The Free Automations Library

New · Today Drained Me

Plug your phone in at night and it says something back.

The moment your phone connects to a charger, it plays one sound — a clip you saved, a voice memo, your kid saying goodnight. No tapping, no notification, nothing to remember. Plugging in is the whole trigger.

Two actions. About four minutes. Works on any iPhone with the Shortcuts app, which is every iPhone.

Build 4 min In Automation tab Trigger Charger

You need: one sound file in Files, under iCloud Drive, Downloads. Part one gets it there. If you already have one, skip to part two.

Part one · get the sound

From a reel.

1

Find a reel with the sound you want. Tap Share, then Copy link.

2

Open Safari and go to igexport.com/en/audio-download. Paste the link in the box and tap Convert to MP3.

igexport.com in Safari with the reel link pasted in and Convert to MP3 marked

3

Tap Download MP3. When Safari asks, tap Download. The file is now in iCloud Drive, Downloads — that's where Files keeps it.

The Safari download prompt with Download marked

The Files app with the downloaded MP3 marked

From a voice memo.

4

Record it in Voice Memos. Tap the three dots, then Share, then Save to Files. Choose iCloud Drive, then Downloads, then Save.

Part two · build the automation

5

Open Shortcuts. Tap Automation at the bottom, then the plus in the top right.

The Shortcuts app with the Automation tab marked

6

Scroll down and tap Charger. Leave Is Connected selected.

7

Tap Run Immediately and turn off Notify When Run. Run After Confirmation means it waits for you to tap, which is the opposite of the point. Tap Next.

The Charger sheet with Is Connected, Run Immediately selected and Notify When Run turned off

8

Tap Create New Shortcut.

The shortcut picker with Create New Shortcut marked

9

Tap the search bar and type File. Under Files, tap the one that says just File — not Select File.

The action search results for File, with the plain File action marked under Files

10

It drops in empty. Tap the blue File inside it, go to iCloud Drive, then Downloads, and tap your sound.

The empty File action with the blue File word marked

11

Search again and type Play Sound. Tap it — not Play/Pause. It should read Sound File: File. If it reads anything else, tap it and choose File.

The Play Sound action reading Sound File: File, sitting under the File action

12

Tap the checkmark. Then plug your phone in. That's the test.

The finished automation: File, then Play Sound

Good to know

It plays at whatever volume your phone is set to, so check that before bed.

It runs every time you connect to power — wireless pad and car included. If that's more than you want, pick a short sound.

If nothing plays, open the automation and check it's set to Run Immediately, not Run After Confirmation.

The sound is yours to choose. Anything you'd want to hear at the end of a day.

New · The arrival text

Leave work, and it says when you'll be home.

What it does: when you leave work, your phone reads live traffic, works out when you will actually pull in, and texts that time to whoever is waiting on it. You never touch your phone and nobody has to ask. What time will you be home is never really about the time, it is somebody deciding whether to start dinner, planning around a number that lives with the one person who cannot answer because she is driving.

Build 10 min In My Shortcuts, then Automation Trigger Leave

Don't want to build it? Skip the steps entirely. Both versions install from an iCloud link in one tap each, and you just swap in your addresses and your person. The written steps below stay free either way.

Get both for $4.99 →

Part one · build the shortcut

We build the shortcut first and set the trigger last, so you can press play and watch the text land before you trust it to run on its own.

1

Open Shortcuts. Along the bottom you will see Shortcuts, Automation and Gallery. Stay on the first one, Shortcuts, and tap the plus in the top right corner.

A blank shortcut opens with a Search Actions bar at the bottom of the screen. Everything you add comes from that bar.

2

Tap the Search Actions bar and type address. Several results come up. You want Street Address, the one with the small green pin.

The search results after typing address, with Street Address in the list

Do not pick Get Addresses from Input. That one reads an address out of something else and will leave you with a blank.

3

Street Address is not one box, it is a small form. Tap it and you get Line 1, Line 2, City, State, Postal Code and Region.

Tap each line and fill in your home address. Line 2 can stay empty unless you have an apartment number. Region is your country.

