Automation & Scripting

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Learn about scripting languages and automation frameworks available on the platform to automate repetitive tasks.

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Visual Intelligence: App Intent Not Found?
I'm making a PoC for Visual Intelligence integration in iOS. It's a very simple setup... the extension will always reply with a couple of static "results" just so I can verify that it's working and figure out how to handle receiving app activation from the Intents framework. The app seems to be registering the VI intent correctly, because I see my app's name in the tab list of providers for search results, but when I select my app, I always get no results. I looked at the console for the moment I'm selecting my app and seeing this error: error 16:37:09.433057-0600 duetexpertd [com.hairlessape.VisualIntelligenceProvider.VIAppIntent] Unable to get connection interface: Error Domain=LNConnectionErrorDomain Code=1100 "Unable to locate `com.hairlessape.VisualIntelligenceProvider.VIAppIntent` for the `com.apple.appintents-extension` extension point" No amount of web searching or AI interrogation has produced any headwind here. I've checked the build product and I can see the VIAppIntent.appex file in the Extensions\ folder of my app bundle. I've triple checked the bundle identifiers, code file membership, installed the app from an IPA, restarted my phone, etc. I cannot get my intent to be queried and it's very frustrating. I've put the PoC project on Github: https://github.com/JoshuaSullivan/VisualSearchForVI
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AppleScript scripts return -600 error in STP 231 for Tahoe
The AppleScript script below returns a -600 error (application not running) under STP Tahoe version 231 and macOS 26.1. It functioned flawlessly under previous STP versions under macOS 15.x and 14.x. tell application "Safari Technology Preview" tell front window set _old_tab to current tab set _new_tab to make new tab at after _old_tab set current tab to _new_tab end tell end tell The following version returns a syntax error. Tell application "System Events" Tell process "Safari Technology Preview" tell front window set _old_tab to current tab set _new_tab to make new tab at after _old_tab set current tab to _new_tab end tell end tell end tell How would these scripts need to be fixed for STP 231 for Tahoe?
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Activating application from Terminal occasionally fails on macOS 26
On macOS Tahoe 26 activating GUI apps from command-line often fails. It launches the app but not brings to the foreground as expected. For example, running the following commands in Terminal is expected to launch Pages and bring it to the foreground. open /Applications/Pages.app or osascript -e `tell application "Pages" to activate` Moreover, they sometimes not return in Terminal. These commands worked as expected until macOS 15 but no more in macOS 26. The tricky part is that this failure doesn't happen 100% of the time; it occurs randomly. However, since multiple users of my app have reported the same symptoms, and I can reproduce it not only with my app but also with apps bundled to macOS, I don't believe this is an issue specific to my environment alone. I’ve already filed this issue: FB21087054 Open version: https://github.com/1024jp/AppleFeedback/issues/87 However, I’d like to know if any workaround exists or my understanding is wrong, especially for case with osascript.
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OSLog is not working when launching the app with Siri.
I am implementing AppIntent into my application as follows: // MARK: - SceneDelegate var window: UIWindow? private var observer: NSObjectProtocol? func scene(_ scene: UIScene, willConnectTo session: UISceneSession, options connectionOptions: UIScene.ConnectionOptions) { guard let windowScene = (scene as? UIWindowScene) else { return } // Setup window window = UIWindow(windowScene: windowScene) let viewController = ViewController() window?.rootViewController = viewController window?.makeKeyAndVisible() setupUserDefaultsObserver() checkShortcutLaunch() } private func setupUserDefaultsObserver() { // use NotificationCenter to receive notifications. NotificationCenter.default.addObserver( forName: NSNotification.Name("ShortcutTriggered"), object: nil, queue: .main ) { notification in if let userInfo = notification.userInfo, let appName = userInfo["appName"] as? String { print("📱 Notification received - app is launched: \(appName)") } } } private func checkShortcutLaunch() { if let appName = UserDefaults.standard.string(forKey: "shortcutAppName") { print("🚀 App is opened from a Shortcut with the app name: \(appName)") } } func sceneDidDisconnect(_ scene: UIScene) { if let observer = observer { NotificationCenter.default.removeObserver(observer) } } } // MARK: - App Intent struct StartAppIntent: AppIntent { static var title: LocalizedStringResource = "Start App" static var description = IntentDescription("Launch the application with the command") static var openAppWhenRun: Bool = true @MainActor func perform() async throws -> some IntentResult { UserDefaults.standard.set("appName", forKey: "shortcutAppName") UserDefaults.standard.set(Date(), forKey: "shortcutTimestamp") return .result() } } // MARK: - App Shortcuts Provider struct AppShortcutsProvider: AppShortcutsProvider { static var appShortcuts: [AppShortcut] { AppShortcut( intent: StartAppIntent(), phrases: [ "let start \(.applicationName)", ], shortTitle: "Start App", systemImageName: "play.circle.fill" ) } } the app works fine when starting with shortcut. but when starting with siri it seems like the log is not printed out, i tried adding a code that shows a dialog when receiving a notification from userdefault but it still shows the dialog, it seems like the problem here is when starting with siri there is a problem with printing the log. I tried sleep 0.5s in the perform function and the log was printed out normally try? await Task.sleep(nanoseconds: 500_000_000) // 0.5 seconds I have consulted some topics and they said that when using Siri, Intent is running completely separately and only returns the result to Siri, never entering the Main App. But when set openAppWhenRun to true, it must enter the main app, right? Is there any way to find the cause and completely fix this problem?
