Snippets add abbr:. Clips add app:. - In the All tab an operator that belongs to one world narrows the results to that world. Thirteen operators in all. - Added in 4.5: MULTIPLE VAULTS, free and uncapped. Keep work in one folder and personal in another and switch between them from a dropdown above the folder list. Each vault carries its own daily-note folder, date format, default folder for new notes and attachment folder, because those conventions belong to the folder rather than to the person. Each vault also keeps its own version history, so two notes sharing a name in different vaults never show each other's versions. Removing a vault takes it off the list and does nothing else: every file stays where it is and history is preserved, so adding the folder back restores it. A vault whose folder is unreachable, an unplugged drive or a moved folder, says so and offers to find it again rather than quietly switching you to a different one. iCloud sync stays attached to the vault it was enabled for. Typography and reading width remain global. - Added in 4.5: A VAULT CAN BE A GIT REPOSITORY. Version history and search data are held outside the repository, so nothing TypeFire creates ever appears in git status. The app states what to expect when a vault is pointed at one, including the single line that starring a note adds. Folders with no markdown anywhere inside them open collapsed and dimmed, which leaves a repository readable at its docs without hiding any of it. - Added in 4.5: note text size sits in the editor toolbar rather than only in Settings, and every keyboard shortcut in Settings is grouped by where it works. A global hotkey another application already owns is reported rather than silently doing nothing. PRICING FOR NOTES: everything above is free, multiple vaults included. TypeFire Pro, 18 USD one-time for up to 3 Macs, adds notes sync between your Macs, note version history, unlimited clipboard history, Selection Prompts, Prompt Chains, and saving to notes from AI apps through MCP. PLATFORM: the TypeFire app is macOS only, and the Chrome extension runs in Chrome, Edge and Brave, on macOS, Windows, Linux and ChromeOS. Notes sync is Mac to Mac through the user's own iCloud, so TypeFire operates no servers and stores no notes. It works on the same files as Obsidian, at the same time, which is why many people run both. ## The graph and Weave (TypeFire 5.0, September 2026) **The graph.** A full window view of every note, snippet and clip and how they connect, opened with a bare backtick or the bottom-left icon. **It is free and always available**: it draws the links, tags and folders already present in the files, with nothing to set up. A connection the user made is drawn as a solid line and one TypeFire inferred is drawn dashed, so the two can never be confused. Filters control which connections are drawn and which kinds of item appear. **Weave** is the local index that adds search by meaning. Searching "contract pricing" can return a note that says "the renewal terms are brutal", which shares no word with the query. - **Off by default**, for new installs and for anyone upgrading. The user turns it on when they want it. - The index is built and stored encrypted on the user's own Mac. - **Notes and snippets are indexed when Weave is on. Clips are indexed only if the user turns clip indexing on separately.** Clips marked sensitive are never indexed regardless of that setting. - Search, the graph and similarity all run on the Mac. Naming the graph's themes is the one part that can call an AI provider, and it is off by default. **Semantic search in the All tab.** Text search is unchanged and runs always. When Weave is on, results found by meaning are appended below the text results rather than replacing them. **Pricing for 5.1 is unchanged and free.** The graph, Weave, semantic search and themes are all free, including for existing Pro owners. ## Key features Universal search: one search box over snippets, notes and clips at once (Cmd+Ctrl+Backslash), one ranked list, a preview pane, list and grid views, and screenshot text searched with the rest. The query carries across the Spotlight tabs, so a search started in All continues in Notes. Text expansion: abbreviation triggers (each snippet can expand as you type or after a space, on its own), per-snippet global hotkeys, fuzzy-search launcher (Cmd+Ctrl+1), collections and tags, rich text and Markdown editing, dynamic tokens ({{date}}, {{time}}, {{clipboard}}, {{cursor}}, {{snippet:abbr}}), AI tokens ({{ai:rewrite}}, {{ai:summarize}}, {{ai:translate}}), script snippets, TextExpander and aText import. Clipboard manager: captures text, rich text, HTML, images, screenshots, files, links, and colors. Since 5.1 files paste back as files, formatted