Text expander for Firefox: how to set one up
Firefox has no built-in text expansion, and two of the best-known expanders – Text Blaze and Magical – have no Firefox extension. Here is what you can use instead, and how to start in two minutes.
Free · no account · works offline
Set up text expansion in Firefox with Keyfill
- Open Keyfill on addons.mozilla.org and click Add to Firefox.
- Firefox asks for permission to access data on all websites – needed so Keyfill can see shortcuts you type in text boxes. Keyfill makes no network requests.
- The manager opens with three examples:
;ty,;date,;sig. Edit them or click + New snippet. - Go to any text box (Gmail, Outlook on the web, a help desk, a form) and type
;ty. It turns into the full text. - Already have snippets elsewhere? Export them as CSV (shortcut, text) and use Import.
Popular text expanders and the big names on Firefox
Text Blaze's FAQ tells Firefox users to install its Windows or Mac desktop app instead of a browser extension. A search for “magical” on addons.mozilla.org returned no Magical extension. Both checked on 2026-10-04 – details: Text Blaze, Magical.
Other snippet extensions on addons.mozilla.org
Numbers from addons.mozilla.org on 2026-10-04 (users = average daily users). Descriptions are quoted from each listing; we have not tested these extensions.
| Extension | Users | Rating (reviews) | Last updated | Listing says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clippings | 12,743 | 4.4 (289) | 2026-08-15 | “Save frequently-entered text for pasting later.” |
| Lightning Autofill | 11,825 | 3.3 (276) | 2025-11-17 | “The most popular autofill extension, boosting productivity since 2010.” |
| Auto Text Expander | 1,562 | 3.4 (46) | 2019-06-24 | “Create custom keyboard shortcuts to expand and replace text as you type!” |
| Web Text Expander | 896 | 4.2 (15) | 2026-09-08 | “Work smarter and type faster with text shortcuts! ...” |
| Yet Another Text Expander | 111 | 5.0 (6) | 2026-09-14 | “Type more by typing less.” |
| Makro | 83 | 5.0 (1) | 2026-09-04 | “Unlimited free text expansion with zero-knowledge encryption. Smart Rewrite, cloud sync, clipboard history. No account needed. ...” |
Keyfill is new (version 1.0.0, October 2026) and has no reviews yet.
Why Keyfill
- Expands as you type, including in rich text editors (tested with Quill, ProseMirror and Lexical).
- No account, no server, no analytics – snippets stay in your Firefox profile.
- Placeholders
{date},{iso},{time},{cursor}; CSV import and JSON export.
What Keyfill doesn't do
- No sync between devices. Snippets live in one Firefox profile. To move them, use Export (JSON) and Import on the other computer.
- No team features. No shared folders, admin roles or usage reports.
- No forms, dropdowns, if/then rules or AI. Placeholders are limited to
{date},{iso},{time}and{cursor}. - Not in Google Docs (it uses a custom editor) and never in password fields.
- Firefox only for now.
Free · no account · works offline
Facts checked on 2026-10-04 on the official pages below. Prices and features change — please check the source before deciding. Found an error? Write to keyfill@convertpubfiles.com.
- Text Blaze – FAQ
- addons.mozilla.org search for “magical”
- addons.mozilla.org search for “text expander”
- addons.mozilla.org – Clippings
- addons.mozilla.org – Lightning Autofill
- addons.mozilla.org – Auto Text Expander
- addons.mozilla.org – Web Text Expander
- addons.mozilla.org – Yet Another Text Expander
- addons.mozilla.org – Makro