Extract text from Apple automation files (SHORTCUT)
To convert SHORTCUT automations to another format, you need Apple Shortcuts or other System software.
To convert other file formats to the "Automation Script File" file type, you need software like Apple Shortcuts or a similar tool.
The .SHORTCUT file is a workflow automation script created by Apple Shortcuts, an application used on iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. These files contain a sequence of predefined actions that interact with various applications and system settings to perform repetitive tasks automatically. A much rarer use for this extension is as a text expansion shortcut for the Asutype software.
Users often try to convert .SHORTCUT files to document the script, audit it for security, or share the automation logic with non-Apple users. The main disadvantage of this format is its severe platform lock-in. It is completely proprietary to the Apple ecosystem. A script built for an iPhone cannot natively execute on an Android device or a Windows PC.
Standard online converters fail to process .SHORTCUT files because translating iOS system commands into Windows PowerShell or Android Tasker profiles is technically impossible due to completely different operating system architectures. If you need to read the logic outside an Apple device, the best conversion targets are PLIST, XML, or TXT. Under the hood, a .SHORTCUT file is essentially a binary or XML Property List (PLIST).
Just drag and drop your file onto convert.guru to identify the format, view it, and convert it when possible. While we cannot magically translate Apple commands into a functioning Android script, our platform can inspect the file, extract the raw structure, and show the embedded text or internal content so you can manually recreate the logic.
Convert.Guru analyzes your SHORTCUT file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted LNK, URL, EXE, PLIST, DOWNLOAD, XLSX, DOCX, PDF, JSON, JPG, RAR, TXT and PPTX files.
If you want to convert SHORTCUT file to EXE or PDF, you can use Apple Shortcuts or similar software from the "Workflow Automation Script" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert files to SHORTCUT, try Apple Shortcuts or another comparable tool in the "Workflow Automation Script" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our SHORTCUT converter.