Shortcut Forge (Apple Shortcuts MCP)

shortcut-forge: the Apple Shortcuts MCP server that ships shortcuts that actually run

Describe an automation to Claude, Codex or ChatGPT → get a signed .shortcut file → tap it on your iPhone.

Apple Shortcuts MCP · iOS Shortcuts generator · Siri Shortcuts for AI agents · iOS 27 aware · macOS auto-signing · open shortcut library

English · 한국어 · 日本語 · 简体中文

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The problem (you've probably said one of these)

*"I asked ChatGPT for a shortcut and got fourteen steps to tap in by hand."*

*"The file imported fine. Then: 'Choose a value for each parameter of this action.'"*

*"iOS 27 can build a shortcut from a description, but only on my iPhone 15 Pro, one shortcut at a time, and I can't

review or version what it changed."*

*"Every MCP server I found for Shortcuts only runs shortcuts I already have."*

*"Every time I fix the family shortcut, everyone has to download it again."*

Apple Shortcuts is the most powerful automation layer on the iPhone, and still the hardest thing to get an AI to produce. The file format is undocumented, a structurally valid plist can still break on the device, and nothing catches the difference until you're staring at an error on your phone.

The fix

shortcut-forge is an MCP server, a Claude plugin and a Python library that turns *"make me a shortcut that…"* into a signed `.shortcut` file that has been checked against the ways shortcuts really fail on iPhone.

You:     "Every time I take my vitamins, log them to Apple Health, tick off today's reminder

and set up tomorrow's, but never create duplicates." Claude: → shortcut_library("supplements") → shortcut_from_template("supplement-tracker", …) ✓ 750 actions · 0 lint errors · signed on your Mac → ~/Downloads/shortcut-forge/Supplement Check.shortcut (AirDrop / iCloud Drive → tap → Add)

Apple's built-in builder is great for quick personal one-liners and lives right in the app; use it. Reach for shortcut-forge when you want an AI *you already use* to build something bigger, reviewable and shareable.

Install

Claude Code (plugin = MCP server + skill + /shortcut command)

/plugin marketplace add Hyunki6040/shortcut-forge

/plugin install shortcut-forge@shortcut-forge

Claude Desktop: double-click shortcut-forge.mcpb from Releases, or:

{ "mcpServers": { "shortcut-forge": { "command": "uvx", "args": ["shortcut-forge", "mcp"] } } }

OpenAI Codex

codex mcp add shortcut-forge -- uvx shortcut-forge mcp

ChatGPT, Gemini, any chatbot: connect over HTTP (shortcut-forge mcp --http) or, with no MCP at all, paste prompts/LLM_PROMPT.md and drop the JSON it writes into the Mac watch folder (below). Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, Gemini CLI: see docs/CLIENTS.md.

Python / CLI

uv tool install shortcut-forge        # or: pipx install shortcut-forge

shortcut-forge template supplement-tracker --sign

Mac auto-signing: drop a spec, get a shortcut

iOS only imports signed shortcuts, and only a Mac can sign them. shortcut-forge makes that invisible:

shortcut-forge mac install-agent      # launchd agent, starts at login

iCloud Drive/Shortcut Forge/          ← drop *.json specs or *.unsigned.shortcut (from any device or AI)

iCloud Drive/Shortcut Forge/Signed/ ← signed .shortcut appears in seconds → open it on your iPhone iCloud Drive/Shortcut Forge/Failed/ ← anything that failed lint, with a .log explaining why

Ask ChatGPT on your phone for a spec, save it to Files, and the shortcut is ready on the same phone before you finish your coffee. In Claude Desktop / Claude Code on a Mac, signing happens inside the tool call.

What people build with it

From the Open Shortcut Library. Every one is a readable spec, lint-clean in CI.

…and more: mood journal, sleep diary, grocery list, weather voice brief, low-battery nudge, water log.

Built something? [Share it →](LIBRARY.md) Tell your AI *"submit this to the shortcut-forge library"*.

Use it

Plain language in any MCP client:

• *"Make a shortcut that asks how I slept and every Sunday has Apple Intelligence summarise the week."*
• *"Start from the library's expense log, but in won and with my categories."*
• *"Here's my exported shortcut. Why does it crash?"* → shortcut_lint + shortcut_inspect

Python: variables work in f-strings.

from shortcut_forge import Shortcut

sc = Shortcut("Hello", version="1.0.0") name = sc.ask("What's your name?") with sc.if_(name, "contains", "Claude") as br: sc.notify("Hi twin", f"Nice to meet another Claude, {name}") br.otherwise() sc.notify("Hi", f"Welcome, {name}") sc.storage_set("last_name", name) # iOS 27 Stored Content, done right sc.health_log("Vitamin D", "50") # mcg → mg handled for you sc.save("Hello.unsigned.shortcut")

JSON (what the MCP tools and chatbots write): 50+ step types, plus a raw escape hatch for any action.

{"name": "Hello", "version": "1.0.0", "actions": [

{"ask": "What's your name?", "as": "name"}, {"if": ["{{name}}", "contains", "Claude"], "then": [{"notify": "Hi twin", "body": "{{name}}"}], "else": [{"notify": "Hi", "body": "Welcome, {{name}}"}]} ]}

MCP tools

Field notes: why "it imported" isn't "it works"

We built a two-person tracker by having Claude generate the plist. It took more than a dozen import → run → screenshot rounds. Every failure was invisible at build time:

The builder can't produce these; the linter catches them in any shortcut. Full notes: PITFALLS.md.

What is a .shortcut file?

• A `.shortcut` file (not .short or .shortcuts) is an Apple Shortcuts workflow: a binary property list (WFWorkflowActions, WFWorkflowIcon, …) where every action is an identifier like is.workflow.actions.gettext plus parameters. Variables are "token strings" with UTF-16 offsets.
• Since iOS 15, shared shortcut files must be signed. A signed file is an Apple Encrypted Archive whose first bytes are AEA1. Unsigned plists import on a Mac but iOS refuses them.
• Signing modes: anyone (any device can import) or people-who-know-me (contacts only). Only macOS can sign (shortcuts sign), which is why shortcut-forge automates the Mac side.
• .wflow was the format of the old *Workflow* app that became Shortcuts; iCloud links (icloud.com/shortcuts/…) are snapshots created from the app and can't be generated or updated programmatically.

FAQ

Do I need a Mac? To *sign*, yes (Apple's rule). Building and linting run anywhere; the watch-folder agent lets one Mac sign for every device you own. Does my data leave my machine? No. The server runs locally; nothing is uploaded. Library shortcuts that use remote_config fetch only the JSON URL they name. Is this affiliated with Apple or Anthropic?