Automation Control
Control Shortcuts Automations
Free · In‑App Purchases · Designed for iPad. Not verified for macOS.
If you use the Shortcuts automations like I do, surely you can find it difficult to manage them. Automation Control works with the Shortcuts app to provide a better way to manage your Shortcuts automations. This app, in a nutshell, is a glorified IF statement that determines if your automations should run or not. By simply adding Automation Control's Get Status of Item action to your Shortcuts Automations or by using the Automation Control Template shortcut, you now have better control over enabling, disabling, pausing, or setting conditions for your automations unlike ever before. This does not replace your Shortcuts automations tab; you still need to do some setup there for this app to manage them. Originally a shortcut a few years ago, and now an app, and with it, here are some things that you can do...
- Name your automations along with adding an icon and a description
- Sort your automations in order of A-Z, Z-A, Status, or Manually
- Quickly toggle on/off your items with a simple double tap and view its status right on the item row
- Multiple indicator views to choose your favorite way of viewing the on and off status of your items
- 12-hour and 24-hour timing support
- Backup and Restore
- Log View to see a log of when your automations completed successfully
- Send or Receive a text variable between Shortcuts and this app
- Filter/Group automations based on status
- Search bar to search for specific automations
- Pin automations
- Set timers on your automations
- Multiple layouts
- Set conditions such as Date & Time, Location, Focus Modes, Weather, and more...
- More and more to come...
How to use:
- Create an Automation Control item by tapping the + button in the top right.
- Name, describe, and select an icon and, of course, enable it.
- Leave it as a Controller item by simply saving the new item or tap the Controls button and set various conditions.
- Download the Automation Control Template shortcut, rename it to the same name as the control item you’ve just created, and set up your actions.
- Set up your automation via the Automation tab in the Shortcuts app and add a Run Shortcut action from the list of actions and select the shortcut you’ve just modified.
Full details found at https://ibanks.craft.me/6kbyyNVhWXjawv
more Want to make your Apple Shortcuts Automations even more usedul and effective? This is the app that will give you the ultimate in control and functionality. And it gets more powerful with each release. Need a Shortcut to run based on specific weather conditions, specific times of the day or even certain days of the month? This app gives you that control (plus so much more).
Developer Response Thank you!! Should you run into any issues or any ideas, don’t hesitate to let me know.
Want to make your Apple Shortcuts Automations even more usedul and effective? This is the app that will give you the ultimate in control and functionality. And it gets more powerful with each release. Need a Shortcut to run based on specific weather conditions, specific times of the day or even certain days of the month? This app gives you that control (plus so much more).
Thank you!! Should you run into any issues or any ideas, don’t hesitate to let me know.
The developer is just so innovative in improving and providing extra control features to manage my automations. It’s been an amazing jump from the original Automation Control app version to this version. I’m happy to have it and best of all I have never seen an app so well documented as this one. I‘m not sure which the developer spent more time on the app or the docs, impressive.
Developer Response Thanks zCAT, I’m trying my best to make it as simple to use as possible while also providing the missing features the Shortcuts app’s lacking. I’m glad that you find great value in the app and to tap into your curiosity, the app definitely has taken more time than the documentation. I’ll be working on the documentation soon to provide more detail, simplification and more examples for understanding. Thank you again, I truly appreciate the love.
The developer is just so innovative in improving and providing extra control features to manage my automations. It’s been an amazing jump from the original Automation Control app version to this version. I’m happy to have it and best of all I have never seen an app so well documented as this one. I‘m not sure which the developer spent more time on the app or the docs, impressive.
Thanks zCAT, I’m trying my best to make it as simple to use as possible while also providing the missing features the Shortcuts app’s lacking. I’m glad that you find great value in the app and to tap into your curiosity, the app definitely has taken more time than the documentation. I’ll be working on the documentation soon to provide more detail, simplification and more examples for understanding. Thank you again, I truly appreciate the love.
This app has been a long work in progress and started as a shortcut initially but morphed into something better that combined multiple shortcuts into a more streamlined interface. If you use automations, this is a very handy tool to have on your side to assist in various tasks
This app has been a long work in progress and started as a shortcut initially but morphed into something better that combined multiple shortcuts into a more streamlined interface. If you use automations, this is a very handy tool to have on your side to assist in various tasks
Thank you! More to come.
This application made managing my shortcuts way easier. Thank you for taking the time to go all-in & simplify automation control’s setup!
Developer Response Thank you! You are very welcome. Should you have any issues or ideas, do let me know.
This application made managing my shortcuts way easier. Thank you for taking the time to go all-in & simplify automation control’s setup!
