diff --git a/src/CMakeLists.txt b/src/CMakeLists.txt
--- a/src/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -196,8 +196,9 @@
 utils/katedefaultcolors.cpp
 utils/katecommandrangeexpressionparser.cpp
 utils/katesedcmd.cpp
-utils/katemacroexpander.cpp
 utils/variable.cpp
+utils/katevariableexpansionmanager.cpp
+utils/katevariableexpansionhelpers.cpp
 
 # schema
 schema/kateschema.cpp
diff --git a/src/include/ktexteditor/editor.h b/src/include/ktexteditor/editor.h
--- a/src/include/ktexteditor/editor.h
+++ b/src/include/ktexteditor/editor.h
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
 #include <ktexteditor_export.h>
 
 #include <QObject>
+#include <QVector>
 
 class KAboutData;
 class KConfig;
@@ -293,6 +294,8 @@
      */
     bool unregisterVariableMatch(const QString& variable);
 
+    // TODO KF6: merge "unregisterVariableMatch()" and "unregisterVariablePrefix()" into
+    //           a single function "unregisterVariable(const QString& name)".
     /**
      * Unregisters a prefix of variable that was previously registered with
      * registerVariableMatch().
@@ -313,14 +316,30 @@
      */
     bool expandVariable(const QString& variable, KTextEditor::View* view, QString& output) const;
 
+    // TODO KF6: turn expandText into: QString expandText(text, view) to avoid output argument
     /**
      * Expands arbitrary @p text that may contain arbitrary many variables.
      * On success, the expanded text is written to @p output.
      *
      * @since 5.57
      */
     void expandText(const QString& text, KTextEditor::View* view, QString& output) const;
 
+    /**
+     * Adds a QAction to the widget in @p widgets that whenever focus is
+     * gained. When the action is invoked, a non-modal dialog is shown that
+     * lists all @p variables. If @p variables is non-empty, then only the
+     * variables in @p variables are listed.
+     *
+     * The supported QWidgets in the @p widgets argument currently are:
+     * - QLineEdit
+     * - QTextEdit
+     *
+     * @since 5.63
+     */
+    void addVariableExpansion(const QVector<QWidget*>& widgets,
+                              const QStringList& variables = QStringList()) const;
+
 private:
     /**
      * private d-pointer, pointing to the internal implementation
diff --git a/src/utils/kateglobal.h b/src/utils/kateglobal.h
--- a/src/utils/kateglobal.h
+++ b/src/utils/kateglobal.h
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@
 class KateAbstractInputModeFactory;
 class KateKeywordCompletionModel;
 class KateDefaultColors;
+class KateVariableExpansionManager;
 
 namespace KTextEditor
 {
@@ -422,6 +423,11 @@
      */
     void saveSearchReplaceHistoryModels();
 
+    /**
+     * Returns the variable expansion manager.
+     */
+    KateVariableExpansionManager *variableExpansionManager();
+
 Q_SIGNALS:
     /**
      * Emitted if the history of clipboard changes via copyToClipboard
@@ -505,6 +511,11 @@
      */
     KateCmd *m_cmdManager;
 
+    /**
+     * variable expansion manager
+     */
+    KateVariableExpansionManager *m_variableExpansionManager;
+
     /**
      * spell check manager
      */
@@ -555,16 +566,6 @@
      */
     QStringListModel *m_searchHistoryModel;
     QStringListModel *m_replaceHistoryModel;
-
-    /**
-     * Contains a lookup from the variable to the Variable instance.
-     */
-    QHash<QString, KTextEditor::Variable> m_variableExactMatches;
-
-    /**
-     * Contains a lookup from the variable prefix to the Variable instance.
-     */
-    QHash<QString, KTextEditor::Variable> m_variablePrefixMatches;
 };
 
 }
diff --git a/src/utils/kateglobal.cpp b/src/utils/kateglobal.cpp
--- a/src/utils/kateglobal.cpp
+++ b/src/utils/kateglobal.cpp
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@
 #include "spellcheck/spellcheck.h"
 #include "katepartdebug.h"
 #include "katedefaultcolors.h"
+#include "katevariableexpansionmanager.h"
 
 #include "katenormalinputmodefactory.h"
 #include "kateviinputmodefactory.h"
@@ -56,119 +57,13 @@
 #include <QBoxLayout>
 #include <QApplication>
 #include <QClipboard>
-#include <QDir>
-#include <QFileInfo>
-#include <QJSEngine>
 #include <QPushButton>
 #include <QStringListModel>
-#include <QUuid>
 