The Street Address action filled in with a home address, all six fields visible

This is where most people expect one box and get six. Filling them all in is what lets Maps find the place.

4

Back to the Search Actions bar. Type set variable and tap Set Variable. It lands underneath the address.

It reads Set variable Variable Name to Street Address. Tap the words Variable Name and type Home. Leave the rest alone, the to Street Address part is already correct.

The Set Variable action named Home, sitting under the address

A variable is just a nickname. You are telling the shortcut that when you say Home later, you mean this address.

5

Now do steps 2, 3 and 4 again for the place you are leaving from.

Add a second Street Address, fill in your work address, add a second Set Variable underneath it, and name this one Work.

You should now have four actions stacked up: address, Home, address, Work.

Both addresses and both Set Variable actions, four in a row

6

Search travel time and tap Get Travel Time. It arrives reading something like Get Driving time from ... to ... with two blanks in it.

Check the transport word says Driving. If it says Walking or Transit, tap it and change it.

Tap the first blank. A list of your variables appears above the keyboard. Tap Work. Then tap the second blank and tap Home.

The Get Travel Time action reading Driving, from Work, to Home

This one action is doing the real work. It asks Maps about live traffic on that route, right now.

7

Search text and tap Text. Tap into its empty box and type your message, ending with a space:

On the way home. Be home at

Just above the keyboard there is a row of variables. Tap Travel Time to drop it into your sentence.

The Text action mid typing, with the variable row visible above the keyboard

8

This is the step everybody gets wrong, so go slowly.

The thing you just dropped in says Travel Time. Left like that, your family gets a text saying be home at 22 minutes.

Tap it once. A panel slides up with a list of things it can show you instead. Choose Arrival Time.

The panel that opens after tapping the variable, with Arrival Time in the list

Check your sentence now reads Be home at followed by a pill saying Arrival Time. If it still says Travel Time, tap it again.

The finished Text action with the Arrival Time pill in it

Travel Time is how long the drive is. Arrival Time is the clock time you pull in. Only one of those is a number anybody can plan around.

9

Finish the sentence however your house talks. Mine adds let me know if we need anything while I'm out, because that question was coming anyway.

10

Search send message and tap Send Message.

Tap the message blank and pick Text from the variables. Then tap the recipient blank and choose the person from your contacts.

The Send Message action with the Text variable and a contact in it

11

Tap the shortcut's name at the top of the screen, choose Rename, and call it On My Way Home. Tap Done.

12

Test it before you go any further. Find it in My Shortcuts and tap the tile once.

It sends a real text with a wrong number in it, because you are sitting at home and the drive is nothing. That is the point. You have now watched the whole thing work before handing it a trigger.

Send your person a heads up first if a surprise text is the kind of thing that gets you a phone call.

Part two · set the trigger

The shortcut is built. This part tells your phone when to run it, and it lives in a different tab.

13

Tap Automation at the bottom of the screen, then the plus in the top right.

Scroll down the list of triggers to the travel ones and tap Leave.

The trigger list scrolled to show Arrive and Leave

14

Tap Location and search for your work address, the same one you typed into the shortcut. Pick it and tap Done.

Leave the time as Any Time, so it works whatever hour you get out.

15

You land on a sheet with three parts: Automation at the top, When, and Do.

Tap the setting next to Automation and choose Run Immediately.

The automation sheet with the Automation picker open, showing Run Immediately and Run After Confirmation

This is the one that decides whether the whole thing works. Run After Confirmation asks your permission every single day, which is the exact thing you were trying to stop doing.

16

Under Do, tap and choose On My Way Home from your existing shortcuts. Tap Done.

The finished sheet: Run Immediately, When I leave work, Do On My Way Home

That is it. Tomorrow you walk to your car and by the time you are on the road it has already sent.

Fix · it says 22 minutes instead of a time

The variable in your Text action is still set to Travel Time. Go back to step 8, tap the pill inside your message, and change it to Arrival Time.

Fix · nothing happened when I left work

Almost always the trigger. Automation tab, tap your automation, and look at the top of the sheet. It has to say Run Immediately. On Run After Confirmation it waits for you to notice a notification and tap it.

