Automator (macOS)
Shares rank 4 of 6 automation apps by recommenders
Built-in macOS tool for automating tasks without code, with droplets and GUI workflows; people also use it as an AppleScript alternative. Critics say Apple never promoted it and it feels dated.
Built-in macOS tool for automating tasks without code, with droplets and GUI workflows; people also use it as an AppleScript alternative. Critics say Apple never promoted it and it feels dated.
14 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 7
- criticize it
- 7
- approval share
- 50%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 7 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 1 recommender for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Works through the GUI, no code
“Open Automator and make a droplet or service that runs xattr -d com.apple.quarantine on whatever file you give it.”
Comment from 13 Nov 2025 in “Homebrew no longer allows bypassing Gatekeeper for unsigned/unnotarized software” “Just open Automator and use the GUI.”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “You said no MCP” Seen as an AppleScript alternative
“I wanted something that could actually replace AppleScript/Automator to a useful degree.”
Comment from 17 Sep 2026 in “macOS 27 Golden Gate – Review” “Automator and AppleScript would have been gamechangers if Apple had promoted them”
Comment from 5 Aug 2026 in “"Gravity is worth asking about."”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Seen as outdated and inscrutable
“It's hidden in a glut of inscrutable, outdated apps like Automator, 3D Chess”
Comment from 12 Dec 2025 in “Programmers and software developers lost the plot on naming their tools” “from "figure out Automator again" to "message your bot"”
Comment from 3 Mar 2026 in “OpenClaw Surpasses React to Become the Most-Starred Software Project on GitHub” Icon and window corners look off
“at release the Automator traffic lights appeared outside the corner radius”
Comment from 10 Mar 2026 in “macOS Tahoe windows have different corner radiuses” “My god it's just such a bad icon.”
Comment from 30 Jun 2026 in “Free the Icons”
Other automation apps people recommend
The four most recommended other automation apps, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hammerspoon | 61 | 5 | 92% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Shortcuts | 57 | 35 | 62% | 12 | — | — |
| Tasker | 12 | 5 | 71% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Automator (macOS)This page | 7 | 7 | 50% | 5 | — | — |
| Noodlesoft Hazel | 7 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
13 of the 14 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Just open Automator and use the GUI.”
“I wanted something that could actually replace AppleScript/Automator to a useful degree.”
“Automator/Automations, really?”
“Automator and AppleScript would have been gamechangers if Apple had promoted them”
“which never took off because it was too simple”
“My god it's just such a bad icon.”
“automation via Automator and Applescript was inconsistent and unsupported in many contexts”
“at release the Automator traffic lights appeared outside the corner radius”
“from "figure out Automator again" to "message your bot"”
“Automator (app on a mac that's existed for over a decade)”
“almost everything you wanted to do on a Mac GUI already _was_ scriptable”
“It's hidden in a glut of inscrutable, outdated apps like Automator, 3D Chess”
“Open Automator and make a droplet or service that runs xattr -d com.apple.quarantine on whatever file you give it.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.