Automation & Scripting

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

Automation & Scripting Documentation

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Custom AppEntity nested dictionary
I am creating an AppIntent to be used with Shortcuts and I would like to return a flexible dictionary of values with nested structures. As far as I understand the custom AppEntity only uses the displayRepresentation to store a title and subtitle which are LocalizedStringResource. types. Although I can convert my dictionary into a string I found no way in shortcuts to be able to retrieve the original structure of it and inspect individual elements like in subsequent actions. Is there a way to do this? Thank you in advance Nick Karanatsios
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238
Dec ’25
App 自动更新,导致App功能错乱。
当用户开启App自动更新后,自动更新App后,App有些功能会错乱。 1.有的会触发旧App代码功能,如旧版本有个选择框,在新版本选择框从界面移除了,但自动更新看,有的用户会还会触旧版本选择框的功能 2.数据错乱,如App录入数字6,发送到服务端变成5.4 现在发现这些问题。都是要把App删除,重新下载就可以。 请问要如何避免这样的问题。 App是有Objective-C,会不会与开启 BITCODE有关?
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224
Dec ’25
Deliver/bundle entire Shortcut automations with an app
Is there any way of creating complete Shortcuts automations and bundling them with my app? Specifically, I would like the user to be able to Take a photo and open it with my app Or take a screenshot and open it with my app Of course I could offer a Share extension, but going through the Share menu and selecting my app there is time consuming for the user. I would like the user to be able to configure his or her action button such that it takes a new picture and opens it with my app right away. I can, of course, offer the respective App Shortcuts and let the user combine them into a pipeline with the Take Screenshot or Take Photo system actions. However, only power users would do this. Hence, I would like to bundle this complete pipeline with my app, such that the user just has to assign his/her Action Button to this pipeline if he/she wants to use this feature. How to go about this? I was thinking of exporting the shortcut into a file, bundling it with the app as a resource, and offering it via a Share action for the user to install it, or by sharing it on iCloud and adding the iCloud link to the UI of my app. What is the recommended approach?
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345
Dec ’25
Shortcuts: How to add “-pressed” to a file name in a shortcut
Hi there, Does anyone know how to modify this Image compressor Shortcut https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/e13d8013598f4f33830386a956a163dd so that the image it creates has the original file name + “-pressed”? Eg “Image_123” becomes “Image_123-pressed” I know of the action ‘Rename file’ but can’t make it work. Any help much appreciated:)
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186
Jan ’26
Shortcuts: How to add text to a file name
Hi there, Does anyone know how to modify this Image compressor Shortcut https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/e13d8013598f4f33830386a956a163dd so that the image it creates has the original file name + “-pressed”? Eg “Image_123” becomes “Image_123-pressed” I know of the action ‘Rename file’ but can’t make it work. The shortcut does batch processing of images if that makes any difference. Any help much appreciated:)
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234
Jan ’26
App Intents with Custom Automation/Triggers
Currently, we are developing an all-in-one DualSense utility for macOS. We are exploring how to integrate shortcuts into our app. Our vision is to have the user use the native Shortcuts app to choose the controller buttons that should trigger the shortcut action, such as opening Steam, turning on audio haptics, and more. As we explore this approach, we want to see whether we need to build the UI in our app to set the triggers or can we do this inside of Shortcuts? Can button presses recorded by our app trigger shortcuts? Can those button inputs be customized inside of Shortcuts or should we develop it into our app? And if we have it in our app, can our app see, select, and trigger shortcuts?
