I’m looking for clarification on what iOS currently allows third-party apps to do in these areas: Siri integration and background voice activation: Can an iOS app implement a custom voice assistant that responds to a wake phrase such as “Hey Nowa” and performs app tasks through voice commands? Could it listen while the app is terminated or the iPhone is locked, similar to Siri? Call recordings: Is there a supported way for an iOS app to access recordings of phone calls made on the user’s iPhone and make them available within the app? I couldn’t find documentation for an API that provides access to these recordings. SMS access: Is there a supported way for an iOS app to access and fetch all SMS and iMessage conversations stored in the user’s Messages app, so they can be viewed within our app? As far as I understand, iOS may not allow these capabilities for third-party apps, but I’d appreciate clarification. If any are supported, could you please point me to the relevant Apple documentation?

I'v been using a shortcut from the iOS/ipadOS share sheet in safari for several months now successfully and tried to use/port it to macOS: The "Run Javascript on Active Safari Tab" (RJOACST) action fails on MacOS if logic based on native shortcut actions is executed before / in front of it. The same shortcut does work on iOS and iPadOS. Here's the shortcut: https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/613fe9b4464c401380159eb8160eb485 The Error on macOS reads: ''' DEV Safari Recipee 2 JS Reminders N... Unable to Run JavaScript on Web Page Make sure Allow JavaScript from Apple Events is enabled in the Develop menu in Safari. The Develop menu can be enabled in the Advanced section of Safari's Preferences. ''' BUT: simpler shortcuts with just the RJOASF Javascscript (e.g. the default script) DO work on the same machine. All settings are correct. When refactoring the initial logic from shortcuts action into Javascript code and calling the RJOACST silently lets the shortcut die. Any lead/hint appreciated. I did try to retrieve the shortcuts input shortly before the RJOACST is executed. PS: The file Recipes.json contains a list of sites to scrape recipe ingredients from - find the example here: ''' { "deli-berlin.com": { "selectorType": "xpath", "selectorExpression": "//div[contains(@class,'wprm-recipe-ingredient-group')]/ul/li", "extractionType": "text", "joinArrayString": "\n", "cleanupRules": [], "sampleUrl": "https://deli-berlin.com/rezept-vegane-lasagne/", "cachedHtml": "", "baselineIngredientsText": "", "activeVariationId": "row", "variations": [], "snapshotNote": "", "lastTestStatus": "untested", "lastTestedDate": "", "lastTestError": "", "htmlUpdatedAt": "", "baselineUpdatedAt": "", "ruleConfigUpdatedAt": "", "history": [] }, "www.allrecipes.com": { "selectorType": "xpath", "selectorExpression": "//ul[contains(@class,'mntl-structured-ingredients__list')]/li", "extractionType": "text", "joinArrayString": "\n", "cleanupRules": [ { "find": "\n{2,}", "replace": "\n", "active": true, "phase": "beforeJoin" } ], "sampleUrl": "https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/221361/traditional-sauerbraten/", "cachedHtml": "", "baselineIngredientsText": "", "activeVariationId": "row", "variations": [], "snapshotNote": "", "lastTestStatus": "untested", "lastTestedDate": "", "lastTestError": "", "htmlUpdatedAt": "", "baselineUpdatedAt": "", "ruleConfigUpdatedAt": "", "history": [] } } '''

I'm building a cross-platform app (.NET MAUI) on ios with a feature that lets users send a block of text to their preferred note-taking app to save for later. This works fine via their documented x-callback-url schemes (e.g. bear://x-callback-url/create?text=...). I'd like to support Apple's own Notes app the same way, but I can't find a documented mechanism to do so. Questions: Is there a URL scheme for Notes.app that a third-party app can use to open it, and if so, does it support passing in content for a new note? Is there any officially supported way — App Intents, or otherwise — to create a new note with pre-filled text in Notes.app from another app? Does the new Notes domain under App Intents (iOS 18+) apply to Apple's own Notes app, or is it purely a schema that third-party note apps can adopt for themselves? If it does apply, is there a way to invoke it directly from another app's UI rather than only via Siri/Shortcuts? If none of the above exists, is routing through the standard share sheet the intended/only supported approach for this use case going forward? Thanks in advance — wanting to make sure I'm not missing a documented mechanism before concluding this isn't possible.

