“Cotypist” Adds Autocomplete to All Your Mac Apps
I don’t use AI at all. I think at least part of this is the user interface that most large language models (LLMs) are exposed to: the chatbot. I never think of opening a special window and asking a fictitious person for help – I find it a clunky way to interact with a computer. Why can’t AI help me where I already work?
That’s the idea behind Cotypist , a (currently) free Mac app from developer Daniel Graefe that adds mobile-style autofill to every app on your Mac. The tool, which uses a standalone LLM running on your device, requires an Apple Silicon processor (16 GB RAM recommended).
As you type, smart text (grayed out) appears to the right of the cursor, no matter what app you’re using. You can press “Tab” to accept all suggested words, or “`” (the key directly above Tab) to accept the next word. The idea is that the AI speeds up writing by suggesting words you were going to type anyway – accept the words you wanted and ignore the ones you didn’t type. Graefe calls this kind of writing “dancing with AI,” and it’s a romantic notion.
Setting everything up is quite simple. After installing the application and launching it, you will receive a quick tutorial. You need to enable the permissions required by the application. You’ll also have to wait for the app to download a larger language model (the app automatically selects the most powerful model that’s most likely to work well on your device). Once set up, you will start seeing suggestions.
You can configure a few things using the menu bar icon; for example, you can turn off offers in a specific app for a certain amount of time or indefinitely. This is useful if you stumble over suggestions in some apps but find them helpful in others. You can also click the Settings button to change the keyboard shortcuts for accepting suggestions.
You can also set system-wide instructions for the bot. This is essentially a block of text that the AI will use to make suggestions – the documentation suggests including information such as your name, profession, as well as any directions that the AI should follow while writing.
I’ve been using Cotypist off and on for about a week now. Every now and then, it predicts exactly where I’m going and suggests the right words, saving me a few keystrokes. However, most of the time I get distracted by these offers. Maybe it has something to do with my writing style – I type pretty quickly and usually know what the next word I’m going to type before I type it.
However, the thing about writing is that it is very personal—everyone does it a little differently. I can imagine this being a useful tool for those whose brains work a little differently than mine, or for those who have difficulty typing. If you’re wondering if this tool will fit into your workflow, I highly recommend giving it a try.