An Espanso alternative for AI prompts, with no config files
Espanso is a free, open source text expander for Windows, Linux and macOS. You write each snippet in a YAML file as a trigger and its replacement, such as :br for your sign off, and typing the trigger anywhere swaps in the text. Alt and Space opens a search bar for your snippets. To use the same snippets on two computers, you move the config folder into Dropbox or another synced folder and link to it (checked on espanso.org on September 28, 2026).
Where Prompt Petal is different
- No files to edit. Write a prompt in a window, give it a name and an icon, and it is a petal. Change it the same way.
- Made for AI prompts. Select some text first and it goes into the prompt, so Rewrite works on the paragraph you just highlighted. Improve rewrites a prompt so it works better.
- Your phone and watch too. A prompt keyboard on iPhone, iPad and Android, and your prompts on Apple Watch and Wear OS.
- Sync built in. With Pro, sign in with your email and your prompts are on your Mac, PC and phone, encrypted on your device before they leave.
- Inside your AI apps. Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code and Codex can use your prompts over MCP, with Pro.
Bring your snippets
Put each snippet in a Markdown file under a heading with its name, such as ## Sign off, then import the file with Pro. Prompt Petal also imports notes, Word, Excel, CSV and JSON.
When Espanso is the better fit
If you work on Linux, want everything in plain files you keep in Git, or like writing scripts that run when a trigger fires, Espanso is built for that, and it is free.