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345
Jan ’26
App Intents: String array parameter value clears immediately in Shortcuts editor
Hello, I am experiencing an issue with the App Intents framework where a parameter of type [String] (String Array) fails to persist user input in the Shortcuts app action editor. Issue Description: When adding an item to the String Array parameter in the Shortcuts app action editor, the input text automatically clears/resets to empty within less than 1 second. This happens spontaneously while the keyboard is still active, or immediately after typing, making it impossible to input any values. Environment: Xcode Version: 26.2 (17C52) iOS Version: 26.2.1 Device: iPhone 17 Code Snippet: import AppIntents import SwiftUI struct TestStringArrayIntent: AppIntent { static var title: LocalizedStringResource = "Test Array Input Bug" static var description: IntentDescription = "Reproduces the issue where String Array input clears automatically." // PROBLEM: // Input for this parameter vanishes automatically < 1s after typing. @Parameter(title: "Test Strings", default: []) var strings: [String] func perform() async throws -> some IntentResult & ReturnsValue<String> { return .result(value: "Count: \(strings.count)") } } Steps to Reproduce: Build and install the app containing the code above. Open the Shortcuts app and create a new shortcut. Add the "Test Array Input Bug" action. Tap the "Test Strings" parameter to add a new item. Type any text (e.g., "Hi"). Observe: Wait for about 1 second Observed Behavior: The text field clears itself automatically. The array remains empty ([]). Expected Behavior: The text should remain in the field and be successfully added to the array. **Filed as Feedback:**FB21808619 Thank you.
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150
Jan ’26
"Show on all spaces" toggles OFF after programmatically setting wallpaper via AppleScript
I'm building an automated wallpaper updater that fetches images from an API and sets them as desktop wallpaper on macOS Tahoe. The automation uses AppleScript combined with database manipulation to ensure wallpaper applies to all spaces. Current implementation (via Apple Shortcuts): wallpaper_path="$1" osascript -e "tell application \"System Events\" to tell every desktop to set picture to POSIX file \"$wallpaper_path\"" sqlite3 ~/Library/Application\ Support/Dock/desktoppicture.db "UPDATE data SET space=NULL WHERE space IS NOT NULL;" 2>/dev/null killall -HUP Dock Issue First run: Works perfectly - sets wallpaper on all spaces/desktops, "Show on all spaces" is ON After first run: "Show on all spaces" automatically toggles OFF in System Settings Second run onwards: New wallpaper only updates on the active space, inactive spaces show old wallpaper Expected: "Show on all spaces" should remain ON after programmatic wallpaper changes Actual: System Settings automatically disables it, breaking subsequent updates Tested workarounds (all failed): UPDATE data SET space=NULL to clear per-space entries Using every desktop instead of current desktop in AppleScript killall Dock vs killall -HUP Dock vs killall -USR1 Dock Clearing space_id entries from pictures table Running DELETE FROM pictures WHERE space_id IS NOT NULL before setting The database manipulation doesn't prevent macOS from automatically creating per-space entries and disabling the "Show on all spaces" toggle. Question: Is there a way to programmatically set wallpaper while preserving the "Show on all spaces" setting on macOS Tahoe? Environment: macOS: Tahoe (latest) Architecture: Apple Silicon Use case: Daily automated wallpaper updates via Shortcuts
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293
Feb ’26
SiriKit: INPlayMediaIntent with a targeted speaker
I've got a streaming Radio app that loads an HLS stream into an AVAudioPlayer. I've set up an Intents extension that notifies SiriKit that my app must handle the INPlayMediaIntent in app, and, I'm able to successfully initiate the stream playing from my phone using the string "Play ". My intent handler in app looks like this: completionHandler(INPlayMediaIntentResponse(code: .success, userActivity: nil)) DispatchQueue.main.async { AudioPlayerService.shared.play() } The Audio Player service, in its init, does the following: try AVAudioSession.sharedInstance().setCategory( .playback, mode: .default, policy: .longFormAudio ) Additionally, in my Info.plist, I have the AirPlay optimization policy set to Long Form Audio. Having said all that, when I try to route my app to play "on a given HomePod speaker" ("play on ") the speaker routing instructions are never followed. I've looked and not been able to find where I might be able to instruct my app to follow the correct path here. I was assuming I could not trigger this behavior manually, as I believe I don't really have any control over AirPlay routing. Is there any guidance for working with SiriKit to do the right thing with regards to audio routing?
