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Automator 2.10 on macOS Ventura
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| Developer(s) | Apple Inc. |
|---|---|
| Initial release | April 29, 2005 (2005-04-29) |
| Stable release | 2.10 / December 2, 2022; 19 months ago (2022-12-02) |
| Operating system | macOS |
| Type | Automation |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | support |
Automator is an application developed by Apple Inc. for macOS, which can be used to automate repetitive tasks through point-and-click or drag and drop.
Automator enables the repetition of tasks across a wide variety of programs, including Finder, Safari, Calendar, Contacts and others. It can also work with third-party applications such as Microsoft Office, Adobe PhotoshoporPixelmator. The icon features a robot holding a pipe, a reference to pipelines, a computer science term for connected data workflows. Automator was first released with Mac OS X Tiger (10.4).[1][2]
Automator documents are called workflows, and are made up of actions. Workflows are run sequentially, with each action being given the previous action's output, which it can then process or act upon. Variables can be specified, which can be modified or processed by subsequent actions.[3] Workflows can also incorporate loops and variables.[4] Automator comes with a library of actions (file renaming, finding linked images, creating a new mail message, etc.).[5][6] Actions can also run custom scripts, including AppleScript, JavaScript, or shell scripts. Workflow documents can be run directly in Automator or saved as applications that run the workflow when launched. Workflows can also be added to the contextual menu, to process any selected text or file.[7][8][9]
As of 2015[update], Microsoft has bundled Automator actions with Microsoft Office, which can be used to automate Outlook, Word, Excel, or PowerPoint.[3]
The following is a non-exhaustive list of Automator's features:
Automator provides a graphical user interface for automating tasks without knowledge of programming or scripting languages. Tasks can be recorded as they are performed by the user or can be selected from a list. The output of the previous action can become the input to the next action.[5]
The icon for Automator features a robot, known as Otto the Automator.[19]
Starting in macOS Monterey, Automator exists alongside Shortcuts.[20]
