Use your apps' actions

Apps describe what they can do to the system as App Intents, for Shortcuts, Siri and Spotlight. Switchboard reads that description from each app and turns every action into a step. You do nothing: install an app and its actions are in the Apps section of the add-step picker.

Add one to a macro #

In the chooser (⌘⏎), pick an app on the left, or the app's own row if it has eight or more actions, then an action. Or type the action's name. The step reads as a sentence with a field for each parameter ("Complete [to-do]"). Parameters take text, numbers, variables and {{ }} expressions. The inspector shows it the same way. A to-do, note or other item the app knows suggests its names as you type, when the app has a Find action Switchboard can use; otherwise it offers the names you used before, and what you type is always kept.

An action that returns something puts it in the step's output, and into stores it in a variable.

An action that answers yes or no can also be an Only if condition.

Run one from the palette #

Type a few words in the palette (⌥Space). App actions appear next to your macros: "Day › Complete to-do". Return runs it; if it needs a value, a small form asks for it first. Type the first letters of an app and press Tab to search only that app ("Day › "); with nothing after it, you see its actions.

How an action runs #

The first runner that works for the app is used, and the trace says which:

1. The Shortcuts bridge is one generated shortcut per app, "Switchboard · Day". Add it once in Settings › App Actions (Shortcuts opens; click Add Shortcut). When the app updates and its actions change, Settings shows "Update".

2. Without it, the step is shown but cannot run, and Open in <App> still works.

An unattended run (a trigger, the API, an agent) never waits on a dialog. If an action asks for a confirmation, the step fails with "Day wanted a confirmation", unless the step has Ask me on, in which case Switchboard asks you.

Turn apps off, let agents in #

Settings › App Actions lists every app found. Switch one off and it disappears from the picker and the palette. Agents (MCP) see only the apps in Agents may use, which starts empty.

Triggers from an app #

App Intents cannot say "something just happened". An app that wants to can ship a small switchboard.json in its bundle (Contents/Resources) listing the events it posts and the states it can report. They appear as triggers ("When Day › Focus started"), and as sensors you can use in conditions.

{
  "version": 1,
  "events": [ { "id": "focusStarted", "title": "Focus started", "notification": "com.example.day.focusStarted", "payload": { "todo": "string", "minutes": "number" } } ],
  "state": [ { "id": "focusRunning", "title": "Focus is running", "type": "boolean", "intent": "FocusStatusIntent", "everySeconds": 60 } ],
  "hide": [ "SiriCreateReminderIntent" ],
  "featured": [ "StartFocusIntent" ]
}

The app posts a DistributedNotificationCenter notification with that name and a property-list userInfo; Switchboard subscribes only while a macro uses the event, and checks the payload against the file. Nothing in the app links to Switchboard.

Gotchas #

• Dry runs never run an app action, except one that only reads (a query or a status), which runs for real so you can see its answer.

• A macro shared with someone who does not have the app shows "Install Day to run this" on those steps.

• switchboard apps lists what was found; switchboard apps rescan looks again.

See also #

Shortcuts, Siri and Spotlight, switchboard apps