Shortcuts Generator Skill

An OpenClaw skill for generating macOS/iOS Shortcuts by creating .shortcut plist files programmatically.

What It Does

Enables AI agents to create valid Apple Shortcuts without a GUI. The agent writes plist XML, signs it with shortcuts sign, and produces a .shortcut file that can be imported directly into Shortcuts.app.

Coverage

All action data is sourced from the Shortcuts ToolKit SQLite database on macOS for accuracy.

Reference	Contents
ACTIONS.md	All 360 is.workflow.actions.* actions, categorized
APPINTENTS.md	715+ Apple AppIntents organized by app
MESSAGES.md	23 Messages/iMessage actions (Find Message, Find Conversation, Send Reply, etc.)
VARIABLES.md	UUID-based variable reference system, aggrandizements
CONTROL_FLOW.md	Repeat, Conditional, Menu patterns
FILTERS.md	Content filters for Find/Filter actions
PARAMETER_TYPES.md	All parameter value types and serialization
PLIST_FORMAT.md	Root plist structure and required keys
EXAMPLES.md	Complete working examples

Installation

OpenClaw

Drop the skills/shortcuts-generator folder into your workspace's skills/ directory, or install the packaged .skill file.

Claude Code

Add to .claude/skills/ in your project.

Other Agents

The skill is just markdown files — any agent that can read markdown can use it. Point it at SKILL.md as the entry point.

Usage

Ask your agent to create a shortcut. For example:

"Create a shortcut that finds my screenshots from today, runs them through OCR, and saves the text to a note"

The agent will:

1. Read SKILL.md for the plist format and key rules
2. Consult detailed references (ACTIONS.md, VARIABLES.md, etc.) as needed
3. Generate valid plist XML
4. Write and sign the .shortcut file

Credits

Based on generate-shortcuts-skill by Drew Carr (@drewocarr). The original skill provided the foundational plist format documentation, variable reference system, control flow patterns, filter documentation, parameter types, and working examples.

This version extends the original with:

• Complete action coverage — all 360 WF actions (original had ~147) and 715+ AppIntents, sourced from the Shortcuts ToolKit database
• Messages actions — MessageEntity (Find Message), ConversationEntity (Find Conversation), and all 23 MobileSMS actions, reverse-engineered from ChatKit
• Categorized references — actions organized by type (Text, Files, Images, Settings, etc.) and by app
• Deprecation notices — flagged deprecated actions (e.g., INSearchForMessagesIntent → MessageEntity)
• Adapted for OpenClaw skill format

License

MIT