 #if LIBGIT2_FOUND
 #include <git2.h>
 #endif
 
-namespace {
-
-void registerVariables(KTextEditor::Editor * editor)
-{
-    editor->registerVariableMatch(QStringLiteral("Document:FileBaseName"), i18n("File base name without path and suffix of the current document."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
-        const auto url = view ? view->document()->url().toLocalFile() : QString();
-        return QFileInfo(url).baseName();
-    });
-    editor->registerVariableMatch(QStringLiteral("Document:FileExtension"), i18n("File extension of the current document."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
-        const auto url = view ? view->document()->url().toLocalFile() : QString();
-        return QFileInfo(url).completeSuffix();
-    });
-    editor->registerVariableMatch(QStringLiteral("Document:FileName"), i18n("File name without path of the current document."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
-        const auto url = view ? view->document()->url().toLocalFile() : QString();
-        return QFileInfo(url).fileName();
-    });
-    editor->registerVariableMatch(QStringLiteral("Document:FilePath"), i18n("Full path of the current document including the file name."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
-        const auto url = view ? view->document()->url().toLocalFile() : QString();
-        return QFileInfo(url).absoluteFilePath();
-    });
-    editor->registerVariableMatch(QStringLiteral("Document:Text"), i18n("Contents of the current document."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
-        return view ? view->document()->text() : QString();
-    });
-    editor->registerVariableMatch(QStringLiteral("Document:Path"), i18n("Full path of the current document excluding the file name."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
-        const auto url = view ? view->document()->url().toLocalFile() : QString();
-        return QFileInfo(url).absolutePath();
-    });
-    editor->registerVariableMatch(QStringLiteral("Document:NativeFilePath"), i18n("Full document path including file name, with native path separator (backslash on Windows)."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
-        const auto url = view ? view->document()->url().toLocalFile() : QString();
-        return url.isEmpty() ? QString() : QDir::toNativeSeparators(QFileInfo(url).absoluteFilePath());
-    });
-    editor->registerVariableMatch(QStringLiteral("Document:NativePath"), i18n("Full document path excluding file name, with native path separator (backslash on Windows)."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
-        const auto url = view ? view->document()->url().toLocalFile() : QString();
-        return url.isEmpty() ? QString() : QDir::toNativeSeparators(QFileInfo(url).absolutePath());
-    });
-    editor->registerVariableMatch(QStringLiteral("Document:Cursor:Line"), i18n("Line number of the text cursor position in current document (starts with 0)."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
-        return view ? QString::number(view->cursorPosition().line()) : QString();
-    });
-    editor->registerVariableMatch(QStringLiteral("Document:Cursor:Column"), i18n("Column number of the text cursor position in current document (starts with 0)."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
-        return view ? QString::number(view->cursorPosition().column()) : QString();
-    });
-    editor->registerVariableMatch(QStringLiteral("Document:Cursor:XPos"), i18n("X component in global screen coordinates of the cursor position."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
-        return view ? QString::number(view->mapToGlobal(view->cursorPositionCoordinates()).x()) : QString();
-    });
-    editor->registerVariableMatch(QStringLiteral("Document:Cursor:YPos"), i18n("Y component in global screen coordinates of the cursor position."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
-        return view ? QString::number(view->mapToGlobal(view->cursorPositionCoordinates()).y()) : QString();
-    });
-    editor->registerVariableMatch(QStringLiteral("Document:Selection:Text"), i18n("Text selection of the current document."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
-        return (view && view->selection()) ? view->selectionText() : QString();
-    });
-    editor->registerVariableMatch(QStringLiteral("Document:Selection:StartLine"), i18n("Start line of selected text of the current document."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
-        return (view && view->selection()) ? QString::number(view->selectionRange().start().line()) : QString();
-    });
-    editor->registerVariableMatch(QStringLiteral("Document:Selection:StartColumn"), i18n("Start column of selected text of the current document."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
-        return (view && view->selection()) ? QString::number(view->selectionRange().start().column()) : QString();
-    });
-    editor->registerVariableMatch(QStringLiteral("Document:Selection:EndLine"), i18n("End line of selected text of the current document."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
-        return (view && view->selection()) ? QString::number(view->selectionRange().end().line()) : QString();
-    });
-    editor->registerVariableMatch(QStringLiteral("Document:Selection:EndColumn"), i18n("End column of selected text of the current document."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
-        return (view && view->selection()) ? QString::number(view->selectionRange().end().column()) : QString();
-    });
-    editor->registerVariableMatch(QStringLiteral("Document:RowCount"), i18n("Number of rows of the current document."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
-        return view ? QString::number(view->document()->lines()) : QString();
-    });
-
-    editor->registerVariableMatch(QStringLiteral("Date:Locale"), i18n("The current date in current locale format."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View*) {
-        return QDate::currentDate().toString(Qt::DefaultLocaleShortDate);
-    });
-    editor->registerVariableMatch(QStringLiteral("Date:ISO"), i18n("The current date (ISO)."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View*) {
-        return QDate::currentDate().toString(Qt::ISODate);
-    });
-    editor->registerVariablePrefix(QStringLiteral("Date:"), i18n("The current date (QDate formatstring)."), [](const QStringView& str, KTextEditor::View*) {
-        return QDate::currentDate().toString(str.mid(5));
-    });
-
-    editor->registerVariableMatch(QStringLiteral("Time:Locale"), i18n("The current time in current locale format."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View*) {
-        return QTime::currentTime().toString(Qt::DefaultLocaleShortDate);
-    });
-    editor->registerVariableMatch(QStringLiteral("Time:ISO"), i18n("The current time (ISO)."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View*) {
-        return QTime::currentTime().toString(Qt::ISODate);
-    });
-    editor->registerVariablePrefix(QStringLiteral("Time:"), i18n("The current time (QTime formatstring)."), [](const QStringView& str, KTextEditor::View*) {
-        return QTime::currentTime().toString(str.mid(5));
-    });
-
-    editor->registerVariablePrefix(QStringLiteral("ENV:"), i18n("Access to environment variables."), [](const QStringView& str, KTextEditor::View*) {
-        return QString::fromLocal8Bit(qgetenv(str.mid(4).toLocal8Bit().constData()));
-    });
-
-    editor->registerVariablePrefix(QStringLiteral("JS:"), i18n("Evaluate simple JavaScript statements."), [](const QStringView& str, KTextEditor::View*) {
-        QJSEngine jsEngine;
-        const QJSValue out = jsEngine.evaluate(str.toString());
-        return out.toString();
-    });
-
-    editor->registerVariableMatch(QStringLiteral("UUID"), i18n("Generate a new UUID."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View*) {
-        return QUuid::createUuid().toString(QUuid::WithoutBraces);
-    });
-}
-}
-
 //BEGIN unit test mode
 static bool kateUnitTestMode = false;
 
