apple-macos

name	apple-macos
description	Control Apple Notes, Reminders, Voice Memos, and Shortcuts on macOS via AppleScript and SQLite. Triggers on "apple notes", "apple reminders", "apple shortcuts", "voice memos", "macOS automation".
user-invocable	true
triggers	["apple notes","apple reminders","voice memos","apple shortcuts","delete note","create reminder","shortcut","check-in shortcut"]

Apple Apps — Notes, Reminders, Voice Memos

Control Apple Notes, Reminders, and Voice Memos from Claude via AppleScript and SQLite.

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Apple Notes

Notes supports full AppleScript control.

List all notes in a folder

osascript -e 'tell application "Notes" to get name of every note in folder "Notes"'

Read a note's content

osascript -e 'tell application "Notes" to get plaintext of note "Note Title"'

Delete a note

osascript -e 'tell application "Notes" to delete note "Note Title"'

Create a note

osascript -e 'tell application "Notes" to make new note at folder "Notes" with properties {name:"Title", body:"<h1>Title</h1><p>Body text</p>"}'

List folders

osascript -e 'tell application "Notes" to get name of every folder'

Count notes in a folder

osascript -e 'tell application "Notes" to get count of notes in folder "Notes"'

Notes gotchas

• Note body uses HTML, not plain text. Use <h1>, <p>, <br>, <ul><li> tags.
• plaintext returns stripped text; body returns HTML source.
• Folder names are case-sensitive.
• Deleting moves to "Recently Deleted" — not permanent.

---

Apple Reminders

Reminders supports full AppleScript control.

List all reminders in a list

osascript -e 'tell application "Reminders" to get name of every reminder in list "Reminders"'

Create a reminder

osascript -e 'tell application "Reminders" to make new reminder in list "Reminders" with properties {name:"Task title", body:"Details", due date:date "2026-03-20"}'

Complete a reminder

osascript -e 'tell application "Reminders" to set completed of reminder "Task title" in list "Reminders" to true'

Delete a reminder

osascript -e 'tell application "Reminders" to delete reminder "Task title" in list "Reminders"'

List all reminder lists

osascript -e 'tell application "Reminders" to get name of every list'

Reminders gotchas

• Date format in AppleScript: date "YYYY-MM-DD" or date "March 20, 2026".
• Recurrence (repeat) cannot be set via AppleScript — must be done in the Reminders UI or Google Tasks API.
• completed is a boolean property, not a status field.

---

Voice Memos

Voice Memos does NOT have an AppleScript dictionary. It cannot be controlled via osascript. Use the SQLite database instead.

Database location

~/Library/Group Containers/group.com.apple.VoiceMemos.shared/Recordings/CloudRecordings.db

Recording files location

~/Library/Group Containers/group.com.apple.VoiceMemos.shared/Recordings/*.m4a

Table: ZCLOUDRECORDING

Column	Type	Description
ZENCRYPTEDTITLE	VARCHAR	User-visible title (the name shown in Voice Memos app). Not actually encrypted — just a misleading Core Data column name.
ZCUSTOMLABEL	VARCHAR	Stores the ISO date string (e.g., 2026-03-31T11:29:15Z). Not the user-assigned name despite the column name.
ZDATE	TIMESTAMP	Core Data epoch (seconds since 2001-01-01 UTC). Convert: ZDATE + 978307200 = Unix epoch
ZDURATION	FLOAT	Duration in seconds
ZPATH	VARCHAR	Filename (e.g., 20260312 221848.m4a)
ZFOLDER	INTEGER	FK to ZFOLDER table (folder/grouping)

Query all recordings

sqlite3 -header -separator '|' \
  ~/Library/Group\ Containers/group.com.apple.VoiceMemos.shared/Recordings/CloudRecordings.db \
  "SELECT ZENCRYPTEDTITLE as title, datetime(ZDATE + 978307200, 'unixepoch') as date_utc, round(ZDURATION,1) as duration_sec, ZPATH FROM ZCLOUDRECORDING ORDER BY ZDATE DESC;"