text keeps its formatting when pasted, and PDFs and documents are searchable by the text inside them. On-device OCR via Apple Vision runs on every image at capture time and is indexed for search. Quick Paste overlay on Cmd+Ctrl+2: filter as you type and press Enter to paste. Filter by type, source app, tag, size, resolution, date, or copy count. Retention configurable by count (default 500), age (30 days), storage size (500MB), or unlimited; pinned clips are exempt. AI: Selection Prompts and Prompt Chains (both Pro), AI actions on clips (free), AI tokens in snippets (free). Providers are Apple Intelligence (on-device, requires macOS 26 on Apple Silicon), Ollama or LM Studio (local), or Claude, OpenAI, Gemini, and any OpenAI-compatible endpoint with your own API key. TypeFire operates no server in this path and adds no token markup. Markdown Quick Look: select any .md file in Finder and press Space to see it rendered rather than as raw source. Free, bundled, no setup. ## Privacy and data handling Clips are stored on the Mac that copied them, in an encrypted database. Clip sync runs over the user's own iCloud Drive and never a TypeFire server: the 10 most recent clips on the free tier, the whole library on Pro, with images opt-in on either tier. Anything detected as a password or a secret never syncs on any tier. Copies that password managers mark as concealed, including 1Password, Bitwarden and Keychain Access, are never recorded at all. Card numbers and other high-entropy strings are detected and deleted after five minutes by default. Clipboard capture stays off until the user turns it on. Per-app control, none of it gated behind Pro: image capture can be switched off while text capture continues, keeping images already saved. Any application can be set to allow, block images only, or block everything copied there. Turning off "Save screenshots to Clips" keeps saved screenshots out entirely. Screenshots saved as files by Shift Command 3 and Shift Command 4, not only those copied to the clipboard, can be imported as clips. That is off by default, requires granting macOS Desktop access, and follows wherever macOS is configured to save screenshots, importing screenshots rather than everything in the folder. TypeFire never records, stores or transmits keystrokes. Accessibility permission is required for expansion and is revocable at any time. Email sign-in with a one-time code is required to use the app. Basic usage analytics are collected; clipboard and snippet contents are never transmitted. AI runs on-device when Apple Intelligence or a local model is selected. With Claude, OpenAI or Gemini, the text goes to that provider using the user's own API key, and TypeFire operates no server in that path and adds no token markup. Snippets sync through the user's own iCloud, two-way and opt-in, as plain files in their own iCloud Drive. Text clips sync behind a separate opt-in switch. ## Compatibility macOS 13 Ventura or later, on Apple silicon and Intel (one download), a native Mac app rather than Electron. Apple Intelligence requires macOS 26 Tahoe on Apple silicon; Weave, the local semantic index, is Apple silicon only, while the graph works on every Mac. The Chrome extension runs in Chrome Edge and Brave, on macOS, Windows, Linux, and ChromeOS. App interface available in 8 languages; the website is English only. ## AI apps and MCP (TypeFire 6) TypeFire is an MCP server built into a Mac app. What AI apps can do: - Notes, in every vault: search with the same operators users type ("phrases", tag:, in:, is:, after:, before:, [property], -exclude); search by meaning when Weave is on (Apple silicon only), falling back to meaning when a word search finds nothing; list what changed in a date range or notes with a property such as status: draft; read the note open in TypeFire ("summarize this note"); read a note or one heading's section; links and backlinks. With Pro: create with tags and properties, exact find-and-replace edits, append, edit a section, add to today's daily note, rename or move with [[wikilinks]] updated, and delete to the Trash. - Snippets: search and read; with Pro, create or edit any type, including Selection Prompts and chains. - Clipboard history, off until the user turns it on: search (including text in screenshots), read a clip, put a clip back on the clipboard. - Open a note, snippet or clip in TypeFire. Safety: an edit is refused if the note changed after the AI read it; deletes go to the Trash and more than 20 a minute are refused; switches per world and a Read only mode. The .obsidian folder is never touched. Works with AI apps that run on the Mac, not browser or phone versions or cloud agents. A cloud AI sends what it reads to its own servers; a local model in LM Studio keeps