diff --git a/src/utils/katevariableexpansionhelpers.cpp b/src/utils/katevariableexpansionhelpers.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..14e0f9f8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/utils/katevariableexpansionhelpers.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,296 @@
+/* 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 "katevariableexpansionhelpers.h"
+
+#include <KTextEditor/Editor>
+#include <KTextEditor/Application>
+#include <KTextEditor/MainWindow>
+#include "kateglobal.h"
+#include <KLocalizedString>
+
+#include <QAbstractItemModel>
+#include <QAction>
+#include <QEvent>
+#include <QHelpEvent>
+#include <QLabel>
+#include <QLineEdit>
+#include <QListView>
+#include <QTextEdit>
+#include <QToolTip>
+#include <QVBoxLayout>
+
+/**
+ * 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;
+}
+
+namespace KateMacroExpander
+{
+
+QString 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;
+}
+
+}
+
+class VariableItemModel : public QAbstractItemModel
+{
+public:
+    VariableItemModel(QObject *parent = nullptr)
+        : QAbstractItemModel(parent)
+    {
+    }
+
+    QModelIndex index(int row, int column, const QModelIndex &parent = QModelIndex()) const override
+    {
+        if (parent.isValid() ||
+            row < 0 ||
+            row >= m_variables.size())
+        {
+            return {};
+        }
+
+        return createIndex(row, column);
+    }
+
+    QModelIndex parent(const QModelIndex &index) const override
+    {
+        Q_UNUSED(index)
+        // flat list -> we never have parents
+        return {};
+    }
+
+    int rowCount(const QModelIndex &parent = QModelIndex()) const override
+    {
+        return parent.isValid() ? 0 : m_variables.size();
+    }
+
+    int columnCount(const QModelIndex &parent = QModelIndex()) const override
+    {
+        Q_UNUSED(parent)
+        return 3; // name | description | current value
+    }
+
+    QVariant data(const QModelIndex &index, int role = Qt::DisplayRole) const override
+    {
+        if (!index.isValid()) {
+            return {};
+        }
+
+        const auto & var = m_variables[index.row()];
+        switch (role) {
+            case Qt::DisplayRole: {
+                const QString suffix = var.isPrefixMatch() ? i18n("<value>") : QString();
+                return QString(var.name() + suffix);
+            }
+            case Qt::ToolTipRole: return var.description();
+        }
+
+        return {};
+    }
+
+    void setVariables(const QVector<KTextEditor::Variable> &variables)
+    {
+        beginResetModel();
+        m_variables = variables;
+        endResetModel();
+    }
+
+private:
+    QVector<KTextEditor::Variable> m_variables;
+};
+
+KateVariableExpansionDialog::KateVariableExpansionDialog(QWidget *parent)
+    : QDialog(parent, Qt::Tool)
+    , m_showAction(new QAction(QIcon::fromTheme(QStringLiteral("code-context")), i18n("Insert variable"), this))
+    , m_variableModel(new VariableItemModel(this))
+    , m_listView(new QListView(this))
+{
+    setWindowTitle(i18n("Variables"));
+
+    auto vbox = new QVBoxLayout(this);
+    vbox->addWidget(m_listView);
+    m_listView->setModel(m_variableModel);
+    m_listView->setUniformItemSizes(true);
+
+    auto lblDescription = new QLabel(i18n("Please select a variable."), this);
+    auto lblCurrentValue = new QLabel(this);
+
+    vbox->addWidget(lblDescription);
+    vbox->addWidget(lblCurrentValue);
+
+    // react to selection changes
+    connect(m_listView, &QAbstractItemView::activated, [this, lblDescription, lblCurrentValue](const QModelIndex &index) {
+        if (index.isValid()) {
+            const auto & var = m_variables[index.row()];
+            lblDescription->setText(var.description());
+            if (var.isPrefixMatch()) {
+                lblCurrentValue->setText(i18n("Current value: %1<value>", var.name()));
