If you've been ignoring the Shortcuts app on your Mac, you're leaving a lot of time on the table. Apple Shortcuts — originally an iOS feature that came to macOS with Monterey — is a free, built-in automation tool that can string together actions across apps, system settings, files, and the web. No coding required.
In this guide, I'll explain how Shortcuts works on Mac, show you how to create your first automation, and give you 8 practical shortcuts you can set up today and start using immediately.
What Is the Shortcuts App?
Shortcuts is Apple's visual automation tool. Think of it as a way to record a series of steps — "open this folder, rename these files, send this email, turn on Do Not Disturb" — and trigger them all with a single click, keyboard shortcut, or voice command to Siri.
The Shortcuts app lives in your Applications folder, or you can find it in the Dock by default. Once you create a shortcut, you can:
- Run it from the Shortcuts app itself
- Pin it to the menu bar for one-click access
- Assign it a keyboard shortcut
- Trigger it with Siri ("Hey Siri, start my morning routine")
- Add it to your Dock
- Run it via Quick Actions in Finder (right-click a file)
Anatomy of a Shortcut
Every shortcut is built from Actions — individual steps that do something. Actions are organized into categories like Apps, Scripting, Files, Web, and more. You build a shortcut by dragging actions into a sequence, connecting them so the output of one becomes the input of the next.
You can also use:
- Variables — store a value (like today's date or a file name) and reuse it
- If/Otherwise — conditional logic ("if the battery is below 20%, send me a notification")
- Repeat — perform an action on each item in a list
For beginners, the best approach is to start with simple, linear shortcuts — a sequence of actions with no branching logic — and work up from there.
How to Create Your First Shortcut
- Open the Shortcuts app (Applications > Shortcuts, or search in Spotlight)
- Click the + button in the top right to create a new shortcut
- Give your shortcut a name by clicking "New Shortcut" at the top
- In the search panel on the right, search for an action (e.g., "Open App")
- Double-click or drag the action into the shortcut editor on the left
- Configure the action (e.g., choose which app to open)
- Add more actions as needed
- Click the Run button (triangle play icon) to test it
You can also browse the Shortcut Gallery (click "Gallery" in the sidebar) to find pre-built shortcuts you can add and customize. There are hundreds there.
8 Practical Mac Shortcuts to Set Up Today
1. Morning Routine Launcher
Start your workday with a single click. This shortcut can open all your daily apps at once — Calendar, Mail, Slack, your browser with specific tabs, etc.
Actions needed: Open App (repeat for each app), Open URLs (for browser tabs)
Trigger: Menu bar, Siri ("Hey Siri, start my work day"), or keyboard shortcut
2. Screenshot Organizer
Screenshots pile up on the desktop fast. This shortcut finds all screenshots taken today, renames them with a date prefix, and moves them to a Screenshots folder.
Actions needed: Find Files (matching "Screenshot" in name, from Desktop), Rename (add date), Move File
Trigger: Run manually at end of day, or set as an automation to run at 5PM
3. Quick Meeting Notes Template
Creates a new note in the Notes app with a pre-filled template including today's date, meeting name field, attendees, and action items sections — ready to go before every meeting.
Actions needed: Get Current Date, Format Date, Create Note (with template text using the date variable)
Trigger: Siri ("Hey Siri, new meeting note"), or keyboard shortcut
4. Text Expander / Paste Common Responses
Copy a frequently-used block of text — an email signature, a standard reply, your mailing address, etc. — to the clipboard instantly.
Actions needed: Text (type your text block), Copy to Clipboard
Trigger: Menu bar pin, or keyboard shortcut (e.g., Option + Command + A for "address")
This replaces paid text-expander apps for simple use cases.
5. Resize and Compress Images for Web
Right-click any image in Finder and resize it to web-friendly dimensions (e.g., max 1200px wide) automatically. Saves the resized version to your Desktop.
Actions needed: Receive Images from Quick Actions (Finder), Resize Image, Save to Desktop
Trigger: Right-click any image in Finder > Quick Actions > your shortcut name
To enable this: When saving the shortcut, check the box for "Use as Quick Action" and select "Finder"
6. Focus Mode Toggle with Do Not Disturb
Enable a Focus mode, close all distracting apps (social media, email), and open your main work app all in one action.
Actions needed: Set Focus (Work Focus), Quit App (list of distracting apps), Open App (your work app)
Trigger: Menu bar, keyboard shortcut, or Siri
7. Daily Backup Reminder with Log
Displays a notification reminding you to back up your work, and appends a timestamped line to a text log file so you can see when you last checked.
Actions needed: Show Notification, Get Current Date, Format Date, Append to File (a log .txt in Documents)
Trigger: Set as an Automation that runs daily at 4:30PM
To create automations: In Shortcuts, click the Automation tab, then "New Automation"
8. Send Today's Weather to Yourself
Fetches your local weather forecast and sends it to your email or Messages — useful if you want a morning briefing in your inbox without opening a weather app.
Actions needed: Get Current Weather, Get Details of Weather Conditions (temperature, forecast), Send Email (or Send Message)
Trigger: Daily automation at 7AM
Finding and Sharing Shortcuts
You don't have to build everything from scratch. The community has built thousands of excellent shortcuts you can download and use immediately:
- Apple's Shortcuts Gallery — built into the app, hundreds of official and community shortcuts
- r/shortcuts on Reddit — active community sharing and troubleshooting shortcuts
- RoutineHub.co — a dedicated directory of community shortcuts, searchable by category
When you find a shortcut you want to use, opening the link on a Mac with Shortcuts installed will prompt you to add it to your library. You can then inspect and modify it before running.
Tips for Getting More Out of Shortcuts
- Pin your most-used shortcuts to the menu bar: Right-click a shortcut and choose "Pin in Menu Bar" — this gives you instant access from anywhere
- Use Automations for time-based triggers: The Automation tab lets shortcuts run automatically based on time, location, app opening, and more
- Test before you trust: Always test a new shortcut in a safe environment before running it on real files or data
- Comment your shortcuts: Use the "Comment" action (it does nothing, just adds a note) to document complex shortcuts so you remember what each section does
Conclusion
The Shortcuts app is one of the most underused tools on macOS, and it's sitting right there on your Mac for free. Start with one shortcut that solves a specific annoyance in your daily workflow — the Morning Launcher and the Image Resizer are both immediately practical. Once you see how much time a single automation can save, you'll find yourself reaching for Shortcuts constantly.
For a deeper dive, Apple's official Shortcuts User Guide for Mac is comprehensive and well-written. Matthew Cassinelli's Shortcuts resources are also excellent for finding community inspiration.
What repetitive task are you most hoping to automate? Share it in the comments — I may be able to help you build the shortcut.
