| description | Use when looking up or verifying SF Symbol names for macOS Automator workflow icons. Covers the hard lookup rule, authoritative sources, and how to grep the bundled symbol list. |
| name | sf-symbols |
SF Symbol names for Automator workflow icons
Hard rule: always look up from an authoritative source
Every SF Symbol name must be verified against the macOS SFSymbols private framework, not third-party lists (e.g. sam4096/apple-sf-symbols-list), which are often incomplete and can falsely label valid symbols as missing.
Authoritative sources
| Source | Location | Best for |
|---|
| SF Symbols app | Free download from Apple Developer | Visual browsing, search, copy name |
| macOS private framework | /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/SFSymbols.framework/ | Authoritative; source for the local list |
| Local extracted list | symbols.txt (extracted from macOS framework, in this skill directory) | Quick grep-based lookup |
The HIG page on developer.apple.com is a design guide, not a catalog — it does not list symbol names. There is no web-based catalog.
symbols.txt is extracted from the CoreGlyphs and CoreGlyphsPrivate bundles inside the macOS SFSymbols framework. It is not downloaded from a third-party source.
How to look up a symbol name
Quickest: grep the local list
grep -i 'keyword' .agents/skills/sf-symbols/symbols.txt
Visual: SF Symbols app
- Download and open the SF Symbols app from Apple Developer.
- Search or browse categories.
- Select a symbol — its name appears at the bottom.
- Right-click → "Copy Name".
Regenerate the local list from framework (when macOS updates SF Symbols)
plutil -p /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/SFSymbols.framework/Versions/A/Resources/CoreGlyphs.bundle/Contents/Resources/name_availability.plist | grep '=>' | sed 's/^[[:space:]]*"//;s/"[[:space:]]*=>.*//' > symbols_raw_a.txt
plutil -p /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/SFSymbols.framework/Versions/A/Resources/CoreGlyphsPrivate.bundle/Contents/Resources/name_availability.plist | python3 -c "
import sys, re
data = sys.stdin.read()
for m in re.finditer(r'\"([a-zA-Z0-9._]+)\"', data.split('{',1)[1] if '{' in data else data):
name = m.group(1)
if not name.startswith('_') and not (len(name) == 32 and re.match(r'^[0-9A-F]+$', name)):
print(name)
" > symbols_raw_b.txt
cat symbols_raw_a.txt symbols_raw_b.txt | sort -u > symbols.txt
rm symbols_raw_a.txt symbols_raw_b.txt
Policy reference
The icon convention policy for this project's Automator workflows is documented in src/hosts/MacBook/services/automator-workflows.nix (header comment section "SF Symbol icon policy").
macOS version floor
Symbols from SF Symbols 3 require macOS 12 Monterey+. Always check the SF Symbols version in which a symbol was introduced and verify against the host's minimum macOS version.
