What iPhone Shortcuts Are and Where to Find Them

Shortcuts are custom commands you create to automate tasks on your iPhone. Instead of tapping through multiple apps to send a message, adjust your home, or check the weather, you can create a single shortcut that does all of it in one tap. Apple built Shortcuts into iOS as a way to let you control your phone faster and more directly.

The Shortcuts app comes pre-installed on most iPhones running iOS 13 or later. If you don't see it on your home screen, open the App Store, search for "Shortcuts," and read it from Apple. Once installed, you can access it from your home screen, lock screen, or Control Center, depending on how you set it up.

Key Takeaways

  • Open the Shortcuts app and tap the plus icon to create a new shortcut, then search for actions like "Send Message" or "Open App" to build your automation.
  • Each action you add runs in order, so arrange them by dragging them up or down until the sequence does what you want.
  • Test your shortcut by tapping the play button before you save it, so you catch mistakes before you use it regularly.
  • Add shortcuts to your home screen, lock screen, or Control Center so you can trigger them without opening the Shortcuts app itself.
  • Shortcuts can run automatically based on time, location, or app usage if you set up automation rules instead of manual shortcuts.

Creating Your First Shortcut Step by Step

Open the Shortcuts app and tap the plus icon in the top right corner. This opens a blank shortcut editor where you'll build your automation. At the bottom of the screen, tap "Add Action" to see the full library of things your shortcut can do.

Search for the action you want. If you want to send a text message, type "send message" and tap the result. The action appears in your shortcut. Tap it to set details — like which contact to send to and what the message should say. You can type a fixed message or leave it blank so the shortcut asks you each time you run it.

Add more actions by tapping "Add Action" again. Each action runs in the order it appears, from top to bottom. If you want to send a message and then open Maps, add "Send Message" first, then add "Open App" and choose Maps. Drag actions up or down to reorder them if you need to change the sequence.

Tap the play button (triangle icon) at the bottom to test your shortcut. It will run through each action so you can see if it works the way you expect. If something is wrong, go back and edit the actions. Once it works, tap "Done" in the top right and give your shortcut a name.

Adding Shortcuts to Your Home Screen

After you save a shortcut, you can add it to your home screen so it appears as an icon you can tap directly. Open the shortcut you want to add, tap the three dots in the top right, and scroll down to find "Add to Home Screen."

Tap "Add to Home Screen" and you'll see options to choose an icon and color. The default is a small Shortcuts logo, but you can tap the icon to change it to any emoji or a photo from your library. Choose something you'll recognize at a glance. Tap "Add" and the shortcut appears on your home screen as its own app icon.

You can also add a shortcut to your lock screen on newer iPhones. Long-press your lock screen, tap "Customize," then tap the plus icon to add a lock screen widget. Search for "Shortcuts" and select it, then choose which shortcut to display. This lets you run the shortcut without even unlocking your phone.

Using Shortcuts in Control Center

Control Center is the menu that slides up from the bottom of your screen. You can add a shortcut there so it's always one swipe away. Open Settings, tap "Control Center," and scroll down to find "Shortcuts." Tap the green plus icon next to it to add it to your Control Center.

Once Shortcuts is in Control Center, open Control Center and tap the Shortcuts icon (it looks like a square with an arrow). You'll see a list of your shortcuts. Tap any one to run it when ready. This is faster than going to your home screen, especially if you use a shortcut many times a day.

Building More Complex Shortcuts with Conditions and Loops

Once you're comfortable with basic shortcuts, you can add logic that makes them smarter. Search for "If" in the action library to add a condition. For example, you could create a shortcut that checks the time and sends different messages depending on whether it's morning or evening.

Tap "If" and set a condition like "Current Time is between 6 AM and 12 PM." Then add actions that run only if that condition is true. Tap "Otherwise" to add actions that run if the condition is false. This lets you build shortcuts that behave differently depending on circumstances.

You can also use loops to repeat an action multiple times. Search for "Repeat" and choose how many times you want an action to run. This is useful if you want to send the same message to multiple people or perform the same task on different files.

Setting Up Automations That Run Without You

Automations are shortcuts that run on their own based on time, location, or app activity. Open the Shortcuts app and tap the "Automation" tab at the bottom. Tap the plus icon to create a new automation.

Choose a trigger — the thing that makes the automation run. You can set it to run at a specific time each day, when you arrive at or leave a location, when you open a certain app, or when you connect to a Wi-Fi network. Select your trigger and set the details.

Next, add the actions you want to run when the trigger happens. For example, you could create an automation that turns on Do Not Disturb and opens a focus mode when you open your work email app. Or one that sends a text to your family saying you're on your way home when you leave work.

By default, automations ask for permission before they run. If you want them to run silently in the background, tap "Ask Before Running" to turn it off. Be careful with this — a shortcut that runs without asking can do things you didn't intend if the trigger happens unexpectedly.

Troubleshooting Shortcuts That Don't Work

If a shortcut doesn't run or does something unexpected, the first step is to test it manually. Open the shortcut, tap the three dots, and tap "Test" or tap the play button. Watch what happens at each step. If an action fails, you'll see an error message that tells you what went wrong.

Common problems include asking for permission when the app isn't installed, using the wrong contact name, or referencing a file that doesn't exist. Check that every app your shortcut needs is installed on your phone and that you've spelled names correctly. If a shortcut asks for permission to access your location or contacts, make sure you've granted that permission in Settings.

If an automation isn't running, check that the trigger is set correctly. Automations based on location need Location Services turned on in Settings. Automations based on time need your phone to be unlocked at least once that day. If you turned off "Ask Before Running," the automation might be running silently — check your apps to see if the action actually happened.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I share a shortcut I created with someone else?

Yes. Open the shortcut, tap the three dots, and tap "Share." You can send it via Messages, Mail, or AirDrop. The person who receives it can open it in the Shortcuts app. Some shortcuts may ask for permission to run certain actions the first time they use it.

What happens if I delete a shortcut from my home screen?

Deleting it from your home screen doesn't delete the shortcut itself — it just removes the icon. The shortcut still exists in the Shortcuts app. You can add it back to your home screen anytime by opening the shortcut and tapping "Add to Home Screen" again.

Can a shortcut control other people's devices or accounts?

No. A shortcut can only control your own iPhone and the apps and services you're signed into. It cannot access someone else's phone, email, or accounts. If a shortcut asks you to sign in to an app, you're signing in with your own credentials.

Do shortcuts work if my phone is locked?

Shortcuts on your home screen require you to unlock your phone first. Shortcuts on your lock screen can run without unlocking. Automations can run in the background, but location-based automations work better if you've unlocked your phone at least once that day.

Why does a shortcut ask for permission every time I run it?

This happens when the shortcut accesses sensitive information like your location, contacts, or photos. The first time you run it, you grant permission. If it keeps asking, go to Settings, find the Shortcuts app, and check that permissions are turned on for the data the shortcut needs.