How to schedule iOS shortcuts to run in the background

Wouldn’t it move dandy if your shortcuts could run on an automatic schedule, inward the background, without whatever farther intervention on your part? Cronios makes that possible past times bringing some impressive scheduling powers to your iOS automation scripts.

Shortcuts Focus is iDB’s column dedicated to iOS automation through the Shortcuts app, formerly Workflow. We strive to surface inspiring shortcuts created past times users simply about the public which relieve you lot fourth dimension as well as boost productivity. Some of the ones we’ve covered then far let you find something cool to picket on Netflix or Amazon, delete completed reminders, enforce PiP on YouTube, bypass article paywalls, turn on your Apple TV, get Dark Mode on whatever website, bulk-message multiple recipients, add whatever Apple Music albums to the Home screen and more.

If you’re familiar amongst Unix, upon which macOS is based, you lot in all probability know well-nigh “cron”, a time-based labor scheduler that tin move used to run tasks similar housekeeping as well as other recurring operations periodically at fixed times, dates or intervals.

Well, Cronios past times Adam Tow is basically cron for shortcuts.

Bringing the scheduling powerfulness as well as flexibility of cron to iOS, Cronios allows you lot to run your favorite iOS automation scripts at fixed times, appointment ranges as well as intervals. Trust me, you’ll exceed away a surprising sum of run done on your iPhone past times scheduling repeat tasks amongst Cronios.

Without farther ado, let’s exceed away you lot started amongst Cronios.

Shortcuts, encounter cron jobs!

With Cronios, you lot tin schedule other shortcuts to run on an automated schedule, inward the background, as well as without absolutely no intervention on your part. Your ain shortcuts tin move configured to run on specific dates, times, ranges as well as intervals you lot specify.

“No to a greater extent than tapping on icons, notifications or links,” the writer noted. “No to a greater extent than having to say Siri what you lot desire it to do. Now, you lot say your iPhone or iPad what to practise as well as when to practise it.”

But first, picket the embedded video to consider Cronios inward action.

To download as well as install this super-handy shortcut, visit its iCloud download page using Safari on your iOS device as well as hitting the blueish push labeled amongst the text Get Shortcut. Don’t select Shortcuts installed on the device? Download it for costless from App Store.

After the script has been downloaded as well as opened inward the Shortcuts app, you lot tin notice it nether the Library tab along amongst your exiting shortcuts, synced via iCloud across all your devices.

iOS automation amongst Cronios

So instantly you lot select a 4th method of running shortcuts, inward add-on to Siri, the Home hide as well as the Shortcuts app itself. The powerfulness to run shortcuts on a schedule, inward the background, opens upwards some interesting possibilities, similar the following use cases:

• Back upwards your shortcuts every 3 hours from 9am to 5pm during the run week.


• Turn on Do Not Disturb agency based on events inward your calendar.


• Deliver a customized alarm when the battery degree reaches a certainly threshold.


• Collect data from the spider web spell you’re sleeping for review inward the morning.


• Send emails on your behalf during the day.


• Take a photograph at periodic times as well as e-mail them to you.


• Play an audible alarm every v minutes of interval preparation to force it hard for 1 minute.


• Display an hourly condition study of things similar the electrical flow time, online status, battery level, weather, upcoming events as well as reminders as well as pace count.

Cronios plant amongst ii of Adam’s shortcuts, GeoCuts as well as WatchCuts, to add together automatic location-based as well as remote triggering of shortcuts, respectively.

GeoCuts plant amongst Cronios to run your shortcuts automatically based on your electrical flow location.

Running scripts inward the background

The shortcut has nearly 3,000 actions then it may move a skillful thought to read the total documentation.

“There’s a lot of information on how to continue Cronios active equally long equally possible,” the writer wrote on RoutineHub, 1 of our favorite places for sourcing dandy iOS automation scripts from. “I’ve personally had Cronios running uninterrupted for upwards to 4 hours,” he added.

iOS does non back upwards running shortcuts on a schedule then you lot may run into some issues, specially inward depression retentiveness situations when iOS may create upwards one's hear to purge the Shortcuts app from memory. Also, certainly shortcuts may attempt out difficult, if non impossible, to schedule, such equally those that require user input or are prone to timeouts.

For best results, brand certainly Cronios remains active.

If you lot create a Home hide icon for Cronios, tapping it volition drive Shortcuts to run through all the steps, nearly 3,000 of them. You tin avoid that past times adding Cronios Daemon, a pocket-size 10-step shortcut that launches Cronios inward continuous monitoring mode, to your Home hide or Siri.

If you lot wrote some shortcuts that don’t run amongst Cronios, practise yourself a favor as well as read the documentation for developers that includes tips on making background-aware shortcuts.

Need help? Ask iDB!

If you lot similar this tutorial, exceed it along to your friends as well as leave of absence a comment below.

Got stuck? Not certainly how to practise certainly things on your Apple device? Let us know via help@idownloadblog.com as well as a futurity tutorial mightiness supply a solution.

Submit your ain how-to suggestions via tips@idownloadblog.com.

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