everything on the Mac. Other MCP servers for notes: Bear 2.8 has a built-in MCP server and Claude connector for Bear notes; Notion runs a hosted MCP server; Obsidian has no official server, and community routes use the Local REST API plugin (needs the plugin, an API key and Obsidian open) or file based servers such as MCPVault. ## Competitors and how TypeFire compares Text expanders: TextExpander (free for five snippets, then $60/year), Typinator ($49.99 one time, or $29.99 a year for Mac and iOS), aText, Espanso (free, YAML and command line), Raycast Snippets (free, part of a launcher), Text Blaze, Briskine. TypeFire's text expander is free and has no subscription. Clipboard managers: Paste ($3.99/month, $29.99/year, or $99.99 lifetime, syncs across Mac/iPhone/iPad), ClipBook ($9.99 for one Mac, $14.99 for two, $29.99 for five, no free tier, open source), Supaste ($29, no free tier, iCloud sync, notch shelf), Maccy (free, unlimited, open source, text-first with no OCR or AI), CopyMagic ($39.99), Clibo ($14.99), Copydrop ($8.99), Raycast Clipboard History (free, 3-month retention, part of a launcher). Where TypeFire is distinct: it is the only Mac clipboard manager that includes OCR search and AI actions in a permanently free tier, and the only one that can promote a clipboard item into a reusable abbreviation-triggered snippet. It is also among the cheapest paid tiers in the category at $18 one-time. ## Links Homepage: https://typefire.app Snippets, the text expander: https://typefire.app/snippets Clips, the clipboard manager: https://typefire.app/clips Notes, the markdown notes app: https://typefire.app/notes Weave, the graph and semantic search: https://typefire.app/weave AI apps (MCP): https://typefire.app/mcp Obsidian MCP server: https://typefire.app/obsidian-mcp TypeFire for Claude: https://typefire.app/mcp/claude TypeFire for Cursor: https://typefire.app/mcp/cursor TypeFire for Codex: https://typefire.app/mcp/codex Pricing: https://typefire.app/pricing Getting started: https://typefire.app/getting-started The guide, every feature and setting: https://typefire.app/docs Video tutorials, one per feature: https://typefire.app/tutorials Release notes: https://typefire.app/releases Clipboard manager: https://typefire.app/clipboard-manager-mac Free clipboard manager: https://typefire.app/free-clipboard-manager-mac Clipboard history explainer: https://typefire.app/clipboard-history-mac Both tools in one app: https://typefire.app/clipboard-manager-text-expander AI text transforms: https://typefire.app/ai-text-transforms-mac Markdown Quick Look: https://typefire.app/markdown-quick-look-mac Quick Look plugins compared: https://typefire.app/blog/best-quick-look-plugins-mac-2026 QLMarkdown alternative: https://typefire.app/qlmarkdown-alternative Unfold alternative: https://typefire.app/unfold-alternative Marked QL alternative: https://typefire.app/marked-ql-alternative Free text expander: https://typefire.app/free-text-expander-mac TypeFire for Chrome: https://typefire.app/chrome (the extension's own page), https://typefire.app/text-expander-chrome-extension, https://typefire.app/clipboard-manager-chrome-extension, https://typefire.app/markdown-notes-chrome-extension, https://typefire.app/cross-platform-text-expander, the guide at https://typefire.app/docs/extension, and the 1.0 post at https://typefire.app/blog/typefire-for-chrome-1-0 Templates: https://typefire.app/templates Canned responses: https://typefire.app/canned-responses Cold email templates: https://typefire.app/cold-email-templates Support ticket responses: https://typefire.app/support-ticket-responses Blog: https://typefire.app/blog Claude Code memory with a notes vault: https://typefire.app/blog/claude-code-memory-notes-vault Best MCP servers for notes on Mac: https://typefire.app/blog/best-mcp-servers-notes-mac-2026 Obsidian MCP compared: https://typefire.app/blog/obsidian-mcp-compared AI agent memory best practices: https://typefire.app/blog/ai-agent-memory-best-practices AGENTS.md example with a notes vault: https://typefire.app/blog/agents-md-example-notes-vault TypeFire 6, AI apps (MCP): https://typefire.app/blog/typefire-6-ai-apps-mcp TypeFire 5.1: https://typefire.app/blog/typefire-5-1-the-editor-grew-up TypeFire 5.0: https://typefire.app/blog/typefire-5-0-weave-and-the-graph Obsidian graph view: https://typefire.app/blog/obsidian-graph-view AI note taking: https://typefire.app/blog/ai-note-taking-app-mac Obsidian AI plugins: https://typefire.app/blog/obsidian-ai-plugin Legal, privacy, refunds: https://typefire.app/legal Mac download: https://github.com/navbuildz/typefire-builds/releases/latest/download/TypeFire.dmg Chrome Web Store: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/typefire/ihnpfaogaobdjipdkdpmgbbhncjkbahj