Building Parrot - My First Open Source Project

It started with frustration.

I'd be in the middle of something - reviewing code, writing documentation, debugging an issue - and I'd need to throw in the same bits of text I use every single day.

"Run a full check: lint, typecheck, build, and tests. If anything fails, fix it. I want zero errors before I commit."

"Review the project architecture: file organization, separation of concerns, module boundaries, coupling between components, state management patterns, and overall design. Identify what's good, what's bad, and what should be restructured."

"Delete dist/, target/, and node_modules/. Reinstall everything from scratch. Run a full clean build. Report any failures."

Or maybe it's not an AI prompt at all. Maybe it's a standard email reply, a code snippet, a git command you can never remember, a template you paste into every ticket. The specifics don't matter - the motion is the same.

Every time, the same ritual: switch to a browser tab, copy, switch back. Or dig through a notes file, copy, paste. It doesn't sound like much, but when you do it fifty times a day, it grinds you down.

I needed a better way and I built one.

What is Parrot?

Parrot is a lightweight, keyboard-first desktop app for Windows that lives in your system tray. You save any text you use often - prompts, snippets, templates, replies, commands - and with a single global shortcut (Ctrl+Shift+Space), you can search, select, and auto-paste it right where you were working, without ever leaving your current application.

Think of it as a power clipboard that remembers everything you reach for more than once.

It's fast, it's local, and it respects your privacy. No cloud, no accounts, no telemetry. Just a JSON file on your machine.

How it works

Parrot uses a two-process architecture. A Rust backend handles everything low-level: system tray, keyboard hooks, window positioning, clipboard, and simulated keystrokes. A React frontend provides the UI in a small, chromeless, always-on-top window.

The flow is simple:

1. You trigger Parrot via Ctrl+Shift+Space or clicking the tray icon
2. Before showing its window, Parrot captures the handle of whatever app you were in
3. You search or select the text you need using the keyboard
4. Hit Enter - Parrot hides, restores focus to your previous app, and pastes the text

The whole thing takes under a second. You barely break flow.

Features that matter

Keyboard-first navigation. Every action has a shortcut. Arrow keys to navigate, Enter to paste, Shift+Enter to copy, Ctrl+N for a new item, Ctrl+E to edit, Ctrl+D to delete. You never need to touch your mouse.

Auto-paste. Parrot captures the foreground window before opening, so when you select an item, it restores focus and simulates Ctrl+V. It works in browsers, IDEs, terminals, chat apps - anywhere that accepts paste.

Copy-only mode. Hit Shift+Enter and it copies to your clipboard without pasting. Useful for pasting into a non-standard field at your own pace.

Local and offline. Everything is stored as JSON in your app data directory. No sign-ups, no sync, no data leaving your machine.

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+Shift+Space	Toggle Parrot
↑ / ↓	Navigate items
Enter	Paste selected item
Shift+Enter	Copy to clipboard (no paste)
Ctrl+N	New item
Ctrl+E	Edit selected item
Ctrl+D	Delete selected item
Escape	Close / go back

The tech

Parrot is built with Tauri v2 - a framework that wraps a web frontend in a native Rust binary. The result is a tiny installer (under 5MB), low memory usage, and full access to system APIs.

The stack:

• Frontend: React, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, Vite
• Backend: Rust, Tauri v2, Windows API (windows crate)
• Storage: Local JSON files
• Packaging: NSIS installer

If you're on Windows and find yourself copying the same things repeatedly, give it a try. And if you find it useful, leave a star on the repo - it means a lot.

GitHub

Install Parrot