Hello, I have a question about App Intents and the Action button on iPhone. I have an App Intent that opens the app and navigates to a specific entity, conforming to OpenIntent with a single AppEntity parameter. The entity conforms to EnumerableEntityQuery, and the intent is registered as an App Shortcut via the AppShortcutsProvider. When assigning this shortcut to the Action button in Settings, the system doesn’t prompt the user to select a default entity upfront. Instead, it prompts on every activation, creating friction. In contrast, shortcuts like “Open Note…” and other third-party ones prompt the user for a note to open when setting up the Action button, and its title also includes three dots, indicating a pre-configurable parameter. My shortcut’s title shows no dots. What’s required to make an App Shortcut prompt for a default parameter during Action button setup? Sincerely, Holger

Context I built an app entirely using Swift Playgrounds on iPad (no access to a Mac / Xcode). The app is distributed via TestFlight and installed on an iPhone. Problem I implemented an AppShortcutsProvider with simple AppShortcut entries (code below), but no shortcuts show up in the Shortcuts app, in the list of apps with shortcuts, or via Siri. What I've already tried without success: Full restart of the iPhone Deleting the app's data Fully uninstalling and reinstalling the app A new TestFlight build (with incremented build number) after adding the code Confirming the phrases correctly include (.applicationName) as required Question Is the Extract AppIntentsMetadata build step (which generates the metadata.appintents file) actually executed when compiling/submitting via Swift Playgrounds on iPad, or is this a known limitation of the tool that would prevent App Shortcuts from being indexed by Shortcuts/Siri? Environment Swift Playgrounds version: [check in the app under Settings > General > About] iOS version on test iPhone: [fill in] Project deployment target: [fill in if known, otherwise note that you have no way to check this without Xcode] Provider code: import SwiftUI import AppIntents // ============================================================ // MARK: - TEST INTENT // ============================================================ struct TestExpenseIntent: AppIntent { static let title: LocalizedStringResource = "Test dépense" static let description = IntentDescription( "Teste l'intégration de l'application avec Raccourcis." ) static let isDiscoverable = true func perform() async throws -> some IntentResult { return .result(dialog: "Ça fonctionne !") } } // ============================================================ // MARK: - ADD EXPENSE INTENT // ============================================================ struct AddApplePayExpenseIntent: AppIntent { static let title: LocalizedStringResource = "Ajouter une dépense" static let description = IntentDescription( "Ajoute une dépense à un Tricount." ) static let isDiscoverable = true static let openAppWhenRun = false @Parameter(title: "Montant") var amount: Double? @Parameter(title: "Marchand") var merchant: String? func perform() async throws -> some IntentResult { let valAmount = amount ?? 0.0 let valMerchant = merchant ?? "Inconnu" print("Montant :", valAmount) print("Marchand :", valMerchant) return .result( dialog: "Dépense de \(valAmount) € chez \(valMerchant)." ) } } // ============================================================ // MARK: - SHORTCUTS // ============================================================ struct MyAppShortcuts: AppShortcutsProvider { static var shortcutTileColor: ShortcutTileColor = .blue static let appShortcuts: [AppShortcut] = [ AppShortcut( intent: TestExpenseIntent(), phrases: [ "Tester \(.applicationName)" ], shortTitle: "Test dépense", systemImageName: "plus.circle" ), AppShortcut( intent: AddApplePayExpenseIntent(), phrases: [ "Ajouter une dépense dans \(.applicationName)", "Ajouter \(\.$amount) dans \(.applicationName)" ], shortTitle: "Ajouter une dépense", systemImageName: "plus.circle" ) ] }

