Your Mac has a powerful automation tool most people never open

I’ve been seeing people automating their entire Windows setups lately. It’s some of the coolest stuff I’ve come across in a while. As someone who primarily uses a Mac and Linux, I couldn’t help but want that same level of control for myself.

When I finally decided to look into it, I realized the perfect tool had been sitting there the whole time, already installed on my Mac. Once I started using it properly, it completely changed the way I work.

You should stop ignoring the Shortcuts app on your Mac

It may come pre-installed, but it's not bloatware

If you haven’t really explored all the pre-installed apps on your Mac, I’d strongly recommend giving the Shortcuts app a try. For something that comes built-in, it’s surprisingly powerful. With everything it’s capable of, it probably deserves a better name because it doesn’t fully capture what the app can actually do. It’s easily one of the most capable power tools available on your Mac.

You can think of it as the modern replacement for Automator. While Automator can still handle some more advanced or complex workflows in certain cases, Shortcuts makes the entire process much more approachable. Setting things up feels far more intuitive, which makes automation something anyone can start using instead of something that feels reserved for power users.

It uses a block-based system to build automations, which means you simply drag-and-drop actions into a workflow and define the conditions yourself. If you’ve ever used something like Scratch in a basic programming class, the concept will feel familiar.

But even if you’ve never touched anything like that before, it’s not intimidating. Everything works through simple drag-and-drop controls, and you don’t need to write a single line of code to make it work. I will even guide you through how to get it working, and believe me, it's quite simple.

The app also isn’t limited to just Apple’s own apps or built-in macOS features. Plenty of third-party apps integrate directly with Shortcuts as well, which means you can control far more than just system settings.

Setting up automations in Shortcuts is easy

Just drag and drop

To get started, all you need to do is open the Shortcuts app on your Mac. Before jumping straight into the Automations tab, it’s a good idea to experiment with regular shortcuts first. When you create a shortcut, you’re essentially defining a set of actions that will run after a specific condition is met.

Start with the Gallery tab. You’ll find plenty of ready-made shortcuts there, and there’s a good chance the automation you’re thinking about already exists. If it doesn’t, that’s fine too; you can always build your own from scratch.

To do that, simply click the plus (+) icon at the top right. After this, you'll see a menu with hundreds of functions that you can add to your automation. It can be something as basic as just opening an app, or you can even define conditions in the scripting section.

To create your own shortcut, just search for the functions you want to add, such as lowering your brightness, and drag them to the canvas on the left. You're not just restricted to one function; you can stack multiple at once. It's really just searching for what you want to do and adding them to your list of actions.

Once you've done that, you can finally set up an automation. Just head over to the Automations tab and click the plus (+) button at the top right again. From here, you can set a trigger for when you want to activate your shortcut. It can be anything, like a specific time when you connect your Mac to a charger, and more.

Once you've set up the trigger, you simply need to select the shortcut you just made, and there you go! You now have an automation ready to go without writing a single line of code.

I've built some really cool automations for myself

Making my life easier

I understand that building your first automation can feel a little confusing, mainly because you’re not even sure what you want to automate yet. There are a ton of tasks in your life that you should automate. That’s why it helps to look at real examples.

My favorite one actually uses a third-party app called BetterDisplay. It adds a lot of extra control over external monitors, and it also supports Shortcuts integration.

I constantly change how my MacBook is positioned when it’s connected to an external display. Sometimes it sits directly below the monitor, and I use the Mac’s built-in keyboard. Other times I move it to the side and switch to an external keyboard.

Manually rearranging the displays every single time was annoying. So I built a shortcut that automatically detects whether my external keyboard is connected and adjusts the screen arrangement accordingly. Now it just switches layouts on its own, and I don’t have to think about it anymore.

I also don't own any HomeKit-enabled devices, but I also use the Shortcuts app to invoke Google Assistant to control all my lights. I even have an automation for "work mode", where as soon as I open Slack, my Mac automatically turns on a specific Focus mode and starts my concentration playlist.

But believe me, you can get way more advanced than this. If you need even more inspiration, definitely check out what the people at r/shortcuts have been up to.

This might be the most underrated app Apple has ever made

The cool thing is you can use the same app on your iPhone and iPad too, and there are a ton of cool iPhone shortcuts that will work on your Mac as well. It's definitely a bit of a creative task, so I would suggest you take your time and experiment around to come up with something that changes your workflow.

If you're also into scripting and programming, you can even integrate LLMs like Gemini or GPT via their respective APIs to get even more functionality in your Shortcuts.