# PhraseVault

> PhraseVault is a desktop text expander and snippet manager for Windows and macOS. It lets users save frequently used text — email templates, code snippets, AI prompts, form responses — and insert them into any application with a single keyboard shortcut. One-time lifetime license ($29 USD), no subscription. Source-available on GitHub. Fully offline, no cloud, no account required. Desktop app available in 7 languages; website available in English, German, Spanish, and Japanese.

## Product Details

PhraseVault is a native desktop application built with Electron. It works system-wide across all applications that support paste (Ctrl+V / Cmd+V), including Gmail, Outlook, Word, Excel, VS Code, Slack, ChatGPT, Claude, Midjourney, terminals, and any text field in any application.

**How it works:**
1. User presses a global keyboard shortcut (default: Ctrl+. on Windows, Cmd+. on macOS)
2. The PhraseVault window appears with a fuzzy search bar and list of saved phrases
3. User types to search or navigates with arrow keys
4. User presses Enter to insert the selected phrase into the previously focused application
5. PhraseVault returns focus to the original application automatically

**Dynamic Placeholder System:**

PhraseVault supports intelligent placeholders that resolve at insertion time:

- `{{date}}` — Current date (customizable format, e.g., `{{date:DD/MM/YYYY}}`)
- `{{date:+7}}` — Date with offset (7 days from now)
- `{{date:long@de}}` — Locale-aware formatted date (e.g., German long format)
- `{{time}}` — Current time (12 or 24-hour, customizable)
- `{{datetime}}` — Combined date and time
- `{{weekday}}`, `{{month}}`, `{{year}}` — Individual date components
- `{{clipboard}}` — Contents of the current clipboard
- `{{input:Label}}` — Prompts the user for single-line text input before insertion
- `{{input:Label=Default Value}}` — Input with a pre-filled default
- `{{textarea:Label}}` — Multi-line text input prompt
- `{{select:Label=Option1,*Option2,Option3}}` — Dropdown selection (asterisk marks the default)
- `{{phrase:short_id}}` — Inserts another phrase by reference (nested snippets / cross-inserts)

Nested snippets support up to 10 levels of depth with circular reference detection.

**Content Types:**
- Plain Text — Inserted as raw text
- Markdown — Converted to HTML on the clipboard for rich display in apps like Word, Slack, Outlook
- HTML — Direct HTML clipboard write for full formatting control

**Technical Architecture:**
- Electron desktop application with Vite bundler
- SQLite local database (no network required)
- Ed25519 cryptographic license verification (fully offline, no activation server)
- Hot-swappable databases (switch between multiple snippet collections at runtime)
- Dark and light themes following system preference
- i18next internationalization with 7 UI languages
- Global keyboard shortcut with smart window-focus return
- Tray integration for background operation

**Platforms:** Windows 10+, macOS 12+.

**Languages:** Desktop app UI supports 7 languages: English, German (Deutsch), Spanish (Español), Japanese (日本語), French (Français), Italian (Italiano), Portuguese (Português). Website and help articles are available in 4 languages: English, German, Spanish, and Japanese.

**Pricing:**
- Starter: $29 USD / €29 EUR / ¥4,400 JPY — one-time lifetime license for one user
- Team (2–5 licenses): discounted per-license cost
- Business (6+ licenses): lowest per-license cost, volume pricing for 25+
- Education: discounted pricing for students and educators
- 14-day free trial with all features, no credit card required
- All prices include applicable VAT. Secure payment via Stripe.

**Differentiators vs. Competitors:**
- One-time payment vs. TextExpander's $39.99/year subscription
- Desktop app vs. Text Blaze's Chrome-only browser extension
- Visual GUI vs. Espanso's CLI/YAML configuration
- Source-available code on GitHub vs. closed-source competitors
- Fully offline with local data storage vs. cloud-dependent alternatives
- No account registration required
- No telemetry, no tracking, no data collection

