Try One of macOS 27’s Best Features Right Now

buried deep inside What was announced at WWDC this year was something that I, an Apple Shortcuts enthusiast, couldn’t wait to try: the ability to create Apple Shortcuts using Generative Artificial Intelligence. In macOS 27, you’ll be able to just type in what you want the shortcut to do and the app will create it.

Anyone who regularly creates shortcuts knows that the process of doing so can be daunting, even if the end result will save you a lot of time. So I’m excited by the idea of ​​explaining what you want in simple language and ending up with a working shortcut. Even if it doesn’t work perfectly (let’s face it, AI-generated things rarely work), it’s a starting point that you can tweak to fit your needs.

The only downside: The feature doesn’t launch until the autumn, when version 27 of Apple’s operating system arrives.

What if you want to try it now? It turns out that Federico Viticci, who founded and runs the fantastic blog MacStories, couldn’t wait either – so much so that he went and created his own version. It’s called Shortcut Playground, which runs in Cloud Code or OpenAI’s codecs. (OpenAI’s Codex is free right now; Cloud Codes requires at least a Pro plan, which starts at $20 per month.)

To get started you’ll first need to install the Shortcuts Playground Agent; There are instructions on GitHub. Basically you have to copy a command and paste it into the terminal. (I’m not going to include the command here in case it changes.)

I tested it in Cloud Codes, but the tool works the same way in Codex. Once you have installed Shortcut Playground you can trigger it by typing / After “shortcut” You will see a list of options pop up:

Various options for using the agent.
Courtesy of Justin Pott

If you are starting from scratch, I recommend using Shortcut-Playground: Construction option, followed by a rough description of what you want the shortcut to do. (second option, shortcut-playground:remixTo make changes to the existing shortcut.)

The agent will work on creating a shortcut for you. Sometimes it will stop to ask you for more information, or to explain what is and is not possible to create in an Apple Shortcut.

When searching for this tool, I asked for a shortcut that compiled today’s weather, my calendar appointments, and my to-do list for the day, then read the whole thing out loud. The agent happily went to work.