Context I built an app entirely using Swift Playgrounds on iPad (no access to a Mac / Xcode). The app is distributed via TestFlight and installed on an iPhone. Problem I implemented an AppShortcutsProvider with simple AppShortcut entries (code below), but no shortcuts show up in the Shortcuts app, in the list of apps with shortcuts, or via Siri. What I've already tried without success: Full restart of the iPhone Deleting the app's data Fully uninstalling and reinstalling the app A new TestFlight build (with incremented build number) after adding the code Confirming the phrases correctly include (.applicationName) as required Question Is the Extract AppIntentsMetadata build step (which generates the metadata.appintents file) actually executed when compiling/submitting via Swift Playgrounds on iPad, or is this a known limitation of the tool that would prevent App Shortcuts from being indexed by Shortcuts/Siri? Provider code: import SwiftUI import AppIntents // ============================================================ // MARK: - TEST INTENT // ============================================================ struct TestExpenseIntent: AppIntent { static let title: LocalizedStringResource = "Test dépense" static let description = IntentDescription( "Teste l'intégration de l'application avec Raccourcis." ) static let isDiscoverable = true func perform() async throws -> some IntentResult { return .result(dialog: "Ça fonctionne !") } } // ============================================================ // MARK: - ADD EXPENSE INTENT // ============================================================ struct AddApplePayExpenseIntent: AppIntent { static let title: LocalizedStringResource = "Ajouter une dépense" static let description = IntentDescription( "Ajoute une dépense à un Tricount." ) static let isDiscoverable = true static let openAppWhenRun = false @Parameter(title: "Montant") var amount: Double? @Parameter(title: "Marchand") var merchant: String? func perform() async throws -> some IntentResult { let valAmount = amount ?? 0.0 let valMerchant = merchant ?? "Inconnu" print("Montant :", valAmount) print("Marchand :", valMerchant) return .result( dialog: "Dépense de \(valAmount) € chez \(valMerchant)." ) } } // ============================================================ // MARK: - SHORTCUTS // ============================================================ struct MyAppShortcuts: AppShortcutsProvider { static var shortcutTileColor: ShortcutTileColor = .blue static let appShortcuts: [AppShortcut] = [ AppShortcut( intent: TestExpenseIntent(), phrases: [ "Tester (.applicationName)" ], shortTitle: "Test dépense", systemImageName: "plus.circle" ), AppShortcut( intent: AddApplePayExpenseIntent(), phrases: [ "Ajouter une dépense dans (.applicationName)", "Ajouter (.$amount) dans (.applicationName)" ], shortTitle: "Ajouter une dépense", systemImageName: "plus.circle" ) ] }

After updating to iOS 26.6 I noticed a regression in Shortcuts automations. I created two simple automations: When App Is Opened → Show Notification “OPEN” When App Is Closed → Show Notification “CLOSE” Steps: Open Safari (or any app). Open Control Center or Notification Center. Actual result: “CLOSE” is triggered immediately. Dismissing Control Center or Notification Center does not trigger “OPEN”. Expected: Opening system overlays should not generate an App Closed event because the foreground application remains active. Device: iPhone 13 mini iOS: 26.6 Can anyone else reproduce this?

Hi all, I’m building a sandboxed macOS app that, among other things, lets the user create and associate an Apple Note with a calendar meeting. The user explicitly initiates the action. The app uses AppleScript to create the note, obtain its identifier, and open it in Notes. Notes only declares the com.apple.Notes.openlocation scripting access group. Note creation is not covered, so com.apple.security.scripting-targets does not appear sufficient. The working implementation requires: com.apple.security.automation.apple-events com.apple.security.temporary-exception.apple-events for com.apple.Notes NSAppleEventsUsageDescription Has anyone successfully shipped a Mac App Store app using this temporary exception to control the built-in Notes app? Is this potentially acceptable with a clear entitlement explanation and Feedback Assistant report, or should I assume that note creation through AppleScript cannot be included in a Mac App Store build? Is there another supported API that can create an Apple Note and return an identifier or openable URL for it?

