What’s new in Shorthand

Fixed

• Typing and clicking could freeze system-wide (scrolling still worked) if Shorthand's Accessibility access was turned off in System Settings while it was running. Shorthand now notices within a fraction of a second and fully stops its keyboard monitor.

• Reset Permission & Ask Again now stops the keyboard monitor before removing access, so it can't cause the same freeze.

Changed

• Shorthand's home on GitHub is now github.com/jkirker/shorthand-text-expander-mac, a name that says what it is. The online help moved to jkirker.github.io/shorthand-text-expander-mac.

• Updates, the Help ▸ Shorthand Website & Downloads menu item, and links in Help use the new address. Older versions keep updating through GitHub's automatic redirect.

Added

• Disk image download. Shorthand-x.y.z.dmg opens a window with Shorthand and an Applications shortcut to drag it onto. It's signed, notarized and stapled like the app; the zip is still provided for automatic updates.

• Uninstall Shorthand… in Settings ▸ General: "keep my snippets" or "delete everything" (asks twice). A synced library is never deleted.

• Dark mode screenshots throughout the Help and on the website. They follow your Mac's appearance.

Changed

• Automatic update checks are on by default (once a day), so there's no extra prompt. Background checks show a gentle reminder, and the update window always comes to the front. Previously a manual check could open it behind other apps.

• Update downloads are verified before they're unpacked.

• Running Shorthand straight from Downloads (macOS "translocation") shows a tip to move it to Applications, and no longer changes the login item each launch.

Fixed

• Declining the license agreement no longer loads or writes any data.

• The Dock icon goes away after the license, update and other windows close.

Release process (developer)

• release.sh refuses to publish unless: the app and zip are the notarized Developer ID build, with matching build numbers the Sparkle key in the Keychain matches the key built into the app the signature verifies

• Failed feed or download checks stop the script, and leftover drafts are cleaned up.

• The install step waits for the old copy to quit, and installs only Developer ID builds.

Added

• Help ▸ Shorthand Website & Downloads opens the Shorthand page on GitHub, with downloads, release notes and the online help.

• Help pages: the license agreement (Getting Started), updates and the license (Support Shorthand), and what update checks send (nothing about you; see Privacy).

Notes

• This is the first update delivered through automatic updates. If you're on 1.5.0, Shorthand offers it on its own.

Added

• Automatic updates. Shorthand checks for new versions, shows what's new, and installs with one click. Find it under Shorthand ▸ Check for Updates…, the menu bar menu, and Settings ▸ General ▸ Updates (check automatically, or download and install automatically). Updates come from the GitHub releases of jkirker/shorthand-text-expander-mac. Each update is verified twice before installing: by the developer's Sparkle signature and by the same Developer ID.

• License agreement. It's shown once before Shorthand starts and must be accepted ("as is", no warranty). You can read it any time under Help ▸ License Agreement.

Changed

• Releases are published with one command: ./scripts/release.sh.

Added

• INSTALL=1 ./scripts/build.sh copies the signed (and, with NOTARIZE=1, notarized) app to /Applications/Shorthand.app, then relaunches it.

• "Launch at login" re-registers automatically when Shorthand has moved (for example, from the build folder into /Applications). This happens only after a move, to avoid repeated system notices.

Changed

• Self-test and screenshot modes write their diagnostics to their temporary folder, never to the real log.

• Shorthand now runs from /Applications on the developer's Mac. Moving it kept the Accessibility permission, which is tied to the Developer ID team and app ID.

Added

• Encryption at rest (optional). The library, settings, statistics and every backup are encrypted with AES-256-GCM. One random data key opens everything. It's kept in this Mac's Keychain and wrapped in a password slot (PBKDF2-SHA256, 1,000,000 rounds) and a mandatory recovery key slot (a 128-bit code, HKDF). The recovery key is shown once, with Copy, Save to File… and Print…, and a required "I've saved my recovery key" checkbox. Turning encryption on or off converts every file and backup.

