Automate with Shortcuts

2Do for Mac ships a full catalogue of native actions for the macOS Shortcuts app, built on Apple's App Intents. You can create, find, update, complete, move, and delete tasks; build alarms and recurrence rules; pause tags; and open tasks in the app, all by dragging actions together with no scripting.

Under the hood these actions drive the same canonical automation engine as AppleScript and Claude Co-Work, so the three surfaces stay in step: the same fields, the same validation, the same results.

Data actions work while 2Do is closed

Read, create, update, delete, alarm, recurrence, and value-building actions run through a dedicated App Intents extension, so they work while 2Do isn't running. A change made while the app is closed is waiting for you the next time 2Do opens, and a running 2Do picks it up immediately. Actions that open a task or collection, or search inside 2Do, intentionally launch or bring forward the app. The one setup requirement is to open 2Do at least once after installing or updating. Until then, data actions report "Open 2Do once to finish setup, then run this shortcut again."

Your First Shortcut

A 60-second capture shortcut:

1. Open the Shortcuts app on your Mac and click + to create a new shortcut.
2. In the action search field, type 2Do. Every 2Do action appears under the app's name.
3. Drag in Ask for Input (a built-in Shortcuts action) and set the prompt to "What needs doing?".
4. Drag in 2Do's Create Task and pass the Provided Input into its Title.
5. Optionally expand Create Task and pick a Destination list, a Due Date, a Priority, or Tags.
6. Name the shortcut something speakable, such as Capture It, and run it from the Shortcuts menu-bar icon, a keyboard shortcut, or Siri ("Hey Siri, Capture It").

That's the whole pattern: 2Do actions accept values from the actions above them and hand their results to the actions below.

The Action Catalogue

The core data and value actions require macOS 13 Ventura or later and appear in Shortcuts under 2Do. Search and interactive display actions have the newer system requirements noted below.

Find and read

Action	What it does
Find Tasks	The most powerful query action. Filter tasks by any combination of properties (see Finding Tasks below), sort, and limit.
Get Tasks from Collection	Returns tasks from a Focus (All, Today, Starred, Scheduled, Done), a list, a List Group, or a Smart List. Options: Include Completed (on by default) and Limit (default 100, up to 1000).
Get Subtasks	Returns the direct sub-tasks of a project or checklist, with an Include Completed option.
Get Task by ID	Returns one task from its stable task ID. This is handy when another automation (AppleScript, MCP, or a URL callback) handed you an identifier.

Create and edit

Action	What it does
Create Task	Creates a task, project, or checklist with the full 2Do field set. See Creating Tasks.
Update Task	Changes only the fields you supply; everything omitted stays untouched. Includes explicit Clear Due Date / Due Time / Start Date / Start Time / Duration switches, and tag/location updates with a Set / Add / Remove operation.
Set Task Completion	Marks one or many tasks complete or incomplete, with an Include Subtasks switch (on by default).
Move Tasks	Moves one or many tasks to another list, or into a project or checklist as sub-tasks.
Duplicate Task	Duplicates a task, project, or checklist.
Delete Tasks	Permanently deletes one or many tasks. Always asks you to confirm first.
Set Task Action	Replaces or clears a task's action (None, Call, Message, Email, Visit, URL, Google).
Set Task Alarms	Replaces every sound alarm on a task with the alarm values you pass in; an empty list clears them. A task may have at most 10 total alarms.
Set Task Recurrence	Replaces the repeat rule on a task, or clears it with the Clear Recurrence switch.
Set Tag Paused	Pauses or resumes one of your tags, the Shortcuts equivalent of pausing a tag.

Value builders

Two helper actions build reusable values for the actions above, without touching your data:

Action	What it builds
Make Task Alarm	A sound-alarm value: At Date and Time (absolute) or Relative to Task (anchored to the Task Date or Task Time, with an offset from -63,071,999 through 63,071,999 seconds; negative fires before). An optional Sound Name overrides the default alarm sound.
Make Task Recurrence	A repeat rule: frequency Never / Daily / Weekly / Monthly / Yearly / Weekdays / Custom (with interval 1–999 and a Day/Week/Month/Year unit), repeat from Task Date or Completion Date, optional weekdays, a monthly ordinal weekday (1st–5th or last), and an end condition (Never / On Date / After Count, from 1 through 99 occurrences). The Never frequency represents no recurrence.

Chain them: Make Task Alarm → Create Task (Alarms), or Make Task Recurrence → Set Task Recurrence.

Show and open

Action	What it does
Open Task in 2Do	Brings 2Do forward with the task selected and revealed.
Open Collection in 2Do	Brings 2Do forward with a list, list group, Smart List, or Focus List selected.
Search in 2Do (macOS 15 or later)	Opens 2Do with a search ready to run through the system search action wired to 2Do's search bar.
Show Tasks (macOS 26 or later)	Displays tasks in an interactive panel with a completion checkmark and an open button on every row. Tick tasks off right from the snippet without opening 2Do.

On earlier macOS versions, the read and write actions still show a static task preview card after they run.