@@ -274,6 +169,11 @@
     //
     m_cmdManager = new KateCmd();
 
+    //
+    // variable expansion manager
+    //
+    m_variableExpansionManager = new KateVariableExpansionManager(this);
+
     //
     // hl manager
     //
@@ -332,9 +232,6 @@
 
     // tap to QApplication object for color palette changes
     qApp->installEventFilter(this);
-
-    // register default variables for expansion
-    registerVariables(this);
 }
 
 KTextEditor::EditorPrivate::~EditorPrivate()
@@ -358,6 +255,10 @@
     // cu model
     delete m_wordCompletionModel;
 
+    // delete variable expansion manager
+    delete m_variableExpansionManager;
+    m_variableExpansionManager = nullptr;
+
     // delete the commands before we delete the cmd manager
     qDeleteAll(m_cmds);
     delete m_cmdManager;
@@ -540,6 +441,11 @@
     return m_cmdManager->commandList();
 }
 
+KateVariableExpansionManager *KTextEditor::EditorPrivate::variableExpansionManager()
+{
+    return m_variableExpansionManager;
+}
+
 void KTextEditor::EditorPrivate::updateColorPalette()
 {
     // update default color cache
diff --git a/src/utils/katemacroexpander.h b/src/utils/katemacroexpander.h
deleted file mode 100644
--- a/src/utils/katemacroexpander.h
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,44 +0,0 @@
-/* This file is part of the KDE project
- *
- *  Copyright 2019 Dominik Haumann <dhaumann@kde.org>
- *
- *  This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
- *  modify it under the terms of the GNU Library General Public
- *  License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
- *  version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
- *
- *  This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
- *  but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
- *  MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
- *  Library General Public License for more details.
- *
- *  You should have received a copy of the GNU Library General Public License
- *  along with this library; see the file COPYING.LIB.  If not, write to
- *  the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor,
- *  Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA.
- */
-#ifndef KTEXTEDITOR_MACRO_EXPANDER_H
-#define KTEXTEDITOR_MACRO_EXPANDER_H
-
-#include <QString>
-
-namespace KTextEditor
-{
-    class View;
-}
-
-/**
- * Helper for macro expansion.
- */
-namespace KateMacroExpander
-{
-    /**
-     * Expands the @p input text based on the @p view.
-     * @return the expanded text.
-     */
-    QString expandMacro(const QString& input, KTextEditor::View* view);
-}
-
-#endif // KTEXTEDITOR_MACRO_EXPANDER_H
-
-// kate: space-indent on; indent-width 4; replace-tabs on;
diff --git a/src/utils/katemacroexpander.cpp b/src/utils/katemacroexpander.cpp
deleted file mode 100644
--- a/src/utils/katemacroexpander.cpp
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,73 +0,0 @@
-/* This file is part of the KDE project
- *
- *  Copyright 2019 Dominik Haumann <dhaumann@kde.org>
- *
- *  This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
- *  modify it under the terms of the GNU Library General Public
- *  License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
- *  version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
- *
- *  This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
- *  but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
- *  MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
- *  Library General Public License for more details.
- *
- *  You should have received a copy of the GNU Library General Public License
- *  along with this library; see the file COPYING.LIB.  If not, write to
- *  the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor,
- *  Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA.
- */
-#include "katemacroexpander.h"
-
-#include <KTextEditor/Editor>
-
-/**
- * Find closing bracket for @p str starting a position @p pos.
- */
-static int findClosing(QStringView str, int pos = 0)
-{
-    const int len = str.size();
-    int nesting = 0;
-
-    while (pos < len) {
-        ++pos;
-        const QChar c = str[pos];
-        if (c == QLatin1Char('}')) {
-            if (nesting == 0) {
-                return pos;
-            }
-            nesting--;
-        } else if (c == QLatin1Char('{')) {
-            nesting++;
-        }
-    }
-    return -1;
-}
-
-QString KateMacroExpander::expandMacro(const QString& input, KTextEditor::View* view)
-{
-    QString output = input;
-    QString oldStr;
-    do {
-        oldStr = output;
-        const int startIndex = output.indexOf(QLatin1String("%{"));
-        if (startIndex < 0) {
-            break;
-        }
-
-        const int endIndex = findClosing(output, startIndex + 2);
-        if (endIndex <= startIndex) {
-            break;
-        }
-
-        const int varLen = endIndex - (startIndex + 2);
-        QString variable = output.mid(startIndex + 2, varLen);
-        variable = expandMacro(variable, view);