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3w
App Shortcut parameter title in Spotlight does not update after updateAppShortcutParameters()
We use AppShortcutsProvider with a parameterized App Shortcut. One of the entities has a dynamic display title (e.g. "Everyone is searching: {keyword}") that comes from UserDefaults and is returned in EntityQuery.suggestedEntities() and entities(for:). When we change the keyword and call updateAppShortcutParameters(), the Shortcuts app updates and shows the new title. In Spotlight (Siri Suggestions), the displayed title stays on the old value (e.g. still shows "Everyone is searching: 456" after we switched to "123"). On tap, the shortcut runs with the new value (123), so the execution is correct; only the displayed title in Spotlight is stale. Question: Is this expected? Is there any API or recommended approach to invalidate or refresh the Spotlight suggestion so the displayed title matches the current parameter, or should we avoid dynamic titles for the first suggestion for better UX?
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2w
AppIntents EntityPropertyQuery, how does "Filter Entity where" work?
When you correctly implement EntityPropertyQuery on an AppEntity, Shortcuts will expose a "Find Entity" action that calls into entities(matching:mode:sortedBy:limit:). This is demoed in the "Dive into App Intents" session and works as expected. However, with this action, you can change the "All Entity" input to a list variable which changes the action text from "Find All Entity" to "Filter Entity where" still giving you the same filter, sort and limit options. This appears to work as expected too. But, what's unexpected is that this filter action does not appear to call any method on my AppEntity code. It doesn't call entities(matching:mode:sortedBy:limit:). One would think there would need to be a filter(entities:matching:mode:sortedBy:limit:) to implement this functionality. But Shortcut just seems to do it all on it's own. I'm mostly wondering, how is this even working? Here's some example code: import AppIntents let books = [ BookEntity(id: 0, title: "A Family Affair"), BookEntity(id: 1, title: "Atlas of the Heart"), BookEntity(id: 2, title: "Atomic Habits"), BookEntity(id: 3, title: "Memphis"), BookEntity(id: 4, title: "Run Rose Run"), BookEntity(id: 5, title: "The Maid"), BookEntity(id: 6, title: "The Match"), BookEntity(id: 7, title: "Where the Crawdads Sing"), ] struct BookEntity: AppEntity, Identifiable { static var typeDisplayRepresentation: TypeDisplayRepresentation = "Book" var displayRepresentation: DisplayRepresentation { DisplayRepresentation(title: "\(title)") } static var defaultQuery = BookQuery() var id: Int @Property(title: "Title") var title: String init(id: Int, title: String) { self.id = id self.title = title } } struct BookQuery: EntityQuery { func entities(for identifiers: [Int]) async throws -> [BookEntity] { return identifiers.map { id in books[id] } } } extension BookQuery: EntityPropertyQuery { static var properties = QueryProperties { Property(\BookEntity.$title) { EqualToComparator { str in { book in book.title == str } } ContainsComparator { str in { book in book.title.contains(str) } } } } static var sortingOptions = SortingOptions { SortableBy(\BookEntity.$title) } func entities( matching comparators: [(BookEntity) -> Bool], mode: ComparatorMode, sortedBy: [Sort<BookEntity>], limit: Int? ) async throws -> [BookEntity] { books.filter { book in comparators.allSatisfy { comparator in comparator(book) } } } } The example Shortcut first invokes entities(matching:mode:sortedBy:limit:) with comparators=[], sortedBy=[], limit=nil to fetch all Book entities. Next the filter step correctly applies the title contains filter but never calls entities(matching:mode:sortedBy:limit:) or even the body of the ContainsComparator. But the output is correctly filtered.
