CommunityAbandoned· 1.6y★ 4.3by recursechat

Apple Shortcuts MCP

Runs Apple Shortcuts automations on macOS so agents can trigger any user-built workflow through the Shortcuts app.

View repo

Safety & Trust

Delv Safety Grade: C

Score 58/100 · assessed 2026-04-18

Maintainer45

Permissions35

Supply chain70

Transparency65

Incidents100

This community MCP server enables AI agents to execute arbitrary Apple Shortcuts on macOS, which represents significant desktop automation capability. The maintainer 'recursechat' appears to be a solo developer with limited public profile and sparse repository activity. Whilst the package is distributed via npm with standard installation, the permission model is inherently broad: any Shortcut can perform filesystem operations, network requests, application control, or system commands depending on user configuration. The server acts as a bridge to macOS automation without sandboxing, meaning trust depends entirely on which Shortcuts the user has created. The code is open source with basic documentation, but the security model relies on users understanding that granting this access means agents can trigger any automation they've built. No known incidents, but the attack surface is substantial if Shortcuts contain sensitive operations.

Green flags

Open source code available for inspection on GitHub
Standard npm distribution with straightforward installation
No environment secrets required for basic operation
Leverages Apple's native Shortcuts security model

Red flags

Executes arbitrary user-defined Shortcuts with no sandboxing or scope limits
Solo maintainer with limited public track record and sparse activity
Permission scope entirely dependent on user's Shortcut configurations
Can trigger any macOS automation including shell scripts and app control

Permissions requested

Desktop controlShell executeRead filesWrite filesOutbound networkRead env

Assessed by Delv Editorial using public metadata. Grades are advisory and update as the ecosystem changes. They do not replace your own review of permissions and code before granting an agent access to sensitive systems.

Install

npx -y mcp-server-apple-shortcuts

Review

This MCP server does exactly what the name suggests: it lets Claude run your macOS Shortcuts. If you've built a library of Shortcuts for file conversions, system tweaks, or workflow glue, this is the bridge that makes them available to an AI agent. Installation is a one-liner with npx, and it scans your Shortcuts library automatically. No environment variables, no config gymnastics. I'd reach for this when I want Claude to trigger something that's easier to build in Shortcuts than to describe in a prompt. Say you've got a Shortcut that resizes images, strips metadata, and drops them in a specific folder. Instead of explaining that workflow every time, you just tell Claude to run "Resize and Clean Images" and it happens. It's particularly good for tasks that involve multiple macOS apps or system-level actions that would be awkward to script directly. The quirks are mostly about Shortcuts itself, not this server. Shortcuts can be fragile. If your Shortcut expects specific input types or file paths, you'll need to make sure Claude knows what to pass. The server doesn't validate inputs before firing, so a malformed call just fails silently or throws an error from Shortcuts. Also, this is macOS-only by definition. If you're on Linux or Windows, you're out of luck. Performance depends entirely on what your Shortcuts do. A simple text transformation is instant. A Shortcut that opens three apps and waits for user input will block until it's done. The server doesn't queue or background anything, so long-running Shortcuts will hang the conversation until they finish. Who shouldn't bother: anyone who doesn't already use Shortcuts, or anyone who prefers scripting everything in Python or shell. This is for people who've invested in the Shortcuts ecosystem and want to make that investment available to Claude. If you're starting from scratch, you might find it faster to write a custom MCP tool that does exactly what you need. But if you've got a dozen Shortcuts you rely on daily, this is a clean way to hand them over to an agent.

Verdict

Install this if you're a macOS user with a library of Shortcuts you actually use. It's a no-config bridge that works immediately. Skip it if you don't already live in Shortcuts or if you prefer writing scripts from scratch.

Good at

Zero configuration. It scans your Shortcuts library and makes everything available immediately.
Lets you reuse existing automations without rewriting them as MCP tools or scripts.
Works with any Shortcut, so you can trigger system actions, file operations, or multi-app workflows.
Installation is a single npx command with no environment variables or credentials.

Watch out

macOS-only. No cross-platform support.
Shortcuts that require user input or take a long time will block Claude until they finish.
No input validation, so malformed calls fail silently or throw cryptic Shortcuts errors.
Relies on the Shortcuts app, which can be finicky with permissions and app integrations.

Use cases

macOS workflow triggers
automation glue
file conversion shortcuts
system actions

Getting started

1. Run `npx -y mcp-server-apple-shortcuts` to install and start the server. 2. Add it to your Claude Desktop config under `mcpServers` with the command `npx -y mcp-server-apple-shortcuts` and no arguments. 3. Restart Claude Desktop and check the MCP icon to confirm the server appears in the list. 4. Ask Claude to list your available Shortcuts to verify it can see your library. 5. Watch out for Shortcuts that expect user interaction or specific file paths. Claude won't know to prompt you unless you explain the input requirements upfront.

Works with

Claude DesktopClaude Code