10 Autocorrect Tips for Mac That Actually Work

Most Mac users never configure autocorrect beyond the default settings. These 10 tips take under 10 minutes total to set up and meaningfully improve accuracy - reducing false positives, increasing coverage in the apps where you actually write, and saving real time every day.

1. Add Your Name and Surname to Your Personal Dictionary

Open any app, type your first and last name, right-click the underlined word, and select Learn Spelling. macOS adds the word to your personal dictionary immediately and stops flagging it in every app. Do the same for your middle name if you use it. This takes 30 seconds and permanently eliminates the most common false positive most people see every day.

2. Add Your Company Name and Product Names

Any branded term that autocorrect does not recognise becomes a source of friction the moment you type it. Right-click and Learn Spelling for your company name, your product names, and any brand names you reference regularly in your work. If you work in tech, add tool names like Figma, Vercel, or Terraform - anything spell check does not know. Each addition takes five seconds and applies globally across every native Mac app.

3. Add Your City, Neighbourhood, and Address Terms

Place names are a particularly common source of autocorrect errors because they rarely appear in standard dictionary training data. Add your city, suburb, neighbourhood, and any street names you write regularly. If your address includes a directional term like SW or NE that autocorrect capitalises incorrectly, add the correct form via Learn Spelling. For real estate, sales, or operations roles where addresses appear constantly, this step saves consistent daily friction.

4. Build 5-10 Text Replacements for Your Most-Typed Long Phrases

Go to System Settings, Keyboard, then Text Input and click Edit. Add triggers for the phrases you type most: ;;sig for your full email signature, ;;addr for your mailing address, ;;mob for your mobile number, ;;meet for your video call link. Use a double semicolon prefix (;;) to avoid accidental triggers. Configuring 5 personal dictionary entries and 5 Text Replacements saves roughly 3 minutes of typing and correction time per day - compounding across every working day of the year.

5. Turn On "Capitalize Words Automatically" in System Settings

Navigate to System Settings, Keyboard, Text Input. Enable the Capitalize words automatically option if it is not already on. This ensures sentence-opening words are capitalised even when you type quickly and miss the shift key. It is a simple toggle with immediate, permanent benefit and no downside for most writing workflows.

6. Turn Off Autocorrect in Terminal

macOS autocorrect in Terminal causes real problems. It can substitute command names, flags, and file paths with incorrect words mid-entry, leading to errors that are difficult to diagnose. Open Terminal, go to Preferences, and disable autocorrect under the Profiles settings. Alternatively, disable it system-wide for Terminal via the Edit menu. This is one of the few contexts where turning autocorrect off is the right call - it does not help in code contexts and actively creates risk.

7. Install Charm to Get Correction in Slack, VS Code, and Discord

Electron apps - including Slack, VS Code, Discord, Notion desktop, and dozens of others - bypass Apple's NSSpellChecker framework entirely. macOS autocorrect, Text Replacements, and your personal dictionary all go silent in these apps. Charm uses the macOS Accessibility API instead of NSSpellChecker, which means it reaches text fields that the built-in system cannot. Installing Charm adds spelling correction (Spells), grammar correction (Polish), and word prediction (Oracle) to every Electron app on your Mac, closing the most significant gap in any Mac writing setup.

8. Configure Charm Per-App: Turn Spells Off in Code Editors

Charm allows per-app configuration via its menu bar icon. Click the icon while the app you want to configure is in focus and toggle each feature independently. In code editors like VS Code and Xcode, Spells (spelling correction) creates false positives on variable names and syntax. Turn Spells off for code editors while keeping it on for Mail, Slack, and other prose-writing contexts. Polish (grammar correction) and Oracle (word prediction) can also be enabled or disabled per app based on where they help versus interrupt.

9. Use Charm Oracle for Word Prediction in Your Primary Writing App

Oracle is Charm's word prediction feature. It surfaces completions as you type - shown with a purple glow - and you accept them by pressing Tab. Over time it learns your vocabulary and phrase patterns. In email, Slack, and other high-volume short-text contexts, Oracle reduces keystrokes for common phrases significantly. Enable it in your primary writing app (Mail, Slack, Notion) and use it for a week before evaluating whether it suits your rhythm. Many users find it particularly useful for repetitive phrasing in professional communication.

10. Review Your Personal Dictionary Once a Month

Personal dictionaries accumulate noise over time. Words added by accident, old project names that no longer apply, and typos that were learned instead of corrected all reduce the dictionary's accuracy. In any app, go to Edit, Spelling and Grammar, and open the Spelling panel - from there you can access and edit your learned words list. A monthly 5-minute review keeps the dictionary clean and maintains high autocorrect accuracy. A cluttered personal dictionary is one of the most common reasons autocorrect starts behaving unexpectedly over time.

Frequently asked questions

How do I make autocorrect better on Mac?

The fastest improvements come from three actions: adding your name, company, and product names to your personal dictionary via right-click Learn Spelling; setting up 5-10 Text Replacements for your most-typed long phrases; and installing Charm to get correction in Electron apps like Slack and VS Code that macOS autocorrect cannot reach.

How do I turn off autocorrect for specific words on Mac?

Right-click the word while it is underlined as a spelling error and select Learn Spelling. This adds it to your personal dictionary and stops macOS from flagging it. For words autocorrect substitutes incorrectly, you can add them via System Settings under Keyboard - Text Replacements, or use Charm's per-app configuration to disable Spells in specific apps.

Does Mac autocorrect work in Slack?

No. macOS built-in autocorrect uses Apple's NSSpellChecker framework, which Electron apps like Slack bypass entirely. You will notice no autocorrect or spell check underlines in the Slack desktop app. Charm uses the Accessibility API instead, which does reach Slack and all other Electron apps.

What is the fastest way to improve autocorrect on Mac?

Adding your own name, surname, company name, and a few specialist terms to your personal dictionary takes about 2 minutes and eliminates the most common false positives. Setting up 5 Text Replacements for your most-typed long phrases is the second-highest return action. Configuring 5 personal dictionary entries and 5 Text Replacements saves roughly 3 minutes per day.

How do I see my autocorrect settings on Mac?

Open System Settings, go to Keyboard, then click Text Input and Edit next to your language. Here you can toggle autocorrect, autocapitalization, and Text Replacements on or off, and view your full list of shortcuts. Your personal dictionary is managed via Edit menu - Spelling and Grammar in any app.