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1.7k
Jul ’25
Shortcut to Send Address to Tesla Navigation
Hi, new to this forum. Recently discovered how to share a location in Maps app with my Tesla to automatically start navigating. How cool is that! Being the nerd that I am, I wrote a shortcut to select a contact and share it's address with my Tesla. That way, I don't leave the Maps app in memory to use up my battery, and don't have to go to all the trouble of swiping Maps out of memory. JK. Anyway, when I share the shortcut-selected address with the Tesla, it says "Error this content could not be shared". To me this means the address as shared by the shortcut is not in the same format as when you share it directly from Maps. So the question is, how can I send a properly formatted location from my shortcut? Thanks...
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1.8k
Nov ’25
WidgetInfo - intent is nil until edit face
We have a watchOS app that provides many configurable widgets. Those widgets are configured and installed with help of AppIntent: public struct RectComplAppIntent: AppIntent, WidgetConfigurationIntent, CustomIntentMigratedAppIntent { @Parameter(title: "Style") var style: String? .... } However when I print WidgetInfos with getCurrentConfigurations(), I sometimes got nil for configuration. At the same time widgets are not loaded. Exact steps: User installs the pre-cofnigured .watchface. Complications are not loaded since configuration is missing. I print getCurrentConfigurations() and get entries like this: WidgetInfo: - configuration: nil - widgetConfigurationIntent: nil - family: accessoryRectangular - kind: Rectangle Then user force-touches a face and opens editing mode. Returns to watch app, prints infos: WidgetInfo: - configuration: <INIntent: 0x780d290> { style = vol1Logo; } - widgetConfigurationIntent: nil - family: accessoryRectangular - kind: Rectangle – Suddenly intent appears with the correct style and complications start to show up. How do you think, why it happens? Why after .watchface install all the WidgetInfo has nil intent (configuration)? What helps them to load later? You can try this face yourself: https://cdn.watchfaces.co/watchfaces/glance-minimalist.watchface
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369
Mar ’25
What is the correct syntax to continue in app for custom intent?
I have a custom intent. When my app is unable to complete the resolution of a parameter within the app extension, I need to be able to continue within the app. I am unable to figure out what the correct objective C syntax is to enable the execution to continue with the app. Here is what I have tried: completion([[PickWoodIntentResponse init] initWithCode:PickWoodIntentResponseCodeContinueInApp userActivity:nil]); This results in the following error: Implicit conversion from enumeration type 'enum PickWoodIntentResponseCode' to different enumeration type 'INAnswerCallIntentResponseCode' (aka 'enum INAnswerCallIntentResponseCode') I have no idea why it is referring to the enum type of 'INAnswerCallIntentResponseCode' which is unrelated to my app. I have also tried: PickWoodIntentResponse *response = [[PickWoodIntentResponse init] initWithCode:PickWoodIntentResponseCodeContinueInApp userActivity:nil]; completion(response); but that results in 2 errors: Implicit conversion from enumeration type 'enum PickWoodIntentResponseCode' to different enumeration type 'INAnswerCallIntentResponseCode' (aka 'enum INAnswerCallIntentResponseCode') and Incompatible pointer types passing 'PickWoodIntentResponse *' to parameter of type 'INStringResolutionResult *' The relevant autogenerated code provided to me with the creation of my intent is as follows: @class PickWoodIntentResponse; @protocol PickWoodIntentHandling <NSObject> - (void)resolveVarietyForPickWood:(PickWoodIntent *)intent withCompletion:(void (^)(INStringResolutionResult *resolutionResult))completion NS_SWIFT_NAME(resolveVariety(for:with:)) API_AVAILABLE(ios(13.0), macos(11.0), watchos(6.0)); @end typedef NS_ENUM(NSInteger, PickWoodIntentResponseCode) { PickWoodIntentResponseCodeUnspecified = 0, PickWoodIntentResponseCodeReady, PickWoodIntentResponseCodeContinueInApp, PickWoodIntentResponseCodeInProgress, PickWoodIntentResponseCodeSuccess, PickWoodIntentResponseCodeFailure, PickWoodIntentResponseCodeFailureRequiringAppLaunch } @interface PickWoodIntentResponse : INIntentResponse - (instancetype)init NS_UNAVAILABLE; - (instancetype)initWithCode:(PickWoodIntentResponseCode)code userActivity:(nullable NSUserActivity *)userActivity NS_DESIGNATED_INITIALIZER; @property (readonly, NS_NONATOMIC_IOSONLY) PickWoodIntentResponseCode code; @end Am I overlooking something? What would be the proper syntax to have within the completion block to satisfy the compiler?