Thank you! You are very welcome. Should you have any issues or ideas, do let me know.
This update is more of a cosmetic fix and shouldn’t affect any existing setups you may have.
- Improved Date & Time Conditions so labels are easier to understand.
- Fixed section titles like dayof_week so they now display properly as readable names.
- Shortened month and weekday names where needed so they fit better and look cleaner.
- Made date/time selections easier to use: leaving months, dates, days, or hours empty now means “allow all” instead of forcing you to select everything manually.
- Added clearer wording in the edit view, including labels like Specific Months, Specific Weekdays, Specific Dates, and Specific Hours.
- Added helpful guidance so it’s clearer that you only need to select values if you want to restrict when an automation runs.
- Updated translations for these Date & Time improvements across supported languages.
- Fixed the version number text in the About screen so it displays correctly.
2.10 Apr 6
Ensuring the app is in compliance with Apple's new age rating system.
2.08..1 12/18/2025
New - macOS support (iPad app) since macOS 26 brings Shortcuts Automations
New - Liquid Glass for iOS/iPadOS/macOS 26
New - Localization and international language support.
Supported Languages
- English
- Spanish
- German
- French
- Japanese
- Arabic
- Portuguese
- Italian
- Russian
- Korean
- Chinese Simplified
2.08 09/15/2025
Widgets!!
2.07 07/24/2025
New
- Toggle in the Display Options to display or hide the description details displayed on the Control Items row.
- Toggle in the Display Options to display or hide the next run details displayed on the Control Items row.
- Date & Time Interval options. The interval feature is designed to create powerful recurring patterns for automations:
- **None**: No interval pattern (disable this feature)
- **Daily**: Runs every X days
- **Weekly**: Runs every X weeks on a specific day of the week
- **Monthly**: Runs every X months, on a specific day
- **Mixed**: Runs every X months, on a specific day of the week (e.g., "3rd Thursday of every 2 months")
Changes
- Cleaner UI in the Simplified List View
An update to the GPT will come within the coming days to reflect these newly added features and changes.
2.06 04/06/2025
Fixes
- Verbiage when selecting an icon now advises users to visit the Shortcuts Tools section to download the AC Get Icon shortcut.
- Clear All & Import functionality had stopped working, not allowing a user to clear all existing data and import from a backup file.
2.05 02/25/2025
New
• .ctrl file extension set specific for the Automation Control app. (Under the code, the file is still a .zip file and the .ctrl extension can be changed to .zip and the other way around.)
• Tapping a .ctrl file will open and begin the Import and Merge process of that .ctrl file once you acknowledge to do so.
• View Backup Directory button to view the backup files. iOS limitations seem to prevent direct opening of the folder into the Files app.
• All Logs View now has an export function where it will export all logged data to a .txt file. It also respects search criteria to allow filtering to a specific Control Item or specific details.
• Swipe down from the Search Bar on the main view to reveal the All Logs View.
• Set Status of Control Item action can now set the Enable Additional Conditions toggle.
• Get Control Item Details (JSON) action is now able to get the current on/off status of the chosen control items Enabled Additional Conditions toggle.
Fixes
• Logging would not take place on items that have the “did not run in the last” condition set. Now logs before toggling the status.
• Status Indicator defaulted back to bar after force quit even though the user chooses a different indicator. It should now remain as the chosen option.
• Pinned items becoming unpinned in Compact List View when tapped. Should now only become unpinned if the user selects Unpin in the context menu.
Changes
• Backup files are now exported as .ctrl files.
• Import recognizes .ctrl files.
• Settings View consolidation.
• Moved the Automation Control User Guide out of the About page to the top level of the Settings View.
• Delete Controller or Scheduler Item action renamed to Delete or Archive Control Item, now allowing the choice of deleting an item or archiving it.
• Enhanced and simplified the sharing of control items with other users via the new Share Control & Shortcut and Save Control & Shortcut shortcuts.
2.04 02/17/2025
This update introduces major improvements in automation control, log management, backup and restore, UI enhancements, and overall performance. Full guide found at https://ibanks.craft.me/6kbyyNVhWXjawv
Key Enhancements:
• More automation conditions, including Calendar Event-based automations.
• Improved backup and restore with batch import/export and automatic backup saving.
• Better log management with search, combined log views, and scheduled log clearing.
• UI and sorting improvements, including enhanced iPad support and cleaner labels.
• Performance optimizations for stability, reliable toggles, and refined user experience.
New Features:
Log Management:
• Added search functionality within the “All Logs” view for improved tracking.
