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Placeholders

Use dynamic placeholders in your actions for powerful automation.

Available Placeholders​

PlaceholderDescription
{text}Selected text (via Accessibility API, fast)
{textWithCopy}Selected text (via Cmd+C, preserves formatting)
{clipboard}Current clipboard content
{paste}Simulates Cmd+V paste action
{prompt}Shows input dialog for user input
{date}Current date (YYYY-MM-DD)
{time}Current time (HH:MM:SS)
{datetime}Current date and time
{weekday}Current day of week (Monday, Tuesday, etc.)

Text Placeholders​

{text} - Selected Text (Fast)​

Uses Accessibility API for quick text retrieval.

echo '{text}'

Best for: Simple text operations, most use cases

{textWithCopy} - Selected Text (Accurate)​

Uses Cmd+C simulation for accurate text with formatting.

echo '{textWithCopy}'

Best for: When line breaks or formatting matter

Understanding {text} vs {textWithCopy}

By default, {text} uses the Accessibility API to fetch text—it's fast and doesn't leave a trace in the clipboard. However, it can break line breaks in Chrome/HTML and some other apps.

Key differences:

  • {text} - No clipboard trace, but formatting may break
  • {textWithCopy} - Leaves clipboard trace, but formatting is preserved

Additionally, {text} behavior depends on whether the app supports the Accessibility API properly. For consistent, formatting-safe results, use {textWithCopy}.

This is a limitation of macOS, not OnText.

Clipboard & Paste​

{clipboard} - Clipboard Content​

Gets current clipboard without modifying selection.

echo 'Clipboard: {clipboard}, Selected: {text}'

{paste} - Paste Action​

Simulates Cmd+V to paste clipboard content.

echo '{text}' | tr 'a-z' 'A-Z' | pbcopy && {paste}

User Input​

{prompt} - Interactive Input​

Shows a dialog for user input. Perfect for templates!

echo 'TODO: {prompt} - Created on {date}'

Default values: Add text after a colon to set a default value:

echo 'Name: {prompt:User name}'

This will show "User name" as the pre-filled default in the input dialog.

Multiple Prompts

When using multiple {prompt} placeholders, each MUST have a different default value. Otherwise, the action will not execute.

Correct:

echo "Name: {prompt:Enter Name}, Email: {prompt:Enter Email}" | pbcopy

Incorrect (will not work):

echo "Name: {prompt}, Email: {prompt}" | pbcopy

Date & Time​

{date} - Current Date​

Format: YYYY-MM-DD (e.g., 2024-01-15)

echo '{text} - Added on {date}'

{time} - Current Time​

Format: HH:MM:SS (e.g., 14:30:45)

echo '[{time}] {text}'

{datetime} - Date and Time​

Combined date and time.

echo 'Log [{datetime}]: {text}'

{weekday} - Day of Week​

Full weekday name (Monday, Tuesday, etc.)

echo '{weekday} TODO: {text}'

Examples​

Timestamp note:

echo '[{datetime}] {text}' | pbcopy

Template with prompt:

echo 'Meeting: {prompt:Meeting title}\nDate: {date}\nNotes: {text}'

Transform and replace:

echo '{text}' | tr 'a-z' 'A-Z' | pbcopy && {paste}