Use Spanner with Siri Shortcuts (iPhone & Apple Watch)
What Siri Shortcuts do in Spanner
Siri Shortcuts let you run common Spanner actions with your voice (Siri), the Shortcuts app, a Home Screen icon, or (when available) from Apple Watch. For example: quickly adding an item without opening Spanner first.
Trigger a quick action (example: “Add to Spanner”)
Use Siri to run it
Add to Spanner or Spanner add item.Hey Siri, Add to Spanner (or your shortcut’s name).Spanner quick add).Run quick actions from Apple Watch (when available)
You can often run the same shortcut from your watch using Siri, or from the Shortcuts app on Apple Watch.
- With Siri on Apple Watch: raise your wrist and say the shortcut name (for example,
Add to Spanner). - From the watch: open the Shortcuts app on Apple Watch and tap the shortcut.
Choose a destination App (when supported)
Some Spanner actions can send the result to another App (for example, saving to Notes, a reminders list, or sharing to another app). When you see a field like Destination, Send to, or App, you can choose where the result goes.
If Shortcuts can’t find your Spanner Apps
If the Shortcuts app can’t find your Spanner Apps (or the Spanner actions don’t appear), try the steps below in order. Most issues are solved by opening Spanner once and letting it finish syncing.
Shortcuts often refreshes available actions after you open the app at least once.
In Shortcuts, the fastest way is: + New Shortcut → Add Action → search Spanner. If you only search your existing shortcuts list, you might not see App actions.
Older versions can cause actions to disappear.
- Update Spanner from the App Store.
- Update iOS (and watchOS, if you’re using Apple Watch).
If Shortcuts is stuck, a restart can refresh the actions list.
- Close and reopen the Shortcuts app.
- If needed, restart your iPhone.
If Spanner appears in Shortcuts, but one of your personal Apps doesn’t show as an option inside a Spanner action:
- Check the App name: Very similar names can be confusing. Renaming the App in Spanner can help it stand out in pickers.
- Open that App once: Open and run the App in Spanner, then return to Shortcuts and try again.
- Wait for sync: If you just created or edited the App, give it a minute, then try again.
If Shortcuts still can’t find Spanner actions after trying the steps above, it’s usually due to a device/OS issue or an incomplete refresh of the Shortcuts action list.
As a workaround, run the quick action directly inside Spanner for now, then come back to Shortcuts after updating and restarting.
Good shortcut setups (quick examples)
- Quick capture: A shortcut named
Add to Spannerthat asks for input each time. - One-tap logging: A shortcut that always saves to the same destination App (when supported), so you don’t have to choose every time.
- Watch-friendly: A short name you can say easily, like
Spanner log.