TextExpander MCP Server Getting Started Guide

The TextExpander MCP Server connects your TextExpander Snippets to AI assistants that support the Model Context Protocol (MCP). You can read, create, and update Snippets through natural conversation instead of switching between apps.

This guide gets you up and running in about 3 minutes.

What you’ll need

• A TextExpander account (any plan: Individual, Business, Growth, or Enterprise)
• An AI assistant that supports MCP connections. Compatible platforms include:
  • Claude Desktop (macOS or Windows) or **Claude.ai with Cowork mode**
  • ChatGPT (Pro, Team, Enterprise, or Edu plan with Developer Mode)
  • Microsoft Copilot (Copilot Studio)

What you can do

Once connected, you can ask your AI assistant to:

• List all your Snippet Groups and their contents
• Create new Snippet Groups to organize your work
• Add Snippets with abbreviations, labels, and macros
• Update existing Snippet content or abbreviations
• Build entire Snippet libraries from scratch through conversation
• Search your Snippet libraries

Step 1: Connect TextExpander to your AI assistant

Choose the setup instructions for your platform below.

Claude Desktop, Cowork, and Web

1. Open Claude Desktop
2. Click your profile icon in the bottom-left corner
3. Select Settings
4. Click Connectors in the left sidebar
5. Click on “Add Custom Connector”
6. In the name field type “TextExpander”
7. In the URL field type https://mcp.textexpander.com/mcp
8. Click Add
9. Sign in with your TextExpander credentials when prompted
10. Authorize access to your Snippets

ChatGPT

ChatGPT supports MCP connectors through Developer Mode, available on Pro, Team, Enterprise, and Edu plans.

1. Open ChatGPT Settings
2. Go to Apps > Advanced settings
3. Enable Developer Mode
4. Navigate to Apps > Gear Icon > Advanced settings > Create app
5. Enter the TextExpander MCP server URL: https://mcp.textexpander.com/mcp
6. Set authentication to OAuth
7. Click on the custom MCP server warning.
8. Then click on Create.
9. Sign in with your TextExpander credentials when prompted
10. In a new chat, select Developer mode from the Plus menu, then choose the TextExpander connector

Microsoft Copilot

Copilot Studio supports MCP connections directly through its onboarding wizard.

1. Open your agent in Copilot Studio
2. Go to Tools > Add Tool > New Tool
3. Select Model Context Protocol
4. Enter the TextExpander MCP server URL
5. Add a name (“TextExpander”) and description
6. Configure authentication as OAuth 2.0 and enter the credentials provided by your TextExpander administrator
7. Select which TextExpander tools to enable (all seven are recommended)

You’ll see a confirmation that the connector is active. That’s it for setup.

Step 2: Verify the connection

Try this prompt: “List my TextExpander Snippet Groups.”

Your AI assistant calls the list_snippet_groups tool and returns your Groups. You’ll see each Group’s name and ID. If you have Organization Groups, those appear with your Organization name.

To check your account details, try: “Who am I signed in as on TextExpander?”

The assistant calls get_current_user and returns your name, email, and permissions.

Step 3: Try it out

Here are three things to try right away.

Read your existing Snippets

“Show me the Snippets in my ‘My Snippets’ group.”

The assistant retrieves every Snippet in that Group, including abbreviations, labels, and content. You’ll see the full text of each Snippet.

Create a new Snippet Group and Snippet

“Create a Snippet Group called ‘Email Templates’ and add a Snippet with the abbreviation ;thanks that says ‘Thank you for your email. I’ll get back to you within 24 hours.'”

The assistant creates the Group, then adds the Snippet. You’ll see both confirmations.

Create a Snippet with macros

“Add a Snippet to my Email Templates group with an abbreviation ;reply that starts with ‘Hi’ followed by a fill-in field for the recipient’s name, then says ‘Thanks for reaching out on’ followed by today’s date.”

Your assistant translates your description into the right macro syntax automatically. You don’t need to know the %fill% or %date% syntax.

Example prompts

Here are a few examples of what you can ask it to do to help get you started.

Build a customer support library

“Create a Snippet Group called ‘Customer Support’ with four Snippets: a greeting that asks for the customer’s name, an escalation template with a priority dropdown (Low, Medium, High, Urgent) and a ticket ID field, a closing message, and a status update that includes today’s date.”

Migrate content into Snippets

“Here are five email responses I use every day. Create a Snippet Group called ‘Sales Replies’ and turn each one into a Snippet with a sensible abbreviation starting with ;sr.”

Then paste your email templates.

Audit your existing Snippets

“List all my Snippet Groups and tell me how many Snippets are in each one.”

The assistant reads each Group and gives you a summary.

Update Snippets in bulk

“In my ‘Support Team’ Group, update the signature line in every Snippet from ‘Best regards’ to ‘Cheers’.”

The assistant reads the Group, identifies matching Snippets, and updates each one.