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applescript vs. keynote
hello, i'm having a strange problem with applescript+keynote. when i try to use system events to invoke menu commands via a script like click menu item "Copy Animation" of menu bar item "Format" of menu bar 1 (inside of enough tell...-brackets). the problem seems to boil down to the fact that (at least on my computer) the following script returns {} tell application "System Events" tell process "Keynote" return entire contents of menu bar 1 click menu item "Copy Animation" of menu bar item "Format" of menu bar 1 end tell end tell this script works for every app i've tried it for, but not keynote, where it always returns {} i see two possibilities: keynote is fundamentally broken in a way that its menu bar circumvents the canonical process to make a menu bar, or keynote is broken on my machine, in which case (i already reinstalled) i'm wondering what i can do to restore a good version. thanks for any help in advance peter purgathofer
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Customizing section titles in the Shortcuts app (Favorites / Recents style)
Hi everyone, I’m currently experimenting with App Intents and I’m trying to customize the section titles that appear at the top of groups of intents inside the Shortcuts app UI. For example, in the Phone shortcut, there are built-in sections such as “Call Favorite Contacts” and “Call Recent Contacts” (see screenshot attached). Apple’s own system apps such as Phone, Notes, and FaceTime seem to have fully custom section headers inside Shortcuts with icon. My question is: 👉 Is there an API available that allows third-party apps to define these titles (or sections) programmatically? I went through the AppIntents and Shortcuts documentation but couldn’t find anything. From what I can tell, this might be private / Apple-only behavior, but I’d be happy to know if anybody has found a supported solution or a recommended alternative. Has anyone dealt with this before? Thanks! Mickaël 🇫🇷
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AppIntent ignores registered dependencies when awaited
App intent has a perform method that is async and can throw an error, but I can't find a way to actually await the result and catch the error if needed. If I convert this working but non-waiting, non-catching code: Button("Go", intent: MyIntent()) to this (so I can control awaiting and error handling): Button("Go") { Task { do { try await MyIntent().perform() // 👈 } catch { print(error) } } } It crashes: AppDependency with key "foo" of type Bar.Type was not initialized prior to access. Dependency values can only be accessed inside of the intent perform flow and within types conforming to _SupportsAppDependencies unless the value of the dependency is manually set prior to access. Although it is invalid since the first version is working like a charm and dependencies are registered in the @main App init method and it is in the perform flow. So how can we await the result of the AppIntent and handle the errors if needed in the app? Should I re-invent the Dependency mechanism?
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Cannot make my app appear in “Share with App” action in Shortcuts – How to allow receiving images from Shortcuts?
Hi, I’m trying to integrate my iOS app with Shortcuts. My goal is: In the Shortcuts app → Create a shortcut → Select an image → Share the image directly to my app for analysis. However, when I try to add the “Share with App” / “Open in App” / “Send to App” action in Shortcuts: My app does NOT appear in the list of available apps. I want my app to be selectable so that Shortcuts can send an image (UIImage / file) to my app. What I have tried My app supports receiving images using UIActivityViewController and Share Extension. I created an App Intents extension (AppIntent + @Parameter(file)...) but the app still does not appear in Shortcuts “Share with App”. I also checked the Info.plist but didn’t find any permission related to Shortcuts. The app is installed on the device and works normally. My question What permission, Info.plist entry, or capability is required so that my app becomes visible in the Shortcuts app as a target for image sharing? More specifically: Which extension type should be used for receiving images from Shortcuts? App Intents Extension? Share Extension? Intent Extension? Do I need a specific NSExtensionPointIdentifier for Shortcuts integration? Do I need to declare a custom Uniform Type Identifier (UTI) or add supported content types so Shortcuts knows my app can handle images? Are there any required entitlements / capabilities to make the app appear inside the “Share with App” action? Goal Summary I simply want: Shortcuts → Pick Image → Send to My App → App receives the image and processes it. But currently my app cannot be selected in Shortcuts. Thanks in advance for any guidance!
