Which Mac apps autocomplete works in

How a system-wide tool sees your text

macOS has a built-in interface, the Accessibility API, that lets one app read and interact with another app’s interface. It exists so that screen readers and assistive tools can work everywhere rather than needing every developer to add support individually. It is the same mechanism TypeSeer uses to see the text field you are typing in and to know where your cursor sits.

This is why TypeSeer asks for the Accessibility permission during setup, and it is the only macOS permission it asks for. It is also why compatibility is not really a list of blessed apps: if an app presents a normal text field through that interface, TypeSeer can generally work in it.

Where it works best

Native macOS apps. Mail, Notes, Messages, TextEdit, Pages, and other apps built with Apple’s own interface toolkit expose their text most completely. This is where suggestions are most reliable and best positioned.

Browsers and web apps. Text areas and rich text editors in Safari and Chrome work, which covers most webmail, most content management systems, and a great many web-based writing tools. Browsers describe their text a little differently from native apps, so TypeSeer handles them as a distinct case.

Chat and Electron-based apps. Apps such as Slack that are built on web technology inside a desktop wrapper generally work. These apps have more variation between them than native apps do, so if you find one behaving oddly, that is genuinely useful to hear about.

Where it deliberately stays quiet

Some silences are bugs. These ones are on purpose.

• Password fields and secure text entry. TypeSeer never offers a suggestion here, and never reads them.
• Address bars and search fields. These have their own completion that already uses Tab, and competing for that key would break them.
• Web addresses, email addresses and file paths. TypeSeer stays out of these while you are inside one, so it cannot repeat or rewrite part of an address. Finish the address with a space and normal suggestions resume.

Where it can’t help

A small number of apps draw their own text rather than using a standard macOS or web text control — a custom editor painting characters onto a canvas, for example. There is no text there for the Accessibility interface to report, so no system-wide tool of any kind can read it. This is a limit of the app, not something a setting can fix.

If you hit one, tell us the app and the field. Some cases look like this but turn out to be fixable, and knowing which apps people actually use is how the rough edges get found.

Common questions

Which Mac apps does TypeSeer work in?

TypeSeer works at the system level rather than as a plugin for one app, so it offers suggestions in ordinary writing fields across macOS: Mail, Notes, Messages, TextEdit, Pages and Word, chat apps such as Slack, and text areas inside Safari and Chrome. It is not a fixed list of supported apps. If an app presents a standard text field through the macOS Accessibility interface, TypeSeer can generally work in it.

Why does no suggestion appear in one particular app?

Usually one of four things. Accessibility permission may not be granted yet. Suggestions may be switched off for that specific app in per-app settings. The cursor may not be at the end of the line, or you may not have paused long enough. Or the app may draw its own text rather than using a standard macOS text field, in which case there is nothing for TypeSeer to read. If it is the last one, tell us which app and field and we will look at it.

Does TypeSeer work in web apps like Gmail?

Yes, in ordinary web text fields and rich text editors in Safari and Chrome, which covers most webmail and web-based writing tools. The exception is editors that render text onto a canvas instead of using standard web text controls. Those do not expose their text through the browser’s accessibility interface, so no system-wide tool can read them.

Does TypeSeer suggest inside password fields?

No. TypeSeer never suggests in password fields or secure text entry. It also stays quiet in address bars, search controls and other fields whose own completion already uses the Tab key, and inside web addresses, email addresses and file paths so that it cannot rewrite part of an address.

Does TypeSeer work without an internet connection?

Yes. Once your model has been downloaded, predictions are generated entirely on your Mac and work with no internet connection. TypeSeer uses the network only to download a model, check for updates, and verify your licence.

Does TypeSeer work on Intel Macs?

No. TypeSeer requires an Apple Silicon Mac running macOS 14 or later, because it relies on the unified memory architecture to run a language model fast enough to keep up with your typing.

Read next

If you want the mechanics behind the suggestions themselves, how on-device autocomplete works covers the model and the speed constraints. The help page has the setup steps and the troubleshooting checklist.