• App lock (optional). Unlock with Touch ID, Apple Watch or the Mac password. Optionally, a separate Shorthand password replaces the Mac password. While locked: the library, Settings, Setup, Tag Manager, Statistics, Create Snippet and Search are closed and can't be opened, and the menu bar hides snippet names. Lock again on sleep or screen lock, after 5, 15 or 60 idle minutes, or only at quit. Optional: expansion pauses while locked. Lock Now / Lock Shorthand in Settings and the menu bar.

• The "Protect Shorthand?" offer on first use, and once after updating. Its choices: encrypt (recommended), require unlock, pause expansion, separate password.

• Settings → Security tab.

• Encrypted sync between Macs. Choosing an encrypted sync folder on another Mac asks for the Shorthand password or recovery key once. If another Mac re-encrypts the library, saving pauses and a bubble asks you to unlock.

• Restoring a backup made with an earlier key asks for the password or recovery key that was in use then.

• Self-tests that run the real app code against throwaway data: --security-selftest (24 checks), and --security-selftest-prepare / --security-selftest-launch (9 checks).

• Help: a new Security & Encryption topic, with 4 new screenshots.

Changed

• File loading tells ok / missing / locked / unreadable apart. A library encrypted with a key this Mac doesn't have is never treated as damaged, moved aside, overwritten or backed up.

• Turning encryption on, off or adopting a key is ordered so an interruption can't strand data: key, then settings, then files, then the old key. An old key is deleted only after every file it opened has been converted.

Fixed before release (independent security review, 13 findings)

• A planted slot could open with any password. A slot with 0 rounds made PBKDF2 fail silently and derive an all-zero key. Slots are now validated (sizes, 100k–10M rounds), the KDF status is checked, and the file header is authenticated (AAD).

• An empty library could overwrite the real one after unlocking while the synced file was missing (not downloaded yet) or damaged. Unlocking now stays locked for a missing file, and a damaged file is set aside.

• A damaged file with the right key was treated as "locked", leaving the app stuck. It's now "unreadable": set aside, then restore a backup.

• Passwords and recovery keys now stay in step across Macs (slot generation).

• A Keychain error no longer reads as "wrong password". The Keychain item is updated in place, and unlocking proceeds for the session with a warning.

• Keys are retired, not deleted, so older backups and other Macs' files stay readable. Switching sync folders adopts the folder's key only after you choose "Use Library in Folder", and re-encrypts the current library too.

• Turning encryption on with another Mac's encrypted sync folder is refused, so two keys can't compete.

• Turning off checks the library really is plain before reporting success.

• If another Mac re-keys the library, windows close (edits can't be saved) and the bubble shows once.

• The "Protect Shorthand?" choices apply only after "Done", and closing the window brings the offer back next launch.

• While locked, ⌘N, New Group and the Trash bubble's Undo require unlocking.

• With a sync folder, turning on encryption first asks you to confirm every Mac runs 1.4+; an older Mac would replace the encrypted library with a starter one.

• Small fixes: the Dock icon now disappears after the Unlock or Protect window closes; Turn On with an existing password asks for it once (not "new password"); relocking with expansion paused shows a reminder.

• Passwords are normalized to NFC, so the same password typed different ways always matches.

Notes

• Security.json is plain on purpose: settings plus wrapped key slots, no secrets.

Added

• Developer ID signing and Apple notarization. Builds are signed with "Developer ID Application: John Kirker (J9P2EN8MW4)", with the hardened runtime and a secure timestamp. NOTARIZE=1 ./scripts/build.sh notarizes and staples the app, and writes build/Shorthand-<version>.zip, which opens on any Mac without security warnings. The first submission (1.3.1 code) was accepted on 2026-11-01.

• scripts/Shorthand.entitlements, with Apple Events for AppleScript snippets under the hardened runtime.

