Automation

Pinwork fits into the Apple workflows you already use: Siri, Shortcuts, keyboard shortcuts, URL schemes, AppleScript, Focus Filters, and automation apps.

Some automation opens Pinwork to the right place. Some creates or changes tasks. Anything that changes task data is blocked when access is locked.

Siri and Shortcuts

Pinwork registers App Shortcuts for:

• Quick Add
• Show Today
• Show Inbox
• Show Upcoming

The navigation shortcuts open Pinwork, store the requested destination, and the main app consumes that destination when it launches or returns to foreground.

Navigation targets expire quickly. If the app does not consume a pending target within about 30 seconds, it is ignored.

Navigation shortcuts are also ignored while first-run navigation is locked.

Quick Add from Siri or Shortcuts

The Quick Add App Intent accepts a title and queues a task creation request.

Siri phrases include:

• Add a task in Pinwork
• New task in Pinwork
• Capture in Pinwork
• Quick add in Pinwork
• Add to Pinwork

This path queues the sentence for the main app, which runs Pinwork’s natural-language parser. Recognized dates, tags, project syntax, recurrence, estimates, and calendar commands are applied when the queue is processed.

Siri and App Shortcut invocation phrases can be localized, but they only start the shortcut. Metadata commands inside the task sentence currently use English grammar.

The capture keeps its original context

The shortcut records the current date, calendar, time zone, and default Quick Add destination. A parsed When date takes precedence. Otherwise Pinwork uses the captured Inbox, Today, or Tomorrow destination when the queue is processed.

If recognized metadata is invalid, Pinwork keeps the original title and uses the captured destination so the task is not lost.

Quick Add through App Intents requires shared Pro access. If access is missing, Pinwork asks you to open the app to restore access.

Complete a task from Shortcuts

The Complete Task App Intent lets Shortcuts complete a task without opening the main app.

It uses Pinwork’s task picker. The picker can suggest incomplete tasks from the widget snapshot or the broader intent task index. Search matches task titles.

The task index includes non-terminal tasks, so Waiting and Someday/Maybe tasks can appear if they are incomplete.

Shortcuts can complete tasks, but reopening a completed task is handled through the app UI, widgets, Watch, deep links, or AppleScript.

Deep links

Pinwork supports the pinwork:// URL scheme.

Navigation links open app surfaces:

pinwork://today
pinwork://inbox
pinwork://next
pinwork://later
pinwork://someday
pinwork://waiting
pinwork://archive

Other links can open a task, project, focus session, or search with a prefilled query and scope.

Task mutation links include:

pinwork://quickadd?text=...
pinwork://add?title=...
pinwork://complete/{id}
pinwork://uncomplete/{id}
pinwork://defer/{id}?to=...
pinwork://reschedule/{id}?date=...
pinwork://archive/{id}
pinwork://delete/{id}

pinwork://quickadd?text=... creates a task in the background and parses natural language.

pinwork://add?... requires a non-empty title for structured creation. With that title, it creates and presents one task using explicit parameters such as notes, when, deadline, list, project, tags, or estimate. Without a title, Pinwork opens its normal Quick Add editor and does not apply the other structured parameters.

Archive and delete links show confirmation because they are destructive external actions.

External destructive links ask first

Archive and delete links show confirmation because they can change or remove data from outside the normal app UI.

AppleScript on Mac

Pinwork exposes scriptable tasks, projects, and tags on Mac.

Example:

tell application "Pinwork"
    set todayTasks to today tasks
    quick add "Call mom tomorrow at 3pm"
end tell

AppleScript commands include:

• complete
• uncomplete
• defer
• reschedule
• archive
• quick add
• search tasks
• today tasks
• inbox tasks

Data commands are also available for surfaces such as inbox, today, all tasks, search, projects, and tags.

AppleScript quick add uses the same natural-language quick-add service as pinwork://quickadd.

Mutation commands are blocked when access is locked and request the access screen. Read commands can still inspect data.

