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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UI Testing and 'Allow Paste'
I am developing an app that allows the user to ask it to process the clipboard contents and do something with it. In developing a XC UI Test, I find the app stops while it waits for the user to give permission. That breaks the automation. I tried: let springboard = XCUIApplication(bundleIdentifier: "com.apple.springboard") let allowButton = springboard.buttons["Allow Paste"] But that does not work. Is there a way to tell the framework to automatically give the test permission to access the Paste clipboard (or to allow me to write tests to grant this)?
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180
Nov ’25
Siri media search unable to provide keyword
Hi, I am developing a music app. We are using siri media search functionality for a while. We recently had a case where siri would not provide keyword for a search. When user speaks "Play Kid songs" (in Turkish, çocuk şarkıları çal), when I debug I see mediaSearch.mediaName is nil. When user speaks "Play Kids" (in Turkish, çocuklar çal) a keyword is given and we can search and play related song. Normally I would think that siri is somehow censoring the word "Kid". But when i try the same voice search in Spotify, I get a children song search result. I've read documentations and searched web but couldnt find any similar experience. What would be the cause, is there an extra setting for this kind of behaviour. What would be the cause or a different capability that Spotify can get a keyword out of this voice search but not us?
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273
Nov ’25
oascript stop working for sending notification
I have a script that stop working since Tahoe migration. The script need to send a notification on the my mac. The issue is this line: osascript -e 'display notification "The task has been completed" with title "✅ My script"' It doesn't fail (return 0), nothing in outputs, but doesn't show anything. I check all my notification settings, but all seems to be right, I tested the configuration of iterm & script editor. And the global ettongs of the notifications:
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231
Nov ’25
SetFocusFilterIntent app cannot be copied to another Mac
I have recently added a SetFocusFilterIntent target extension to my app which is a system utility which goes into the menu bar(Application is agent = YES). I have followed the approach in the WWDC22 video introducing Focus Intent and I have created an App Groups to being able to make the Extension to communicate with my main app, however from when I did this sometimes when I run the app I do get this log line: Couldn't read values in CFPrefsPlistSource<0x97cd34700> (Domain: group.xxx.xxx.MyApp, User: kCFPreferencesAnyUser, ByHost: Yes, Container: (null), Contents Need Refresh: Yes): Using kCFPreferencesAnyUser with a container is only allowed for System Containers, detaching from cfprefsd Despite this the Focus mode integration is working correctly on my development Mac. However I used to Archive the app and then Copy the app to my MacBook but when I do that now my other Mac cannot open the app and it is giving me an error. If I revert this change then I can bring the app back to my other Mac as usual following the procedure: Product -> Archive. Then from the archiver: Distribute App -> Copy App. After that I copy the app generated to the App folder of my other MacBook but it doesn't open anymore. During the archival phase now I am even getting this warning: MyAppFocus.appex is an ExtensionKit extension and must be embedded in the parent app bundle's Extensions directory, but is embedded in the parent app bundle's ../../../BuildProductsPath/Release/MyApp.app/Contents/Extensions directory. How can I solve this issue? If I rollback the commit related to this SetFocusFilterIntent new feature the app can be Copied and moved to the other Mac as before. Is this related to the extension or to the fact that I had to use this new entitlement: com.apple.security.application-groups ?
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205
Dec ’25
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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227
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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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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303
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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156
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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195
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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266
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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104
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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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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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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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
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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Mar ’25