Import & Export Data

Import and Export Data require a paid plan. Pro unlocks them. On the free plan the buttons are replaced by an upgrade prompt.

Overview

Vowen stores your customisations in a single JSON file you can export, share, and re-import on another machine. The same file format is used whether you are:

Migrating from one computer to another
Sharing a curated pack of expansions with your team
Building a starter pack programmatically, for example by asking an LLM to generate one

The importer never overwrites existing items. Anything that already exists in your settings, matched by shortcut, name, or trigger, is skipped. Only new items are added.

This is a one-off file transfer, not an ongoing mirror. If you want your data kept in step automatically across machines, use Cloud Sync instead. Note that neither feature carries Memory items.

Where the buttons are

Import Data and Export Data are two buttons on a Data card at the bottom of Settings > Account. There is no Data section in the settings sidebar. The card is titled Data, subtitled “Back up or restore your dictionary, threads, and voice shortcuts”, and sits below your plan and profile cards.

How to import

Open the Data card

Settings > Account, then scroll to the bottom.

Click Import Data

Drop your .json file onto the dropzone, or click to browse.

Review the preview

Vowen shows a count of each item type found in the file. The Import button stays disabled if the file contains nothing importable.

Click Import

Expansions and custom utility hotkeys go live immediately, with no restart.

How to export

Open the Data card

Settings > Account, then scroll to the bottom.

Click Export Data

Choose where to save the resulting .json file. The default name is vowen-export-<date>.json.

The export includes every customisation listed in the file format below.

File format

An import file is a single JSON object.

{
  "_vowen": true,
  "version": 1,
  "exportedAt": "2026-06-01T12:00:00.000Z",
  "appVersion": "import",
  "dictionary": [],
  "threads": [],
  "workflows": { "builtin": [], "custom": [] },
  "expansions": [],
  "customUtilities": []
}

Top-level keys

Key	Type	Required	Notes
`_vowen`	boolean	yes	Must be present and truthy. The importer rejects files without this marker.
`dictionary`	array	yes	Vocabulary words. May be `[]`.
`threads`	array	yes	Text replacement rules. May be `[]`.
`workflows`	object	yes	Must contain a `custom` array. `builtin` is optional.
`expansions`	array	no	Text expansion shortcuts. Treated as `[]` if absent.
`customUtilities`	array	no	Custom utility hotkeys. Treated as `[]` if absent.
`version`	number	no	File-format version. Informational; not read.
`exportedAt`	string	no	ISO 8601 timestamp. Informational; not read.
`appVersion`	string	no	Informational; not read.

Vowen’s own export always writes all nine keys, and including them all is the safest thing to do when hand-authoring a file. Only _vowen, dictionary, threads and workflows are actually validated. If any of dictionary, threads, or workflows is missing, the import is rejected with “This file doesn’t appear to be a Vowen export.”

Expansions (rich text supported)

Expansions are the most flexible item type and the only one alongside threads that supports rich text (bold, lists, links, headings, colors, highlights, alignment).

Schema

{
  "shortcut": ":email",
  "body": "<p>[email protected]</p>",
  "format": "html",
  "replacement": "[email protected]",
  "enabled": true,
  "isBuiltin": false,
  "createdAt": 1780409992000
}

Field	Required	Description
`shortcut`	yes	The trigger you’ll type. Should start with `:` (e.g. `:sig`) so the expander recognizes it. Triggers must be unique.
`body`	one of	The content to paste. Either plain text or an HTML fragment depending on `format`. At least one of `body` or `replacement` must be non-empty.
`replacement`	one of	Plain-text fallback. Used by apps that don’t support rich paste (Terminal, code editors, single-line inputs). For `format: "plain"` this should equal `body`.
`format`	no	`"plain"`, `"markdown"`, or `"html"`. Defaults are applied by the app if absent.
`enabled`	no	`true` to activate the expansion immediately on import.
`isBuiltin`	no	Always `false` for user-imported expansions.
`createdAt`	no	Unix timestamp in milliseconds. Used only for sort order.

