How and why to run a shortcut through Terminal on our Mac

Thanks to the Shortcuts application and the shortcuts that we create in it, we can perform actions and flow of actions in a very simple and effective way. On iPhone or iPad, running a shortcut requires going into the relevant app, but while this is also an option on Mac, we have another resource: use Terminal.

Better flexibility in a set of automations

Before getting into the nitty-gritty, let’s talk briefly about why we should run a shortcut through Terminal on our Mac. What is obvious is that it will take us much longer than if we went to the application, but the truth is that it will give us much more flexibility. Whether it’s running a shortcut from an Apple script, an Automator automation, or even through Hazel, for example, we can use the Terminal to make the corresponding call

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Thanks to this we will be able to integrate our shortcuts more effectively (perhaps this one to download videos from Instagram) in larger workflows

, which is always interesting. That said, let’s talk about how to do it. The process, it must be said, is very simple, the steps are as follows:

1. We open the application Terminal on our Mac We can search for it in Spotlight or in the Utilities folder in Applications.
2. We wrote shortcuts launch ‘Shortcut name’.
3. Press Enter (↵).

Nothing more. Let’s be careful, yes, in write the name of the shortcut correctly, which must be in single quotes, otherwise Terminal will show us an error. What happens after pressing Enter already depends on each shortcut, but in most cases the flow of execution should continue after completing the shortcut itself.

As we have already said, the flexibility of being able to execute a shortcut by calling it from the Terminal is very interesting for inserting these automations into larger automations. A resource that offers us many more options in the context of the Mac.