-        if (KTextEditor::Editor::instance()->expandVariable(variable, view, variable)) {
-            output.replace(startIndex, endIndex - startIndex + 1, variable);
-        }
-    } while (output != oldStr); // str comparison guards against infinite loop
-    return output;
-}
-
-// kate: space-indent on; indent-width 4; replace-tabs on;
diff --git a/src/utils/katevariableexpansionhelpers.h b/src/utils/katevariableexpansionhelpers.h
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/utils/katevariableexpansionhelpers.h
@@ -0,0 +1,101 @@
+/* This file is part of the KDE project
+ *
+ *  Copyright 2019 Dominik Haumann <dhaumann@kde.org>
+ *
+ *  This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ *  modify it under the terms of the GNU Library General Public
+ *  License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+ *  version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ *  This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ *  but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ *  MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ *  Library General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ *  You should have received a copy of the GNU Library General Public License
+ *  along with this library; see the file COPYING.LIB.  If not, write to
+ *  the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor,
+ *  Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA.
+ */
+#ifndef KTEXTEDITOR_VARIABLE_EXPANSION_HELPERS_H
+#define KTEXTEDITOR_VARIABLE_EXPANSION_HELPERS_H
+
+#include <QDialog>
+#include <QPointer>
+#include <QString>
+#include <QVector>
+
+#include "variable.h"
+
+class QListView;
+class VariableItemModel;
+
+namespace KTextEditor
+{
+    class View;
+    class Variable;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Helper for macro expansion.
+ */
+namespace KateMacroExpander
+{
+    /**
+     * Expands the @p input text based on the @p view.
+     * @return the expanded text.
+     */
+    QString expandMacro(const QString& input, KTextEditor::View* view);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Helper dialog that shows a non-modal dialog listing all available
+ * variables. If the user selects a variable, the variable is inserted
+ * into the respective widget.
+ */
+class KateVariableExpansionDialog : public QDialog
+{
+public:
+    KateVariableExpansionDialog(QWidget *parent);
+
+    /**
+     * Adds @p variable to the expansion list view.
+     */
+    void addVariable(const KTextEditor::Variable& variable);
+
+    /**
+     * Returns true if no variables were added at all to the dialog.
+     */
+    int isEmpty() const;
+
+    /**
+     * Adds @p widget to the list of widgets that trigger showing this dialog.
+     */
+    void addWidget(QWidget *widget);
+
+protected:
+    /**
+     * Reimplemented for the following reasons:
+     * - Show this dialog if one of the widgets added with addWidget() has focus.
+     * - Catch the resize-event for widgets (e.g. QTextEdit) where we manually
+     *   added a clickable action in the corner
+     */
+    bool eventFilter(QObject *watched, QEvent *event) override;
+
+    /**
+     * Called whenever a widget was deleted. If all widgets are deleted,
+     * this dialog deletes itself via deleteLater().
+     */
+    void onObjectDeleted(QObject* object);
+
+private:
+    QAction *m_showAction;
+    QVector<QObject*> m_widgets;
+    QVector<KTextEditor::Variable> m_variables;
+    VariableItemModel * m_variableModel;
+    QListView *m_listView;
+};
+
+#endif // KTEXTEDITOR_VARIABLE_EXPANSION_HELPERS_H
+
+// kate: space-indent on; indent-width 4; replace-tabs on;
diff --git a/src/utils/katevariableexpansionmanager.h b/src/utils/katevariableexpansionmanager.h
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/utils/katevariableexpansionmanager.h
@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+/* This file is part of the KDE project
+ *
+ *  Copyright 2019 Dominik Haumann <dhaumann@kde.org>
+ *
+ *  This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ *  modify it under the terms of the GNU Library General Public
+ *  License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+ *  version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ *  This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ *  but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ *  MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ *  Library General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ *  You should have received a copy of the GNU Library General Public License
+ *  along with this library; see the file COPYING.LIB.  If not, write to
+ *  the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor,
+ *  Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA.
+ */
+#ifndef KTEXTEDITOR_VARIABLE_MANAGER
+#define KTEXTEDITOR_VARIABLE_MANAGER
+
+#include <QString>
+#include <QVector>
+
+#include "variable.h"
+
+namespace KTextEditor
+{
+    class View;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Manager class for variable expansion.
