Apple Shortcuts vs Hammerspoon

Apple Shortcuts

• iPhone, iPad and Mac owners automating tasks across Apple's apps
• Routines tied to a time, a place or an alarm on iPhone
• Anyone who wants automation on Apple devices at no cost

Hammerspoon

• Mac users comfortable writing Lua who want to script their own automation
• Custom window management driven by keyboard shortcuts
• Triggering actions from system events such as joining a Wi-Fi network

Apple Shortcuts

• Shortcuts runs only on Apple devices: the App Store lists it for iPhone and iPad, and Apple documents a Mac app. There is no Windows, Android or web version.
• A third-party app appears in Shortcuts only if its developer supports it; other services have to be reached through web API requests.
• Keeping shortcuts in step across devices depends on iCloud Sync and on being signed in with the same Apple account.

Hammerspoon

• macOS only. Release 1.1.1 lists a minimum of macOS 13.0; older Macs need an earlier release.
• Out of the box it does nothing: every behavior has to be written in Lua in ~/.hammerspoon/init.lua or added as a Spoon.
• It depends on the macOS Accessibility permission, which the user has to grant by hand in the system's privacy settings.
• Crash information is collected by default; the FAQ says this can be turned off in the preferences.

Apple Shortcuts

Actions

Each shortcut is a series of actions, and each action is one step. The App Store listing cites over 300 built-in actions, and apps that support Siri Shortcuts add their own.

Gallery

A curated collection of ready-made shortcuts. Any of them can be added to your own collection and then edited to suit, which also shows how they are built.

Personal and home automations

On iPhone and iPad, an automation is triggered by an event instead of being started by hand. Triggers include a time of day, an alarm, a sleep schedule and arriving at a place.

Many ways to run a shortcut

On iPhone and iPad: the app, Siri, the Home Screen, a widget, the share sheet, Control Center or an Apple Watch. On a Mac: Finder, Spotlight, the menu bar, a keyboard shortcut or the command line.

iCloud Sync

With iCloud Sync turned on, a shortcut added, changed or removed on one device is updated on the others signed in to the same Apple account, including Apple Watch.

Scripting and web APIs

Advanced actions cover variables, If and Repeat logic, menus and prompts, running JavaScript on a web page, URL schemes and requests to web APIs with JSON parsing.

Hammerspoon

Lua bridge to macOS

Extensions expose macOS APIs for applications, windows, screens, audio devices, batteries, clipboards, Wi-Fi, location and low-level keyboard and mouse events to Lua code.

Hotkeys

A keyboard shortcut can be bound to any Lua function, from showing a notification to running a series of window operations or an AppleScript.

Window movement and layouts

Scripts can move and resize the focused window, arrange several apps' windows into a saved layout across screens, and use window filters to act on groups of windows.

Event watchers

A configuration can react to application events, Wi-Fi network changes and USB devices, for example muting the volume when the Mac leaves the home network.

Spoons

Spoons are pre-made plugins, installed by double-clicking a .spoon file and loaded from the config. The official list includes an app launcher and a window switcher.

Menu bar items and URL triggers

Scripts can create menu bar items, draw on the screen and send iMessage or SMS messages, and other apps can trigger them through hammerspoon:// URLs.

Apple Shortcuts

• ShortcutsFree

  The whole app: over 300 built-in actions, the Gallery of ready-made shortcuts, personal and home automations, and iCloud sync.

Hammerspoon

• Hammerspoon$0

  The complete app with every extension, as a direct download or a Homebrew cask. Open source under the MIT license.