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143
Apr ’25
Writing unit tests for AppIntent with a @AppDependency declared
I am trying to write a unit test for an AppIntent and override the AppDependencyManager so I can inject dependencies for the purposes of testing. When I run a test, the app crashes with: AppIntents/AppDependencyManager.swift:120: Fatal error: AppDependency of type Int.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. App Intent: import AppIntents struct TestAppIntent: AppIntent { @AppDependency var count: Int static var title: LocalizedStringResource { "Test App Intent "} func perform() async throws -> some IntentResult { print("\(count)") return .result() } } extension TestAppIntent { init(dependencyManager: AppDependencyManager) { _count = AppDependency(manager: dependencyManager) } } Unit Test import Testing import AppIntents @testable import AppIntentTesting struct TestAppIntentTests { @Test("test") func test() async throws { let dependencyManager = AppDependencyManager() dependencyManager.add(dependency: 5) let appIntent = TestAppIntent(dependencyManager: dependencyManager) _ = try await appIntent.perform() } }
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120
Jun ’25
How to conditionally add AppShortcut to appShortcuts list in AppShortcutsProvider
I am trying to add certain shortcuts based on user eligibility for a feature, however I get an error if i try to use conditions in appShortcuts of AppShortcutsProvider. if I use static list to update the shortcuts and use static shortcut list in appShortcuts of AppShortcutsProvider - shortcuts are not displayed. Can anyone help with an example to update appShortcuts of AppShortcutsProvider dynamically. Is that supported at all?
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85
Jun ’25
Accessing Safari URL using com.apple.security.scripting-targets entitlement?
I've created an app that grabs the current URL and Title/name from the frontmost window/tab of Safari or any of a number of Chromium browsers, using NSAppleScript. The app sits in the menu bar and can be summoned by shortcut key combo. let script = """ tell application \"Safari\" if not (exists front window) then return {\"\", \"\"} set theTab to current tab of front window set theURL to URL of theTab set theTitle to name of theTab return {theURL, theTitle} end tell """ if let appleScript = NSAppleScript(source: script) { let output = appleScript.executeAndReturnError(&error) if output.numberOfItems == 2 { let url = output.atIndex(1)?.stringValue let title = output.atIndex(2)?.stringValue if let url = url, !url.isEmpty { return (url, title) } } } If I sign an archived build and run it locally it works beautifully, no matter which browser I am using. But the URL/title grabbing breaks in sandbox due to permissions. I read and have been informed that I need to use com.apple.security.scripting-targets entitlement. The example for this is in WWDC 2012 and talks about accessing Mail compose window. <key>com.apple.security.scripting-targets</key> <dict> <key>com.apple.mail</key> <array> <string>com.apple.mail.compose</string> </array> </dict> However, I don't want to control the app or use any access groups, as I've looked through the sdef and Safari/Chrome do not provide any access groups whose contents I'm interested in. I just want to get the property/values of a window/tab. So I think I could be quite restrictive about the read-only access to two properties or objects that I need. That said, I'm going back and forth with TestFlight review kind of shooting in the dark. I need help! So I figure it's time to ask: what content should my entitlement have? Or am I on the wrong path entirely? I know it's possible because an app called Neptunes does it to get properties from Music.app Many thanks in advance, matt
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178
Jun ’25