I am new to Mac and. shortcuts. I am trying to. keep track of a date so that the shortcut knows the last time the shoiortcut was used. I tried using the action 'File' but having trouble figuring how to use it. Does a file need to be created first? Please. if anything point me where to find info. Thanks

I have created a share extension for my app which supports accepting an image. However the app do not appear in the "Share with App" action of shortcuts. It only shows "Health" and "Reminders" which are default apple apps. What I found though is that if I open some other app like Photos and share an image from it, then go to end of app's list and click more. And in the list if I toggle my app off and on again. And then come back to shourtcuts app, the app then appears. Step 1: Open share sheet, click more Step 2: Toggle the app off and on again and save. And then it switching to shortcuts app, it appear now. I am unable to find a way on how to make this app's share extension support the "Share with app" action of shortcuts by default. This looks like a bug. I did not find any proper documentation as well for this. Can anyone point me to correct way / resource to add my app as supported app here out of the box. Minimal reproducible example: ZIP file of xcode project

I made an apple script to move images into folders based on it's Year and Month. I use it to archive raw images when I'm done with it. Though it could help others out there. Using the "Folder Actions Setup". It will get the year and month of the file. Create a folder and set the filename to its year, then create another folder in the year folder and set the filename to it's month and move the file into it. property month_index : {"01", "02", "03", "04", "05", "06", "07", "08", "09", "10", "11", "12"} on adding folder items to this_folder after receiving these_items #set this_year to the year of (current date) try tell application "Finder" repeat with i from 1 to number of items in these_items set this_item to item i of these_items as alias set item_type to the kind of this_item as string if item_type is not "Folder" then set file_date to the creation date of this_item set file_year to the year of file_date as string set j to the month of file_date as integer set file_month to item j of month_index as string set Done to my move_file(this_folder, file_year, file_month, this_item) else if item_type is "Folder" then exit repeat end if end repeat end tell on error error_message number error_number if error_number is not -128 then display dialog error_message & error_number buttons {"Cancel"} default button 1 giving up after 120 end if end try end adding folder items to on move_file(main_folder, year_foldername, month_foldername, this_item) try tell application "Finder" set year_folder to my create_folder(main_folder, year_foldername) set month_folder to my create_folder(year_folder, month_foldername) move this_item to the month_folder without replacing end tell on error error_message number error_number if error_number is -15267 then rename_file(month_folder, this_item) else if error_number is not -128 then display dialog error_message & " move file " & error_number buttons {"Cancel"} default button 1 giving up after 120 end if end try end move_file on create_folder(directory, foldername) try tell application "Finder" if not (exists folder foldername of directory) then make new folder of directory with properties {name:foldername} end if set the sub_folder to (folder foldername of directory) as alias return sub_folder end tell on error error_message number error_number if error_number is not -128 then display dialog error_message & " create_folder " & error_number buttons {"Cancel"} default button 1 giving up after 120 end if end try end create_folder on rename_file(sub_folder, this_item) try tell application "Finder" set increment to 1 set file_name to the name of this_item set file_extension to the name extension of this_item set old_file to the (file (name of this_item) of folder sub_folder) as alias repeat set trimmed_name to text 1 thru -((length of file_extension) + 2) of the file_name set new_name to (the trimmed_name & " " & (increment as string) & "." & file_extension) as string if not (exists document file new_name of the sub_folder) then set name of (document file file_name of sub_folder) to the new_name move document file this_item to the sub_folder exit repeat else set the increment to the increment + 1 end if end repeat end tell on error error_message number error_number if error_number is not -128 then display dialog error_message & " archive_file " & error_number buttons {"Cancel"} default button 1 giving up after 120 end if end try end rename_file

Previously, we used NSUserActivity to enable invoking specific in-app features from the Shortcuts app. This worked as expected up to iOS 17, but it no longer works on iOS 18 and later. We’ve confirmed that the same functionality can be achieved by using App Intents as an alternative. Question. Is the change in iOS 18—where NSUserActivity-based Shortcuts integration no longer works (or is restricted)—an intentional behavior change? If so, could you point us to any relevant documentation or release notes describing this change? We’ve tried to find information ourselves but haven’t found any clear references. Request. In cases like this where an OS update impacts existing implementations, it would be very helpful if such changes were clearly documented in release notes or API change logs in advance.

Hello, As far as I know, the Shortcuts app’s automation trigger “When an alarm is stopped” is not triggered when an AlarmKit alarm is turned off. If that is indeed the case, I would like to know whether there are any plans to support this in the future.

Hi! I used the shortcuts app to customize my iPhone with custom icons that I put through the launch app command in shortcuts. Now when I scroll they refresh every time and it's super annoying. How do I make them cache and not refresh just like normal icons? Thank you!