Changed

• The Accessibility grant is now tied to the Developer ID team, so it survives rebuilds and certificate renewals. Switching from the self-signed identity needs one final re-grant (menu bar → Fix…). macOS may also ask once whether Shorthand can use each saved AI key: choose Always Allow.

Added

• ⌘Z / ⇧⌘Z for library changes, up to 50 steps: moves, duplicates, Move to Trash, Put Back, Delete Immediately, Empty Trash tag add/remove/rename/delete Merge Groups Text fields keep their own undo. Undo history is cleared by any change that isn't undoable: snippet text, group settings, import, restoring a backup, switching sync folder, sync reload, reordering or creating snippets. So ⌘Z can never roll those back.

• Tag filter in the Search panel. #tag words filter (all must match), plain words also match tag names, and results show tag chips.

• Real screenshots in Help (9 images). They're made by a new Shorthand --capture-help-screenshots <dir> mode that renders Shorthand's own windows with a demo library in a temporary folder. It needs no Screen Recording permission and never touches your data.

Fixed (independent review of 1.3.0)

• Typing can't stall. Browser page lookups now run off the main thread, with a 0.1 s Accessibility timeout per element and a 0.4 s budget per lookup. Previously a busy browser could delay keystrokes system-wide.

• Websites in Chromium browsers now work. Chrome, Edge, Brave and Arc only build their web accessibility tree on request, so Shorthand now asks for it (AXManualAccessibility). Verified in Arc.

• Embedded login forms are caught. Every frame on the focused path is checked, so an iframe login on a blocked site is blocked.

• No stale page address. A failed quick lookup no longer reuses an old host; it schedules a fresh deep lookup. Return also triggers a re-check.

• No listening before you answer. Shorthand doesn't listen in a new app until its first-use question is answered (no answer within ~12 s = Allow). Apps already open the first time 1.3.1 runs count as answered, so upgrading doesn't ask about every app. The question waits instead of covering a bubble that has an Undo button.

• The Trash bubble's Undo acts only if nothing changed since the delete. Before, it could undo "Empty Trash" or a different delete.

• Syncing with a Mac still on 1.2 no longer wipes this Mac's Trash and tags. They're kept, written back, and a warning is shown.

• Hidden snippets are never acted on. Delete and right-click use only visible rows, and the selection is trimmed when the filter or a move hides snippets. Before, ⌘A, filter, ⌫ trashed the hidden ones too.

• Merge Groups asks first and keeps each source group's app rules. Snippets from disabled groups are set to "No Applications".

• Selection fixes: ⌘N with Trash or a tag selected; Edit Last Expanded inside a multi-selection; Tag Manager "Show Snippets"; suggestions. Deleting groups resets the selection. The Trash list and detail pane share one selection, which resets on leaving the Trash. Renaming a tag keeps the sidebar highlight when it merges.

• Tags: renaming onto a tag that's only used (not defined) now asks before merging. Removing a tag no longer leaves an unused tag behind.

• Smaller fixes: Faster lists with large selections. Accessibility values are type-checked. Zero compiler warnings, including a Swift 6 concurrency warning in the script runner.

• Layout: The AI key row was cut off. "Test key & load models" now has its own row. The fill-in window showed optional sections' names twice and had a gap above the Preview. The Privacy website field showed its hint as a label.

Added

• Multi-select. ⌘-click or ⇧-click snippets, and groups in the sidebar. Right-click acts on the whole selection. Snippets: Duplicate, Move to Group (including New Group…), Tags, Move to Trash. Groups: Duplicate, Export, Enable/Disable, Merge Groups into One, Move to Trash.

• Several groups (or tags) at once. Their snippets are listed together, each labeled with its group. Selections can be dragged onto a group, a tag or the Trash.

• Duplicating groups. Copies start disabled so their abbreviations don't clash with the originals.