Vowen’s own export writes every field, and including them all is recommended.

Shortcuts already present in your settings are skipped on import, matched exactly and case-sensitively. If you want to update an existing expansion, delete it first in the app, then re-import.

Per-expansion variables arrays survive import and are still honoured. The global variable library is not part of the export file, so shared variable definitions do not transfer between machines. Expansions whose bodies reference {{tokens}} still import fine and will prompt for those values when used.

Plain expansions

{
  "shortcut": ":addr",
  "body": "123 Main Street, Suite 400, New York, NY 10001",
  "format": "plain",
  "replacement": "123 Main Street, Suite 400, New York, NY 10001",
  "enabled": true,
  "isBuiltin": false,
  "createdAt": 1780409992000
}

For plain expansions, body and replacement are identical.

Rich-text expansions (HTML)

When format is "html", the body is parsed as an HTML fragment by Vowen’s rich editor and the rich version is placed on the OS clipboard. Apps that read the rich slot (Gmail, Notion, Apple Mail, Slack rich compose, Word, Google Docs) receive the formatted version; apps that only read plain text (Terminal, code editors, <input> fields) get replacement.

Supported HTML

Vowen’s editor is built on Tiptap with the StarterKit, Link, TextStyle, Color, Highlight, and TextAlign extensions. The following tags round-trip cleanly:

Element	HTML
Paragraph	`<p>...</p>`
Line break	`<br />`
Bold	`<strong>...</strong>`
Italic	`<em>...</em>`
Strikethrough	`<s>...</s>`
Inline code	`<code>...</code>`
Code block	`<pre><code>...</code></pre>`
Heading	`<h1>...</h1>`, `<h2>...</h2>`, `<h3>...</h3>`
Bulleted list	`<ul><li>...</li></ul>`
Numbered list	`<ol><li>...</li></ol>`
Link	`<a href="https://example.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">...</a>`
Coloured text	`<span style="color: #ff0000">...</span>`
Highlight	`<mark>...</mark>`
Alignment	`<p style="text-align: center">...</p>`
Blockquote	`<blockquote><p>...</p></blockquote>`
Horizontal rule	`<hr>`

Special characters

Use HTML entities inside body for any character that has meaning in HTML:

Character	Entity	Use in
`<`	`<`	Anywhere literal `<` should appear
`>`	`>`	Anywhere literal `>` should appear
`&`	`&`	Anywhere literal `&` should appear
`"`	`"`	Inside attribute values
£	`£`	Or use the literal character
‘ ’	`‘` `’`	Smart single quotes
“ ”	`“` `”`	Smart double quotes

In replacement (plain text) you can use the literal characters directly, with no escaping needed.

Rich expansion example

{
  "shortcut": ":pay",
  "body": "<p>You can pay by PayPal or Bank Transfer.</p><p><strong>PayPal:</strong> <a href=\"https://www.paypal.me/example\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https://www.paypal.me/example</a></p><p><strong>Bank Details:</strong></p><ul><li>Account Holder: Example Ltd</li><li>Sort Code: 401234</li><li>Account Number: 12345678</li></ul>",
  "format": "html",
  "replacement": "You can pay by PayPal or Bank Transfer.\n\nPayPal: https://www.paypal.me/example\n\nBank Details:\n• Account Holder: Example Ltd\n• Sort Code: 401234\n• Account Number: 12345678",
  "enabled": true,
  "isBuiltin": false,
  "createdAt": 1780409992000
}

Dynamic tokens

Both plain and html bodies support these tokens, which are resolved at expansion time:

Token	Resolves to
`{{DATE}}`	ISO date (e.g. `2026-06-01`)
`{{TIME}}`	24-hour time (e.g. `14:30`)
`{{DATE:<key>}}`	A preset date format (see the Add Expansion modal in-app for available keys)
`{{TIME:<key>}}`	A preset time format

Other item types

Dictionary

Vocabulary words that bias transcription accuracy.