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AppleScript, Do Shell. How do I write the "test" command to the "script editor"?
Hello. How to write this command correctly on a Macbook, in the script editor, so that I can click the "Run script" button and the script will give the result: if there is no folder, then report that there is no folder, if there is a folder, then report that the folder exists. do shell script "test -d 'Users/user/Desktop/New folder'" Now, if the folder exists, an empty string ("") is returned, if the folder does not exist, the script editor reports that an error has occurred. In general, my task is to write a script that checks the existence of a folder.
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Oct ’25
Help with app automation permissions
Hi, I am trying to make an app that uses Spotify's web API to play songs. For the web API to work, Spotify needs to be running, and my Mac has to be recognized as an active device. For my Mac to be recognized as an active device, I have to play a song for a very short amount of time (under a second). I want to make my app automatically do that on launch. I already wrote the AppleScript in Automator, and it worked. It successfully launched Spotify, played a song for 0.5 seconds, then hid itself. After writing the code, I tried to implement it into my app to run on startup, but I ran into a problem. The app only started the Spotify app on my mac, and gave me an error that told me it wasn't running. What do I do? Is this an issue with the permissions of the app, or something else? I have given the app the "Apple Events" entitlement. This is the error I am getting. Note that the app opens Spotify, after which it gives me this. Error: { NSAppleScriptErrorAppName = Spotify; NSAppleScriptErrorBriefMessage = "Application isn\U2019t running."; NSAppleScriptErrorMessage = "Spotify got an error: Application isn\U2019t running."; NSAppleScriptErrorNumber = "-600"; NSAppleScriptErrorRange = "NSRange: {31, 8}"; } This is the function I am trying to use to do the actions with Spotify: func runAppleScript() { let appleScript = """ tell application "Spotify" activate if player state is not playing then play track "spotify:track:5XSKC4d0y0DfcGbvDOiL93" delay 1 pause end if end tell tell application "System Events" tell process "Spotify" set frontmost to true delay 1 keystroke "h" using {command down} end tell end tell """ var error: NSDictionary? if let scriptObject = NSAppleScript(source: appleScript) { scriptObject.executeAndReturnError(&error) } if let error = error { print("Error: \(error)") } } Any help is appreciated. Thank you in advance.
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Jan ’25
EntityStringQuery does not show variable menu in Shortcuts app
(Public dupe of FB16477656) The Shortcuts app allows you to parameterise the input for an action using variables or allowing "Ask every time". This option DOES NOT show when conforming my AppEntity.defaultQuery Struct to EntityStringQuery: But it DOES shows when confirming to EntityQuery: As discussed on this forum post (or FB13253161) my AppEntity.defaultQuery HAS TO confirm to EntityStringQuery to allow for searching by String from Siri Voice input. To summarise: With EntityQuery: My Intent looks like it supports variables via the Shortcuts app. But will end up in an endless loop because there is no entities(matching string: String) function. This will allow me to choose an item via the Shorcuts.app UI With EntityStringQuery: My Intent does not support variables via the Shortcuts app. I am not allows to choose an item via the Shorcuts.app UI. Even weirder, if i set up the shortcut with using a build with EntityQuery and then do another build with EntityStringQuery it works as expected. Code: /* Works with Siri to find a match, doesn't show "Ask every time" */ public struct WidgetStationQuery: EntityStringQuery { public init() { } public func entities(matching string: String) async throws -> [Station] { let stations = [Station(id: "car", name: "car"), Station(id: "bike", name: "bike")] return stations.filter { $0.id.lowercased() == string.lowercased() } } public func entities(for identifiers: [Station.ID]) async throws -> [Station] { let stations = [Station(id: "car", name: "car"), Station(id: "bike", name: "bike")] return stations.filter { identifiers.contains($0.id.lowercased()) } } public func suggestedEntities() async throws -> [Station] { return [Station(id: "car", name: "car"), Station(id: "bike", name: "bike")] } public func