Automations · Shortcuts
Create a helper shortcut to pick your shortcuts from a list
In Forgade an automation can run one of your shortcuts from the Shortcuts app. You can type its name by hand, or pick it from a list. The list needs a small shortcut that you create once, with three actions.
iPhone only: Apple's Shortcuts app doesn't exist on Android.
Why you need it
Apple lets an app run a shortcut by name, but not read the list of shortcuts you have. To show you the list, Forgade runs a shortcut of yours that knows it and hands it back. Without it the automation works just the same: you only have to type the shortcut's name exactly as you see it in Shortcuts.
The name
Forgade looks for this exact name, with a plain hyphen. Copy it here rather than typing it: the iPhone keyboard can turn the hyphen into a longer dash.
Forgade - Shortcut list
Create it in Shortcuts
Three actions, in this order. The names are the ones the Shortcuts app shows in English.
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Create a new shortcut
Open the Shortcuts app and tap the + button at the top right, or tap “Open Shortcuts” below to land on a new shortcut.
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Add the first action Get My Shortcuts
Tap “Add Action”, search for “Get My Shortcuts” and tap it. It takes the shortcuts you have, nothing else.
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Add the second action Combine Text
Add “Combine Text” below it. Its input should be the result of the first action (“Shortcuts”) and the separator “New Lines”.
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Add the third action Stop and Output
Add “Stop and Output” below it. It should output “Combined Text”: that is what Forgade receives.
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Give it the name
Tap the shortcut's name at the top, choose “Rename”, paste the name you copied above and confirm. Then tap “Done”.
Check that it works
- Open Forgade, then Settings and “Automations”.
- Create or edit an automation of type “Shortcut” and tap “Import from Shortcuts”.
- Forgade opens Shortcuts for a moment and comes back with the list of your shortcuts. If you see the list, it works.
If Forgade says the helper shortcut isn't installed, check the name: it must be “Forgade - Shortcut list”, with a plain hyphen and nothing else.
What it reads, and what it doesn't
- It reads only the names of your shortcuts.
- It doesn't look inside your shortcuts, doesn't change them and doesn't run any of them.
- It doesn't use the network: none of its actions sends data anywhere.
- The list stays on your phone and doesn't go through our servers. Forgade keeps only the name of the shortcut you pick for the automation.
How to remove it
Open Shortcuts, touch and hold “Forgade - Shortcut list” and delete it. The automations you already made keep working: the list is only needed while you pick the shortcut.
Questions
Do I need it to use automations with Shortcuts?
No. It's only for picking the shortcut from a list. You can type its name by hand, exactly as it appears in Shortcuts.
Why can't I just download it?
Shortcuts imports only files signed by Apple, or shortcuts shared through an iCloud link. A file we host that Apple hasn't signed would be refused, so this one is three actions you add yourself.
I can't find an action.
In the action search type part of its name, such as “my shortcuts”, “combine” or “output”. If your iPhone isn't set to English, the names appear in your language.
Are automations free?
They're included in the Lite and Pro plans.
Automations, in short
A cockpit button that, when you hold it, sends a request to an address you choose or runs a shortcut from Shortcuts.