{
  "text": "Anthropic"
}

text is the only field read. Existing words are skipped by case-insensitive match on text; ids and timestamps are regenerated on import.

Dictionary import discards misspellings. Export writes a word’s misspellings array, but the importer rebuilds each entry from its text alone, so misspelling aliases do not survive the round trip. After importing a dictionary on a new machine, re-add misspellings in the Add Word dialog. See Dictionary.

Threads

Voice-triggered text replacements applied after transcription.

{
  "trigger": "my address",
  "replacement": "123 Main Street, Suite 400, New York, NY 10001",
  "body": "123 Main Street, Suite 400, New York, NY 10001",
  "format": "plain"
}

trigger and replacement must both be strings. format is "plain" unless it is exactly "html"; body falls back to replacement when absent. Threads also support rich text (format: "html" with body as HTML), following the same conventions as expansions. Existing threads are skipped when both trigger and replacement match exactly, case-sensitively.

Voice Shortcuts

{
  "builtin": [
    { "id": "google", "enabled": true }
  ],
  "custom": [
    {
      "name": "Standup",
      "trigger": "standup",
      "icon": "Globe",
      "urls": ["https://meet.google.com/abc-defg-hij"],
      "apps": [],
      "folders": [],
      "openAppsWithFolder": false,
      "webhook": null,
      "script": null,
      "browser": null,
      "enabled": true,
      "type": "custom"
    }
  ]
}

Custom voice shortcuts open websites, applications, and folders, and optionally fire a webhook or run a script. They are not AI prompts, and they have no prompt or model field.

Field	Required	Description
`name`	yes	Used for duplicate detection. Entries without it are skipped.
`trigger`	yes	The phrase you speak, lowercase.
`icon`	no	A lucide icon name.
`urls` / `apps` / `folders`	no	Arrays of things to open. At least one of these, or `webhook`/`script`, should be non-empty for the voice shortcut to do anything.
`openAppsWithFolder`	no	Open the listed apps alongside the folder.
`webhook` / `script`	no	Pro actions. `null` when unused.
`browser`	no	A specific browser and profile, or `null` for the system default.
`enabled`	no	`true` to activate on import.
`type`	no	`"custom"`.

Custom voice shortcuts created in the app are stored under their trigger and do not carry a name field, but the importer requires one for duplicate detection. If you are re-importing your own export, add a name to each custom voice shortcut, most simply by copying its trigger. Entries without a name are skipped silently and will not appear in the added count.

builtin entries only flip the enabled state of voice shortcuts that ship with Vowen; unknown ids are ignored, and builtin toggles are not shown in the import preview. custom entries are added as new voice shortcuts; existing ones are skipped by case-insensitive name match.

Custom utilities

{
  "name": "Fix Grammar",
  "templateId": "fix_grammar",
  "prompt": "",
  "hotkey": { "modifiers": ["Meta", "Shift"], "keys": ["G"], "enabled": true },
  "context": { "selectedText": true, "clipboard": true },
  "outputAction": "banner",
  "enabled": true,
  "createdAt": 1780409992000
}

Field	Required	Description
`name`	yes	Used for duplicate detection.
`templateId`	no	One of `polish_text`, `email_rewrite`, `fix_grammar`, `make_professional`, `summarize`, `bullet_points`, or `custom`.
`prompt`	no	Only used when `templateId` is `"custom"`. Presets resolve their own prompt, so leave it as `""`. May reference `{{selected_text}}` and `{{clipboard}}`.
`hotkey`	no	An object, not a string. `modifiers` uses DOM names: `"Meta"`, `"Control"`, `"Alt"`, `"Shift"`.
`context`	no	Which inputs the utility receives.
`outputAction`	no	`"banner"`.
`enabled`	no	`true` to activate on import.

Existing utilities are skipped by case-insensitive name match. After import, the keyboard hook is automatically re-registered with the new hotkeys, so they work immediately.