defaultResult() async -> Station? { try? await suggestedEntities().first } } /* DOES NOT work with Siri to find a match, but Shortcuts shows "Ask every time" */ public struct WidgetBrokenStationQuery: EntityQuery { public init() { } public func entities(matching string: String) async throws -> [Station] { let stations = [Station(id: "car", name: "car"), Station(id: "bike", name: "bike")] return stations.filter { $0.id.lowercased() == string.lowercased() } } public func entities(for identifiers: [Station.ID]) async throws -> [Station] { let stations = [Station(id: "car", name: "car"), Station(id: "bike", name: "bike")] return stations.filter { identifiers.contains($0.id.lowercased()) } } public func suggestedEntities() async throws -> [Station] { return [Station(id: "car", name: "car"), Station(id: "bike", name: "bike")] } public func defaultResult() async -> Station? { try? await suggestedEntities().first } }```
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Jun ’25
"Not authorized to send Apple events to Terminal
We are trying to open an application "xyz.app" It worked fine until 15.1.1 versions. But facing issues with 15.2 and 15.3 The application is working fine when we navigate to xyz.app/Contents/MacOS/ and run applet in this directory. But the error "Not authorized to send Apple events to Terminal" occurs when we are trying to open the app directly. We have tried with all the available solutions like giving full disk access to terminal and application, adding my application to automation in privacy and security tabs in settings. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
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Feb ’25
Automator error when running Watch Me Do-created script
Hi everyone, I'm trying to use Automator to batch process PDF files. I have hundreds of academic journal article PDFs whose page sizes vary from 5x7 inches to A4 format (8.27 x 11.69 inches). I want to scale all the PDFs to US Letter size (8.5 x 11.0 inches) such that smaller originals remain 100% scale but are centered on the larger page and larger originals are scaled down to fit the page. Manually opening a PDF in Preview.app, scaling it to US Letter paper, and using the Save as PDF option is producing the desired output for me. I captured my workflow using the Watch Me Do action in Automator, then adjusted it into the following AppleScript. -- a Get Specified Finder Items action to specify the input PDFs precedes this script on run {input, parameters} repeat with filePath in input -- Open the file in Preview tell application "Preview" open filePath activate end tell -- Give Preview some time to open the file delay 2.0 -- Press ⌘P set timeoutSeconds to 0.25 set uiScript to "keystroke \"p\" using command down" my doWithTimeout(uiScript, timeoutSeconds) -- Click the “Scale to Fit:” radio button. delay 2.0 set timeoutSeconds to 2.0 set uiScript to "click radio button \"Scale to Fit:\" of radio group 1 of group 1 of group 2 of scroll area 2 of splitter group 1 of sheet 1 of window 1 of application process \"Preview\"" my doWithTimeout(uiScript, timeoutSeconds) -- Click the “<fill in title>” menu button. delay 4.0 set timeoutSeconds to 2.000000 set uiScript to "click menu button 1 of group 2 of splitter group 1 of sheet 1 of window 1 of application process \"Preview\"" my doWithTimeout( uiScript, timeoutSeconds ) -- Save as PDF… delay 2.0 set timeoutSeconds to 2.0 set uiScript to "click menu item 2 of menu 1 of splitter group 1 of sheet 1 of window 1 of application process \"Preview\"" my doWithTimeout(uiScript, timeoutSeconds) -- Click the “Save” button. delay 8.0 set timeoutSeconds to 2.0 set uiScript to "click UI Element \"Save\" of sheet 1 of sheet 1 of window 1 of application process \"Preview\"" my doWithTimeout(uiScript, timeoutSeconds) -- Press ⌘W to close the file delay 0.25 set timeoutSeconds to 2.0 set uiScript to "keystroke \"w\" using command down" my doWithTimeout(uiScript, timeoutSeconds) end repeat return input end run on doWithTimeout(uiScript, timeoutSeconds) set endDate to (current date) + timeoutSeconds repeat try run script "tell application \"System Events\" " & uiScript & " end tell" exit repeat on error errorMessage if ((current date) > endDate) then error "Can not " & uiScript end if end try end repeat end doWithTimeout My problem arises at the Save as PDF step. When this action runs, I see the PDF menu pop open: but the Save as PDF... menu item doesn't get clicked. Instead, I get an error: Can anyone advise on how to overcome this error?