Fix · it fired late, or a few blocks down the road

That is normal and it is not something to fix. Your phone waits until you have genuinely left the area before deciding you have left, so it does not fire every time you walk to the parking lot.

Fix · Maps cannot find my address

Usually a missing field in the Street Address form. Open it and check City, State and Postal Code are all filled in, not just Line 1. That form needs the whole address, not the bit you would say out loud.

Fix · it has stopped running lately

Two usual causes. Location services got turned off for Shortcuts, which lives in Settings, Privacy and Security, Location Services, Shortcuts, and needs to be Always. Or Low Power Mode is on, which throttles background automations. Charging the phone fixes more automation problems than anything else on this page.

Fix · the arrival time looks wrong

It measures from the address you typed rather than from where your car actually is. If you park in a garage across town from the address, the number is off by the walk. Change the Work address to the garage.

New · The ETA menu

Home doesn't come from one place.

What it does: the arrival text above runs by itself and only knows about work. This one lives on your home screen, asks where you are coming from, and sends the arrival time from there. That is the whole trade. Hands free and fixed, or one tap and flexible. The second your phone has to ask you a question, somebody has to be there to answer it.

Build 14 min In My Shortcuts Trigger You tap it

The steps

Build the arrival text above first if you have not. This one reuses the same last three actions, so those steps will already feel familiar.

1

Open Shortcuts, stay on the Shortcuts tab, tap the plus.

2

Search menu. Two results look almost the same. You want Choose from Menu, not Choose from List.

The search results after typing menu, with Choose from Menu circled below Choose from List

It arrives with a Prompt line and two empty options. Tap the Prompt line and type Where are you coming home from. That is the question you will see when you run it.

The Choose from Menu action just added, with the Prompt line and empty options

3

Tap the first option row and type Work. Tap the second and type School.

Tap Add new item twice more and type Grocery Store and Current Location.

If the rows look blank you have not typed into them yet. Tap directly on each one.

4

Notice the menu now has a labelled slot under each option. Whatever you put under an option only runs when somebody taps that option.

Tap into the space under Work, search address, and add a Street Address. Fill in your work address, all six fields, same as before.

Then add a Set Variable underneath it, still inside the Work slot, and name it Work Address.

A Street Address and a Set Variable named Work Address, both indented under the Work menu item

Indented under the option is the whole game here. If it lands in a straight line with everything else, drag it up until it tucks under Work.

5

Do the same under School and Grocery Store. A Street Address filled in, then a Set Variable named after that place, School and Grocery Store.

Work, School and Grocery Store each with their own address and named variable underneath

Naming each one is what makes this easy to change later. When the school moves or you switch grocery stores, you open the shortcut and look for the one called School, instead of counting address blocks and hoping you picked the right one.

6

Under Current Location, do something different. Search current location and add Get Current Location instead of an address.

Get Current Location sitting under the Current Location menu item

That one item covers everywhere you did not think of, and it is what stops this menu going stale the first week something unexpected happens.

7

Scroll to the bottom of the menu until you see the line that says End Menu. Everything from here down runs no matter which option was tapped.

Below End Menu, add a Street Address with your home address, then a Set Variable named Home.

The End Menu line with the home address and Set Variable below it

8

Add Get Travel Time. Set it to Driving. Tap the first blank and choose Menu Result, tap the second and choose Home.

Get Travel Time reading Driving, from Menu Result, to Home

Menu Result is the piece doing the work, and it is the one thing on this page nobody guesses on their own. It means whatever you tapped. Tap the store and it measures from the store.

9

Add a Text action with your message, and drop the travel time variable in exactly as before.

Tap the pill and change it from Travel Time to Arrival Time. Same step, same trap.

10

Add Send Message, put the Text in, and pick your person. Rename the shortcut ETA and tap Done.

11

Press and hold the shortcut in My Shortcuts, then choose Add to Home Screen. Now it is one tap on the way to the car.

The shortcut sitting on the home screen as an icon

Fix · every option gives me the same answer

The addresses are sitting in a straight line instead of tucked under their own options. Open the shortcut and look at the indent. Each address should sit inside its option, between that option and the next one. If they are all stacked under the first option, drag them into place.