+ */
+class KateVariableExpansionManager : public QObject
+{
+public:
+    /**
+     * Constructor with @p parent that takes ownership.
+     */
+    KateVariableExpansionManager(QObject *parent);
+
+    /**
+     * Adds @p variable to the expansion list view.
+     */
+    bool addVariable(const KTextEditor::Variable& variable);
+
+    /**
+     * Removes variable @p name.
+     */
+    bool removeVariable(const QString &name);
+
+    /**
+     * Returns the variable called @p name.
+     */
+    KTextEditor::Variable variable(const QString &name) const;
+
+    /**
+     * Returns all registered variables.
+     */
+    const QVector<KTextEditor::Variable> &variables() const;
+
+    bool expandVariable(const QString& variable, KTextEditor::View* view, QString& output) const;
+
+    void expandText(const QString& text, KTextEditor::View* view, QString& output) const;
+
+    void showDialog(const QVector<QWidget*>& widgets, const QStringList& names) const;
+
+private:
+    QVector<KTextEditor::Variable> m_variables;
+};
+
+#endif // KTEXTEDITOR_VARIABLE_MANAGER
+
+// kate: space-indent on; indent-width 4; replace-tabs on;
diff --git a/src/utils/katevariableexpansionmanager.cpp b/src/utils/katevariableexpansionmanager.cpp
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/utils/katevariableexpansionmanager.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,273 @@
+/* This file is part of the KDE project
+ *
+ *  Copyright 2019 Dominik Haumann <dhaumann@kde.org>
+ *
+ *  This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ *  modify it under the terms of the GNU Library General Public
+ *  License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+ *  version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ *  This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ *  but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ *  MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ *  Library General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ *  You should have received a copy of the GNU Library General Public License
+ *  along with this library; see the file COPYING.LIB.  If not, write to
+ *  the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor,
+ *  Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA.
+ */
+#include "katevariableexpansionmanager.h"
+#include "katevariableexpansionhelpers.h"
+
+#include <KTextEditor/Editor>
+#include "kateglobal.h"
+
+#include <KLocalizedString>
+
+#include <QAbstractItemModel>
+#include <QListView>
+#include <QVBoxLayout>
+
+#include <QDate>
+#include <QDir>
+#include <QFileInfo>
+#include <QJSEngine>
+#include <QTime>
+#include <QUuid>
+
+static void registerVariables(KateVariableExpansionManager &mng)
+{
+    using KTextEditor::Variable;
+
+    mng.addVariable(Variable(QStringLiteral("Document:FileBaseName"), i18n("File base name without path and suffix of the current document."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
+        const auto url = view ? view->document()->url().toLocalFile() : QString();
+        return QFileInfo(url).baseName();
+    }, false));
+    mng.addVariable(Variable(QStringLiteral("Document:FileExtension"), i18n("File extension of the current document."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
+        const auto url = view ? view->document()->url().toLocalFile() : QString();
+        return QFileInfo(url).completeSuffix();
+    }, false));
+    mng.addVariable(Variable(QStringLiteral("Document:FileName"), i18n("File name without path of the current document."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
+        const auto url = view ? view->document()->url().toLocalFile() : QString();
+        return QFileInfo(url).fileName();
+    }, false));
+    mng.addVariable(Variable(QStringLiteral("Document:FilePath"), i18n("Full path of the current document including the file name."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
+        const auto url = view ? view->document()->url().toLocalFile() : QString();
+        return QFileInfo(url).absoluteFilePath();
+    }, false));
+    mng.addVariable(Variable(QStringLiteral("Document:Text"), i18n("Contents of the current document."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
+        return view ? view->document()->text() : QString();
+    }, false));
+    mng.addVariable(Variable(QStringLiteral("Document:Path"), i18n("Full path of the current document excluding the file name."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
+        const auto url = view ? view->document()->url().toLocalFile() : QString();
+        return QFileInfo(url).absolutePath();
+    }, false));
+    mng.addVariable(Variable(QStringLiteral("Document:NativeFilePath"), i18n("Full document path including file name, with native path separator (backslash on Windows)."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
+        const auto url = view ? view->document()->url().toLocalFile() : QString();
