# Apple Shortcuts and Siri: automate file tools on Mac with OneMacTools

OneMacTools brings its tools to Apple Shortcuts on Mac, so you can automate file jobs. The Run OneMacTools Tool action runs any tool on files or text, using your last-used options or a saved preset, and hands the result files to the next step. There are also actions to grab text from the screen, pick a colour and keep your Mac awake, and you can start them with Siri or an automation.

## The OneMacTools actions in Shortcuts

Open the **Shortcuts** app, start a new shortcut, and search the actions library for **OneMacTools**. You'll find four actions:

| Action | Parameters | Returns |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Run OneMacTools Tool** | **Tool**, **Files**, **Text** (optional), **Preset** (optional) | The result files; for text tools, a .txt file with the text |
| **Grab Text from Screen** | None — you drag over part of the screen | The text it read, also copied to the clipboard |
| **Pick Colour from Screen** | None — you click any pixel | The colour, also copied to the clipboard |
| **Keep Mac Awake** | **Minutes** (default 60; 0 turns it off), **Keep the display on too** (default off) | A message with Keep Awake's status |

Every action needs an activated licence; until then it stops with a message saying OneMacTools isn't activated yet.

## Run OneMacTools Tool: every parameter explained

In the editor the action reads **Run Tool on Files**, with **Text** and **Preset** under **Show More**.

- **Tool** — any OneMacTools tool except the recorders (Screen Recorder, Record Audio and the like), which need a person at the controls. Type part of a tool's name or its category, such as “compress” or “PDF”, to find it. Each appears with its category underneath.
- **Files** — the files to work on. Pass the output of a previous action (Get Selected Files in Finder, a folder's contents, files from a Mail attachment) or choose them when you set up the shortcut. Leave it empty for tools that don't take files.
- **Text** — for tools that take a link or text instead of files, such as [Download Video](https://www.onemactools.com/tools/download-video) or [Make QR Code](https://www.onemactools.com/tools/qr-code-generator).
- **Preset** — the exact name of a preset saved in that tool's **Presets** section in the app. Leave it empty to use your last-used options. If the name doesn't exist, the shortcut stops with **No preset called “…” for …**.

If a tool needs more files than you gave it — [Merge PDFs](https://www.onemactools.com/tools/merge-pdf) needs at least two — the action stops with a message such as **Merge PDFs needs at least 2 files.**

### What happens to your files

OneMacTools copies the input files before working on them, so your originals are never changed. Results are saved to your OneMacTools folder like any other job (by default **Downloads › OneMacTools**, in a folder named after the tool and the time) **and** returned to the shortcut, so the next action can rename, move, attach or upload them. Tools whose result is text — [Clean Up Text](https://www.onemactools.com/tools/clean-up-text), [Rewrite](https://www.onemactools.com/tools/rewrite-and-paraphrase-text), [Password Generator](https://www.onemactools.com/tools/password-generator) — return a .txt file named after the tool. The action also shows a short summary, such as **3 files saved**.

Each run is listed in [History](https://www.onemactools.com/docs/history-of-processed-files) with a **Shortcuts** badge.

> **Tip:** Presets make shortcuts predictable. Your last-used options change whenever you use a tool by hand; a preset doesn't. Save one in the tool's **Presets** section with **Save…**, then type its name into the shortcut.

## Example: compress selected videos to 25 MB from Finder

1. In OneMacTools, open [Compress to Size](https://www.onemactools.com/tools/compress-video-to-size), choose the **25 MB — Email** target and save a preset called `Email`.
2. In Shortcuts, create a new shortcut called “Email-size video”.
3. Open the shortcut's details (the ⓘ panel) and turn on **Use as Quick Action**, with **Finder** ticked, so it appears in Finder's right-click menu.
4. Set it to receive **Files** as input.
5. Add **Run OneMacTools Tool**. Set **Tool** to Compress to Size, **Files** to Shortcut Input, and **Preset** to `Email`.
6. Optionally add **Reveal Files in Finder** with the action's result.

Now right-click any video in Finder and choose the shortcut. OneMacTools already has its own **OMT: Compress Video to 25 MB** [Finder Quick Action](https://www.onemactools.com/docs/finder-quick-actions-mac); a shortcut is worth building when you want extra steps around it, such as a fixed preset or attaching the result to a new Mail message.

## Example: turn a folder of scans into one searchable PDF

1. Add **Get Contents of Folder** and choose your scans folder.
2. Add **Run OneMacTools Tool** with **Tool** set to Images to PDF and **Files** set to the folder's contents.
3. Add a second **Run OneMacTools Tool** with **Tool** set to Make PDF Searchable and **Files** set to the result of the first.
4. Add **Save File** or **Move File** to put the finished PDF where you keep paperwork.

Because each step returns its files, tools chain naturally: convert, then compress, then rename with [Smart Rename](https://www.onemactools.com/tools/smart-rename), all in one shortcut.

