By letting you automate frequent or cumbersome tasks, Shortcuts has become a productivity favourite on iPhone and iPad. And with macOS Monterey, the feature has come to Mac.
Pre-fill a stock response in Mail, listen to your favourite playlist or switch on your smart light bulbs. You can also automate across multiple apps to, say, batch-edit photos, send text from your writing app to your page-layout app, or launch every app and document you need to start your workday – and even choose the window arrangement.
Best of all, your shortcuts are accessible everywhere, including in the Finder’s Quick Actions menu, via Spotlight search or keyboard shortcut, and, of course, by asking Siri.
To get started, launch the Shortcuts app in macOS Monterey. Then read on to learn how the experience has been optimised for Mac – and discover apps that let you use this useful new feature.
Get started with the Gallery
When you first launch the app, you’ll see your existing iPhone and iPad shortcuts – every shortcut syncs across your devices, no matter where you created it. Then check out the Gallery, where you can discover ready-to-use examples such as Turn Text Into Audio (to make reading a hands-free experience) and Rename Files (to batch-rename multiple files by adding or replacing text). There are brand-new Mac-specific options too, such as Split Screen 2 Apps, which arranges your app windows for maximum multitasking.
Create and customise
Ready to create your own shortcut or tailor an existing one to your workflows? The editor has been redesigned from the ground up to feel right at home on Mac: drag actions within a shortcut to reorder them, or drag a new action from the list on the right. Quick tip: the Next Action Suggestions feature (under Categories > Suggestions) helps you find the next building block of your shortcut, based on the blocks you’ve already added.
Integrate Automator and AppleScript
It’s easy to convert your existing Automator workflows: just drag one into the Shortcuts app! And the most popular Automator actions have been integrated into Shortcuts, including actions that run AppleScripts and shell scripts.
Share your shortcuts
Sharing a shortcut is as easy as sending a link using the standard share button. And when you receive a link shared by someone else, simply follow the prompts to add that shortcut to your Mac.
Check out these Mac favourites that work with Shortcuts:
Bear: Markdown Notes
Write naturally
Ulysses: Writing App
Write a novel, story, book
Drafts
Where text starts
Bike Outliner | Writing App
Structured & focused writing
Day One
Your journal for life
Noted: Record, AI-Transcribe
Take meeting notes and audio
Craft: Write docs, AI editing
Journal ideas, meeting notes
Taio - Markdown & Text Actions
Ultimate text processing app
Tot
Your tiny text companion.
Paste - Endless Clipboard
Copy, Keep, Search and Manage
BBEdit
Legendary text and code editor
Pixelmator Pro
Pro image editing for everyone
Acorn 7
Image editing for humans
forScore
Turbocharge your sheet music
Darkroom: Photo & Video Editor
Pro Editing, AI&Preset Filters
Claquette - GIF & Video Tool
Capture, Edit & Convert Video
Things 3
Organize your life
Agenda - Notes meets Calendar
Organise your days
MindNode – Mind Map & Outline
Mind Mapping, Brainstorm Ideas
PCalc
The Best Calculator
Tasks: Todo Lists & Kanban
Daily Planner, Manage Projects
Planny • Daily Planner
To do list, Focus, Teamwork
Diagrams
Diagram & Flowchart Editor
PDF Squeezer 4
Compressing PDF Files Quickly
Microsoft Outlook
Email and calendar
Keynote
Build stunning presentations
Numbers
Create impressive spreadsheets
Evernote
Notes Organizer & Planner
Fantastical - Calendar
Reminders & Todo List
TickTick:To-Do List, Calendar
Planner, Reminders & Habit
Tyme 3 - Time Tracking
Worked Hours & Timesheet
Timery for Toggl
Easy time tracking with Toggl
Focus – Productivity Timer
ToDo List, Interactive Widgets
Session - Pomodoro Focus Timer
Keep track time, study & work
Orbit: Time-based Invoicing
Track time & send invoices
Calendars: Planner & Organiser
Schedule. Reminder. To Do・2024
MusicHarbor - New Music Daily
Discover news, releases, show
Instapaper
News
Anybox - Bookmark & Read Later
Save and Organize Links
GoodLinks
Save links, read later.
lire
Full-text RSS Reader
Reeder Classic.
News Reader.
