At a glance
| Trama | Apple Shortcuts | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free plan; Pro $10/month; Max $18/month. | Free, included with macOS. |
| How you build | Describe it in a sentence; Trama builds, explains and lets you edit the steps in plain English. | Drag actions into a shortcut and set each one’s options. |
| What can start it | Every copy, a keyboard shortcut, selected text, a schedule, every new screenshot, a file in a folder, an app opening, a calendar event, a webhook. | Running it yourself (menu bar, Spotlight, Siri, a keyboard shortcut); recent macOS versions add automations that start shortcuts on their own. |
| AI | Built in, with the provider you choose: Claude Code, Codex, Gemini, Anthropic, OpenAI, Groq or a local model. | Apple Intelligence actions on supported Macs; other AI through apps that offer actions. |
| Web services | Slack, Gmail, Google Sheets, Docs, Drive and Calendar, GitHub, Notion, Linear, Jira, Trello, Airtable, Telegram, Discord, any HTTP API. | Through apps that offer Shortcuts actions, or raw web requests. |
| When something fails | AI explains the error in plain English and can apply a fix, or roll back to the last version that worked. | You debug the actions yourself. |
| iPhone and iPad | Mac only. | Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. |
Written in October 2026. Products change — check each company’s site for current features and prices.
When Shortcuts is the better choice
- The automation is about Apple apps and devices — Focus modes, Home, Music, Photos, Messages — or should also run on your iPhone.
- It is short, you know exactly which actions it needs, and you enjoy putting them together.
- You want nothing extra installed and no account to sign in to.
When Trama is the better choice
- You opened Shortcuts, looked at the actions list, and closed it. With Trama you type “When I copy text in another language, translate it to English” and it is done.
- It should happen on every copy, selection or screenshot, without you running anything.
- It involves understanding text — summarizing, translating, extracting a total from a receipt, rewriting a message — with the AI provider you choose.
- It touches work tools like Slack, Notion, Linear, Jira, Google Sheets or GitHub.
Using both
They coexist. Keep the shortcuts you already have; use Trama for the automations you never got around to building.
Questions
Is Trama a replacement for Apple Shortcuts?
Not entirely. Shortcuts is free, built in and reaches Apple apps and devices deeply. Trama is for people who would rather describe an automation than assemble it, and for automations that run on every copy or screenshot, use AI, or reach services like Slack, Notion or Google Sheets.
Which macOS version does Trama need?
macOS 15.7 (Sequoia) or later, on Apple Silicon or Intel Macs.
Does Trama need Apple Intelligence?
No. Trama uses the AI provider you pick: Claude Code, Codex, or an API key from Google Gemini (free tier), Anthropic, OpenAI, Groq or any OpenAI-compatible server, including models running locally.