Shortcuts Automations

The Shortcuts app can run a shortcut on its own when something happens: a time of day, an alarm, arriving at a place, connecting to CarPlay, finishing a workout, tapping an NFC tag. Pair those triggers with Ayumi’s actions and the journal asks for an entry at the moment you’re most likely to have something to say.

This page assumes you know the Ayumi actions from iOS Shortcuts. Every recipe below is built from those four actions plus built-in Shortcuts actions.

Which Ayumi action fits which trigger

Automations often fire while your iPhone is locked or in your pocket. What matters is whether the action needs Ayumi on screen.

Action	Runs in the background	Good for
Create Entry	Yes	Unattended logs, and entries from Dictate Text or Ask for Input
Transcribe Audio File (called Create Audio Entry before 1.11)	Yes	Transcribing an audio file the shortcut already has
Start Recording	No — opens Ayumi	Triggers that fire while the iPhone is in your hand, or that ask you first
Stop Recording	Yes	”End” triggers: leaving a place, a workout ending, disconnecting

Start Recording opens Ayumi because iOS only lets an app start the microphone while it is in the foreground (see the note in iOS Shortcuts). If the iPhone is locked when the automation fires, iOS can’t bring Ayumi forward until you unlock it. Add Go to Home Screen right after Start Recording so you land back where you were while the Live Activity keeps the recording going.

Create an automation

1. Open Shortcuts and go to the Automation tab.
2. Tap + (or New Automation) and pick a trigger, such as Time of Day or Arrive.
3. Set the trigger’s details, then choose how it runs:
   • Run Immediately — runs without asking. Best for background-only actions like Create Entry and Stop Recording.
   • Run After Confirmation — shows a notification, and the shortcut runs when you tap it. Best for anything that records or asks you a question, so it never starts when you’re not ready.
4. Tap Next, choose New Blank Automation (or an existing shortcut), and add the actions from the recipe.

Note

The exact labels for these options vary a little between iOS versions. Not every trigger offers both; if iOS only offers the confirmation option, use it. If an automation should run while the iPhone is locked, check its settings for an option such as Allow Running When Locked.

Recipes

Nightly reflection on a schedule

A prompt to talk through your day at the same time every night.

• Trigger: Time of Day → 10:00 PM, Daily — or Sleep → Wind Down Begins if you use a sleep schedule.
• Run: after confirmation
• Actions:
  1. Dictate Text
  2. Create Entry (Ayumi) — pass in Dictated Text

Prefer Ayumi’s transcription over system dictation? Use Start Recording → Go to Home Screen instead, and stop from the Dynamic Island when you’re done. Choose Weekly to make it a Sunday weekly review.

A morning voice note when you stop your alarm

Catch a dream or the day’s plan while it’s still fresh.

• Trigger: Alarm → Is Stopped, alarm: Wake-up
• Run: after confirmation
• Actions:
  1. Start Recording (Ayumi)
  2. Go to Home Screen

Tap the notification after you turn off the alarm, talk, and stop from the Live Activity. Ayumi transcribes the recording with your default profile.

Record on the way home, stop when you arrive

Turn a walk or train ride home into a debrief, with the stop handled for you.

• Automation 1
  • Trigger: Leave → your workplace
  • Run: after confirmation
  • Actions: Start Recording (Ayumi) → Go to Home Screen
• Automation 2
  • Trigger: Arrive → Home
  • Run: immediately
  • Actions: Stop Recording (Ayumi)

Stop Recording runs in the background, so the recording is queued for transcription as soon as you get home, even with the iPhone in your pocket. The same pair works with CarPlay → Disconnects to record a few thoughts right after you park.

Caution

Don’t set up an automation that needs you to tap or unlock your iPhone while you’re driving. Start recordings before you drive, or after you park.

A note when you arrive somewhere

Log a place with a line about why you’re there — a café you work from, a trip destination, a client’s office. Ayumi adds the location and weather when they’re available.

• Trigger: Arrive → a location
• Run: after confirmation
• Actions:
  1. Dictate Text (or Ask for Input)
  2. Create Entry (Ayumi)

After a workout

Record how the run felt while you’re still catching your breath.

• Trigger: Apple Watch Workout → choose workout types, When Workout: End
• Run: after confirmation
• Actions: Start Recording (Ayumi) → Go to Home Screen

To record from the watch itself, see Apple Watch.

Tap an NFC tag on your desk or nightstand

Put an inexpensive NFC sticker where you journal. Holding your iPhone to it starts a recording — no buttons, no hunting for the app.

• Trigger: NFC → scan your tag
• Run: immediately
• Actions: Start Recording (Ayumi) → Go to Home Screen

The tag is read while you’re holding the iPhone, so Ayumi can come to the foreground right away. A second tag set up with Stop Recording gives you a physical stop as well. For the Action Button or Back Tap, see iOS Shortcuts.

Takeaways after a meeting

Capture decisions and follow-ups the moment a call ends.

• Trigger: App → your video-call app, Is Closed — or Focus → your Work Focus, When Turning Off, for an end-of-workday note
• Run: after confirmation
• Actions:
  1. Dictate Text
  2. Create Entry (Ayumi)

Only journal your own notes. If you want to record a conversation with other people, get their permission first.

A daily log that writes itself

Not every entry has to be spoken. This one runs every night without asking and saves your calendar as an entry, so you have a record of the day to look back on.

• Trigger: Time of Day → 11:30 PM, Daily
• Run: immediately
• Actions:
  1. Find Calendar Events — where Start Date is today
  2. Text — for example, “Today’s events:” followed by the Calendar Events variable
  3. Create Entry (Ayumi) — pass in the Text

Because it is plain text, it is easy to combine with other sources, such as the song you’re listening to or a checklist from another app.

On the Mac

macOS 26 and later can run Shortcuts automations too, including when a file is added to a folder. Point one at the folder where a recorder or another app saves audio files, add Transcribe Audio File (Ayumi), and new recordings are transcribed into your journal as they arrive. Open Shortcuts → Automation in the sidebar → + to set one up.

Troubleshooting

• Nothing happens when the trigger fires. Open the automation and check that it is enabled and set to the run option you expect. After some iOS updates, automations go back to asking for confirmation.
• The recording didn’t start. Start Recording needs an unlocked iPhone. Use the confirmation option so you can unlock and tap, or use a trigger that fires while the phone is in your hand.
• The entry has no location. Location and weather are added when iOS can provide them. Check that Ayumi is allowed to use your location.
• Will Stop Recording break anything if I already stopped? No. When nothing is recording, it does nothing, so an “end” automation is safe even on days you stopped from the Dynamic Island yourself.