Core Features

The palette, search, filters, Library, and everything you need to find and paste snippets fast.

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The Palette

The palette is your primary interface — a floating search bar that appears above all windows, no matter what app you’re in.

Summon the Palette

Press your global hotkey (default Control+Space) from any app. The palette appears centered on your active screen, ready for input.

Search as You Type

Start typing and results filter instantly. CommandIt uses fuzzy search that matches partial words and tolerates typos — so “dckr” can find “docker run” and “gcp” can find “git cherry-pick.”

Navigate and Paste

• Up/Down arrows to move through results
• Enter to paste the selected snippet into your active app
• Command+1 through Command+9 to quick-paste by position
• Escape to dismiss the palette

The palette also auto-dismisses when you click outside it or after a paste.

Auto-Paste

When you press Enter on a snippet:

1. CommandIt renders the template (filling in any arguments)
2. Copies the result to your clipboard
3. Switches back to your previous app
4. Simulates Command+V to paste automatically
5. Restores your previous clipboard contents

If Accessibility permission isn’t granted, CommandIt copies to clipboard and shows a “Copied to clipboard” message instead — you just paste manually.

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Search and Filters

Smart Filters

The palette includes built-in filters to quickly narrow your view:

Filter	What It Shows
All Snippets	Everything — no filter applied
Favorites	Only snippets you’ve starred
Recently Used	Snippets used in the last 7 days
Most Used	Your top 20 most-used snippets
History ⚡	Execution history with re-run (Plus)

Press Tab and Shift+Tab to cycle through filters.

Category Filter

Filter snippets by category in two ways:

• Type @ followed by a category name in the search field (e.g., @Git) — autocomplete suggestions appear as you type
• Click the folder icon in the filter bar to open the category dropdown

Tag Filter

Filter by tag similarly:

• Type # followed by a tag name in the search field (e.g., #deploy)
• Click the tag icon in the filter bar to open the tag dropdown

You can select multiple tags to narrow results further.

Composable Filters

Combine a smart filter with one category and multiple tags for precise results. For example: show only Favorites in the Docker category tagged #production.

Active filters appear as dismissible chips below the filter bar. Click Clear All to reset.

Composable filters (combining category + tag with AND logic) require CommandIt Plus.

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Categories

Categories group your snippets into folders — like “Git”, “Docker”, “API”, or “Database”.

Managing Categories

• Create: Click the “New Category” button in the Library sidebar, or right-click in the sidebar
• Rename: Right-click a category in the Library sidebar and choose Rename
• Reorder: Drag categories in the Library sidebar to change their order
• Delete: Right-click and choose Delete — snippets in that category move to “Uncategorized”

Using Categories

• Assign a category when creating or editing a snippet
• Set a default category for new snippets in Settings > General
• Filter by category in the palette (type @category) or Library (click a category in the sidebar)

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Tags

Tags are flexible labels that cut across categories. A snippet can have multiple tags, and tags work alongside categories for finer organization.

Managing Tags

• Add tags when creating or editing a snippet — type them as comma-separated values
• Rename or merge tags from the Library sidebar (right-click a tag)
• Delete a tag from the Library sidebar context menu

Using Tags

• Filter by tag in the palette (type #tag) or Library (click a tag in the sidebar)
• Tags are included in search — searching “deploy” also finds snippets tagged “deploy”
• Select multiple tags to narrow results

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Library

The Library is your full-featured snippet manager — a three-column window for browsing, editing, and organizing everything.

Opening the Library

• Press Command+L from the palette
• Or click Library in the menu bar

Layout

The Library uses a three-column layout:

1. Sidebar (left) — smart filters, categories, tags, and Recently Deleted
2. Snippet List (center) — filtered list of snippets with type icons and use counts
3. Detail Editor (right) — edit the selected snippet’s name, template, args, category, tags, and type

List View Modes

Toggle between compact and expanded list layouts using the toolbar controls. Compact mode shows more snippets at a glance; expanded mode shows summaries and additional metadata.

Sort Options

Click the sort controls in the toolbar to order snippets by:

• Default order
• Manual (drag to reorder)
• Name (A-Z or Z-A)
• Usage (most or least used)
• Created date
• Updated date

Editing Snippets

Select any snippet in the list to view and edit it in the detail panel on the right. Changes are saved when you press Command+S — the save button activates only when you’ve made changes.

Bulk Operations

Select multiple snippets (hold Shift or Command while clicking) to delete, share, or export them in bulk.

Library Sidebar Filters

The Library sidebar includes everything from the palette filters, plus:

• Unused — snippets you haven’t used yet
• Recently Deleted — snippets deleted in the last 30 days (restore or permanently delete them here)

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Soft Delete and Recovery

When you delete a snippet, it isn’t gone forever. Deleted snippets go to Recently Deleted, where they stay for 30 days.

• Restore any deleted snippet within 30 days from the Recently Deleted filter (in the palette or Library)
• Undo — an undo toast appears immediately after deletion for quick recovery
• Permanent delete — empty the trash or permanently delete individual items from Recently Deleted
• After 30 days, snippets are purged automatically

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Import and Export

Export

Export your snippet library as a JSON file for backup or sharing:

1. Open the Library
2. Click Export in the toolbar
3. Choose a save location

Import

Restore or add snippets from a JSON file:

1. Open the Library
2. Click Import in the toolbar
3. Select a JSON file

CommandIt validates the file before importing and handles older export formats.

Import safety
Snippets containing {{env:...}} or {{shell:...}} variables show a confirmation dialog listing the referenced variables and commands before import.

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Share Sheet

Share snippets with others using the native macOS share sheet — via AirDrop, Messages, Mail, and other sharing services.

• Single snippet — shares the name, template, category, and tags as plain text, plus a JSON attachment that another CommandIt user can import
• Multiple snippets — shares a summary with all selected snippets
• Access from the Library toolbar (Command+Shift+S), right-click context menu, or detail editor toolbar

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Menu Bar

CommandIt lives in your menu bar. Left-click the icon to toggle the palette. Right-click for the full menu:

• Open Palette — with your hotkey displayed
• Open Library
• New Snippet
• Save Clipboard as Snippet… — captures your current clipboard
• Check for Updates…
• Settings…
• Help & Feedback…
• Quit CommandIt