+        return url.isEmpty() ? QString() : QDir::toNativeSeparators(QFileInfo(url).absoluteFilePath());
+    }, false));
+    mng.addVariable(Variable(QStringLiteral("Document:NativePath"), i18n("Full document path excluding file name, with native path separator (backslash on Windows)."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
+        const auto url = view ? view->document()->url().toLocalFile() : QString();
+        return url.isEmpty() ? QString() : QDir::toNativeSeparators(QFileInfo(url).absolutePath());
+    }, false));
+    mng.addVariable(Variable(QStringLiteral("Document:Cursor:Line"), i18n("Line number of the text cursor position in current document (starts with 0)."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
+        return view ? QString::number(view->cursorPosition().line()) : QString();
+    }, false));
+    mng.addVariable(Variable(QStringLiteral("Document:Cursor:Column"), i18n("Column number of the text cursor position in current document (starts with 0)."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
+        return view ? QString::number(view->cursorPosition().column()) : QString();
+    }, false));
+    mng.addVariable(Variable(QStringLiteral("Document:Cursor:XPos"), i18n("X component in global screen coordinates of the cursor position."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
+        return view ? QString::number(view->mapToGlobal(view->cursorPositionCoordinates()).x()) : QString();
+    }, false));
+    mng.addVariable(Variable(QStringLiteral("Document:Cursor:YPos"), i18n("Y component in global screen coordinates of the cursor position."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
+        return view ? QString::number(view->mapToGlobal(view->cursorPositionCoordinates()).y()) : QString();
+    }, false));
+    mng.addVariable(Variable(QStringLiteral("Document:Selection:Text"), i18n("Text selection of the current document."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
+        return (view && view->selection()) ? view->selectionText() : QString();
+    }, false));
+    mng.addVariable(Variable(QStringLiteral("Document:Selection:StartLine"), i18n("Start line of selected text of the current document."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
+        return (view && view->selection()) ? QString::number(view->selectionRange().start().line()) : QString();
+    }, false));
+    mng.addVariable(Variable(QStringLiteral("Document:Selection:StartColumn"), i18n("Start column of selected text of the current document."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
+        return (view && view->selection()) ? QString::number(view->selectionRange().start().column()) : QString();
+    }, false));
+    mng.addVariable(Variable(QStringLiteral("Document:Selection:EndLine"), i18n("End line of selected text of the current document."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
+        return (view && view->selection()) ? QString::number(view->selectionRange().end().line()) : QString();
+    }, false));
+    mng.addVariable(Variable(QStringLiteral("Document:Selection:EndColumn"), i18n("End column of selected text of the current document."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
+        return (view && view->selection()) ? QString::number(view->selectionRange().end().column()) : QString();
+    }, false));
+    mng.addVariable(Variable(QStringLiteral("Document:RowCount"), i18n("Number of rows of the current document."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View* view) {
+        return view ? QString::number(view->document()->lines()) : QString();
+    }, false));
+
+    mng.addVariable(Variable(QStringLiteral("Date:Locale"), i18n("The current date in current locale format."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View*) {
+        return QDate::currentDate().toString(Qt::DefaultLocaleShortDate);
+    }, false));
+    mng.addVariable(Variable(QStringLiteral("Date:ISO"), i18n("The current date (ISO)."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View*) {
+        return QDate::currentDate().toString(Qt::ISODate);
+    }, false));
+    mng.addVariable(Variable(QStringLiteral("Date:"), i18n("The current date (QDate formatstring)."), [](const QStringView& str, KTextEditor::View*) {
+        return QDate::currentDate().toString(str.mid(5));
+    }, true));
+
+    mng.addVariable(Variable(QStringLiteral("Time:Locale"), i18n("The current time in current locale format."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View*) {
+        return QTime::currentTime().toString(Qt::DefaultLocaleShortDate);
+    }, false));
+    mng.addVariable(Variable(QStringLiteral("Time:ISO"), i18n("The current time (ISO)."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View*) {
+        return QTime::currentTime().toString(Qt::ISODate);
+    }, false));
+    mng.addVariable(Variable(QStringLiteral("Time:"), i18n("The current time (QTime formatstring)."), [](const QStringView& str, KTextEditor::View*) {
+        return QTime::currentTime().toString(str.mid(5));