Validation rules

The importer checks, in order:

The file extension must be .json, or you get “Not a JSON file.”
The file must parse as valid JSON, or you get “Not a valid JSON file.”
_vowen must be present and truthy, and dictionary, threads and workflows must all exist, or you get “This file doesn’t appear to be a Vowen export.”
dictionary and threads must be arrays, workflows must be an object containing a custom array, or you get “The file format is invalid.”

Malformed individual entries are silently skipped rather than failing the whole import. They are not counted in the skipped total either, so a file with bad entries can report fewer items than it contained.

Minimal example (just expansions)

A valid file can contain expansions only. The three validated keys must still be present:

{
  "_vowen": true,
  "version": 1,
  "exportedAt": "2026-06-01T00:00:00.000Z",
  "appVersion": "import",
  "dictionary": [],
  "threads": [],
  "workflows": { "builtin": [], "custom": [] },
  "expansions": [
    {
      "shortcut": ":sig",
      "body": "<p>Best,</p><p><strong>Jane Doe</strong><br>[email protected]</p>",
      "format": "html",
      "replacement": "Best,\nJane Doe\n[email protected]",
      "enabled": true,
      "isBuiltin": false,
      "createdAt": 1780409992000
    }
  ],
  "customUtilities": []
}

Bulk export of notes and transcripts

Bulk export is a Pro feature.

Import & Export Data covers your configuration. To get your content out, select multiple items on the Notes or Transcribe page and click Export in the bulk action bar. Available formats: md, txt, pdf, and, when the selected items carry subtitle timing, srt and vtt. Items without real timing are skipped rather than exported with invented timestamps. The result is a single zip, named vowen-notes-<date>.zip or vowen-transcriptions-<date>.zip, laid out like this:

README.txt
index.json
notes/
  2026-06-01_0930_weekly-planning/
    summary.md
    transcript.md
  ...

README.txt explains what the archive contains and how it is organized.
index.json is a machine-readable manifest listing every exported item with its id, title, timestamp, folder name, and whether it has a summary and a transcript. It also records anything that was skipped, and why.
Each item gets its own dated folder containing summary.<ext> and transcript.<ext>. Manual transcriptions only ever have a transcript.

Watch folders

Point Vowen at a folder and have audio dropped into it transcribed automatically.

Sharing notes

Publish a meeting note as a link instead of exporting a file.

Generating a file with an LLM

Hand your list of shortcuts, in any format (a spreadsheet, a Word doc, a wiki page), to ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or any other LLM along with the prompt below. The model produces a ready-to-import .json file.

Copy the prompt below verbatim, paste your source material under My shortcuts at the bottom, and ask the model to return only the JSON inside a code block. Save the response as vowen-import.json and drop it into Vowen’s Import Data dialog.

You are building an import file for Vowen, a desktop dictation app that
supports text expansions. I will give you a list of shortcuts and their
expanded responses. Your job is to produce a single JSON file conforming
exactly to the schema below.

# File shape (all keys required)

```json
{
  "_vowen": true,
  "version": 1,
  "exportedAt": "<ISO 8601 timestamp>",
  "appVersion": "import",
  "dictionary": [],
  "threads": [],
  "voice shortcuts": { "builtin": [], "custom": [] },
  "expansions": [ /* one object per shortcut */ ],
  "customUtilities": []
}
```

# Each expansion object

```json
{
  "shortcut": ":example",
  "body": "<HTML fragment>",
  "format": "html",
  "replacement": "<plain text fallback>",
  "enabled": true,
  "isBuiltin": false,
  "createdAt": <unix ms, increment by 1 per expansion>
}
```

# Rules for `body` when format is "html"

- Wrap each paragraph in `<p>...</p>`.
- Use `<strong>` for bold, `<em>` for italic, `<a href="URL" rel="noopener noreferrer">URL</a>` for links.
- Bulleted lists: `<ul><li>item</li><li>item</li></ul>`.
- Numbered lists: `<ol><li>item</li></ol>`.
- Headings: `<h1>` to `<h3>`.
- Escape `<`, `>`, `&` as `&lt;`, `&gt;`, `&amp;` inside text.
- Use `&pound;` for £, `&lsquo;`/`&rsquo;` for ‘ ’, `&ldquo;`/`&rdquo;` for “ ”.
- Do NOT wrap the whole body in `<html>` or `<body>` tags.

