Action Editor – View or edit shortcut action parameters for quick copy and paste

Shortcuts
1

https://routinehub.co/shortcut/18280/

OS Compatibility
iOS 16.1 or higher Yes
macOS 13 Ventura or higher Yes
Older No Actions support

Please download the Actions app to use this shortcut.

Action Editor reads shortcut actions copied to the clipboard, lets you edit the parameters in JSON format, and puts them back into the clipboard so that you can paste anywhere in Shortcuts. You can make tweaks that the Shortcuts runtime engine allows but the editor doesn’t. For example:

Remove my email address before sharing

{
  "WFWorkflowActionIdentifier": "is.workflow.actions.sendemail",
  "WFWorkflowActionParameters": {
    "WFSendEmailActionSubject": "hello",
    "WFSendEmailActionInputAttachments": {
      "Value": {
        "string": "\uFFFC",
        "attachmentsByRange": {
          "{0, 1}": {
            "Type": "ActionOutput",
            "OutputName": "List"
          }
        }
      },
      "WFSerializationType": "WFTextTokenString"
    },
    "WFEmailAccountActionSelectedAccount": "gluebyte@example.com"  ➡️  ❌
  }
}

Wait a fraction of a second

{
  "WFWorkflowActionIdentifier": "is.workflow.actions.delay",
  "WFWorkflowActionParameters": {
    "WFDelayTime": 1  ➡️  0.2
  }
}

Combine text with multi-line text

{
  "WFWorkflowActionIdentifier": "is.workflow.actions.text.combine",
  "WFWorkflowActionParameters": {
    "WFTextSeparator": "Custom",
    "text": {
      "Value": {
        "Type": "ActionOutput",
        "OutputName": "Text"
      },
      "WFSerializationType": "WFTextTokenAttachment"
    },
    "WFTextCustomSeparator": "},{"  ➡️  "},\n{"
  }
}

How to use

  1. Copy an action you would like to change
  2. Run Action Editor
  3. Make edits and tap “Finish & Copy”
  4. Paste anywhere

Million thanks to @dotdev on r/Shortcuts Discord and RoutineHub for the groundbreaking discovery of the UTI technique!

3 Likes
2

Thanks for this. I can see it could be useful and I very much appreciate you using graphic indications since I always struggle to concentrate on code (which is why I love Shortcuts!).

1 Like