Shaw-Spell

Comprehensive Shavian spelling support for macOS

Shaw-Spell provides dictionaries for Dictionary.app and system-wide spell checking for the Shavian alphabet. 75,000+ Shavian words with definitions, pronunciations, and intelligent spell checking that works in all macOS apps.

Download and learn more about the project at joro.io/shaw-spell

Building from Source

Prerequisites

# Install Xcode Command Line Tools
xcode-select --install

# Install dependencies via Homebrew
brew install hunspell      # Spell checking library
brew install python@3      # For build scripts

# Install Python dependencies
pip3 install PyYAML

# Install shave tool (for Shavian transliteration)
# See: https://github.com/Shavian-info/shave

You'll also need the Apple Dictionary Development Kit installed at /Library/Developer/Dictionary Development Kit.

Build

git clone https://github.com/cozmic72/shaw-spell.git
cd shaw-spell
git submodule update --init --recursive
make install

This builds and installs the spell checker and the dictionaries under ~/Library.

Regenerating Caches (Advanced)

The repository includes pre-built caches for faster builds. To regenerate them:

# Regenerate transliteration caches (requires shave tool)
make transliterations

# Regenerate comprehensive WordNet cache (~2 minutes)
make wordnet-cache

Note: The shave tool for Shavian transliteration is not currently publicly available but will be released soon. Until then, use the pre-built caches in data/.

Copyright

Shaw-Spell © 2025 joro.io • MIT License

Includes:

• Readlex (Shavian word data) • MIT License
• Open English WordNet 2024 (definitions) • CC BY 4.0

See LICENSE.md for complete details.