+            } else {
+                auto activeView = KTextEditor::Editor::instance()->application()->activeMainWindow()->activeView();
+                const auto value = var.evaluate(var.name(), activeView);
+                lblCurrentValue->setText(i18n("Current value: %1", value));
+            }
+        } else {
+            lblDescription->setText(i18n("Please select a variable."));
+            lblCurrentValue->clear();
+        }
+    });
+
+    // insert text on activation
+    connect(m_listView, &QAbstractItemView::doubleClicked, [this, lblDescription, lblCurrentValue](const QModelIndex &index) {
+        if (index.isValid()) {
+            const auto & var = m_variables[index.row()];
+            const auto name = QStringLiteral("%{") + var.name() + QLatin1Char('}');
+
+            if (parentWidget() && parentWidget()->window()) {
+                auto currentWidget = parentWidget()->window()->focusWidget();
+                if (auto lineEdit = qobject_cast<QLineEdit*>(currentWidget)) {
+                    lineEdit->insert(name);
+                } else if (auto textEdit = qobject_cast<QTextEdit*>(currentWidget)) {
+                    textEdit->insertPlainText(name);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    });
+
+    // show dialog whenever the action is clicked
+    connect(m_showAction, &QAction::triggered, [this](){
+        show();
+        activateWindow();
+    });
+}
+
+void KateVariableExpansionDialog::addVariable(const KTextEditor::Variable& variable)
+{
+    Q_ASSERT(variable.isValid());
+    m_variables.push_back(variable);
+
+    m_variableModel->setVariables(m_variables);
+}
+
+int KateVariableExpansionDialog::isEmpty() const
+{
+    return m_variables.isEmpty();
+}
+
+void KateVariableExpansionDialog::addWidget(QWidget *widget)
+{
+    m_widgets.push_back(widget);
+    widget->installEventFilter(this);
+
+    connect(widget, &QObject::destroyed, this, &KateVariableExpansionDialog::onObjectDeleted);
+}
+
+void KateVariableExpansionDialog::onObjectDeleted(QObject* object)
+{
+    m_widgets.removeAll(object);
+    if (m_widgets.isEmpty()) {
+        deleteLater();
+    }
+}
+
+bool KateVariableExpansionDialog::eventFilter(QObject *watched, QEvent *event)
+{
+    switch (event->type()) {
+        case QEvent::FocusIn: {
+            if (auto lineEdit = qobject_cast<QLineEdit*>(watched)) {
+                lineEdit->addAction(m_showAction, QLineEdit::TrailingPosition);
+            }
+            break;
+        }
+        case QEvent::FocusOut: {
+            if (auto lineEdit = qobject_cast<QLineEdit*>(watched)) {
+                lineEdit->removeAction(m_showAction);
+            }
+            break;
+        }
+        case QEvent::ToolTip: {
+            QString inputText;
+            if (auto lineEdit = qobject_cast<QLineEdit*>(watched)) {
+                inputText = lineEdit->text();
+            }
+            QString toolTip;
+            if (!inputText.isEmpty()) {
+                auto activeView = KTextEditor::Editor::instance()->application()->activeMainWindow()->activeView();
+                KTextEditor::Editor::instance()->expandText(inputText, activeView, toolTip);
+            }
+
+            if (!toolTip.isEmpty()) {
+                auto helpEvent = static_cast<QHelpEvent*>(event);
+                QToolTip::showText(helpEvent->globalPos(), toolTip, qobject_cast<QWidget*>(watched));
+                event->accept();
+                return true;
+            }
+            break;
+        }
+        default: break;
+    }
+
+    auto parentWindow = parentWidget()->window();
+    const bool keepVisible = isActiveWindow() || m_widgets.contains(parentWindow->focusWidget());
+    if (!keepVisible) {
+        hide();
+    }
+
+    return QDialog::eventFilter(watched, event);
+}
+
+// kate: space-indent on; indent-width 4; replace-tabs on;