Get Started with AppleScript

Whereas Automator lets you construct a workflow visually by dragging and dropping actions into a list, AppleScript is a scripting language—a type of simplified programming language that runs only in a specific environment (in this case, macOS). That means AppleScripts can run only on a Mac, and because your Mac must interpret the commands in the script as it runs, an AppleScript won’t have the high performance of a conventional Mac app. Even so, AppleScripts can look and act like ordinary Mac apps. You may already be using some apps that were written in AppleScript without even realizing it!

AppleScript has been around since way back in 1993, and it’s become popular among people who like to tinker but wouldn’t consider ...

Get Take Control of Automating Your Mac, 5th Edition now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.