Fix · Menu Result is not in my variable list

It only exists after the End Menu line. If your Get Travel Time action is sitting inside the menu, drag it down below End Menu and it will appear.

Fix · I cannot find Add new item

It is the last row inside the Choose from Menu action, underneath the options you already have. You may need to scroll inside the action rather than the page.

Fix · why not make this one automatic too

Because it asks you a question, and a question needs somebody there to answer it. Automations run when you are not looking. That is why there are two versions rather than one clever one, and why the arrival text above stays hands free.

Don't want to build it? Both versions install from an iCloud link in one tap each, plus the arrival message automation. You swap in your addresses and your person and you are done.

Get both for $4.99 →

New · Your alarm says the time

Snooze it, and it says the time.

What it does: every time an alarm goes off, gets snoozed, or gets turned off, your phone says the time out loud. Half asleep you knows right away whether to go back to sleep or get up, without opening your eyes or reaching for the phone.

Build 2 min In Automation tab Trigger Alarm

The steps

1

Open Shortcuts and go to the Automation tab.

2

Tap the plus and choose Alarm.

3

Pick your trigger: Is Snoozed, Is Stopped, or Goes Off. I use Goes Off, so if I turn the alarm off by accident instead of snoozing, I still hear the time.

4

Choose the alarm. I pick Any, since I run my real wake up plus a backup a little later, and this way it catches me either way.

5

Set it to Run Immediately, then tap Next.

6

Create a new shortcut.

7

Add the action Speak and choose Speak Text.

8

Tap the text field and choose the variable Current Date.

9

Current Date will ask for the date, time, or name. Choose Time, and save.

Fix · it reads the date instead of the time

Tap the Current Date variable inside the text field and set its format to Time. If it says a long date out loud, the format is still on Date.

Fix · nothing happens when the alarm goes off

Automations only run on their own if you chose Run Immediately. If it is set to Run After Confirmation you get a notification you have to tap first. Open the automation and switch it to Run Immediately.

Fix · the voice is too quiet and turning the volume up does nothing

Speak Text runs on Siri's voice volume, which is a separate channel from media and ringer, so setting the Media volume does nothing to it and it stays quiet no matter what. The fix is to swap that action out. Delete Speak Text and build these three instead: Set Media volume to 100%, then Make Spoken Audio from Time, then Play Sound using that spoken audio. That routes the voice through media volume, so turning the volume up actually works. Fair warning, at 100% it is loud, so test it before you rely on it. I walk through this in the video.

New · The quiet car

Your car starts quiet.

What it does: when your phone connects to the car, it pauses whatever you were listening to, so pickup does not start mid chapter.

Build 3 minIn Automation tabTrigger CarPlay

The steps

1

Open Shortcuts, tap the Automation tab, then New Automation. Choose CarPlay, select Is Connected, and pick Run Immediately with Notify When Run off.

2

Tap Create New Shortcut, then Add Action. Search Play/Pause, add it, tap it, and set it to Pause. Tap Done.

3

Make a second automation the same way, but choose Bluetooth as the trigger and pick your car. Add the same Pause action. Bluetooth connects a beat sooner, so the two cover each other.

Fix · a few words slip out

Depending on the car, a few seconds can play before it catches, because the phone has to finish connecting first. Building both versions keeps it as short as possible.

New · Lock to one app

Hand it over, they stay in one app.

What it does: Guided Access locks the phone to a single app until you unlock it, so a toddler cannot leave the show, buy anything, or wander into your email.

Build 3 minIn SettingsStart Triple-click

The steps

1

Open Settings, tap Accessibility, scroll to Guided Access, and turn it on. Turn on Accessibility Shortcut too.

2

Tap Passcode Settings and set a passcode you will remember. This is what keeps little hands from ending it.

3

Open the app, click the side button three times, and tap Start. The phone is now locked to that app.

4

To get out, triple-click again and enter your passcode. Tap End to unlock, or Resume to keep them locked in.