I am developing a Matter thermostat device and would like to understand the specific requirements for supporting the Adaptive Temperature feature in the Apple Home app. What we have tested: We built a standard Matter 1.4 thermostat that implements the Thermostat cluster with support for Cool, Heat, and Auto modes. We successfully added this device to a HomePod running iOS 26.2 (or later). However, the Adaptive Temperature button does not appear in the device settings within the Home app. Our questions: Are there additional Matter cluster attributes or features beyond the standard Matter 1.4 Thermostat cluster that are required for Adaptive Temperature to be recognized by Apple Home? Does Adaptive Temperature require any specific device type or optional feature (e.g., occupancy sensing, local temperature reporting intervals, or support for Auto mode in a particular way)? Is there any special entitlement or capability that must be enabled in the Apple Developer account (e.g., under Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles) for a Matter device to expose Adaptive Temperature? Are there known reference implementations or test cases we can follow to validate Adaptive Temperature support? Any documentation, technical specifications, or guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

For some reason since watchOS 26.5 my workout app can no longer receive action button presses during a workout unless the action button is configured to start a specified activity type. If the action button is configured to just open the app but not start an activity then at the start of a workout the app donates a StartWorkoutIntent. The result parameter is set to a 'NextButtonPress' intent so that the app is notified when the action button is pressed. This has been working fine since the action button first appeared back in 2022, but has suddenly stopped working with watchOS 26.5. Now when the app tries to donate the intent then it fails with the following error: The operation couldn’t be completed. (LNTranscriptErrorDomain error 1003.) Does anyone know what has changed and how I can get around it? Thanks.

Since the update to macOS 26.5, SetFocusFilterIntent is broken in two ways: When using a SetFocusFilterIntent where the user can select one AppEntity out of a list, the selection is broken. Instead of the selected item, the first or two items at the same time are highlighted. The perform method of the SetFocusFilterIntent is never called. On iOS there seems to be a strange fix when the focus filter doesn't work, just conform the focus filter to a LiveActivityIntent: struct FocusFilter: SetFocusFilterIntent, LiveActivityIntent No solution for macOS yet.

iOS 26.5 regression: DisplayRepresentation.Image not rendering in OptionsCollection picker Apple's official sample Accelerating App Interactions with App Intents no longer renders entity images on iOS 26.5. Repro: Build the unmodified sample on iOS 26.5 sim (or device). Shortcuts app → add Get Trail Conditions → tap the Trail parameter. Expected (works on 26.3): Each trail in the Favorites picker shows its image via DisplayRepresentation.Image(named:) from TrailEntity.displayRepresentation.

I’ve developed an automation and shortcut using the iPhone Shortcuts app in IOS 18, something that hasn’t been done before. With support from Apple’s customer service, I was encouraged to bring this idea to life. The automation’s purpose is to open a specified iOS app, move it to the background, and use a txt database in Folders to ensure uninterrupted data flow and continuous connectivity—especially useful for health apps where wearable devices need consistent, uninterrupted operation and monitoring (e.g., doctor tracking or wearable device connectivity). I would like to share the Automation and the Shortcut with the community.

We are integrating the App Intents framework into our iOS app to enable Siri functionality, including intents that display user data (e.g., showing upcoming schedule information) and intents that perform actions on behalf of users (e.g., submitting a time-off request). Our Legal team has asked us to provide any developer-specific integration terms or agreements that govern the engineering use of Siri and the App Intents framework — separate from the user-facing Siri, Dictation & Privacy terms. So far, the only reference we've found to App Intents or Siri in Apple's developer agreements is Section J of the Apple Developer Program License Agreement. We've also reviewed the App Store Review Guidelines, the Privacy HIG, and the Siri HIG. As a point of comparison, Apple Maps has its own specific set of developer integration terms (MapKit / Apple Maps Server API terms). Does anything equivalent exist for Siri and/or the App Intents framework? If Section J of the License Agreement and the relevant HIG sections are the complete set of terms governing developer use of App Intents and Siri, confirmation of that would also be very helpful. Thank you.