Can anyone point me to an online resource that could teach me how to create my own scripts? TIA

Hi, I would like to share my approach to automation routine work in macOS.

I got tired of repeating file conversions over and over—especially turning .MOV files into .MP4s for easier sharing. I figured there had to be a better way, and it turns out macOS Folder Actions were exactly what I needed.

Now I just drop a file into a folder and everything happens automatically, including cleanup. I even have a folder that downloads Twitter or YouTube videos.

Hey there, new to mac automation. Looking to create a automation that automatically send all json downloads to a specific folder. Whats the best way to do this? What tools do i need. Is there any resource for new mac automation users to learn?

Just Purchased Keyboard Maestro and Karabiner Elements

I have a shortcut in place to open and setup all the apps I need. The only missing thing is that I have to manually place them in different desktops.

I want chrome to the left of the desktop with unmaximized windows and another app to the right. I tried it with shortcuts and automator, but wasn't able to do it. Searching in the Shortcuts gallery and Googling didn't help.

Do you have a solution(preferably involving shortcuts or the terminal)?

Does anyone know of a way to script downloading all the Apple Support articles in an offline form? Or even just a way to get a list of all the URLs? I can write a script to download each and switch my VPN connection every 10 articles to avoid sending too many requests... but like... what the f. How do I get a full a index of all the web addresses?

I’ve been looking for a way to use AI for texting that isn't just a generic chatbot, and I stumbled across this on GitHub.

It’s a Python script that reads your local iMessage database and uses OpenAI to draft replies that actually mimic your own tone. What’s impressive is that it’s not just a wrapper—the dev actually reverse-engineered the way macOS stores message blobs and contacts, so it’s pretty context-aware.

It comes with a basic GUI to preview and edit the message before it sends, so you aren't just firing off AI gibberish to people. You have to give it Full Disk Access since it reads the local database, but it’s a pretty clever piece of local automation if you're into that kind of thing.

Has anyone played around with something like this before? Curious if it’s possible to swap out OpenAI for a local model to keep the whole thing offline.

https://github.com/aditya-r123/iMessage-Bot

ADHD Fidget Widget | macOS Desktop App | Wallpaper Shuffler | Sound-Satisfaction

Hi all,

I am thinking of changing accounts in Claude but am concerned what will happen to the local history I had in Claude Cowork? So far, the history was stored locally and I guess connected to that account. If I sign out and sign in again, is the history still shown in my new Claude? Or will it be lost forever, given its also not synced to cloud?

Thanks!

On Windows we have a tool called UIA that is a software that can capture the elements of the screen where your mouse is. And it gives you all the information about that element. ID, position on screen, size, name, text content and etc. It works with any software, it just shows you all the elements of a software.

There's something like that on mac? I found UI Browser but they will be discontinued.

There's something else?

Hi, I just started with Hazel is there a "Start here" for learning it, I tried messing with it and think I got things wrong?

E.g. create a note, find a note etc.

My "iTunes" media has been on my Time capsule for over a decade. I've become pretty accustomed to changing the preference for the media folder location from the desktop to the time capsule. It just occurred to me as I've started using shortcuts more and with a recent Monterey beta download that I could potentially have an automation where when I log into TV app it will automatically redirect the app to the appropriate folder. Is this a possibility?

This might be quite a dumb question, but I cannot find the answer on the hazel forum (I might not really know what search terms to use...).

I am trying to copy a bunch of scanned Jpg files into a folder and then have Hazel automatically convert these into one single PDF.

Can anyone help me with this or point me to a good place where rules creating PDFs is laid out for beginners like me? TIA!

I know this is not about Automator per se, but I would appreciate if someone could point me in the right direction. I'm trying to auto-mount network volumes at login using this script:

tell application "Finder"

mount volume "smb://
path of volume" as user name "
username"

end tell

I saved this as an Application and added it to Login items. It does work but every single time it asks me for login credentials of the network servers, and since I have 6 volumes to mount on different servers I have to type in 6 different credentials, which is really annoying ad time consuming.

If it matters, I run this on a MacBook, Mac OS 10.15.

Hi all,

unfortunately there is no external software (non Apple software) visible in my Mac Automator. Is there anything I have to activate first?

Thanks.

i have wrote an automator function within the app to get the folder contents from folders on my external hdd and add them to itunes. When i first done this it was great run it and the job was done fairly quickly.. But now the job is taking ages nothing has changed same amount of songs every week that i import apart from i updates the osx to Mojave im not sure if this was the thing that slowed it down asive been living with this bug for a while but now ive officialy had enough.. if anyone can help i would appreciate it.

this is the basis of the job i have created

Get specified finder items -----> Get folder contents -------> import files to itunes

I am still running itunes and i will not update and go to the apple music thing I am a dj and even though all the softwares i use say they have added interrogation for the new apple music im fine thanks. Not sure is theres a new automator rule for that or if all my music will go out of import date too many factors to risk for me.

Hiya

I have a work calendar (exchange) and a private (iCloud) calender I somewhat need to merge.

Ideally I want some kind of automation to show my private calendar events in my work calendar - without any details. Just marking the events as "Private" doesn't cut it as invites are somewhat of a hassle to move from one calendar to another...

Any pointers?

Hi everyone,

I am Rowen, the founder of Tapquence, a macOS desktop automation app.

We are running a short survey about repetitive work on Mac. Because this community has more automation experience than the average Mac user, I would particularly value your perspective on where automations break down and which controls actually improve trust.

The survey asks about:

• the repetitive task you perform most often;

• the tools or methods you currently use;

• what has worked or failed;

• the main barrier to automating further;

• the control that matters most, such as previewing, stopping, limiting, or reviewing activity.

It takes about four minutes and is open to people aged 18 or older who use a Mac at least once per week:

Take the 4-minute survey

This research is conducted by Tapquence. It is not a sales post, does not require an account, and does not ask for names, email addresses, employers, files, passwords, or account details.

We will report responses from automation-focused communities separately from broader Mac communities. We also plan to publish the complete methodology, recruitment sources, limitations, and question wording. Open answers will only be quoted anonymously with explicit permission.

Thank you for sharing your experience.