**Source Code:** https://github.com/ptmrio/phrasevault (source-available license, not open source)

## Core Pages

- [Home](https://phrasevault.app/): Product overview with feature highlights, customer testimonials, interactive demo preview, and download links for Windows and macOS
- [Features](https://phrasevault.app/features): Detailed breakdown of all product features including quick access, security, interface design, and cross-application compatibility
- [Pricing](https://phrasevault.app/pricing): Three-tier pricing (Starter, Team, Business) with volume discounts, education pricing, and EU VAT details
- [Download](https://phrasevault.app/download): Direct download links for Windows (.exe) and macOS (.dmg), Microsoft Store link, system requirements, and VirusTotal verification
- [Interactive Demo](https://phrasevault.app/demo): Browser-based interactive demo simulating PhraseVault's workflow without installation
- [Compare](https://phrasevault.app/compare): Side-by-side feature comparison table against TextExpander, PhraseExpress, Text Blaze, and Espanso
- [About](https://phrasevault.app/about): Company philosophy (privacy by design, simple by design, affordable by design), founder background as web developer and small business owner
- [Help Center](https://phrasevault.app/help): 39 searchable help articles across 6 categories with full-text search

## Use Cases

- [Email Templates](https://phrasevault.app/email): Standardized email responses, signatures, follow-ups, appointment confirmations, meeting invitations
- [AI Prompt Management](https://phrasevault.app/ai): Save and reuse prompts for ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Midjourney with dynamic input variables for context, tone, and parameters
- [Academic & Education](https://phrasevault.app/education): APA/MLA citations, literature notes, boilerplate research sections, standardized formatting
- [Programming & Code Snippets](https://phrasevault.app/programming): Code templates, algorithms, CLI commands, configuration files, API documentation comments, license headers
- [Form Filling](https://phrasevault.app/forms): Addresses, phone numbers, tax IDs, standard responses for web forms and applications
- [Customer Support](https://phrasevault.app/help/text-expander-customer-support): FAQ answers, troubleshooting guides, first-response templates, chat greetings
- [Developers](https://phrasevault.app/help/text-expander-developers): Code snippet management with Markdown and HTML support for documentation and code comments
- [Healthcare](https://phrasevault.app/help/text-expander-healthcare): Medical documentation, diagnosis and treatment notes, patient communication templates, clinical terminology
- [Legal](https://phrasevault.app/help/text-expander-legal): Contract clauses, NDAs, compliance documentation, legal notices, standard terms
- [Freelancers](https://phrasevault.app/help/text-expander-freelancers): Client communication, proposals, invoicing templates, project status updates
- [Sales Teams](https://phrasevault.app/help/text-expander-sales): Prospecting emails, follow-up sequences, CRM templates, sales offers

## Guides

- [What Is a Text Expander?](https://phrasevault.app/help/what-is-a-text-expander): Complete guide explaining text expansion concepts, use cases, and how snippet managers work
- [How to Use PhraseVault](https://phrasevault.app/help/how-to-use): Step-by-step getting started guide covering installation, adding phrases, and inserting them
- [Dynamic Inserts](https://phrasevault.app/help/dynamic-inserts): Full reference for date, time, input, textarea, select, clipboard, and cross-insert placeholders
- [AI Prompt Organization](https://phrasevault.app/help/ai-prompt-manager-guide): How to save and organize AI prompts with dynamic variables for different contexts
- [Email Templates Guide](https://phrasevault.app/help/email-templates-guide): Creating reusable email templates for clients with dynamic name and date fields
- [Team Sharing](https://phrasevault.app/help/team-sharing-text-expander): How to share snippet databases across teams via cloud drives (Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive) or NAS
- [Markdown Snippets](https://phrasevault.app/help/markdown-snippets-guide): Using Markdown formatting for rich text snippets that render in email clients and office apps
- [Formatted Text](https://phrasevault.app/help/how-to-insert-formatted-text): How to insert bold, italic, lists, headers, links, and tables via Markdown and HTML phrases
- [Best Practices](https://phrasevault.app/help/general-tips-best-practice): Tips for naming, organizing, and structuring phrase collections effectively
- [Custom Shortcut](https://phrasevault.app/help/customize-summon-shortcut): How to change the global summon keyboard shortcut to a custom key combination