• Introduced a new “View All Logs” section under Settings, allowing full log management.
• Added a Shortcuts action for scheduled log clearing.
Import & Export:
• Only non-existing items are imported to prevent duplication.
• Control items can now be exported individually or in batches for easy sharing.
• Batch import functionality now prevents overwriting of existing data.
• Exports are automatically saved in iCloud Drive’s “Automation Control Backups” folder.
Control Item Management:
• Added the ability to archive and restore control items.
• Archived items remain accessible in the “Show Archived” filter but cannot be enabled while archived.
Automation Conditions:
• Added Calendar Event Condition, allowing automations to trigger based on matching calendar events.
• Control items now include app version, build number, and weather conditions in their details.
Shortcuts Integration:
• Introduced a new Community Shortcuts section for user-shared automation shortcuts.
• New Shortcuts action for backing up selected control items.
Changes & Improvements:
Naming Adjustments:
• “Create New Controller/Scheduler Item” renamed to “Create New Control Item”.
• “Delete Controller/Scheduler Item” renamed to “Delete Control Item”.
• “Set Status of Item” renamed to “Set Status of Control Item”.
• “Backup Data” renamed to “Backup All Control Data”.
• “Get Status of Item” renamed to “Get Status of Control Item”.
• “Get Item Details (JSON)” renamed to “Get Control Item Details (JSON)”.
• “Manage Item Input Variable” renamed to “Manage Control Item’s Variable Input”.
• “Scheduler” item type is now referred to as “Conditioned Control”.
UI Enhancements:
• Wi-Fi condition symbol now displays in yellow instead of blue.
• Automatic toggle timer now displays Days, Hours, Minutes, and Seconds.
• Improved iPad layout support and tap-and-hold gestures for better usability.
Sorting & Filtering Improvements:
• Grid View now updates correctly when sort options are changed.
• Selected sort options persist after force restart.
• Removed the “All Items” option in Clear Logs action due to performance issues.
Removed Features:
• “Open App After Creation” and “Show When Run” toggles removed (use the Shortcuts “Open App” action instead).
• “Clear All Logs” button removed from Settings (now available in the dedicated Logs section).
Bug Fixes:
• Fixed issue where the “View Log” option in the tap-and-hold menu was not displaying correctly.
• Fixed checkerboard layout issue affecting some iPad users.
• Calendar condition details now properly export and import.
• Fixed an issue where importing with “Merge” would overwrite existing data.
• Fixed automatic toggle timer display issues in Grid View and Condition View.
2.03 02/02/2025
New
- Alternate Icons
Fixes
- Layout shouldn’t be cut off anymore when viewing the Date & Time Conditions on displays smaller than Pro Max devices but larger than iPhone SE, as that device still will have a slight cutoff of the interface.
Changes
- Log View, Tags, Additional Conditions, and Shortcuts Tools sections expanded by default. The The Additional Conditions section is still collapsed by default for easy visibility of the options.
2.02 01/08/2025
Fixes
- Fix for temperature condition changes not being saved when edited.
- Fix for WiFi names being added or removed not being saved.
2.01 01/07/2025
Current users, as mentioned previously, several of the Shortcuts actions has been deprecated and you should have or will need to transition over to the new, consolidated actions. More details found at https://ibanks.craft.me/UcsFNTWK0pso6F
- Allow your automations to run based on different conditions such as location, weather, Focus modes, and more…
- Referred to as Controller and Conditioned items. Controllers are just off and on togglers and Conditioned Items are those that has conditions set.
- Active Conditions for an item displayed byway of SF Symbols
- Unified or Split View of all of your Controller & Scheduler (Conditioned) Items
- Automatic logging of each automation
- More detailed log view of your automation’s successful runs or failures to run.
- Three beautiful layouts to choose from
- Multiple customization options
- Tagging/Grouping of your items
- Pinning your favorite items to the top of the list
- Uses Apple’s WeatherKit and MapKit frameworks
- Timer for Automatic Toggle Timer function is displayed on the items rows and in the log view
- Ability to prevent a automation from running again if it has ran in the last xyz amount of time
- Version History can be viewed in the apps Settings -About Automation Control page
- Introducing Automation Control GPT (Beta) - Expert on Automation Control features, history and providing assistance in using Automation Control within your Shortcuts Automations
What’s Changed:
- Unified Shortcuts actions to handle both Controller and Scheduler (Conditioned) items instead of separate actions for each
- All Controller items are converted and can now remain as a Controller item or become a Conditioned item by simply enabling the Enable Additional Conditions toggle
- Simplified usage of the Shortcuts actions
- Simplified the apps interface
- Default location for backing up your data
- Import/Export now displays the number of items imported or exported
- Seamless swapping between 12-hour and 24-hour modes, no longer need to recreate your items
2.0 01/06/2025
v 1.7 (2)
Fix: Tools section went missing from the Settings view so I’ve added that back.