Fix · stray taps

Before you tap Start, circle any part of the screen with your finger to disable it, so a tap on an ad or a menu does nothing. Time Limits can end the session on its own.

The screenshot saver

File a screenshot with one word, then find it later.

What it does: files every screenshot into a note, lets you choose where it lands, and tags it with a word so you can search it later. One tap from the share sheet, and it clears the screenshot off your camera roll.

Build 5 min App Shortcuts Via Share sheet

The steps

1

Open Shortcuts, tap the plus, and create a new shortcut.

2

Add Get Latest Screenshot, keep it set to 1.

3

Add Ask for Input → Text → ask "What is this screenshot?" This is your searchable word.

4

Add Set Variable, name it Searchable word, set it to the Ask for Input.

5

Add Choose from Menu with two options: Folder and Running note.

6

Under Folder → Create Note → the screenshot and your word → Folder: Screenshots.

7

Under Running note → Append to Note → the screenshot and your word → your Screenshots note.

8

After the menu, add Delete Photos → the screenshot, so it clears from your camera roll.

9

Tap the i, turn on Show in Share Sheet, and name it.

10

To use it: take a screenshot → tap share → tap the shortcut → type your word → pick where it goes.

Fix · it still says "Delete Photos"

This is where most people quit. Tap the blue word in the Delete action and switch it to Latest Screenshots. If it still reads "Delete Photos," the variable is not selected and your camera roll won't clear.

Fix · it is not in the share menu

Show in Share Sheet is off. Tap the i inside the shortcut and turn it on, then it appears under View More when you tap share.

Fix · stuck on step 5, the Choose from Menu part

This is the step most people name. After you add Choose from Menu, tap the grey Prompt line to label it, then tap each option row to type its name, Folder and Running note. If the options look blank, you have not typed them in yet, tap into each one and type the word.

Fix · it asks for text but no keyboard comes up

The Ask for Input step is waiting for you to type. Tap once on the input area near the bottom of the screen and the keyboard opens, then type your word and press Done. If nothing appears, scroll up and tap the input field again so it is selected.

Fix · at the share step I only see shared album

You are looking at the photo's own share options, not the shortcut. Scroll down past AirDrop and the row of apps to the list of actions, and tap the shortcut by its name. If it is not there, open the shortcut, tap the i, and turn on Show in Share Sheet.

Fix · my phone has no Delete latest screenshots option

The action itself is called Delete Photos. Add it, then tap the blue word inside it and choose Latest Screenshots as what it deletes. On older iOS it may be listed as Delete Images, the steps are the same.

Fix · why file into Notes instead of Files

Notes lets you search by the word you typed and syncs across your devices, and the whole thing stays one tap. If you would rather use Files, swap Create Note in step 6 for Save File and point it at a Screenshots folder.

Don't want to build it? There is a one-tap version you install from an iCloud link, no steps to follow. It includes this saver plus a shortcut that clears the thousands of screenshots already sitting in your camera roll.

Get it for $4.99 →

Find your lost phone

Text it `marco` and it sings back.

What it does: you text one word to your own phone and it lights up and plays a song at full volume until you find it, even on silent or Do Not Disturb.

Build 5 min In Automation tab Trigger Messages

The steps

1

Open Shortcuts → Automation tab → New Automation → Message.

2

Set Sender to Any, so it works from any phone.

3

Set Message Contains to marco, then Done.

4

Choose Run Immediately → Next.

5

Add these four actions in order, searching each one in the bar at the bottom:

Set Flashlight On — lights it up so you can spot it.
Set Media Volume — drag it to 100%.
Set Media Volume again — also drag to 100%, then tap the blue word Media and switch it to Ringtone.
Play Music — pick a song you have already downloaded.

You add the volume action twice, once left on Media and once switched to Ringtone. Media is the volume that plays over silent mode, and Ringtone covers it when the phone is not on silent.

6

Tap Done → test it by texting yourself marco from another phone.

Fix · it will not play on silent

Set the Media volume to 100 percent, not just the Ringtone. Media volume is what plays over the silent switch. And make sure you chose Run Immediately, or it waits for a tap on the lock screen.