## Comparisons

- [PhraseVault vs TextExpander](https://phrasevault.app/help/textexpander-alternative): Feature and pricing comparison — one-time vs subscription, offline vs cloud, source-available vs closed
- [PhraseVault vs PhraseExpress](https://phrasevault.app/help/phraseexpress-alternative): Feature and pricing comparison with the established German text expander
- [PhraseVault vs Text Blaze](https://phrasevault.app/help/text-blaze-alternative): Desktop application vs Chrome browser extension — platform coverage comparison
- [Best Text Expanders 2026](https://phrasevault.app/help/best-text-expanders): Comprehensive comparison of all major text expanders including features, pricing, and recommendations
- [Text Expander Without Subscription](https://phrasevault.app/help/text-expander-without-subscription): Guide to one-time license alternatives in a subscription-dominated market
- [GDPR-Compliant Text Expander](https://phrasevault.app/help/gdpr-text-expander): How PhraseVault meets EU privacy requirements with no cloud storage and no data processing
- [Offline Text Expander](https://phrasevault.app/help/text-expander-offline): Benefits and setup of a fully offline text expander with no internet dependency
- [Source-Available Text Expander](https://phrasevault.app/help/open-source-text-expander): Comparison of source-available vs open source text expanders and what the distinction means

## Installation & Setup

- [Installation Guide](https://phrasevault.app/help/installation): Step-by-step installation for Windows and macOS
- [Upgrade Guide](https://phrasevault.app/help/upgrade): How to update to the latest version
- [Windows SmartScreen](https://phrasevault.app/help/windows-smart-screen): How to resolve Windows SmartScreen warnings for new software
- [Licensing](https://phrasevault.app/help/licensing): How license keys work, activation, and multi-device usage
- [Free Trial](https://phrasevault.app/help/trial): 14-day trial with all features, no credit card, no account
- [Education Discount](https://phrasevault.app/help/education-discount): Discounted pricing for students and educators
- [Legacy License Upgrade](https://phrasevault.app/help/upgrade-to-license-key): Migration path for customers who purchased before the license key system

## Advanced Usage

- [Mass Insert Phrases](https://phrasevault.app/help/mass-insert-phrases): Bulk import and editing of phrase collections
- [Multiple Users Same Database](https://phrasevault.app/help/multiple-users-same-database): Setting up a shared SQLite database for team use via network drives
- [Available Languages](https://phrasevault.app/help/languages): Full list of supported UI and content languages
- [Text Expander vs Clipboard Manager](https://phrasevault.app/help/text-expander-vs-clipboard-manager): Understanding the difference between text expanders and clipboard managers
- [Auto Text vs Text Expansion](https://phrasevault.app/help/difference-auto-text-text-expansion-text-blocks): Terminology guide for auto text, text expansion, text blocks, and phrase management
- [Best Text Expander for Windows](https://phrasevault.app/help/text-expander-windows): Windows-specific recommendations and setup
- [Best Text Expander for macOS](https://phrasevault.app/help/text-expander-macos): macOS-specific recommendations and setup
- [Stop Repetitive Typing](https://phrasevault.app/help/automate-repetitive-typing): Problem overview and solutions for reducing repetitive text entry

## Legal

- [Privacy Policy](https://phrasevault.app/privacy): Privacy policy — no data collection, no telemetry, no cloud
- [Imprint](https://phrasevault.app/imprint): Legal notice and company contact information
- [License Agreement](https://phrasevault.app/license): End-user license agreement and terms of use

## Localized Versions

The website is available in four languages. All core pages and help articles exist in each locale. English pages are at the root, other locales use a prefix:

- English: `https://phrasevault.app/{page}` (e.g., `/pricing`, `/help/dynamic-inserts`)
- German: `https://phrasevault.app/de/{page}` (e.g., `/de/pricing`, `/de/help/dynamic-inserts`)
- Spanish: `https://phrasevault.app/es/{page}` (e.g., `/es/pricing`, `/es/help/dynamic-inserts`)
- Japanese: `https://phrasevault.app/ja/{page}` (e.g., `/ja/pricing`, `/ja/help/dynamic-inserts`)