• Trash. Deleting moves snippets and groups to a Trash in the sidebar, alongside the 8-second Undo bubble. Put Back returns an item to its original group, recreating the group if it's gone. Delete Immediately and Empty Trash… remove items for good. Settings → General → Trash deletes items automatically after 7/14/30/60/90 days or never (default 30). The check runs at launch, hourly, and when the setting changes.

• Tags. Add them in the editor's Tags row. The sidebar has a Tags section with colors and counts, and the filter accepts #tag. A snippet created while a tag is selected gets that tag.

• Tag Manager (Window ▸ Tag Manager, ⇧⌘T): rename (renaming onto an existing tag merges the two), color, merge several, delete (the snippets are kept), add.

• Privacy blocklist. In blocked apps and on blocked websites, keystrokes pass through untouched: nothing is buffered, matched, counted or suggested. Password managers are blocked by default. Website domains are read through Accessibility in Safari, Chrome, Arc, Edge, Brave, Firefox, Opera, Vivaldi and Chromium. There's a one-click list of common banking and finance sites to add. The menu bar shows "⏸ Paused here", "Allow Shorthand Here", "Block Shorthand in <app>" and "Block Shorthand on <site>".

• New-app question. The first time an app is used, Shorthand asks "Use Shorthand in <app>?" with Allow and Block. Ignoring it means Allow. It can be turned off in Settings → Privacy.

• Settings → Privacy tab.

Changed

• "Delete" is now "Move to Trash" everywhere. Deleting a pending suggestion still discards it, and it isn't suggested again.

• Settings → AI: the fallback clears when it's set to the same provider as the primary.

Data

• Library gains trash and tags; Snippet gains tags.

• Preferences gains trashRetentionDays, blockedApps, blockedDomains, askForNewApps and knownApps.

• All of them decode leniently, so 1.2 files open unchanged. Older builds ignore the new keys, but an older build that saves the library drops its Trash and tags.

Added

• Multi-provider AI. 12 providers, matching the Stetwell plugin's picker: Claude (Anthropic, the default) uses the native Messages API. These use the OpenAI-compatible API: ChatGPT (OpenAI), Gemini (Google), OpenRouter, Groq, Together AI, Mistral, DeepSeek, Kimi (Moonshot), Grok (xAI), Hugging Face (router). Custom OpenAI-compatible: Ollama, LM Studio and similar.

• Fallback provider. It's optional and tried once when the main provider fails (bad key, outage, rate limit, network). It's never tried when a model declines a request.

• Live model lists. "Test key & load models" calls each provider's /models endpoint. The model field lets you pick from the list or type any model id. Lists are cached in preferences, and loaded automatically when a key is already saved.

• Per-provider API keys in the Keychain. Keys stored for any provider other than Anthropic go under accounts named api-key-<provider>.

• Retry in plain form on HTTP 400. If a model rejects an optional parameter (effort, structured output, tools, server-side fallback), the request is retried once without them.

• In-app Help. Help › Shorthand Help (⌘?) has 19 topics with a sidebar and full-text search. Pages live in Resources/Help. It's also reachable from the menu bar icon menu, Settings → General, and the "?" in Settings → AI.

• Ko-fi "Buy me a coffee" link. It uses the official Ko-fi image and appears in: the Help menu the menu bar icon menu Settings → General the Help sidebar and the Support help page APP_STORE=1 ./scripts/build.sh hides it (Info.plist ShorthandShowSupport = false).

• Stable code signing. build.sh signs with a self-signed "Shorthand Signing" identity kept in a dedicated keychain (~/Library/Application Support/ShorthandSigning), so macOS keeps the Accessibility permission across rebuilds.

• Permission status you can see. The menu bar menu shows "✓ Keyboard access OK", or a "Fix…" warning when macOS blocks the keyboard. Settings → General → Permissions shows Accessibility, keyboard monitor and Input Monitoring status. "Reset Permission & Ask Again" (tccutil reset, Shorthand only) clears a stale grant left by an older build. State changes are written to ~/Library/Application Support/Shorthand/diagnostics.log.