## Using OneMacTools with Siri and Spotlight

OneMacTools offers three ready-made App Shortcuts, which appear in the Shortcuts app's **App Shortcuts** and can be started by voice or from Spotlight without building anything:

| Say or search | Does |
| --- | --- |
| “Run a tool in OneMacTools” | Runs **Run OneMacTools Tool**, asking which tool and files to use |
| “Grab text with OneMacTools” | Lets you drag over the screen and copies the text in it |
| “Pick a colour with OneMacTools” | Lets you click a pixel and copies its colour |

Any shortcut you build yourself can also be run by saying its name to Siri, so name them clearly: “Email-size video”, “Shrink screenshots”.

### Keyboard shortcuts for Grab Text and others

In the Shortcuts app, open a shortcut's details and click **Add Keyboard Shortcut** to run it from anywhere. This is the way to give [Grab Text from Screen](https://www.onemactools.com/tools/grab-text-from-screen) or [Colour Picker](https://www.onemactools.com/tools/colour-picker) a key combination of your own, as OneMacTools' Settings suggests. The app's own global shortcuts are listed in [keyboard shortcuts](https://www.onemactools.com/docs/onemactools-keyboard-shortcuts).

## Running OneMacTools from Shortcuts automations

The Shortcuts app on Mac can run a shortcut automatically — at a time of day, when a file is added to a folder, when a drive is connected, when you open an app, and more. Create one under **Automation** in the Shortcuts sidebar and use the OneMacTools actions inside it.

- **Keep Awake while presenting:** when Keynote opens, run **Keep Mac Awake** for 120 minutes with **Keep the display on too** on. Keep Awake turns itself off if the battery drops below 20% or the Mac runs hot. Learn more on the [Keep Mac Awake](https://www.onemactools.com/tools/keep-mac-awake) page.
- **Nightly tidy:** at 23:00, run [Tidy a Folder](https://www.onemactools.com/tools/tidy-folder) on Downloads using a preset.
- **Camera card import:** when an SD card connects, get its photos and run [Convert Images](https://www.onemactools.com/tools/convert-images) to JPEG.

For the common case — “do something to every new file in this folder” — [Watch Folders](https://www.onemactools.com/docs/watch-folders-automation-mac) does it without building a shortcut, and adds conditions such as where a file was downloaded from, plus Put Back in History.

## Tips and troubleshooting

- **OneMacTools actions are missing in Shortcuts.** Open OneMacTools once after installing or updating so macOS registers its actions, then reopen Shortcuts.
- **The shortcut uses the wrong settings.** Without a preset, it uses whatever you last chose in the tool. Save a preset and name it in **Preset**.
- **Video tools fail.** Video and audio tools need FFmpeg; see [FFmpeg on Mac setup](https://www.onemactools.com/docs/ffmpeg-on-mac-setup).
- **A tool doesn't appear in the Tool list.** Recorders aren't available in Shortcuts. Everything else is — search by name or category.
- **Nothing seems to happen.** Check [History](https://www.onemactools.com/docs/history-of-processed-files); a failed run is listed there with the reason. If an error mentions a permission, see [privacy and permissions](https://www.onemactools.com/docs/mac-privacy-permissions-full-disk-access).

Shortcuts runs the tools on your Mac, the same way the app does. AI assistants can run OneMacTools tools too, through its MCP server — see [the MCP server](https://www.onemactools.com/docs/mcp-server-mac-claude-cursor-codex).

## Questions

**Can I use Apple Shortcuts to automate file conversions on Mac?**
Yes. With OneMacTools installed, add the Run OneMacTools Tool action, pick a tool such as Convert Images or Compress PDF, pass it files, and it returns the converted files to the next step of your shortcut.

**How do I run a OneMacTools tool with Siri?**
Say “Run a tool in OneMacTools” and Siri asks which tool and files to use. You can also build your own shortcut around a tool and run it by saying the shortcut's name.

**Can a shortcut use specific settings, not my last-used ones?**
Yes. Save a preset in the tool's Presets section in OneMacTools, then type the preset's exact name into the action's Preset field. If it's empty, the action uses your last-used options.

**Where do files from a Shortcuts run end up?**
Both places: they're saved to your OneMacTools folder in a dated folder, and returned to the shortcut so later actions can move, rename or share them. Your input files are copied first and never changed.

**How do I give Grab Text a keyboard shortcut?**
Create a shortcut with the Grab Text from Screen action, open its details in the Shortcuts app and click Add Keyboard Shortcut. Press it in any app to drag over the screen and copy the text.

**Can I run OneMacTools when a file is added to a folder?**
Yes, either with a Shortcuts folder automation that calls Run OneMacTools Tool, or more simply with OneMacTools' own Watch Folders, which adds conditions and Put Back.

Source: https://www.onemactools.com/docs/apple-shortcuts-siri-automation-mac (updated 2026-10-24)