Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised May 30, 2026

Automator (macOS)

Automator is an application developed by Apple for macOS, which can be used to automate repetitive tasks through point-and-click or drag and drop.

Last revised
May 30, 2026
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≈ 5 min
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Wikipedia ↗
Automator
DeveloperApple
Initial releaseApril 29, 2005 (2005-04-29)
Stable release
2.10 / December 2, 2022 (2022-12-02)
Operating systemmacOS
TypeAutomation
LicenseProprietary
Websitesupport.apple.com/guide/automator/welcome/mac

Automator is an application developed by Apple for macOS, which can be used to automate repetitive tasks through point-and-click or drag and drop.

Automator enables the repetition of tasks across a wide variety of programs, including Finder, Safari, Calendar, Contacts and others. It can also work with third-party applications including Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop. Automator was first released with Mac OS X Tiger (10.4).12

As of the latest macOS versions, Apple has encouraged users to transition from Automator to Shortcuts,3 and has allowed for almost any Automator shortcut to be imported into the Shortcuts app.45 Recent development changes has also favored Shortcuts over Automator,6 although Automator has continued to be fully supported.7

Features

Automator documents are called workflows, and are made up of actions. Workflows are run sequentially, with each action being given the previous action's output, which it can then process or act upon. Variables can be specified, which can be modified or processed by subsequent actions.8 Workflows can also incorporate loops and variables.9 Automator comes with a library of actions (file renaming, finding linked images, creating a new mail message, etc.).1011 Actions can also run custom scripts, including AppleScript, JavaScript, or shell scripts. Workflow documents can be run directly in Automator or saved as applications that run the workflow when launched. Workflows can also be added to the contextual menu, to process any selected text or file.121314

As of 2015, Microsoft has bundled Automator actions with Microsoft Office, which can be used to automate Outlook, Word, Excel, or PowerPoint.8

The following is a non-exhaustive list of Automator's features:

  • General
    • Simulate the pressing of any key on the keyboard at specified intervals15
    • Run AppleScript, JavaScript, Python, Ruby scripts, or shell scripts131416
    • Create Folder Actions, a Finder feature that applies certain workflows to all files in a folder17
    • Create Services, which can be started in the Services menu17
    • Automator can integrate with Calendar, to launch workflows at a Calendar event's specified time and date (and the event can be set to repeat automatically)9
    • Automator can also launch workflows with programmable voice commands (called Dictation Commands, added in OS X Yosemite)17
  • Internet
    • Download webpages as PDF16
    • Extract an RSS feed from a given URL, and extract article text contents from that feed9
    • Compose new emails, with specified subject line and attachments (which can be an output from a previous Action)9
    • Upload files to FTP servers16
  • Multimedia
    • Control USB-connected cameras to take pictures at regular intervals15
    • Perform Finder actions on images, including rotation, applying Quartz filters (like black & white), and converting audio and video files to different formats18
    • Batch resize photos17
    • Import audio files to iTunes, and add them to playlists9
    • Play an iTunes playlist17
  • Text and documents
    • Turn text files to audio files, using the Mac's built-in text-to-speech feature9
    • Extract text from PDF files9
    • Combine PDF documents19
    • Extract annotations from PDFs19
    • Move files across folders, into folders, or out of subfolders20
    • Process strings text, including adding quotations around text or outputting word count21
    • Print files; and when combined with the "Get Folder Contents" action, it can print all files in a "drop box" folder22

Interface

Automator provides a graphical user interface for automating tasks without knowledge of programming or scripting languages. Tasks can be recorded as they are performed by the user or can be selected from a list. The output of the previous action can become the input to the next action.10

The icon for Automator features a robot, known as Otto the Automator.23

History

Starting in macOS Monterey, Automator exists alongside Shortcuts.24

See also

See also

  • AppleScript – Scripting language for macOS
  • AutoHotkey – Automation-focused scripting language for Windows
References

References

  1. Waldie, Ben (December 27, 2007). Automator for Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard: Visual QuickStart Guide. Pearson Education. ISBN 978-0-13-271234-7.
  2. Waldie, Ben (May 2005). Mac OS X Technology Guide to Automator. Spiderworks. ISBN 978-0-9744344-6-9.
  3. Dillet, Romain (June 7, 2021). "Apple is bringing Shortcuts to the Mac and starts transition from Automator". TechCrunch. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
  4. Broussard, Mitchel (June 7, 2021). "Shortcuts App Coming to Mac, Automator Will Remain Supported". MacRumors. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
  5. "Use Automator workflows with the Shortcuts app on Mac". Apple Support. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
  6. published, Dan Moren (June 14, 2025). "Apple's Shortcuts app is getting a huge upgrade in iOS 26 and macOS 26 — here's how it will help you". Tom's Guide. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
  7. Mayo, Benjamin (November 18, 2016). "Automation technologies will continue to be supported in macOS, Apple exec Craig Federighi says in customer email - 9to5Mac". 9to5Mac. Archived from the original on May 6, 2026. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
  8. "How to make your Mac do your work for you with Automator". Macworld. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  9. Waldie, Ben (January 7, 2008). "Automator Power: Variables and looping". Macworld. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  10. Siracusa, John (April 28, 2005). "Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger". Ars Technica. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  11. Waldie, Ben (December 9, 2009). Automator for Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard: Visual QuickStart Guide. Pearson Education. ISBN 978-0-321-70299-9.
  12. Myer, Thomas (October 29, 2009). Apple Automator with AppleScript Bible. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-60431-1.
  13. Paul, Ryan (March 21, 2011). "How to build Mac OS X services with Automator and shell scripting". Ars Technica. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  14. Kissell, Joe (July 22, 2022). Take Control of Automating Your Mac, 4th Edition. alt concepts. ISBN 978-1-990783-10-4.
  15. Breen, Christopher (May 3, 2011). "Use Automator to shoot a time-lapse movie". Macworld. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  16. "8 great Automator downloads". Macworld. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  17. "Here are some really useful Automator workflows". Macworld. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  18. Breen, Christopher (April 30, 2013). "Automator workflow of the month: Quick media manipulation". Macworld. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  19. "Automator workflow of the month: Powerful PDF tricks". Macworld. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  20. "Automator workflow of the month: Move files from subfolders". Macworld. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  21. Waldie, Ben (May 9, 2013). "5 Automator workflows everyone should have". Macworld. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  22. Arko, Craig (November 2, 2010). "Use Automator to simplify printing tasks". Macworld. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  23. Pogue, David (July 12, 2005). Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Tiger Edition: The Missing Manual. O'Reilly Media, Inc. p. 231. ISBN 978-1-4493-7907-0.
  24. Cunningham, Andrew (October 25, 2021). "macOS 12 Monterey: The Ars Technica review". Ars Technica. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
External links