+    }, true));
+
+    mng.addVariable(Variable(QStringLiteral("ENV:"), i18n("Access to environment variables."), [](const QStringView& str, KTextEditor::View*) {
+        return QString::fromLocal8Bit(qgetenv(str.mid(4).toLocal8Bit().constData()));
+    }, true));
+
+    mng.addVariable(Variable(QStringLiteral("JS:"), i18n("Evaluate simple JavaScript statements."), [](const QStringView& str, KTextEditor::View*) {
+        QJSEngine jsEngine;
+        const QJSValue out = jsEngine.evaluate(str.toString());
+        return out.toString();
+    }, true));
+
+    mng.addVariable(Variable(QStringLiteral("UUID"), i18n("Generate a new UUID."), [](const QStringView&, KTextEditor::View*) {
+        return QUuid::createUuid().toString(QUuid::WithoutBraces);
+    }, false));
+}
+
+KateVariableExpansionManager::KateVariableExpansionManager(QObject *parent)
+    : QObject(parent)
+{
+    // register default variables for expansion
+    registerVariables(*this);
+}
+
+bool KateVariableExpansionManager::addVariable(const KTextEditor::Variable& var)
+{
+    if (!var.isValid())
+        return false;
+
+    // reject duplicates
+    const auto alreadyExists = std::any_of(m_variables.begin(), m_variables.end(), [&var](const KTextEditor::Variable &v) {
+        return var.name() == v.name();
+    });
+    if (alreadyExists) {
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    // require a ':' in prefix matches (aka %{JS:1+1})
+    if (var.isPrefixMatch() && !var.name().contains(QLatin1Char(':')))
+        return false;
+
+    m_variables.push_back(var);
+    return true;
+}
+
+bool KateVariableExpansionManager::removeVariable(const QString &name)
+{
+    auto it = std::find_if(m_variables.begin(), m_variables.end(), [&name](const KTextEditor::Variable &var) {
+        return var.name() == name;
+    });
+    if (it != m_variables.end()) {
+        m_variables.erase(it);
+        return true;
+    }
+    return false;
+}
+
+KTextEditor::Variable KateVariableExpansionManager::variable(const QString &name) const
+{
+    auto it = std::find_if(m_variables.begin(), m_variables.end(), [&name](const KTextEditor::Variable &var) {
+        return var.name() == name;
+    });
+    if (it != m_variables.end()) {
+        return *it;
+    }
+    return {};
+}
+
+const QVector<KTextEditor::Variable> &KateVariableExpansionManager::variables() const
+{
+    return m_variables;
+}
+
+bool KateVariableExpansionManager::expandVariable(const QString& name, KTextEditor::View* view, QString& output) const
+{
+    // first try exact matches
+    auto var = variable(name);
+    if (!var.isValid()) {
+        // try prefix matching
+        const int colonIndex = name.indexOf(QLatin1Char(':'));
+        if (colonIndex >= 0) {
+            var = variable(name.left(colonIndex + 1));
+        }
+    }
+
+    if (var.isValid()) {
+        output = var.evaluate(name, view);
+        return true;
+    }
+
+    return false;
+}
+
+void KateVariableExpansionManager::expandText(const QString& text, KTextEditor::View* view, QString& output) const
+{
+    output = KateMacroExpander::expandMacro(text, view);
+}
+
+void KateVariableExpansionManager::showDialog(const QVector<QWidget*>& widgets, const QStringList& names) const
+{
+    // avoid any work in case no widgets or only nullptrs were provided
+    if (widgets.isEmpty() || std::all_of(widgets.cbegin(), widgets.cend(), [](const QWidget* w) { return w == nullptr; })) {
+        return;
+    }
+
+    // collect variables
+    QVector<KTextEditor::Variable> vars;
+    if (!names.isEmpty()) {
+        for (const auto & name : names) {
+            const auto var = variable(name);
+            if (var.isValid()) {
+                vars.push_back(var);
+            }
+            // else: Not found, silently ignore for now
+            //       Maybe raise a qWarning()?
+        }
+    } else {
+        vars = variables();
+    }
+
+    // if we have no vars at all, do nothing
+    if (vars.isEmpty()) {
+        return;
+    }
+
+    // find parent dialog (for taskbar sharing, centering, ...)
+    QWidget *parentDialog = nullptr;
+    for (auto widget : widgets) {
+        if (widget) {
+            parentDialog = widget->window();
+            break;
+        }
+    }
+
+    // show dialog
+    auto dlg = new KateVariableExpansionDialog(parentDialog);
+    for (auto widget : widgets) {
+        if (widget) {
+            dlg->addWidget(widget);
+        }
+    }
+
+    // add provided variables...
+    for (const auto & var : vars) {
+        if (var.isValid()) {
+            dlg->addVariable(var);
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+// kate: space-indent on; indent-width 4; replace-tabs on;
diff --git a/src/utils/ktexteditor.cpp b/src/utils/ktexteditor.cpp
--- a/src/utils/ktexteditor.cpp
+++ b/src/utils/ktexteditor.cpp
@@ -41,14 +41,14 @@
 #include "sessionconfiginterface.h"
 #include "texthintinterface.h"
 #include "variable.h"
+#include "katevariableexpansionmanager.h"
 