Query recordings by date range

sqlite3 -header -separator '|' \
  ~/Library/Group\ Containers/group.com.apple.VoiceMemos.shared/Recordings/CloudRecordings.db \
  "SELECT ZENCRYPTEDTITLE as title, datetime(ZDATE + 978307200, 'unixepoch') as date_utc, round(ZDURATION,1) as duration_sec, ZPATH FROM ZCLOUDRECORDING WHERE ZDATE + 978307200 > strftime('%s', '2026-03-01') ORDER BY ZDATE;"

Export to JSON (full inventory)

sqlite3 -json \
  ~/Library/Group\ Containers/group.com.apple.VoiceMemos.shared/Recordings/CloudRecordings.db \
  "SELECT ZENCRYPTEDTITLE as title, datetime(ZDATE + 978307200, 'unixepoch') as date_utc, ZDATE + 978307200 as unix_timestamp, round(ZDURATION,1) as duration_seconds, ZPATH as path FROM ZCLOUDRECORDING ORDER BY ZDATE;"

Voice Memos gotchas

• No AppleScript support — Application("Voice Memos") fails. Use SQLite only.
• ZDATE uses Core Data epoch (2001-01-01), not Unix epoch (1970-01-01). Always add 978307200 to convert.
• ZDATE is UTC — the filename contains local time, but the database stores UTC.
• File path in ZPATH is relative — prepend the Recordings directory path to get the full path.
• Title is in ZENCRYPTEDTITLE, not ZCUSTOMLABEL — despite the names, ZENCRYPTEDTITLE holds the user-visible title (not encrypted), while ZCUSTOMLABEL holds an ISO date string. Core Data naming is misleading.
• iCloud stubs — some .m4a files may be iCloud placeholders (tiny files ~3-4KB). Check file size before processing.
• Timezone warning: When creating Airtable records from Voice Memos timestamps, use the unix_timestamp (ZDATE + 978307200) directly — do NOT parse the filename or recording_date string, as those are in local device timezone and converting them requires knowing which timezone the device was in at recording time.

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Apple Shortcuts

Shortcuts can be controlled and inspected via two methods: AppleScript (via Shortcuts Events) and SQLite (direct database read). The action content of each shortcut lives in the ZSHORTCUTACTIONS table as a binary plist blob.

Database location

~/Library/Shortcuts/Shortcuts.sqlite

Key tables

Table	Contents
ZSHORTCUT	One row per shortcut: Z_PK, ZNAME, ZFOLDER (FK), subtitle (action count), color
ZSHORTCUTACTIONS	One row per shortcut: ZSHORTCUT (FK), ZDATA (bplist blob of all actions)
ZCOLLECTION	Folders: Z_PK, ZDISPLAYNAME
ZTRIGGER	Automation triggers (iOS only — empty on macOS)

List all shortcuts with their folder

sqlite3 ~/Library/Shortcuts/Shortcuts.sqlite \
  "SELECT s.ZNAME, c.ZDISPLAYNAME as folder
   FROM ZSHORTCUT s
   LEFT JOIN ZCOLLECTION c ON s.ZFOLDER = c.Z_PK
   ORDER BY c.ZDISPLAYNAME, s.ZNAME;"

List shortcuts in a specific folder

sqlite3 ~/Library/Shortcuts/Shortcuts.sqlite \
  "SELECT s.Z_PK, s.ZNAME
   FROM ZSHORTCUT s
   JOIN ZCOLLECTION c ON s.ZFOLDER = c.Z_PK
   WHERE c.ZDISPLAYNAME = 'YOUR_FOLDER_NAME'
   ORDER BY s.ZNAME;"

Get metadata for specific shortcuts (action count, UUID)

osascript << 'EOF'
tell application "Shortcuts Events"
  repeat with s in shortcuts
    if name of s is in {"Shortcut One", "Shortcut Two"} then
      log "Name: " & name of s & " | Subtitle: " & subtitle of s
    end if
  end repeat
end tell
EOF

Extract and decode shortcut actions (full action list)

