tabby-quick-snips

Manual alias-based quick snippets plugin for Tabby Terminal.

This plugin runs on the Tabby UI side and shows a small suggestion overlay inside the terminal. It does not depend on the remote shell. Commands are defined manually by the user and matched with fuzzy search or short aliases such as ps, reset, or db-update.

Features

• Client-side autocomplete inside Tabby UI
• Manual command list management
• Alias/shortcut support via shortcut or normalized
• Fuzzy search like ps -> docker compose ps
• Inline dropdown overlay inside the terminal
• Keyboard navigation with ArrowUp and ArrowDown
• Accept suggestion with Tab
• Pin, edit, delete, import, and export entries
• Settings tab inside Tabby for managing entries

File structure

tabby-quick-snips/
├── src/
│   ├── config.ts
│   ├── decorator.ts
│   ├── fuzzy.ts
│   ├── historyStore.ts
│   ├── hotkeys.ts
│   ├── index.ts
│   ├── settings.ts
│   ├── terminalState.ts
│   └── types.ts
├── LICENSE
├── package.json
├── README.md
├── tsconfig.json
└── webpack.config.js

How it works

1. You define aliases and commands in the Quick Snips settings tab.
2. In terminal, type a partial alias or command, for example ps or reset.
3. Press the configured hotkey to open the suggestion overlay.
4. Use ArrowUp and ArrowDown to select a result.
5. Press Tab to insert the selected command.

Installation

Local development install

1. Clone or copy this plugin into its own folder.
2. Install dependencies:

npm install

3. Build the plugin:

npm run build

4. Load it in Tabby.

Typical options:

• Symlink or copy the package into Tabby's plugin path.
• Or start Tabby with:

TABBY_PLUGINS=/absolute/path/to/plugins tabby

If you keep this package in /absolute/path/to/plugins/tabby-quick-snips, Tabby can discover it as a standalone plugin package.

Publish to npm later

This package is already structured as a standalone npm module:

• package name: tabby-quick-snips
• keyword: tabby-plugin
• build output: dist/index.js

Before publishing, update:

• package.json author/repository/homepage fields
• version number
• compatibility notes for the Tabby version you target

Then publish with:

npm publish --access public

Example usage

The plugin ships with these default entries:

[
  {
    "id": "cmd_6t82mzgvmnj17uvo",
    "command": "docker compose ps",
    "normalized": "ps",
    "pinned": false
  },
  {
    "id": "cmd_6t82mzgvmnj17uv2",
    "command": "docker compose down; docker compose up -d --force-recreate",
    "normalized": "reset",
    "pinned": false
  },
  {
    "id": "cmd_6t82mzgvmnj17uv3",
    "command": "php bin/console doctrine:cache:clear-metadata; php bin/console doctrine:schema:update --force --no-interaction;",
    "normalized": "db-update",
    "pinned": false
  },
  {
    "id": "demo_git_status",
    "command": "git status",
    "normalized": "git status",
    "pinned": true
  }
]

If your list gets messy, open Quick Snips settings and click Reset Defaults.

Then in terminal:

1. Type ps
2. Press Cmd+P
3. Choose docker compose ps
4. Press Tab

Or:

1. Type reset
2. Press Cmd+P
3. Press Tab

Default behavior

• Hotkey: Cmd+P
• Auto show: disabled
• Minimum typed characters: 2
• Suggestions come only from manually saved entries
• Enter does not accept suggestions
• Tab accepts the selected suggestion

Notes

• Data is stored in Tabby's local config under historyAutocomplete.
• The visible plugin name in Tabby is Quick Snips.
• normalized is treated as the alias trigger value.
• If shortcut exists, it is also used as the alias trigger value.
• The settings tab is the recommended way to manage entries.

Suggested next improvements

• Replace the simple settings form with a cleaner table editor.
• Add drag-and-drop sorting and sections/groups.
• Add optional per-profile command sets.