Next release will be 2.0. It is a rather large update with some amazing features, so please be sure to backup your existing items to be imported back in should you lose them during the update.
1.7 12/01/2024
v1.5 (6)
Fix: Issue where an exported backup file is causing the Extract Archive shortcuts action to crash the Shortcuts app.
1.6 11/25/2024
A new update to the best way to manage your Shortcuts automations is upon us. This update includes several UI changes, Shortcuts action changes, and new additions to assist in managing your automations within the Shortcuts app.
Important: Please back up your data prior to updating as a precaution to losing existing data. Please note the new changes in the previous release as some Shortcuts actions are changing due to consolidation, and you’d need to replace your existing actions with the new ones else your automations will fail. The deprecated actions will be removed in the next release.
Fix:
* Get Item Details shortcuts action now respects the condition of off Scheduler items and no longer passes them as Conditions Met.
* Dark Mode being so blah-looking.
* Create New Controller/Scheduler Item action now defaults to the On state for the newly created items.
Change:
* Moved Edit button out of the Item Details section of the Sort Menu and placed it at the root level of the menu.
* Status Last Changed now displayed with the description.
* List Controllers/Schedulers action is now named Get Item Details (JSON) and allows you to get all items at once or by type and retrieves name, type, status, and shortcuts input variable, which is passed in JSON format to be used with the Get Dictionary Value and other ways.
Removed:
* Expanded view as currently it serves no purpose, and there were no accommodating recommendations given for its usage.
* Tap and hold on chevron to expand all items, utilize the sort menu -> Item Details -> Expand All/Collapse All button.
New:
* View All Items option in tap and hold context menu when list is filtered by a tag.
* Automatic Toggle Timer now an expandable section.
* Date & Time Conditions now an expandable section.
* Expand and Collapse all sections for the Automatic Toggle Timer and Date & Time sections to expand and collapse the sections together.
* Layout option in the Sort Menu is no longer nested and easily changeable at the top of the list by tapping the icon.
* Display Status Last Changed toggle in Settings now works with grid items but note that this causes the items to become different sizes due to auto layout and it conforming to the length of text displayed on the item. Leaving the Last Changed Status displayed keeps the items more in uniformity.
* View Layout section in the Sort Menu to choose between List or Grid view.
* Context Menu w/ tap and hold gesture. Now allows you to delete an item and view associated tags with that item. Tapping on a tag will filter the view to all items associated with that tag.
* Toggle in Settings to display or not display the Status Last Changed detail in the item row (List View only so far, will add to Grid View).
* Ability to duplicate an item by tap and hold gesture.
* Delete Controller/Scheduler Item Shortcuts action.
* Clear all logs button in Settings. Resets the log for every item in the app.
* Legend for the hour selector for Scheduler items to display the color indications when selecting the hour
1.5 11/20/2024
As always, please back up your data via the Export Data button in the Settings section of the app prior to updating. This update introduces a number of new Shortcuts actions that will replace existing ones in a future update. Please take note of the new actions detailed below so that you can begin replacing the existing actions in your shortcuts scripting.
* New: Tags (Groups) new field where you can group items together using #tagname. All tags are separated by a space. Ex. #Home #School
* New: Tags section in the Sort Menu
* New: Compact Sort Menu: Due to the new tags section, I made the Sort Menu more compact as the tags list may get quite long for some users
* New: Create Automation Prompt: When creating a new item, you are prompted if you’d like to be taken directly to the Shortcuts automation tab to create a new automation or not
* New: Export option saves tags and all other data for each item
* New: Conditions Met and Conditions Not Met filter options in the List Controller/Scheduler Items Shortcuts action
* New: Create New Controller/Scheduler Item Shortcuts action. Selection of date and time details should be done in the Automation Control app.
* New: Select 12-hr or 24-hr mode as your default setting upon first launch after initial app install
* New: Warning display in Settings that existing scheduler items will need to be recreated if the user decides to swap their hour mode and has Scheduler Items already saved.
* New: Select Tags Button that allows you to select from existing tags or create new ones
* New: Compact menu for Sort Menu -> Item Details -> Edit. The icon presents your options after selecting individual items or doing the Select All option.
* New: Backup Data Shortcuts action to automate backing up all of your item data.
