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Run a shortcut automatically when your Mac gets home
Create a Home profile with a location rule for your home, or your home Wi-Fi, and add a Run a Shortcut action with the name of your shortcut. Arriving home runs it on its own, together with any other actions in the profile.
- When
- Arrive home
- Then
- Run "Arrive Home"Play "Glass"
Last updated
How to set it up
- Build the shortcut. In the Shortcuts app, create a shortcut named Arrive Home, for example with Control Home to turn on the lights and Set Focus to turn Work off.
- Create a Home profile. Add a Geofence (location) rule, pick your home on the map with a radius of 150 m or more, and add your home Wi-Fi as a second rule with "Any is true".
- Add Run a Shortcut. Add the action and type the shortcut’s exact name. Capital letters count.
- Add anything else. Other actions in the same profile run together with the shortcut, such as a sound or opening Music.
Get Profiles Switcher on the Mac App Store, for macOS 13 or later
Permission needed: Location. See permissions in the help guide.
Your shortcuts, started by your context
Shortcuts is where the powerful actions live: HomeKit, Focus, scripts, messages. Profiles Switcher adds the other half: a large set of triggers that start them. Put Run a Shortcut in a profile and arriving somewhere, plugging something in or a change of time zone can start any shortcut you have built.
Location and Wi-Fi together
A location rule uses Location Services, which on a Mac mostly works from nearby Wi-Fi networks, so it recognizes home even on a VPN. Your home Wi-Fi is the fastest signal once you are connected. Adding both with Any is true means whichever notices first switches the profile on. Positioning is approximate, so give the location a radius of at least 150 metres.
Keep the shortcut and the profile in step
- The action runs the shortcut by name, so if you rename the shortcut, update the action too.
- A shortcut that asks a question stops and waits for you, so keep automatic shortcuts free of prompts.
- If the shortcut needs to leave something running, like a Focus mode, add a second shortcut to your Away or Office profile that turns it off again.
For more ideas and the other triggers that can start a shortcut, see Run your Shortcuts automatically.
Frequently asked questions
What can a shortcut do that the built-in actions cannot?
Anything in the Shortcuts app: HomeKit scenes, Focus modes, Dark mode, screen brightness, media playback, messages, and scripts for power users.
Does it work if the lid was closed when I arrived?
Yes. The location rule re-checks your location when the Mac wakes, so the profile switches on a few seconds after you open the lid.
Which macOS versions does it work on?
Any Mac with macOS 13 or later that has the Shortcuts app.
Related automations
Set it up in a few minutes
Profiles Switcher is a menu bar app for Mac (macOS 13 or later, Apple Silicon and Intel) that switches your Mac's setup automatically. You build profiles from 19 triggers, such as the Wi-Fi network you join, a place, headphones or a display, and 18 actions, including running any of your Shortcuts. Everything runs on your Mac; it is available on the Mac App Store.
Download on the Mac App Store