Hover now supports Custom Actions

Hover already made it easy to ask AI to explain, rewrite, summarize, translate, or fix text without leaving the app you were using. This update adds something bigger: reusable custom actions that let you turn your own prompts into one-tap workflows.

With Custom Actions, Hover becomes less of a generic assistant and more of a personal command palette for writing, editing, and thinking.

What changed

We added a full Custom Actions system across Hover:

• A new Actions tab in Settings for creating, editing, duplicating, and deleting saved prompts.
• Reusable action cards that can be named, given an icon, and paired with any instruction you want.
• Local persistence through the macOS defaults system, so your actions stay on your Mac.
• Integration into the floating Hover panel, where custom actions appear alongside the built-in presets.
• A streamlined editor for defining prompt text and choosing an icon.

Why this matters

Built-in presets are useful, but they only cover the common cases. Custom Actions make Hover adaptable to the way you actually work.

You can now save prompts for tasks like:

• "Translate this into natural French"
• "Turn this into a concise commit message"
• "Rewrite this for a more professional tone"
• "Extract action items from this text"
• "Review this code for bugs and edge cases"
• "Summarize this email and draft a reply"

The point is not just convenience. It is consistency. Instead of rewriting the same prompt every time, you create a durable action once and reuse it whenever you need it.

How it works

Custom Actions are stored locally and loaded into Hover at launch. In the floating panel, they appear alongside Hover's built-in actions like Explain, Rewrite, Summarize, Reply, Translate, Fix grammar, and Ask.

The flow is simple:

1. Select text anywhere on your Mac.
2. Trigger Hover with Command-Shift-X or the optional triple right-click gesture.
3. Choose a built-in action or one of your saved Custom Actions.
4. Hover sends the selected text plus your saved prompt to the model.
5. Review the result, then copy, paste, or replace the original selection.

That keeps the interaction fast while still giving you room to build your own workflows.

What we built

This update touched the app from top to bottom:

Settings experience

The Settings window now has a dedicated Custom Actions section. From there, you can:

• Add a new action
• Edit an existing one
• Duplicate an action as a starting point for a variant
• Delete actions you no longer need
• Pick from a set of SF Symbol icons for easier scanning

Floating panel integration

The floating response panel now merges built-in actions and saved custom actions into a single action grid. That means your personal workflows are available exactly where you expect them: at the moment you trigger Hover.

Storage

Custom Actions are stored locally in UserDefaults under a dedicated key. No account is required, and no Hover server is involved.

App wiring

The feature is wired through the app environment so the settings window, the floating panel, and the action store all share the same state cleanly.

Privacy and control

Hover is built to stay local-first. This update does not change that.

Your custom prompts are saved on-device, and the app still only sends whatever text or context you explicitly choose to the provider you configured. If you use a local model through LM Studio or Ollama, your workflows can remain entirely local.

Who this helps

This feature is useful if you:

• Reuse the same AI prompts every day
• Want a faster workflow for writing or editing
• Use Hover for multiple work modes, not just quick rewrites
• Prefer saving prompt templates instead of keeping them in notes or snippets
• Want a menu bar AI app that adapts to your habits rather than forcing a fixed set of actions

Example workflows

Here are a few good first Custom Actions:

• Rewrite as a concise product update
• Translate to French, keep the tone natural
• Summarize in three bullets
• Write a code review comment with risks and fixes
• Draft a polite reply that confirms next steps
• Extract tasks, owners, and deadlines

If you work in support, product, engineering, sales, or writing, those templates can remove a surprising amount of repetition.

What comes next

Custom Actions are the first step toward a more flexible Hover. The goal is to keep the app simple at the surface while letting power users shape it around their own workflows.

If you want to try Hover with reusable prompts, update to the latest build and open Settings to create your first action.

Get Hover here: https://hoverformac.com