 #include "annotationinterface.h"
 #include "abstractannotationitemdelegate.h"
 
 #include "kateglobal.h"
 #include "kateconfig.h"
 #include "katecmd.h"
-#include "katemacroexpander.h"
 
 using namespace KTextEditor;
 
@@ -107,76 +107,39 @@
 
 bool Editor::registerVariableMatch(const QString& name, const QString& description, ExpandFunction expansionFunc)
 {
-    if (name.isEmpty() || expansionFunc == nullptr)
-        return false;
-
-    if (d->m_variableExactMatches.contains(name))
-        return false;
-
-    d->m_variableExactMatches.insert(name, Variable(name, description, expansionFunc));
-    return true;
+    const auto var = Variable(name, description, expansionFunc, false);
+    return d->variableExpansionManager()->addVariable(var);
 }
 
 bool Editor::registerVariablePrefix(const QString& prefix, const QString& description, ExpandFunction expansionFunc)
 {
-    if (prefix.isEmpty() || expansionFunc == nullptr)
-        return false;
-
-    if (d->m_variablePrefixMatches.contains(prefix))
-        return false;
-
-    if (!prefix.contains(QLatin1Char(':')))
-        return false;
-
-    d->m_variablePrefixMatches.insert(prefix, Variable(prefix, description, expansionFunc));
-    return true;
+    const auto var = Variable(prefix, description, expansionFunc, true);
+    return d->variableExpansionManager()->addVariable(var);
 }
 
 bool Editor::unregisterVariableMatch(const QString& variable)
 {
-    auto it = d->m_variableExactMatches.find(variable);
-    if (it != d->m_variableExactMatches.end()) {
-        d->m_variableExactMatches.erase(it);
-        return true;
-    }
-    return false;
+    return d->variableExpansionManager()->removeVariable(variable);
 }
 
 bool Editor::unregisterVariablePrefix(const QString& variable)
 {
-    auto it = d->m_variablePrefixMatches.find(variable);
-    if (it != d->m_variablePrefixMatches.end()) {
-        d->m_variablePrefixMatches.erase(it);
-        return true;
-    }
-    return false;
+    return d->variableExpansionManager()->removeVariable(variable);
 }
 
 bool Editor::expandVariable(const QString& variable, KTextEditor::View* view, QString& output) const
 {
-    // first try exact matches
-    const auto it = d->m_variableExactMatches.find(variable);
-    if (it != d->m_variableExactMatches.end()) {
-        output = it->evaluate(variable, view);
-        return true;
-    }
-
-    // try prefix matching
-    const int colonIndex = variable.indexOf(QLatin1Char(':'));
-    if (colonIndex >= 0) {
-        const QString prefix = variable.left(colonIndex + 1);
-        const auto itPrefix = d->m_variablePrefixMatches.find(prefix);
-        if (itPrefix != d->m_variablePrefixMatches.end()) {
-            output = itPrefix->evaluate(variable, view);
-            return true;
-        }
-    }
-    return false;
+    return d->variableExpansionManager()->expandVariable(variable, view, output);
 }
 
 void Editor::expandText(const QString& text, KTextEditor::View* view, QString& output) const
 {
-    output = KateMacroExpander::expandMacro(text, view);
+    d->variableExpansionManager()->expandText(text, view, output);
+}
+
+void Editor::addVariableExpansion(const QVector<QWidget*>& widgets, const QStringList& variables) const
+{
+    d->variableExpansionManager()->showDialog(widgets, variables);
 }
 
 bool View::insertText(const QString &text)
diff --git a/src/utils/variable.h b/src/utils/variable.h
--- a/src/utils/variable.h
+++ b/src/utils/variable.h
@@ -53,21 +53,43 @@
      */
     using ExpandFunction = QString (*)(const QStringView& text, KTextEditor::View* view);
 
+    /**
+     * Constructs an invalid Variable, see isValid().
+     */
+    Variable() = default;
+
     /**
      * Constructor defining a Variable by its @p name, its @p description, and
      * its function @p expansionFunc to expand a variable to its corresponding
-     * value.
+     * value. The parameter @p isPrefixMatch indicates whether this Variable
+     * represents an exact match (false) or a prefix match (true).
      *
      * @note The @p name should @e not be translated.
      */
-    Variable(const QString& name, const QString& description, ExpandFunction expansionFunc);
+    Variable(const QString& name, const QString& description, ExpandFunction expansionFunc, bool isPrefixMatch);
+
+    /**
+     * Copy constructor.
+     */
+    Variable(const Variable & copy) = default;
+
+    /**
+     * Assignment operator.
+     */
+    Variable & operator=(const Variable & copy) = default;
 
     /**
      * Returns true, if the name is non-empty and the function provided in the
      * constructor is not a nullptr.
      */
     bool isValid() const;
 
+    /**
+     * Returns whether this Variable represents an exact match (false) or a
+     * prefix match (true).
+     */
+    bool isPrefixMatch() const;
+
     /**
      * Returns the @p name that was provided in the constructor.
      * Depending on where the Variable is registered, this name is used to
@@ -100,6 +122,7 @@
     QString m_name;
     QString m_description;
     ExpandFunction m_function;
+    bool m_isPrefixMatch = false;
 };
 
 }
diff --git a/src/utils/variable.cpp b/src/utils/variable.cpp
--- a/src/utils/variable.cpp
+++ b/src/utils/variable.cpp
@@ -21,17 +21,23 @@
 namespace KTextEditor
 {
 
-Variable::Variable(const QString& name, const QString& description, Variable::ExpandFunction func)
+Variable::Variable(const QString& name, const QString& description, Variable::ExpandFunction func, bool isPrefixMatch)
     : m_name(name)
     , m_description(description)
     , m_function(func)
+    , m_isPrefixMatch(isPrefixMatch)
 {}
 
 bool Variable::isValid() const
 {
     return (!m_name.isEmpty()) && (m_function != nullptr);
 }
 
+bool Variable::isPrefixMatch() const
+{
+    return m_isPrefixMatch;
+}
+
 QString Variable::name() const
 {
     return m_name;