• %filltop% now works. The fill-in window opens at the top center of the screen. In 1.1 the code was accepted but ignored.

Changed

• AI error messages name the provider instead of always saying "Claude".

• Settings → AI is laid out like Stetwell: Provider, API key, model and Thinking effort. A Fallback section. A privacy note naming "the provider you picked".

• Settings → Options now says correctly that capitalization fixes apply in every app.

• build.sh defaults VERSION to 1.2.0 and bundles kofi.png and Help/.

Fixed

• Choosing a sync folder could overwrite a library that was already there. Example: setting up a second Mac. Shorthand now asks either "Use Library in Folder" or "Replace with This Mac's", and backs up the copy it sets aside. It never silently overwrites.

• The Ko-fi image path in the Support help page now points inside Help/, the only folder the help viewer may read.

Migration

• An Anthropic key saved by 1.1 keeps working: same Keychain account, anthropic-api-key.

• The 1.1 aiModel setting is copied into aiModels["anthropic"] and kept in step for older builds.

Added

• AI Actions palette (⌃⌥A): rewrite selected text in any app with a preset or your own instruction.

• %ai:prompt% macro. Generated text is inserted at the cursor, and you can keep typing while it works.

• Suggest with AI in the editor and the Create Snippet window: abbreviation, label, and fill-in fields.

• Snippet suggestions from phrases you type repeatedly. Only hashes are kept, and suggestions are off by default.

• Reminders when you type out a snippet's full text.

• %calc:…% math with fill-in values, and %if…%else%…%endif% conditional text.

• Per-snippet "Expand in" app scopes. The same abbreviation can expand differently in different apps.

• Lenient library/preferences decoding. An unreadable library is moved aside, never overwritten.

• *(2026-11-01)* Undo for deleting snippets and groups.

• *(2026-11-01)* Sync-folder reload when another Mac changes the library.

• *(2026-11-01)* A warning while TextExpander is still running.

• *(2026-11-01)* TextExpander's lifetime "Characters Saved" is carried into Statistics on import.

Changed

• Import moved to ⇧⌘I, because ⌘I is Italic.

• Use counts are stored in Statistics.useCounts, so the library file is no longer rewritten on every expansion.

Fixed (independent review, commit 6c69e5d)

• Script snippets no longer block typing. They run asynchronously with a real 10-second timeout.

• A canceled expansion in "immediately" mode restores the swallowed keystroke.

• Expansions are serialized, so overlapping ones (e.g. while AI is working) can't scramble text or the clipboard.

• ⌘V pressed right after an expansion waits for the clipboard to be restored.

• ⇧Return / ⇧Tab delimiters keep Shift. This matters in Slack, where plain Return sends.

• ⌥⌫ resets the abbreviation buffer. The buffer boundary after an expansion is fixed.

• The fill-in window no longer leaks memory. HUD messages no longer hide each other.

• Snippets don't expand inside Shorthand's own search and AI panels.

• First-launch crash (recursive lock during preferences migration).

Added

• A native arm64 app (com.kirker.shorthand) for macOS 14+, running without Rosetta.

• Imports TextExpander: Settings.textexpander, single-group .textexpander files, .textexpanderbackup folders, and CSV/TSV. The auto-captured "Suggested Snippets" group is skipped by default.

• All TextExpander 5 macros the user's library uses: fill-ins (text, area, popup, optional part, top) dates and date math clipboard nested snippets %key: cursor and selection arrows delimiter keep/abandon %%

• Expansion modes: immediately, or at a delimiter (keep or abandon). Each group sets what an abbreviation must be followed by. Case modes: sensitive, ignore, adapt.

• Insertion: clipboard paste (RTF/HTML) with save and restore.

• Interface: main window and editor menu bar menu search panel (⌘1–9) inline search global hotkeys create from selection or clipboard edit last expanded

• More features: sounds AppleScript, shell and JavaScript snippets statistics automatic backups sync folder launch at login auto-capitalize and double-caps fixes