Replacely

· 4 min read

How to insert today's date with a keyboard shortcut on Mac, in any app

macOS Text Replacements can't insert today's date. Here's how to do it with the free Shortcuts app, or with Espanso, Raycast and other expanders, in any app.

The short answer

The built-in Text Replacements feature can't do it, because each shortcut maps to fixed text. The free option is Apple's Shortcuts app. Build a shortcut that outputs the current date, turn on Provide Output, and give it a keyboard shortcut. It works in most apps but not all. For a typed trigger like :date that works almost everywhere, use a text expander. Espanso is free and has a :date shortcut in its default config.

Why Text Replacements can't do this

In System Settings > Keyboard > Text Replacements, each entry is a shortcut and a fixed phrase. Apple's guide to text replacements doesn't mention any date or variable option. If you type a date in the phrase field, you get that same date forever.

Option 1: the Shortcuts app, free and built in

iDownloadBlog published step-by-step instructions in September 2025 and tested the result in many apps. The steps:

  1. Open the Shortcuts app and click + to create a new shortcut.
  2. Search for the Text action and add it.
  3. In the text field, type "Current" and pick Current Date from the suggestions.
  4. Click the date token and choose a date format. Set the time format to None if you only want the date.
  5. Open the shortcut's details with the info button and turn on Provide Output.
  6. Click Add Keyboard Shortcut and press the keys you want.
  7. Name the shortcut and close the window.

Now press your key combination in a text field and the date appears.

Choosing the keys

Pick a combination no app already uses. The article suggests Control+Option+Command+D and warns that simple ones may fail in some apps, Chrome included. In an Apple Community thread on the same question, one poster pointed out that Cmd+D is already taken in apps like Finder and Pages. Another found Control+D worked in Mail's To field but not in the message body. Cmd+Option+D worked for one poster there.

Where it works

In iDownloadBlog's tests the shortcut worked in Notes, Pages, Google Chrome, Firefox, Calendar, Mail, Reminders, Safari, Simplenote, Slack and TextEdit. It did not work in Messages or the Journal app. Numbers worked when naming a sheet but not in cells. If the key combination does nothing, the article's fallback is to click into a text field and run the shortcut from the app's Services menu. Apple's Shortcuts guide covers running shortcuts from other apps, including from the Services menu.

Option 2: a text expander

A text expander lets you type a trigger such as :date and replaces it with the date as you type. You don't need a key combination, and you can have several formats.

Espanso, free

Espanso is open source. Its default match file already includes a :date trigger that prints the date in %m/%d/%Y format, so it works as soon as you install it. To change the format, edit the format value in that match. Espanso's docs on the date extension link to the full list of format codes. For example, %Y-%m-%d gives 2026-11-05.

Raycast, free for personal use

Raycast snippets can include dynamic placeholders. Create a snippet with the keyword ;date and set its text to {date}. Raycast's placeholder docs show custom formats such as {date format="yyyy-MM-dd"} and offsets such as {date offset="+2y +5M"} for future dates. Snippets are included in Raycast's free plan.

Paid options

App-specific shortcuts

Some apps have their own date commands, which are worth knowing even if you set up one of the options above.

Which one I'd pick

If you only need a date now and then, the Shortcuts app costs nothing and is already on your Mac. If you type dates every day, or in several formats, a text expander is less fiddly. Espanso's :date works the moment it's installed. If you already use Raycast as a launcher, add the snippet there.

Summary