Creating Tasks

Create Task exposes the full 2Do model in one action:

• Title (required) and Notes.
• Destination: any list, or a project / checklist to create the new item inside as a sub-task. Leave it empty and 2Do uses your default capture list (Inbox, unless you've changed it).
• Task Type: Task, Project, or Checklist.
• Starred, Priority (None / High / Medium / Low).
• Due Date, Due Time, Start Date, Start Time, Duration in Seconds (from 0 through 2,147,483,647).
• Tags and Locations: picked from your existing tags and locations. Shortcuts won't invent new ones on the fly; create tags and locations in 2Do first.
• Alarms: one or more values from Make Task Alarm.
• Recurrence: a value from Make Task Recurrence.
• Action Type + Action Value: give the task a Call, Message, Email, Visit, URL, or Google action.
• Subtask Titles: a list of plain titles. Use it with Task Type = Project or Checklist and a list destination (or the default list) to scaffold a container. It is not accepted for a normal task or when Destination is already a project or checklist.

Create Task returns the new task entity, so the next action can immediately alarm it, move it, or open it.

Finding Tasks

Find Tasks is generated from 2Do's task entity, which means the Shortcuts filter builder understands real 2Do properties:

• Title (contains / is), Notes (contains)
• Completed, Starred, Paused (is)
• Task Type (Task / Project / Checklist)
• Due Date and Start Date (is / is before / is after)
• Priority (is)
• List: any Focus, list, List Group, or Smart List
• Tags and Locations (contains)

Combine any number of filters with All (and) or Any (or) matching, sort by Title, Due Date, Start Date, Priority, or Duration, and cap the result count. The result is a list of task entities ready for the next action.

tip

Every returned task carries its full field set as Shortcuts variables: title, notes, dates, tags, priority, its list, and even a Deep Link URL. You can feed task details into any other app's actions (calendar events, messages, documents) without extra lookups.

Batch Operations

Set Task Completion, Move Tasks, and Delete Tasks accept a whole list of tasks in one run (up to 100). The whole batch is validated before any changes are made. If any task is invalid, the action fails; otherwise, it applies the changes in order. Delete Tasks always asks for confirmation and can never run silently.

Completing a recurring task advances it to its next occurrence. Running Set Task Completion again on that recurring task advances it again.

Using Siri

Any shortcut you build can be run by voice: "Hey Siri, ⟨shortcut name⟩". Give capture shortcuts short, speakable names such as Capture It, Log Expense, or Plan Tomorrow. Siri can run 2Do's data actions while the app is closed; navigation and in-app search actions bring 2Do forward.

Spotlight

Your tasks are also indexed for Spotlight: search a task's title, notes, tag, or location name from the Spotlight bar, and opening the result reveals the task in 2Do. Spotlight indexing respects the same privacy rules described below.

Privacy and Passwords

Siri and Shortcuts are deliberately stricter than 2Do's other automation surfaces:

• If an app password is set (Settings > Security), the entire Siri & Shortcuts surface fails closed. Actions report "2Do data is unavailable to Siri and Shortcuts while an app password is set." This applies even while 2Do is unlocked on screen.
• Password-protected lists are always excluded: their tasks never appear in results, and they're never offered as destinations. Protection is re-checked immediately before any write.
• Actions that touch your data require device authentication. A locked Mac won't run them.

AppleScript and Claude Co-Work follow the app's current interactive unlock session: they can use app or list data that you have unlocked in 2Do, but locked data remains unavailable. Shortcuts and Siri use the stricter rules above because they can run from unattended automations.

Shortcuts, AppleScript, or Claude?

All three drive the same engine. Pick the surface that fits the job:

• Shortcuts: visual, no code, runs from Siri, the menu bar, hotkeys, or any Shortcuts trigger. Its data actions work while 2Do is closed; navigation actions bring the app forward. Best for personal capture-and-review automations.
• AppleScript: a scripting dictionary with the complete strict command set. Best for power scripting and integration with other scriptable Mac apps. Requires 2Do to be running.
• Claude Co-Work (MCP): let an AI plan and execute multi-step task work conversationally. Requires 2Do to be running.

The twodo:// URL scheme remains available for callback-style integrations from any app.

Recipes

• Morning briefing: Get Tasks from Collection (Today, Include Completed off) → Show Tasks. One click (or "Hey Siri, Morning Briefing") for an interactive checklist of the day.
• Quick capture with a deadline: Ask for Input → Create Task with Due Date = Today, Due Time = 17:00, and a 15-minutes-before alarm from Make Task Alarm.
• Project scaffold: Create Task with Task Type = Project and Subtask Titles = your template steps. Duplicate the shortcut per template.
• Weekly sweep: Find Tasks (Completed is true, Due Date is before Last Week) → Delete Tasks. The confirmation prompt keeps it safe.
• Heads-down mode: Set Tag Paused (your @errands or @waiting tag, Paused = true) as part of a bigger "start focus" shortcut; a matching "wrap up" shortcut resumes it.
• Hand-off to calendar: Find Tasks (Due Date is today, has Duration) → create calendar events from each task's title and due time.

Requirements

• macOS 13 Ventura or later for the core data, navigation, and value actions.
• macOS 14 or later adds native Find actions for collections, tags, tag groups, and locations.
• macOS 15 or later deepens Spotlight integration (tasks as first-class entities with openable URLs).
• macOS 26 or later for the interactive Show Tasks panel.

Related Pages

• Siri and Shortcuts: the quick-start overview, including URL-scheme capture flows.
• AppleScript Automation: the full scripting reference.
• Claude Desktop MCP Extension: conversational automation with Claude.
• URL Schemes: twodo:// callback integration.