Fix · it fires on the wrong texts

Pick a word you'd never text or say by accident, skip real names and everyday words like "ok." A nonsense phrase (olly-oxen-free) never goes off on its own.

Fix · how do I text it if I do not have my phone

You text your own number from any other device, or ask someone near you to text it. That incoming message is what sets it off, so your phone does not need to be in your hand.

Fix · how does it stop

It stops when you pick up and unlock the phone, and the song also ends on its own when the track finishes. If you want an off switch, add a Stop Playing action to a second automation triggered by a different word.

Fix · I have no song or music options

The action is Play Music and it pulls from the Music app, so pick a song you already have saved or downloaded. A downloaded track plays even with no signal. If the list is empty, open Music once and add or download a song first.

Fix · does it work on Android, iPhone 15, or Apple Watch

This uses the iPhone Shortcuts app, so it is iPhone only, and it works on iPhone 15 and newer. You cannot start it from an Apple Watch, but any second phone or another person can text the word.

Your grocery list, on arrival

Your list opens the second you park.

What it does: opens your grocery list automatically the second you arrive at the store, so you never stand in the aisle trying to remember what you came for. No app, no tapping.

Build 5 min In Automation tab Trigger Location

The steps

1

In the Reminders app, make a list called Grocery List.

2

Open Shortcuts → Automation tab → New Automation.

3

Choose Arrive → your store address → set the circle over the parking lot → Run Immediately → Next.

4

New Blank Automation → Add Action → Show Reminders List → Grocery List → Done.

5

Repeat for each store you visit. Two or three covers most of your week.

Fix · it opens too early or on the wrong trip

Tighten the radius so the circle just covers the parking lot, and make sure the trigger is Arrive, not Leave.

Fix · I get an error on the first step on a new phone

When a shortcut moves to a new phone its link to your Reminders list gets cleared, so it cannot find the list. Open the automation, tap the list name in the Show Reminders List action, and pick your Grocery List again.

Mute social media when you open it

Open the app, the sound dies.

What it does: cuts the volume to zero the moment you open a social app, so the autoplay and the noise don't pull you in and hold you there.

Build 3 min In Automation tab Trigger Apps

The steps

1

Open Shortcuts → Automation tab → New Automation → App.

2

Choose Instagram, TikTok, Facebook → Is Opened → Next.

3

Add Set Volume → 0%.

4

Choose Run Immediately → Done.

Fix · the sound stays off after I leave

Add a second automation set to Is Closed that sets the volume back up. And make sure the first one is Run Immediately, or it waits for a tap.

Fix · it did not mute

Automations only run on their own if you chose Run Immediately. If you get a notification asking you to confirm, open the automation and switch it from Run After Confirmation to Run Immediately.

The free automations library.

Today Drained Me

The arrival text

The ETA menu

Your alarm says the time

The screenshot saver

Find your lost phone

Your grocery list, on arrival

Mute social when you open it

Your car starts quiet

Lock the phone to one app

Unlock every step, free.

Your automations are below. Here is the whole system.

The Automation Kit

The Complete Bundle

Plug your phone in at night and it says something back.

Leave work, and it says when you'll be home.

Home doesn't come from one place.

Snooze it, and it says the time.

Your car starts quiet.

Hand it over, they stay in one app.

File a screenshot with one word, then find it later.

Text it `marco` and it sings back.

Your list opens the second you park.

These save you minutes. The kit saves your week.

The free automations library.

Today Drained Me

The arrival text

The ETA menu

Your alarm says the time

The screenshot saver

Find your lost phone

Your grocery list, on arrival

Mute social when you open it

Your car starts quiet

Lock the phone to one app

Unlock every step, free.

Your automations are below. Here is the whole system.

The Automation Kit

The Complete Bundle

Plug your phone in at night and it says something back.

Leave work, and it says when you'll be home.

Home doesn't come from one place.

Snooze it, and it says the time.

Your car starts quiet.

Hand it over, they stay in one app.

File a screenshot with one word, then find it later.

Text it marco and it sings back.

Your list opens the second you park.

Open the app, the sound dies.

These save you minutes. The kit saves your week.

Text it `marco` and it sings back.