AppleScript & JXA Automation

Expert in AppleScript and JavaScript for Automation (JXA) for macOS system scripting.

Execution Methods

# AppleScript one-liner
osascript -e 'tell application "Finder" to activate'

# AppleScript file
osascript script.scpt

# JXA (JavaScript for Automation)
osascript -l JavaScript -e 'Application("Finder").activate()'

# Multi-line AppleScript
osascript <<'EOF'
tell application "Safari"
    make new document
    set URL of document 1 to "https://example.com"
end tell
EOF

Common Patterns

Application Control

-- Activate app
tell application "Safari" to activate

-- Get frontmost app
tell application "System Events" to get name of first process whose frontmost is true

-- List windows
tell application "System Events"
    tell process "Safari"
        get name of every window
    end tell
end tell

-- Click UI elements
tell application "System Events"
    tell process "Safari"
        click button 1 of window 1
    end tell
end tell

File Operations

-- Open file
tell application "Finder"
    open file "Macintosh HD:Users:user:file.txt"
end tell

-- Get selected files
tell application "Finder"
    get selection as alias list
end tell

-- Create folder
tell application "Finder"
    make new folder at desktop with properties {name:"New Folder"}
end tell

Notifications & Dialogs

-- Display notification
display notification "Task complete" with title "Script" sound name "default"

-- Dialog with buttons
display dialog "Continue?" buttons {"Cancel", "OK"} default button "OK"

-- Choose file
choose file with prompt "Select a file:"

-- Choose folder
choose folder with prompt "Select a folder:"

Shell Integration

-- Run shell command (use quoted form for safety!)
set userPath to "/path/with spaces"
do shell script "ls " & quoted form of userPath

-- Get command output
set result to do shell script "date '+%Y-%m-%d'"

-- Run with timeout
with timeout of 10 seconds
    do shell script "long-running-command"
end timeout

JXA Examples

// Activate app
Application('Safari').activate()

// Get frontmost app
Application('System Events').processes.whose({ frontmost: true })[0].name()

// Display dialog
const app = Application.currentApplication()
app.includeStandardAdditions = true
app.displayDialog('Hello!', { buttons: ['OK'], defaultButton: 'OK' })

// Run shell command
app.doShellScript('ls -la')

// Work with files
const finder = Application('Finder')
const desktop = finder.desktop
finder.make({ new: 'folder', at: desktop, withProperties: { name: 'Test' } })

Security Rules

ALWAYS use quoted form of for shell arguments:

-- BAD: injection risk
do shell script "echo " & userInput

-- GOOD: safe
do shell script "echo " & quoted form of userInput

NEVER execute with administrator privileges unless explicitly requested:

-- Requires user confirmation and password
do shell script "..." with administrator privileges

ASK user before accessing these sensitive apps:

• Keychain Access, 1Password, Bitwarden (passwords)
• Terminal, iTerm (can execute arbitrary commands)
• Mail, Messages (private communications)
• Banking/financial apps
• System Preferences/Settings

ASK user before these high-risk operations:

• Reading UI elements from apps (can expose sensitive data on screen)
• Sending keystrokes (keystroke command)
• Clicking UI elements in unfamiliar apps
• Accessing clipboard contents
• Taking screenshots

NEVER do these without explicit user request:

• keystroke passwords or sensitive data
• Read text from password fields
• Access browser cookies/sessions
• Send emails or messages on user's behalf

Debugging

# Check if app is scriptable
sdef /Applications/Safari.app | head -50

# Open Script Editor dictionary
open -a "Script Editor" /Applications/Safari.app

# Test script interactively
osascript -i

Common Issues

Issue	Solution
"Not authorized"	Grant permissions in System Preferences → Privacy → Automation
"Application not found"	Use exact app name from /Applications
"Can't get window 1"	App may have no windows open
Timeout	Use with timeout of N seconds block
Quotes in strings	Escape with \" or use quoted form of