An Otter RSS Reader
An okay minimalistic RSS app
Fiery Feeds: RSS Reader
A news reader for power users
Book Tracker - Reading list
TBR bookshelf, planner and log
Movie Tracker: What to watch
TV Show finder & ratings
SmartGym: Gym & Home Workouts
HIIT, Home, Gym Weight Lifting
Play: Save Videos Watch Later
Manage Channels and New Videos
CardPointers for Credit Cards
Earn more points & cashback
Portal - Rewild Your Mind
Nature, wellness, focus, sleep
Streaks
The habit-forming to-do list
WaterMinder - Water Tracker
Daily Hydration Drink Reminder
Dark Noise: Ambient Sounds
Green Brown Pink White Sleep
Grocery - Smart Shopping List
Plan, shop, cook, repeat
Actions
Useful actions for Shortcuts
Shortery
Automation for Shortcuts
HazeOver • Distraction Dimmer™
Focus and reduce visual noise
Mirror Magnet
Desktop Camera Viewer
ShareBot for Shortcuts
Run Shortcuts From Share Menus
Shortcut Remote Control
Voice-Control your Computer
Transloader
Manage downloads remotely
Network Radar
Scan and monitors your network
LookUp Dictionary: Learn Daily
Learn with word of the day
Broadcasts
Streaming radio on the go
Triode - Internet Radio
Listen everywhere.
TripMode
Data Usage Monitor & Control
Codye
Present your code
Dice by PCalc
The Best Random Numbers
Morpho Converter
Unit and currency conversions
Work with text
Bear: Markdown Notes
Write naturally
Ulysses: Writing App
Write a novel, story, book
Drafts
Where text starts
Bike Outliner | Writing App
Structured & focused writing
Day One
Your journal for life
Noted: Record, AI-Transcribe
Take meeting notes and audio
Craft: Write docs, AI editing
Journal ideas, meeting notes
Taio - Markdown & Text Actions
Ultimate text processing app
Tot
Your tiny text companion.
Paste - Endless Clipboard
Copy, Keep, Search and Manage
BBEdit
Legendary text and code editor
Be creative
Boost your productivity
Things 3
Organize your life
Agenda - Notes meets Calendar
Organise your days
MindNode – Mind Map & Outline
Mind Mapping, Brainstorm Ideas
PCalc
The Best Calculator
Tasks: Todo Lists & Kanban
Daily Planner, Manage Projects
Planny • Daily Planner
To do list, Focus, Teamwork
Diagrams
Diagram & Flowchart Editor
PDF Squeezer 4
Compressing PDF Files Quickly
Microsoft Outlook
Email and calendar
Keynote
Build stunning presentations
Numbers
Create impressive spreadsheets
Evernote
Notes Organizer & Planner
Master your schedule
Fantastical - Calendar
Reminders & Todo List
TickTick:To-Do List, Calendar
Planner, Reminders & Habit
Tyme 3 - Time Tracking
Worked Hours & Timesheet
Timery for Toggl
Easy time tracking with Toggl
Focus – Productivity Timer
ToDo List, Interactive Widgets
Session - Pomodoro Focus Timer
Keep track time, study & work
Orbit: Time-based Invoicing
Track time & send invoices
Calendars: Planner & Organiser
Schedule. Reminder. To Do・2024
Stay in the know
MusicHarbor - New Music Daily
Discover news, releases, show
Instapaper
News
Anybox - Bookmark & Read Later
Save and Organize Links
GoodLinks
Save links, read later.
lire
Full-text RSS Reader
Reeder Classic.
News Reader.
An Otter RSS Reader
An okay minimalistic RSS app
Fiery Feeds: RSS Reader
A news reader for power users
Manage your life
Book Tracker - Reading list
TBR bookshelf, planner and log
Movie Tracker: What to watch
TV Show finder & ratings
SmartGym: Gym & Home Workouts
HIIT, Home, Gym Weight Lifting
Play: Save Videos Watch Later
Manage Channels and New Videos
CardPointers for Credit Cards
Earn more points & cashback
Portal - Rewild Your Mind
Nature, wellness, focus, sleep
Streaks
The habit-forming to-do list
WaterMinder - Water Tracker
Daily Hydration Drink Reminder
Dark Noise: Ambient Sounds
Green Brown Pink White Sleep
Grocery - Smart Shopping List
Plan, shop, cook, repeat
Manage your Mac
Actions
Useful actions for Shortcuts
Shortery
Automation for Shortcuts
HazeOver • Distraction Dimmer™
Focus and reduce visual noise
Mirror Magnet
Desktop Camera Viewer
ShareBot for Shortcuts
Run Shortcuts From Share Menus
Shortcut Remote Control
Voice-Control your Computer
Transloader
Manage downloads remotely
Network Radar
Scan and monitors your network