Made for code, too
Tested in Terminal, iTerm and VS Code, as well as everyday Mac text fields.
Intelligent Text Expansion
Type less.
Say more.
Type a short trigger and Gloss swaps it for the words you meant: a reply, a date, some code, an emoji. It works wherever you type on your Mac.
Try:
A live demo: type a trigger in the message, or pick one, and watch it expand.
In every app
Wherever you type.
Mail, Notes, Safari, VS Code, Terminal. Gloss watches for your triggers across the Mac and swaps each one for the full text in a single step.
Steps aside for passwords
When macOS turns on Secure Input, Gloss pauses and tells you which app did it.
Your rules, app by app
Switch Gloss off where you don’t want it, or change how it types there.
Features
More than a shortcut.
Plain text is only the start. A gloss can be dynamic, interactive or scripted, and you can build one in a minute with a live preview.
Free
Text that fills itself in.
//date becomes today’s date. Date maths works out five working days from now, clipboard values arrive already tidied, and {{cursor}} leaves the caret exactly where you’ll type next.
- Date maths such as “+5bd” for five working days
- 20 filters, including upper case and trim
- GlossScript: JavaScript in a sandbox with no file or network access
Free
Forgot the trigger? Search for it.
Type : and the picker opens at your cursor, showing matching glosses as you type. Press Return to put the one you want in place, or open the picker from anywhere with a keyboard shortcut.
- Matches glosses from every glossary as you type
- ↑↓ to move, Return to insert, Escape to dismiss
Pro
One trigger. Finished.
A gloss can ask for what it needs. Fill in a field, pick from a list or choose a date once, and every answer lands in the right place, along with fresh details such as your name and today’s date.
- Fields, dropdowns, date pickers, toggles and conditions
- Key actions that press Tab or Return for you
- Nested glosses, so one gloss can build on another
PromacOS 27
Let AI draft the rest.
Add an AI placeholder to any gloss. When it expands, Gloss can ask you a quick question, then Apple’s on-device model writes the text, seeing only the context that gloss allows, such as a message you copied. The Writing Actions preset adds ready-made rewrites, such as proofread and shorten, for text you select.
- Runs on Apple’s on-device model; Private Cloud Compute is never used
- Each gloss chooses its context: clipboard, selection, app or form answers
- Needs macOS 27 with Apple Intelligence
And there’s more.
Regex triggersFree
Match a pattern and use what it captured in the expansion.
Per-app rulesFree
Turn Gloss off in some apps, or change how it types in them.
iCloud syncFree
Your glosses on each Mac you use, through your own iCloud account.
ShortcutsFree
Expand a gloss or switch Gloss on and off from Shortcuts.
Rich textFree
Formatted replies that keep their bold, italics and styling.
Usage statisticsFree
See what you use most. Counted on your Mac and never synced.
Bundled presetsPro
Six ready-made glossaries: emoji, symbols, dates, code, forms and writing.
Share glossariesPro
Export a .glossary file, import other people’s, or publish to the library.
Free on every plan
Bring your snippets with you.
Switching takes minutes. Import from another app and Gloss shows you what it found before anything changes. On Free, the first ten imported glosses are active; Pro turns on the rest.
- TextExpander
- Espanso
- Raycast
- Apple Text Replacements
- aText
- Typinator
- CSV
Script snippets (AppleScript, shell and JavaScript) aren’t imported.
Privacy
What leaves your Mac.
Very little, and never what you type.
Stays on your Mac
- What you typeChecked in memory for triggers. Never stored and never sent.
- Your glossesOn your Mac, and in your own iCloud account if you turn sync on. We can’t read them.
- AI requestsHandled by Apple’s on-device model. Private Cloud Compute isn’t used.
- Usage statisticsSimple counts kept locally, never synced. Reset or turn them off.
The only connections
- Licence check, Pro onlyAbout every six hours after you activate: your licence key, an anonymous hash of your Mac’s hardware ID and its model, such as “Mac (Mac15,6)”.
- Update checkGloss asks trygloss.tech whether there’s a new version. You can turn automatic checks off.
- iCloud, if you want itSync goes through your Apple account, never through us.
- No analytics
- No telemetry
- No crash reports
- No tracking
- Read the privacy policy
Pricing
Pay once. Keep it.
Start free with ten glosses and no time limit. Pro unlocks everything, and every update is free on both plans.
Free
No licence needed£0for as long as you like
Everything you need to see how much typing Gloss saves.
- Up to 10 active glosses, with no time limit
- Dynamic, rich-text and script glosses
- Date maths, filters and the picker
- iCloud sync and per-app rules
- Import from other text expanders
- Every update, for as long as Gloss exists
Pro
One-time purchase£7.50once, not a subscription
Unlock everything, on one Mac at a time.
- Unlimited glosses
- The six bundled presets, including 154 emoji
- Forms, key actions and nested glosses
- Import and share .glossary files
- On-device AI and Writing Actions*
- One Mac at a time; move it whenever you like
- Every update, for as long as Gloss exists
*AI features need macOS 27 with Apple Intelligence. Prices are in pounds sterling, and the price at checkout is the total you pay. Changed your mind? See the refund policy.
Buying for several Macs or a team? Save up to 15% per licence.
Questions, answered.
Is Gloss a subscription?
No. Pro is a one-time purchase of £7.50. There are no renewals, and every future version is free on both Free and Pro.
What can I do on the free plan?
Almost everything: up to ten active glosses, dynamic and script glosses, the picker, iCloud sync, per-app rules and importing from other apps. There’s no time limit. Pro adds unlimited glosses, the bundled presets, forms, key actions, nested glosses, glossary sharing and the AI features.
Does Gloss need an internet connection?
Not to expand text. Pro checks its licence about every six hours. If it can’t connect, Pro keeps working for seven days, then pauses until the next successful check. Free features never stop.
Is anything I type sent anywhere?
No. Gloss looks at keystrokes in memory to spot triggers and never stores or sends them. There are no analytics, telemetry or crash reports. The privacy policy lists every connection Gloss makes.
Does it work in Terminal and code editors?
Yes. Gloss is tested in Terminal, iTerm and VS Code as well as ordinary Mac text fields. In password fields, and anywhere else macOS turns on Secure Input, it pauses and tells you which app turned it on.
Can I move my licence to a new Mac?
Yes. A Pro licence is active on one Mac at a time. Deactivate it in Gloss or from your account, then activate it on the new Mac.
What do the AI features need?
Gloss Pro and macOS 27 with Apple Intelligence. They run on Apple’s on-device model, and each gloss only shares the context it asks for, such as the text you selected.
Why isn’t Gloss on the Mac App Store?
To type for you in other apps, Gloss needs Accessibility access, which App Store sandboxing doesn’t allow. So it’s downloaded directly, signed with a Developer ID and notarised by Apple, and it updates itself securely.
Can I get a refund?
Yes. If you haven’t activated your licence, you can cancel within 14 days. Even if you have, you can have a full refund within 7 days of buying, no questions asked. See the refund policy.
Start with ten free glosses.
No account or card needed. Upgrade to Pro whenever you’re ready.