0 End-to-End Workflow for Exporting a Public iOS Shortcut as JSON.md

End-to-End Workflow for Exporting a Public iOS Shortcut as JSON

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1. Publish the Shortcut

1. Open Shortcuts .app → long-press the shortcut → Share → Copy iCloud Link. Example link:

   https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/ABC123
   

2. Derive the Metadata Endpoint

Purpose	URL Pattern	Notes
Human-friendly share URL	https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/<ID>	Launches the Add-Shortcut webpage.
Metadata API (preferred)	https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/api/records/<ID>	Returns a JSON document with download details.
Alternate (legacy) API	https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/api/v1/records/<ID>	Works today but not officially documented—use with caution.

Replace <ID> (ABC123 in the example) to obtain the JSON endpoint.

3. Fetch the JSON

curl -L -o shortcut_meta.json \
     "https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/api/records/ABC123"

4. Locate the Plist Download URL

In shortcut_meta.json, drill down:

records[0]
 └─ fields
     └─ shortcut
         └─ value
             └─ downloadURL   ← (direct link to .plist)

Tip: jq -r '.records[0].fields.shortcut.value.downloadURL' shortcut_meta.json

5. Download the .plist

plist_url=$(jq -r '.records[0].fields.shortcut.value.downloadURL' shortcut_meta.json)
curl -L -o shortcut.plist "$plist_url"

6. Convert the Plist to JSON

Platform	Command
Windows (ipsw utilities)	ipsw.exe plist shortcut.plist > shortcut.json
macOS / Linux (built-in)	plutil -convert json -o shortcut.json shortcut.plist
Python (cross-platform)	Use the full script below.

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Reference Implementation (Python 3)

A standalone script that performs all steps above:

#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""
fetch_shortcut.py — Export a public iOS Shortcut as JSON.

Usage:
    python fetch_shortcut.py ABC123  > shortcut.json
"""
import sys, json, plistlib, requests

def api_url(code: str) -> str:
    return f"https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/api/records/{code}"

def download_plist(code: str) -> bytes:
    meta = requests.get(api_url(code), timeout=30)
    meta.raise_for_status()
    data = meta.json()
    plist_link = (
        data["records"][0]
            ["fields"]["shortcut"]["value"]["downloadURL"]
    )
    plist = requests.get(plist_link, timeout=30)
    plist.raise_for_status()
    return plist.content

def main():
    if len(sys.argv) != 2:
        sys.exit("Usage: python fetch_shortcut.py <ShortcutID>")
    code = sys.argv[1]
    plist_bytes = download_plist(code)
    plist_obj = plistlib.loads(plist_bytes)
    json.dump(plist_obj, sys.stdout, ensure_ascii=False, indent=2)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

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Alternative Tools & Variations

Need	Candidate Tools / Methods
Scripting	Bash (curl + jq), PowerShell (Invoke-WebRequest, ConvertFrom-Json), Node.js (axios, plist)
Batch conversion	Run the Python script in a loop; or use xargs with curl + plutil.
Automation on iOS	Use another Shortcut that calls the metadata endpoint, followed by Get Contents of URL → Set Variable → Quick Look.

This outline gives you multiple, non-casual options—from a one-liner to a full Python utility—to retrieve and convert any publicly shared iOS Shortcut into usable JSON.