Get task IDs from search or Copy Task Link

AppleScript mutation commands need a task ID. Use search tasks to find a task and read its ID, or use Copy Task Link from the task menu to get a stable link that contains the ID.

Use AI to generate Pinwork automation

Pinwork does not connect an AI service to your task database. Instead, you can ask an AI app to draft AppleScript commands or Pinwork links, inspect the result, and run only the automation you want.

On Mac, an AI can generate a Quick Add command like this:

osascript -e 'tell application "Pinwork" to quick add "Ship the release tomorrow at 10am #launch 45min add to calendar"'

For several tasks, review a plain AppleScript file before running it:

tell application "Pinwork"
    quick add "Review App Store screenshots tomorrow at 10:30am #launch 45min"
    quick add "Feed the dog every day at 7pm 15min add to calendar"
end tell

An AI can also generate a percent-encoded natural-language link:

pinwork://quickadd?text=Ship%20the%20release%20tomorrow%20at%2010am%20%23launch%2045min%20add%20to%20calendar

Or it can generate one explicitly structured task. title is required:

pinwork://add?title=Review%20App%20Store%20screenshots&notes=Check%20iPhone%20and%20Mac&when=2026-07-23T10%3A30%3A00&deadline=2026-07-24&tags=launch%2Cmarketing&project=Pinwork%20Launch&estimate=45&list=next

Choose the route based on what the AI produced:

• AppleScript Quick Add is Mac-only and runs Pinwork’s natural-language parser.
• pinwork://quickadd works on iPhone, iPad, and Mac and runs the same parser.
• pinwork://add works on iPhone, iPad, and Mac for one task with explicit fields.
• the Shortcuts Quick Add action queues the sentence for Pinwork’s natural-language parser. The capture keeps its invocation date, calendar, time zone, and Quick Add destination until the main app processes it.

Inspect generated automation before running it

Each successful command or link creates one task immediately. A sequence of commands or links is not an atomic batch and may partially succeed. These external creation paths do not enter Pinwork’s normal app undo stack. Check shell quoting and URL percent-encoding, and do not run generated output through eval or pipe it directly into a shell.

Keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts are available on Mac and iPad with a hardware keyboard.

Use Command-K for the command palette, Command-N for a new task, and Command-F for search.

For the full list, see Keyboard shortcuts.

Command palette

Press Command-K on Mac or iPad to open the command palette.

Commands include:

• New Task
• Search
• Toggle Sidebar
• Today
• Upcoming
• Inbox
• Projects
• All Tasks
• Archive
• Open Task in New Window
• Open Project in New Window
• Settings
• Refresh

Task-specific shortcut rows can appear as informational rows because they need a task context and are not executed directly from the palette.

Task menu commands on Mac

The Mac Task menu exposes focused-task commands such as:

• Cycle Status
• Mark as Done
• In Progress
• Not Started
• Waiting
• Someday/Maybe
• Canceled
• Defer Today
• Defer Tomorrow
• Remove Schedule
• Snooze
• Duplicate
• Copy Task Link
• Edit Task
• Delete Task

Command-modified shortcuts are registered in the menu. Bare-letter shortcuts are handled by the task list instead of the menu so text fields remain usable.

Focus Filters

On iPhone and iPad, Pinwork can be used as a system Focus Filter.

In System Settings, open Focus, choose a Focus, add a Pinwork Focus Filter, and choose the default view:

• Today
• Inbox
• Upcoming
• All Tasks

When that Focus activates, Pinwork stores the chosen view and the main app navigates there when it receives the Focus state. Stale Focus Filter configs are ignored after 24 hours, repeated navigation to the same view is avoided, and the state clears when the Focus deactivates.

Access lock behavior

Automation that reads or opens Pinwork can continue when access is locked.

Automation that creates, completes, deletes, defers, reschedules, archives, or otherwise changes task data is blocked until access is restored.

Related

• Capturing tasks: which capture paths parse natural language.
• Natural language: syntax and parser boundaries.
• Working with tasks: the task actions used by shortcuts, deep links, and scripts.