# 1. Write ZDATA blob to a file
sqlite3 ~/Library/Shortcuts/Shortcuts.sqlite \
  "SELECT writefile('/tmp/sc.bin', ZDATA) FROM ZSHORTCUTACTIONS WHERE ZSHORTCUT=<PK>;"

# 2. Convert binary plist to XML
plutil -convert xml1 -o /tmp/sc.xml /tmp/sc.bin

# 3. Parse with Python
python3 << 'PYEOF'
import plistlib
with open('/tmp/sc.xml', 'rb') as f:
    actions = plistlib.load(f)
for i, action in enumerate(actions):
    ident = action.get('WFWorkflowActionIdentifier', '').replace('is.workflow.actions.', '')
    params = action.get('WFWorkflowActionParameters', {})
    name = params.get('WFWorkflowName') or params.get('WFSelectedApp', {}).get('Name', '')
    print(f"{i+1}. {ident}" + (f" → {name}" if name else ''))
PYEOF

Run a shortcut by name

shortcuts run "Shortcut Name"
# or via AppleScript:
osascript -e 'tell application "Shortcuts Events" to run shortcut "Shortcut Name"'

Open the Shortcuts app

osascript -e 'tell application "Shortcuts" to activate'

Common action identifiers

Identifier (after stripping is.workflow.actions.)	Meaning
runworkflow	Run another shortcut. Key param: WFWorkflowName
openapp	Open an app. Key param: WFAppIdentifier, WFSelectedApp.Name
waittoreturn	Pause until user returns to Shortcuts
choosefrommenu	Present a menu to the user
repeat.each	Loop over a list
conditional	If/else branch
filter.notes	Filter Apple Notes
shownote	Display a note
filter.photos	Filter Photos library
previewdocument	Quick Look preview
delay	Wait N seconds
gettext	Get/produce text
text.split	Split text
file.getfoldercontents	List folder contents
file.move	Move a file
file.delete	Delete a file
makezip	Create a zip archive
documentpicker.save	Save to Files
deletephotos	Delete photos from library
addnewreminder	Create a reminder
reminders.TTROpenSmartListAppIntent	Open Reminders smart list
mobilenotes.SharingExtension	Save to Notes via share sheet
mobilesafari.TabEntity	Get Safari tabs

Toolbox Pro global variables

Toolbox Pro (com.alexhay.ToolboxProForShortcuts) provides persistent cross-shortcut storage via its GlobalVariablesIntent action. Variables persist across shortcut runs (unlike local Shortcuts variables which reset each run).

To read: action identifier GlobalVariablesIntent, parameter WFInput = variable name. To write: same action with write mode.

Key gotchas

• ZTRIGGER is empty on macOS — Shortcuts Automations (time-based or app-based triggers) are created on iPhone and sync via iCloud, but the trigger metadata stays on the iOS device. The Mac SQLite has no trigger records.
• shortcuts list CLI works on macOS but only returns names. For action content, use SQLite + plutil decode.
• Action blob format — ZDATA in ZSHORTCUTACTIONS is a signed binary plist (Apple proprietary). plutil -convert xml1 reliably converts it. Do not try to read it as raw text.
• Shortcuts Events vs Shortcuts — use Shortcuts Events for AppleScript control (list shortcuts, run shortcuts). Shortcuts (the UI app) can be activated but has limited AppleScript dictionary.
• Folder-based dynamic step lists — a shortcut can read all shortcuts in a given folder at runtime via getmyworkflows action, then loop over them. This means folder order = execution order. Adding a step = add a shortcut to the folder, no code change needed.

Full extraction script (all shortcuts in a folder)

FOLDER_NAME="YOUR_FOLDER_NAME"
sqlite3 ~/Library/Shortcuts/Shortcuts.sqlite << SQL
.mode tabs
SELECT s.Z_PK, s.ZNAME
FROM ZSHORTCUT s
JOIN ZCOLLECTION c ON s.ZFOLDER = c.Z_PK
WHERE c.ZDISPLAYNAME = '$FOLDER_NAME';
SQL

Then for each PK, extract and decode as shown above.