# Rules for `replacement`

- A plain-text equivalent of `body` with no HTML tags.
- Use real line breaks (`\n` in JSON strings) between paragraphs.
- Use `• ` to mark bulleted list items.
- Keep URLs as plain text.

# Rules for `shortcut`

- Must start with `:`.
- Use only lowercase letters, digits, and underscores after the `:`.
- Keep it short and mnemonic. If the source uses `:foo**bar**baz` style
  formatted text, treat the bold markers as cosmetic and concatenate
  the letters: `:foobarbaz`.
- Must be unique across the whole file.

# Output

Return ONLY the final JSON file inside a single ```json fenced block.
No preface, no explanation, no trailing prose.

# My shortcuts

<paste your list here — table, doc, or freeform>

Troubleshooting

This file doesn't appear to be a Vowen export

The file is missing _vowen or one of the three validated keys (dictionary, threads, workflows). Check that all keys from the file format section are present, even as empty arrays.

The file format is invalid

One of the required keys exists but is the wrong type. dictionary and threads must be arrays; workflows must be an object containing a custom array.

Not a valid JSON file

The file doesn’t parse as JSON. Common causes: trailing commas, unescaped quotes inside body strings, smart quotes around keys. Paste the file into a JSON validator to locate the syntax error.

Import succeeded but some items are missing

Items whose shortcut, trigger, or name already exists are skipped; the success toast shows how many were added. Delete the existing entry in the app first if you want to replace it. Two other causes: custom voice shortcuts without a name are dropped silently, and dictionary misspellings are always discarded.

The Import button is greyed out

The file parsed but contained no importable items. A file that only flips built-in voice shortcut states shows a count of zero, because builtin toggles are not included in the preview.

Rich-text expansion pastes as plain text

The target app doesn’t support rich paste (Terminal, code editors, single-line inputs). Vowen falls back to the replacement string in these apps, which is expected behavior.

Get Started

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Navigating Vowen

Integrations

Your Data

Platform Guides

More

Import & Export Data

Overview

Where the buttons are

How to import

How to export

File format

Top-level keys

Expansions (rich text supported)

Schema

Plain expansions

Rich-text expansions (HTML)

Supported HTML

Special characters

Rich expansion example

Dynamic tokens

Other item types

Dictionary

Threads

Voice Shortcuts

Custom utilities

Validation rules

Minimal example (just expansions)

Bulk export of notes and transcripts

Watch folders

Sharing notes

Generating a file with an LLM

Troubleshooting

​Overview

​Where the buttons are

​How to import

​How to export

​File format

​Top-level keys

​Expansions (rich text supported)

​Schema

​Plain expansions

​Rich-text expansions (HTML)

​Supported HTML

​Special characters

​Rich expansion example

​Dynamic tokens

​Other item types

​Dictionary

​Threads

​Voice Shortcuts

​Custom utilities

​Validation rules

​Minimal example (just expansions)

​Bulk export of notes and transcripts

​Related

Watch folders

Sharing notes

​Generating a file with an LLM

​Troubleshooting

Overview

Where the buttons are

How to import

How to export

File format

Top-level keys

Expansions (rich text supported)

Schema

Plain expansions

Rich-text expansions (HTML)

Supported HTML

Special characters

Rich expansion example

Dynamic tokens

Other item types

Dictionary

Threads

Voice Shortcuts

Custom utilities

Validation rules

Minimal example (just expansions)

Bulk export of notes and transcripts

Related

Generating a file with an LLM

Troubleshooting