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Shortcuts

by Apple Inc. · Application · also known as Apple Shortcuts, Siri Shortcuts, Workflow

Apple's built-in visual automation app for macOS, iOS and iPadOS that chains app actions, scripts and system functions into runnable shortcuts

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Link verified Nov 2, 2026

Overview

Shortcuts is Apple's visual automation app, bundled with macOS since Monterey and with iOS and iPadOS since the acquisition of the Workflow app. A shortcut is an ordered list of actions, drag-and-drop blocks supplied by Apple's system apps and by third-party apps that adopt the App Intents framework, which can pass data from one step to the next, branch, loop and prompt for input.

On the Mac a shortcut can run from the app, the menu bar, Spotlight, Siri, a keyboard shortcut, the Finder's Quick Actions or Services menus, and it can call shell scripts and AppleScript, which makes it a bridge between consumer-level automation and developer tooling. Shortcuts sync across devices through iCloud, a Gallery offers templates, and Automator workflows can be imported. Developers expose their own actions by declaring app intents in Swift, which also makes them available to Siri and Apple Intelligence.

It is proprietary and Apple-only. Compared with dedicated macOS automation tools it offers fewer triggers on the Mac (time- and event-based automations are more complete on iOS), debugging is limited, and complex logic becomes unwieldy in a block editor.

Capabilities

  • Visual action chaining with variables, conditions and loops
  • Actions from system apps and third-party apps via App Intents
  • Shell script and AppleScript steps on macOS
  • Launch from menu bar, Spotlight, Siri, hotkeys and Quick Actions
  • iCloud sync of shortcuts across Apple devices

Typical workflows

  1. Resize and rename a batch of images from a Finder Quick Action
  2. Chain a shell script with a notification and a calendar entry
  3. Expose an app's features to Siri through App Intents

Strengths

  • Preinstalled and free on every Apple device
  • Same shortcuts run on Mac, iPhone and iPad
  • Low barrier for non-programmers

Limitations

  • Apple platforms only
  • Fewer triggers and weaker debugging than dedicated Mac automation tools
  • Complex logic is awkward in a block editor

Prerequisites

  • macOS Monterey or later, or iOS/iPadOS

Who it is for

  • Mac and iPhone users automating routine tasks
  • Developers exposing app actions to Siri

Alternatives & comparison

  • AppleScript

    Apple's English-like scripting language that drives scriptable macOS applications through Apple events, run from Script Editor, osascript or other automation tools

    ProprietaryFree
  • Automator

    Apple's long-standing drag-and-drop workflow builder for macOS that produces apps, Quick Actions, folder actions and calendar-triggered automations

    ProprietaryFree
  • Hammerspoon

    Open-source macOS automation app that exposes system APIs to a Lua configuration file for hotkeys, window management and event-driven scripts

    Open sourceOpen source
  • Keyboard Maestro

    Commercial macOS macro application that runs sequences of actions from hotkeys, typed strings, application, time, device and system triggers

    ProprietaryPaid
Compare Shortcuts with its alternatives →

Sources & verification

Primary sources consulted for this record. Claims are tied to the fields each source supports; the automated link checker re-verifies every URL on a schedule.

Confidence
High
Reviewed
Nov 1, 2026
Links
Verified · Nov 2, 2026

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