RobSep 21, 2025

Scriptable on iOS is so good. I’m building out an Obsidian library in JavaScript and there is just so much there.

Got my initial library up. Was able to append text to a header section.

Next up: geolocation links that integrate with the MapView plugin.

Who knew Scriptable was so good?

#obsidian #javascript #scriptable #ios

Show threadJosh MaxwellSep 21, 2025
@rob I’m intrigued to hear more about this.
Show threadRobSep 22, 2025

Let's start with the baseline: iOS shortcuts are great and they are terrible. They are great because they are so powerful, but they give a terrible user experience both when programming (the Shortcuts UI is so bad) and also at run time, depending on the shortcut. For instance, I purchased Actions for Obsidian and while they work great, the fact that it opens Obsidian and shortcuts and whatever else made it a non-starter for me.

@cctechwiz

Show threadJosh Maxwell
@rob I have the same issue with Actions for Obsidian (and iOS shortcuts in general). It’s so jarring to have it bounce back and forth between 3 apps for like 5 seconds whenever I want to save a snippet or capture an idea. Not to mention how painfully slow it feels (as a software engineer) to build shortcuts with the UI.
Sep 22, 2025 at 12:22amWeb
Show threadRobSep 22, 2025

I think Actions for Obsidian isn't as terrible on the Mac. But I don't have a Mac, so it's not good software for me.

Glad I'm not the only one!

@cctechwiz

Show threadJosh MaxwellSep 22, 2025
@rob Yea the Mac version is good. But I do most of my article reading on my phone while I’m just sitting around waiting for things so I never really use the Mac versions.