Thing types

A macro's Thing input says which type it takes (thing:url, thing:tracking, thing:any). Inside the macro, {{thing.<field>}} reads the fields below. When a text is several things, the first match is the thing and the others are its alternatives; the whole text is always a text thing last. A text counts as one type only when it is that type in the clipboard panel; in Actions for This and the share sheet, things inside a longer text count too.

link #

url. Fields: absolute, host, scheme. Open goes to the link.

email address #

email. Fields: address, domain. Open starts a new message.

phone number #

phone. Fields: digits. Open dials with tel:.

date #

date. Fields: iso, timestamp. "Tomorrow at 3" and "2026-10-29" both count.

address #

address. Fields: the parts the system finds (street, city, state, zip, country). Open shows it in Maps.

file #

file. A file or folder that exists: from the Finder selection, or a path you copied. Fields: path, name, ext, kind (file or folder), size, uti.

tracking number #

tracking. UPS (1Z…), USPS and FedEx labels, FedEx Express, DHL Express and international postal items, checked against their check digits so a random number isn't one. Fields: carrier, number, url (the carrier's track page, which Open uses).

git commit #

gitSHA. Seven to forty hex digits holding a letter and a digit, and only when the front window's document is in a git repository. Fields: sha, short.

color #

color. #FF8A3D, rgb(255 138 61), hsl(24 100% 62%). Fields: hex, rgb, hsl.

code #

code. Source code or a shell command.

JSON #

json. A valid JSON object or list. Fields: kind (object or array), count.

measurement #

number. A number with a unit (5 km, 12.5kg, 72°F) or a currency symbol ($1,250.50). Fields: value, unit.

IBAN #

iban. A bank account number whose check digits are right. Fields: country, compact.

UUID #

uuid. Fields: lower, upper.

Mail message #

mail.message. The message selected in Mail. Fields: sender, subject, messageId, url (opens it in Mail).

image #

image. A copied picture. Its value is the path of a PNG file.

text #

text. Anything. Every thing has this as its last alternative, so a macro that takes text works on all of them.

Your own #

Add types in Library ▸ Thing Types; see Act on what you're looking at.