Apple Shortcuts

Mindwtr supports Apple Shortcuts through native App Intents on iPhone and iPad, focused on the GTD capture loop: get open loops into Mindwtr quickly, then review and process them inside the app. Version 2 adds silent capture with dates, reading tasks into shortcuts, and Spotlight search.

This is intentionally smaller than Things' mature Shortcuts system. Mindwtr grows the action set carefully so it stays reliable and never bypasses Mindwtr's normal task creation, revision, and sync paths.

Availability

Apple Shortcuts support is available in iOS builds that include the Mindwtr App Intents integration.

Supported surfaces:

Surface	Supported
Shortcuts app	Yes
Siri	Yes
Spotlight / suggested shortcuts	Yes
Action Button running a shortcut	Yes
Apple Watch direct actions	No, not in v1
CarPlay	No, not in v1

Actions

Capture to Mindwtr

Use Capture to Mindwtr to send a task into Mindwtr's Inbox capture confirmation flow.

Parameters:

Parameter	Required	Notes
Task	Yes	The task title. Empty titles are rejected.
Note	No	Added as the task description.
Tags	No	Comma-separated tags. Mindwtr normalizes them to #tag when saving.
Project	No	Matches an active project by title, or creates the project when the capture is saved.

What happens when it runs:

1. Shortcuts opens Mindwtr.
2. Mindwtr shows the capture screen with the title and optional metadata filled in.
3. You review the capture and save it through the normal Mindwtr flow.

The task is not written directly from Swift. This keeps task creation inside Mindwtr's existing store, SQLite, revision, and sync logic.

Open Mindwtr List

Use Open Mindwtr List to jump to a GTD view.

Supported destinations:

List	Opens
Inbox	Inbox
Focus	Focus / Next Actions
Waiting	Waiting For
Someday	Someday/Maybe
Projects	Projects
Review	Review
Calendar	Calendar

The shortcut defaults to Inbox if no list is configured.

Add to Mindwtr

Use Add to Mindwtr (called Add to Mindwtr Inbox before v2) to create a task silently, without opening Mindwtr. This is the action to use inside Shortcuts Automations. A time, calendar, or location trigger can add a task with no one touching the phone.

Parameters:

Parameter	Required	Notes
Task	Yes	The task title. Empty titles fail the shortcut.
Note	No	Added as the task description.
Tags	No	Comma-separated tags. Mindwtr normalizes them to #tag.
Project	No	Matches an active project by title. Unknown or archived projects are ignored, and the task still lands in the Inbox.
Due date	No	The task's due date. Stored as a date without a time, so it never schedules a reminder by itself.
Start date	No	The task's start date, date-only like the due date.

The Task text supports the full quick-add syntax (/due:, @context, #tag, +Project, and the rest). It is parsed when the task is created, exactly like the in-app capture box, and the recognized syntax leaves the title just as it does in the app.

What happens when it runs:

1. The action queues the capture on the device and finishes immediately. Mindwtr stays in the background.
2. The next time Mindwtr opens (or returns to the foreground), the queued task is created in the Inbox through the normal store and sync path.

Because the task is created on next open, it does not appear on other synced devices, and no reminder fires, until Mindwtr runs again on that iPhone or iPad. The Project parameter never creates new projects, though a +Project written in the task text follows quick-add rules and can create one.

Get Mindwtr Tasks

Use Get Mindwtr Tasks to read tasks into a shortcut without opening the app — for chaining into other actions (speak them, show a menu, send them somewhere).

Parameter	Required	Notes
List	Yes	One of Inbox, Focus, Next, Waiting, Someday.
Project	No	An active project by title. When set, it takes precedence over the list.

Results come from a snapshot Mindwtr maintains while it runs, capped at 50 tasks per list or project, so they reflect the last time the app was open — same freshness as the widgets.

Tasks in Spotlight

On iOS 18 and later, Mindwtr tasks appear in Spotlight search. Opening one takes you to the task's list in Mindwtr. The index refreshes when the app runs, like Get Mindwtr Tasks.

Example: calendar-triggered task

1. In the Shortcuts app, open Automation and create a new automation.
2. Choose a trigger, for example a calendar event whose title contains "garbage collection".
3. Add Mindwtr's Add to Mindwtr action and set Task to "Take out the trash".
4. Set the automation to Run Immediately so it needs no confirmation.

Example shortcuts

Capture from voice

1. Open Apple's Shortcuts app.
2. Create a new shortcut.
3. Add Dictate Text or Ask for Input.
4. Add Mindwtr's Capture to Mindwtr action.
5. Pass the dictated text into Task.
6. Optionally set Tags to something like phone,errands.

This is useful for quick capture while walking, commuting, or moving between apps. Siri voice recognition can still miss words in some environments, so review the capture before saving.

Open Focus from the Action Button

1. Create a shortcut using Open Mindwtr List.
2. Set List to Focus.
3. In iOS Settings, assign that shortcut to the Action Button.

URL scheme fallback

Mindwtr also supports URL-scheme automation. Use this when another automation tool cannot see native App Intents.

URL	Action
mindwtr://capture?title=Buy%20groceries	Open capture with a title
mindwtr://capture?title=Buy%20groceries&note=From%20store	Open capture with title and note
mindwtr://capture?title=Buy%20groceries&project=Shopping&tags=errands,home	Open capture with project and tags
mindwtr://open-feature?feature=focus	Open Focus
mindwtr://open-feature?feature=review	Open Review

Supported capture aliases:

Field	Aliases
Title	title, text, name, thingName, itemListElementName, itemListName
Note	note, description, body, thingDescription, itemListDescription

Current limits

Mindwtr's Shortcuts support does not yet include:

• Edit, complete, duplicate, delete, or batch actions.
• Recurring-task or reminder scheduling from Shortcuts (due and start dates are date-only).
• Apple Watch or CarPlay support.

Write actions beyond capture are planned next, built on the task entities introduced in v2 — they need careful design because edits and background writes must preserve Mindwtr's local-first sync and GTD workflow rules.

Related links

• User Guide Mobile
• GTD Workflow in Mindwtr
• Data and Sync
• Things: Using Apple Shortcuts
• Things: Shortcuts Actions
• Apple: App Intents overview