3. SnippetsLab Assistant

SnippetsLab Assistant is a menu bar companion designed to provide quick access to your library. Advanced users who prefer a keyboard-centric workflow will also find the extensive keyboard shortcut support helpful.

Activate the assistant by clicking the button in the menu bar. You can also assign a custom keyboard shortcut in Settings > Assistant. The assistant is enabled by default, but can be disabled in Settings, if desired.

Tip

Use the keyboard shortcut Shift-Command-1 and Shift-Command-2 to switch between browse and create modes. Press Shift-Command-0 to open the main app window.

3.1. Browse Mode

To switch to browse mode, click the Browse button at the top of the window, or press Shift-Command-1.

You can navigate the snippets list with these keyboard shortcuts:

Action	Keyboard Shortcut
Go to the previous or next item	▲ or ▼
Go to the previous or next page	Option-▲ or Option-▼
Jump to the top of bottom	Command-▲ or Command-▼
Scroll up or down without changing selection	Fn-▲ or Fn-▼

3.1.1. Default Snippets

By default, the assistant displays all snippets in the same order as the main window. You can customize the default view in Settings > Assistant > Default Snippets. For example, to show a subset of snippets that you frequently access from the menu bar.

3.1.2. Search

The assistant provides access to all the search tools available in the main window, including search scope, filters, and more. For more information, see Searching.

By default, the assistant remembers your search session even after closing and reopening. To automatically clear the search field each time, enable the Automatically clear search field when open option in Settings > Assistant.

3.1.3. Snippet Actions

You can perform the following actions on snippets in the list:

Action	How To Perform
Copy to Clipboard	Single-click, or press Return, or press Command-C
Open in Main Window	Option-click, or press Option-Return
Paste to Active App	(unassigned by default)
Quick Look	Double-click, press ▶︎, or swipe right
Dismiss Quick Look	Press ◀︎ or Esc

You can customize the keyboard shortcuts of these actions in Settings > Assistant. You can also swipe left to reveal the primary and secondary options.

Important

The “Paste to active app” action requires accessibility permission because it uses Apple Events to perform the paste operation. You will be prompted to grant access the first time you select this action in Settings. You can also manually grant or revoke access at any time in System Settings > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Accessibility.

3.1.4. Quick Look

With Quick Look active, press Command-1 ~ Command-9 to jump to the first nine fragments. The keyboard shortcuts for snippet actions also work on the currently displayed fragment.

For more convenient access, you can detach a Quick Look by dragging it away from the assistant by the edge. A detached Quick Look stays on top of other windows, and can be resized.

3.2. Create Mode

To switch to create mode, click the Create button at the top of the window, or press Shift-Command-2.