spb/tools-spboucher-ai

1{2  "slug": "automator",3  "name": "Automator",4  "aliases": ["Apple Automator"],5  "vendor": { "name": "Apple Inc.", "slug": "apple", "website": "https://www.apple.com/" },6  "homepage_url": "https://support.apple.com/guide/automator/welcome/mac",7  "docs_url": "https://support.apple.com/guide/automator/welcome/mac",8  "product_type": "application",9  "product_status": "maintenance",10  "summary": "Apple's long-standing drag-and-drop workflow builder for macOS that produces apps, Quick Actions, folder actions and calendar-triggered automations",11  "description": "Automator is the workflow-building application that has shipped with macOS since Tiger (2005). Users assemble actions from a library, such as Finder file operations, image manipulation, text handling, shell scripts and AppleScript or JavaScript steps, into a linear workflow and save it as a standalone application, a Quick Action available in Finder and Services menus, a Folder Action that fires when files are added to a folder, a Calendar alarm, a print plug-in or a dictation command.\n\nIt remains useful for document-centric automation on the Mac: batch renaming, PDF splitting, image conversion and glue scripts that run when something lands in a watched folder. Workflows can be imported into the Shortcuts app, which Apple now positions as the primary automation tool across its platforms. Automator still ships with current macOS releases but has received few new features in recent years, so it is best regarded as stable, maintained software rather than an actively evolving product. It is macOS-only and has no equivalent on iOS.",12  "capabilities": ["Drag-and-drop workflows from a library of system actions", "Output as application, Quick Action, Folder Action, Calendar alarm or print plug-in", "Shell script, AppleScript and JavaScript for Automation steps", "Variables and looping within workflows", "Import into Shortcuts"],13  "workflows": ["Convert and rename images dropped into a folder", "Add a Finder Quick Action that runs a shell script on selected files", "Schedule a workflow through a Calendar event"],14  "advantages": ["Preinstalled on every Mac", "Folder Actions and Quick Actions without code", "Easy migration path to Shortcuts"],15  "limitations": ["Little new development; Shortcuts is Apple's focus", "macOS only", "Linear workflows with limited branching and error handling"],16  "prerequisites": ["macOS"],17  "audiences": ["Mac users automating file and document chores", "Long-time macOS power users"],18  "alternatives": ["shortcuts", "keyboard-maestro", "applescript", "hammerspoon"],19  "categories": [{ "slug": "macos-automation", "primary": true }],20  "tags": ["macos", "automation", "no-code", "apple"],21  "use_cases": ["automate-desktop-tasks"],22  "operating_systems": ["macos"],23  "execution_modes": ["local"],24  "interfaces": ["desktop"],25  "deployment_models": ["desktop"],26  "integrations": ["Finder Quick Actions", "Calendar", "Shortcuts", "AppleScript", "Shell"],27  "data_formats": [".workflow bundles"],28  "languages": [],29  "source_model": "proprietary",30  "pricing_model": ["free"],31  "self_hostable": false,32  "sources": [33    { "url": "https://support.apple.com/guide/automator/welcome/mac", "type": "official_site", "title": "Automator User Guide for Mac", "supports": ["name", "summary", "capabilities", "workflows"], "checked_at": "2026-11-02" },34    { "url": "https://support.apple.com/guide/shortcuts-mac/welcome/mac", "type": "official_docs", "title": "Shortcuts User Guide for Mac", "supports": ["limitations", "integrations"], "checked_at": "2026-11-02" }35  ],36  "confidence": "medium",37  "uncertainty_note": "Apple has not formally deprecated Automator; the maintenance status reflects the absence of significant new features since Shortcuts arrived on macOS.",38  "discovery_method": "editorial-research",39  "depth": "standard",40  "editorial_status": "reviewed",41  "visibility": "public",42  "featured": false,43  "author": "batch-C"44}45