BBAutoComplete
BBAutoComplete is a text-input utility for macOS that provides word and phrase autocomplete functionality across scriptable applications. Originally created as a plugin for the BBEdit text editor (where it became built-in from version 9 onwards), the tool can be deployed as a standalone utility in any scriptable Mac app including Microsoft Word and TextWrangler. It allows users to define and maintain custom autocomplete lists, making it useful for writers, programmers and anyone who frequently types the same phrases or technical terms.
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1 suggestionBBAutoComplete has not been actively maintained in over a decade — the search results reference it as a legacy plugin originally built for BBEdit around 2014 or earlier, and there is no evidence of updates or development since then. No native Apple Silicon build appears to exist. The app will stop working when Apple removes Rosetta 2 in macOS 28 (September 2028). For most users, macOS's built-in autocomplete (accessible via F5 or Option+Escape in any standard text field) now provides the core functionality BBAutoComplete offered. If you need more sophisticated autocomplete — custom lists per project, conditional expansions, or scripting — consider switching to Scrivener (which has project-specific autocomplete for writers), Alfred (which includes powerful text expansion snippets and runs natively on Apple Silicon), or TypeIt4Me (a native Mac autocomplete tool still under active development). BBEdit itself now includes autocomplete as a built-in feature and is available as a native Apple Silicon app, so if you use BBEdit as your primary editor there is no need for a separate plugin at all.
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