* New: Manage Logs for Item Shortcuts action: Will be replacing the Log Last Run for Controller and Scheduler’s actions. Able to get last logged date and time for an item as well.
* New: Shortcuts Action: Set Status of Item(s). A consolidation of Toggle All Controllers, All Schedulers, Set Controller Item Status, and Set Scheduler Item Status actions. The old actions will be removed in a later update.
* New: Shortcuts Action: Get Status of Item. A consolidation of Get Controller Status and Run Scheduler Item actions. The old actions will be removed in a later update.
* New: Shortcuts Action: Manage Item Input Variable. A consolidation of Set Controller and Scheduler Item Variables and Get Controller and Scheduler Item variables. The old actions will be removed in a later update.
* New: Shortcuts Action: List Controller/Scheduler Items. Pull your Controller or Scheduler items in as a list and filter the list based on All, All On, or All off.
* Updated: Automation Control Get Icon shortcut to allow searching for shortcuts in your library to get the icon thanks to mvan231. Download the shortcut from the Tools section in Settings.
1.4 11/13/2024
Remember to backup your data prior to updating for those just in case scenarios.
v1.3
Fix: Double tap scheduler item toggles the indicator again.
Fix: Expand All in the Sort Menu properly displays Expand All and Collapse All instead of always showing Expand All even when collapsed.
New: Added info button to Controller and Scheduler sections to get details about the item type
Be sure to check out the previous updates under What's New -> Version History
1.3 11/06/2024
*** IMPORTANT ***
Before upgrading, use the Export Data option in the Settings menu. There is a chance you may lose your existing items when updating to this version. After you update, you can import the data.
* Removed the background from the icon
* Fixed Get Icon shortcut from hanging (hopefully). New link is in Settings -> Tools
* Fixed a bug where scheduler items were always passing a Yes value to the shortcuts action, even when they should have passed a No value.
* Added a Done button to the keyboard to dismiss it when using the Search field.
* Added a Log view for each item, accessible in Edit Mode -> View Log.
* Added two new Log Last Run Shortcuts actions to log the last completion of the script into the app under the View Log section for that item.
* Added Set Controller Variable & Set Scheduler Variable actions to pass a text value from Shortcuts to be stored in the Shortcuts Input field of the item. Could be useful to save a variable to be used at a later time, like maybe the current focus mode name or whatever.
* Broken is the ability to double tap on a Scheduler item to toggle it, I will fix it soon
* Documentation will be updated on all the added features and the previous ones
1.2 11/05/2024
*** IMPORTANT ***
Before upgrading, use the Export Data option in the Settings menu. There is a chance you may lose your existing items when updating to this version. After you update, you can import the data.
- Please backup your items before upgrading then import them back in should your data get lost with this new update
- New: Tools section in Settings. Allows you to open the Shortcuts Automation tab, start the creation of a new automation in the Shortcuts app, or just open the Shortcuts app from the AC app.
- New: Get AppStore icon or Shortcuts icon via the Select Icon button. When selecting the Get Icon option, it runs a shortcut that you can get from the Tools section, find your icon, and it is copied to the clipboard and opens the Automation Control app for you to paste the icon.
- New: Get Controller and Get Scheduler Item variable Shortcuts actions. Allows you to pass a text string as a variable to your automation script if needed.
- New: Filter section in the Sort Menu. Allows you to display all, only all items that are on, or only all items that are off.
- Fixed: When adding a Scheduler item and not selecting a date and time, it defaults to the current date and time, and changing the date and time did not update on the item row.
- Sample Shortcuts for when the app is a fresh install.
- Temp Removal: iPad layout as it needs a lot of work to be done, so for now, use the app in iPhone layout.
1.1 11/03/2024
This update is more of a cosmetic fix and shouldn’t affect any existing setups you may have.
- Improved Date & Time Conditions so labels are easier to understand.
- Fixed section titles like dayof_week so they now display properly as readable names.
- Shortened month and weekday names where needed so they fit better and look cleaner.
- Made date/time selections easier to use: leaving months, dates, days, or hours empty now means “allow all” instead of forcing you to select everything manually.
- Added clearer wording in the edit view, including labels like Specific Months, Specific Weekdays, Specific Dates, and Specific Hours.
- Added helpful guidance so it’s clearer that you only need to select values if you want to restrict when an automation runs.
- Updated translations for these Date & Time improvements across supported languages.
- Fixed the version number text in the About screen so it displays correctly.
more Version 2.10 Apr 6
Data Not Collected The developer does not collect any data from this app.