A 'lean' Espanso configuration with personalization variables

This is a small, simple repository for use with Espanso. Feel free to take these as inspiration or use them directly.

a "full featured" version of this repo with LOTS more match files is located here: Espanso-pub

Key features

_global_vars.yml

This is a file at the root of Espanso's configuration directory that holds a lot of useful variables that can be customized for easy reference in any other expansions you create.

(lightly) modified default.yml file

The _global_vars file is referenced in config/default.yml which allows any other yaml files in the match directory to use those expansions. So you can use {{myusername}} in any replacement or variable in another file.

Additional default config changes

• The shortcut key to disable/enable Espanso is mapped to the RIGHT_ALT key.
• Search shortcut has been mapped to ctrl alt space This also includes a lot of date/time format variables.

additional match files

base_pub

(these are not required for use of the _global_vars and default.ymlfiles but they do demonstrate the capabilities.) Contains some basic triggers that reference the time/date variables, as well as some other triggers that make it easier to interact with Espanso's files.

• Of particular note is is the :editmatch trigger which opens a list of Espanso Match files and opens the file in the editor of your choice (set in the _global_vars file).

Semi-colon leader for many triggers

This is definitely a personal preference, but I like to have my replacements accessed without the need to hold the shift key if possible. I have a few that use the Espanso-conventional colon (":") but they are generally reserved for more 'system-literal' types of actions.

Installation

⚠️First backup your Espanso config directory

The simplest way to use this configuration is to clone this repository and then copy the contents of this folder into their respective locations in your Espanso directory.

If you do not backup your default.yml file this one will overwrite it. If you do not want to overwrite this file, simply add the lines

extra_includes:
  - "../_global_vars.yml"

(be cautious of indentation)

Edit _global_vars.yml

In your preferred text editor, open the _global_vars.yml file and edit the "echo" field to your preferences.

Ignoring the _global_vars

If you have any expansion files you would like to ignore the global variables, include the text line

  excludes: 
    - "../_global_vars.yml"

to the top of the YAML file (at least above the "matches:" line).