Install

Kudzu needs macOS 14 Sonoma or later and runs on Apple Silicon and Intel. Download the DMG and drag Kudzu to Applications, or install it with Homebrew.

Download for Mac

brew install --cask stringsaeed/tap/kudzu

Permissions

Kudzu needs Accessibility access to recognize your shortcuts and insert text. macOS 27 and later call this Device Control and Data Access. A guided helper opens during onboarding and stays beside System Settings. Drag the Kudzu icon into the list, then turn it on. macOS owns this switch, and Kudzu notices as soon as you flip it.

You can reopen the helper from Settings → General. Here’s what Kudzu can see.

Your first shortcut

Press ⌘N to make a new snippet and give it a name.
Add a trigger, like ;sig. Starting with a character such as ; keeps it from firing mid-sentence.
Type what it should expand to. Changes save automatically.
Type the trigger in any app. Press ⌫ right after to change your mind.

Want dates, fill-in fields, or nested snippets? See the template guide.

Everyday shortcuts

`⌃⌥Space`	Quick search, from any app
`⌃⌥V`	Clipboard history, from any app
`⌘K`	Command menu, inside Kudzu
`⌘/`	Every keyboard shortcut, inside Kudzu
`⌘⇧P`	Pause or resume expansion, inside Kudzu

Clipboard history

Kudzu records text, code, links, colors, images, and files as you copy them. Press ⌃⌥V to search, and ↵ to paste into the app you were in. Press ⇧↵ to paste as plain text.

History is kept for a week by default. Choose anything from a day to forever. It keeps up to 5,000 unpinned items, pinned items never expire, and nothing leaves your Mac. Passwords and anything marked concealed or transient are skipped.

Your data

Import: from Espanso (detected automatically) or a Kudzu JSON file.
Export: to Kudzu JSON or Espanso YAML. Espanso export writes plain text, so use JSON to keep formatting and images.
Backups: taken daily and before every import or restore. The last 14 are kept.
Sync: your snippet library can sync through your private iCloud. Clipboard history doesn’t sync.

Troubleshooting

A shortcut doesn’t expand

Check that Kudzu isn’t paused and the snippet is turned on.
Check for macOS Secure Input, which pauses expansion. Password fields and some apps turn it on.
Check the snippet’s app rules. Password managers are excluded by default.
If you just granted access, restarting Kudzu can reconnect the keyboard.

Text arrives wrong in one app

Short text is typed and long text is pasted. If an app handles one badly, set its insertion method in the snippet’s or group’s rules.

Still stuck?

Open an issue on GitHub and we’ll take a look.