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Feb ’25
Add the ability to remove/delete chats in the ChatGPT app using shortcuts
So Recently I’ve been making shortcuts and I noticed that I can prompt chatgpt with shortcuts to add extra functionality, I like this idea but there is 1 flaw with it and that is there is no ability to remove chats automatically, I suppose this would be fine except every time the shortcut is run it creates a new chat, usually I would have made it to remove the chat after the shortcut is finished, but since I can’t the chats would pile up as there is no way of getting rid of them automatically and it would be tedious to manually delete all the chats. also sorry if I chose the wrong topic and subtopic, I couldn’t find a topic about shortcuts
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469
Feb ’25
Language choice sometimes pops up during Recovery
Sometimes, during Recovery, when choosing "Options" I'm presented with the Language chooser before going into the Recovery options. Other times the process moves directly into Recovery options, without any language choice. I'm running in recovery mode, after completing a fresh installation of macOS (including setting a language) and fully shutting down the OS via the menu. This happens seemingly randomly, which affects the ability to automate the process. So far I've only seen it on macOS 15. Is there some logic to why this language chooser pops up, and any way I can make it consistent (in either direction)?
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Feb ’25
Use UnionValue For AppIntent Parameter
I'm currently trying to use the new @UnionValue macro. From what I understood, it allows multiple types for a parameter. I created the following enum: @UnionValue enum IntentDuration { case int(Int) case duration(Measurement<UnitDuration>) } Then, I tried to use it in the following AppIntent: struct MyIntent: AppIntent { static let title: LocalizedStringResource = "intent.title" static let description = IntentDescription("intent.description") static let openAppWhenRun: Bool = true @Parameter var duration: IntentDuration @Dependency private var appManager: AppManager @MainActor func perform() async throws -> some IntentResult { // My action return .result() } } However, I get the following error from Xcode at the @Parameter line: 'init()' is unavailable Did I wrongly understand how this works? Is there another way to accept multiple types for a parameter? I didn't manage to find any docs on this.
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298
Jun ’25
Interacting with the Notes application
Hello, Relatively new to AppleScripts in current gen (I've used it back in 2010s) and would like some help if someone can point me in the right direction. Is AppleScript the best/only way to interact with Notes application? (I'm on Sequioa) 1.1 I've tried to use LLM to generate a Swift app, but it still calls out to AppleScripts, so I'm wondering if I'm missing something. 1.2 If I'm going down a rabbit hole, I'd like to stop since I want to finish this quick task and move on and or fall deeply in love with AppleScripts... whichever comes first. Is There a better way to write notes? Script Editor is still a minimal IDE, I'd love to find something that will do some auto completion/suggestions because the documentation in the Script Editor is still a tad weak. (I'm used to interpreted languages like bash, ruby, etc...) where if I don't understand something I just dig into the code instead of turse documentation that just exposes public end points and does not tell you much more :( My problem: I'd like to set up a cron that periodically checks my notes, and cleans up the shared notes. Basically it's a shared set of notes that have checklist on it and cleans up. (weekly chores etc...) I want to read the notes, find out which ones have been marked checked. Reset the ones that are done, leave unfinished ones alone and reset the old ones. This is how far I've gotten: let appleScript = """``` tell application "Notes" set targetNote to note "\Test" of default account return body of targetNote end tell That works like a charm, Kind of dumb because I rather use and ID of the note not the name :( It returns the following <div><b><span style=\\"font-size: 24px\\">Test</span></b></div> <div><br></div> <ul> <li> Not Done</li> <li>Done</li> <li>Not Done yet</li> </ul> <div><br></div> <div>Single line</div> Which is a good start! Issues: There is no way to tell which Item is marked "Checked" and which one is not :( Any helps is greatly appreciated!
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306
Mar ’25
How to make a progress meter for an AppleScript that works with the Photos app
I wrote an AppleScript that takes a bunch of scanned jpegs with systematically named filenames and transfers information from the filename into the date and time fields. That all works fine, but I've got many more scans to do and I'd like to augment the script to include a progress meter because it takes a long time to run on e.g. 1000 photos. I've found basic progress meter examples online that involves commands like: set progress total steps to theImageCount set progress completed steps to 0 set progress description to "Processing Images..." set progress additional description to "Preparing to process." and they run OK in a separate dummy test case, however I'm getting syntax errors for such commands in my renaming script because (I think) they're inside a tell application "Photos" wrapper and it looks like Photos doesn't like those commands. A progress meter (in any AppleScript) should be a straightforward thing i.e. I can clearly define a total number of steps and I can clearly define the step number I'm currently on. I just want to display something like: I'd even be OK with just implementing something like: display dialog "blah blah" but that needs to be manually dismissed with each iteration of the loop, so that's no good. I also tried: display notification "blah blah" but that yields hundreds of notification boxes at the top right of my screen, so that's also impractical. I was even thinking maybe I could call some generic system progress meter with all the right variables via a "do shell script" command (although I have no idea how to do that). Something surely must be possible, but I just can't figure it out :-(. Could some kind soul please help me out. Thanks.
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387
Mar ’25