Shortcut Maintenance and Troubleshooting

FrameReply publishes two personal shortcuts from a team-controlled Apple account. Keep their public links in ShortcutInstallationCatalog and verify both links on a device that has not previously installed them before every release. Missing links leave installation unavailable but must not prevent the app from opening.

Supported Inputs and Limits

FrameReply accepts conversation context through its in-app Add Messages flow and through the two Shortcuts documented below.

Use only conversation content that you are authorized to process. Imported messages remain stored locally; normalized source images are discarded after processing. See the Privacy Policy for the provider data flow and retention details.

End-to-End Workflow

sequenceDiagram
    participant Shortcut
    participant Action as FrameReply Action
    participant Store as Local Store
    participant Provider as AI Provider

    Shortcut->>Action: Images or copied text
    Action->>Provider: Analyze conversation
    alt Text input is missing sender labels
        Action-->>Shortcut: Not imported · Use Copy or Images
    else Import is ready
        Action-->>Shortcut: Add context or a draft?
        Shortcut-->>Action: Add or Skip
    end
    Action->>Store: Commit analyzed messages
    Action->>Provider: Generate replies with one-use context
    alt Replies are ready
        Action-->>Shortcut: Branded reply confirmation
        Shortcut-->>Action: Select reply and confirm Use Reply
        Action-->>Shortcut: One complete reply string
        Shortcut-->>Shortcut: Copy reply to Clipboard
    else No reply is needed
        Action-->>Shortcut: No-reply result with Open Chat
        Shortcut-->>Shortcut: Copy empty result
    end

The new actions pass context directly to reply generation. Context never becomes chat history, memory, or persona learning. Image analysis begins before the context choice is complete. Text analysis first verifies that every message has sender metadata, then offers the context choice. Canceling before persistence saves nothing.

Import and reply generation are separate outcomes. A saved import remains successful when reply generation is unavailable or fails.

The two published personal shortcuts use Suggest Replies from Chat Images and Suggest Replies from Chat Text. Each action displays a branded confirmation snippet without opening FrameReply. The first reply is initially selected; tapping either reply moves the checkmark and strengthens that card’s outline. Use Reply returns only that complete, untruncated reply to the shortcut. The next native Copy to Clipboard action copies it.

When no reply is needed, the actions show No reply needed right now. and return an empty string, so no advisory text is copied. Preserving the existing clipboard requires guarding Copy in the published shortcuts.

The snippet’s header action opens the imported chat. When the import needs review, it opens the Review Import flow; otherwise it opens the chat normally. Opening FrameReply intentionally leaves the current app and abandons that reply-selection confirmation. Normal selection and copying remain entirely in the Shortcuts overlay.

The legacy Analyze Chat Images, Analyze Chat Text, and Generate Suggested Replies actions remain executable for existing shortcuts for at least two releases. Do not use them in newly published shortcuts.

FrameReply Images

  1. Create a shortcut named FrameReply Images.
  2. Open Details, enable Show in Share Sheet, accept Images only, and set If There’s No Input to Continue.
  3. Add an If action whose input is Shortcut Input and whose condition is has any value.
  4. In the If branch, set the variable Chat Images to Shortcut Input.
  5. In the Otherwise branch, take one screenshot and set Chat Images to the screenshot output.
  6. After End If, add Suggest Replies from Chat Images and set Chat Images to the Chat Images variable.
  7. Leave Ask for Context enabled unless the shortcut is intentionally noninteractive.
  8. Add Copy to Clipboard immediately after it, using the FrameReply action’s result.
  9. Do not add Choose from List, If, Show Result, or a clipboard action from FrameReply.

Final structure:

Receive Images from Share Sheet
If Shortcut Input has any value
    Set Chat Images to Shortcut Input
Otherwise
    Take Screenshot
    Set Chat Images to Screenshot
End If
Suggest Replies from Chat Images using Chat Images
Copy Suggested Reply to Clipboard

Test a normal run and confirm exactly one screenshot is captured. Then share 1–8 images and confirm every selected image is used without taking another screenshot. Select each reply in turn, tap Use Reply, and paste it into a long text field to confirm that the complete, untruncated string was copied. Tap the header action separately and confirm it opens the correct chat or review flow.

FrameReply Text

  1. Create a shortcut named FrameReply Text.
  2. Open Details, enable Show in Share Sheet, accept Text only, and set If There’s No Input to Get Clipboard.
  3. Add Suggest Replies from Chat Text and set Chat Text to Shortcut Input.
  4. Leave Ask for Context enabled unless the shortcut is intentionally noninteractive.
  5. Add Copy to Clipboard immediately after it, using the FrameReply action’s result.
  6. Do not add Choose from List, If, Analyze Chat Text, Generate Suggested Replies, or Show Result.

Final structure:

Receive Text from Share Sheet
If there is no input: Get Clipboard
Suggest Replies from Chat Text using Shortcut Input
Copy Suggested Reply to Clipboard

Test both directly shared text and a normal run that reads previously copied message text. Every message must retain an author label; timestamps are optional. After confirming a reply, paste it into the original messaging app and confirm FrameReply was not opened.

Direct sharing remains supported when the messaging app includes sender labels. If direct sharing is unavailable or FrameReply reports that sender labels were not shared, select the messages and choose Copy or Share → Copy, then run FrameReply Text. If the copied text also omits labels, use FrameReply Images. Verify WhatsApp and Telegram copied-message imports, and Telegram direct sharing, after app updates.

Optional Context or Draft

Both Suggest Replies actions default Ask for Context to on. When no value is supplied, they offer Add and Skip. For text input, this happens only after sender metadata validation. Choosing Add opens a multiline prompt reading What do you want to say? Submitting blank text is treated as Skip; cancelling before persistence stops the shortcut without saving an import.

Chat import remains successful if suggested replies are temporarily unavailable.

Automation builders can turn Ask for Context off or connect a fixed or variable Context or Draft value. A supplied value bypasses the prompt. Values over 500 characters fail before persistence instead of being truncated.

Publishing Checklist

  1. Build or update both shortcuts on the team-controlled device.
  2. Confirm the image shortcut accepts Images only, handles shared and no-input runs, and preserves multiple selected images.
  3. Confirm generated replies can be selected, return complete text after Use Reply, and open the correct chat or Review Import flow from the header.
  4. Confirm no-reply results show No reply needed right now., open the correct chat, copy no advisory text, and leave the clipboard empty.
  5. Confirm unavailable replies stop before Copy to Clipboard.
  6. Confirm the text shortcut accepts Text only, imports labeled shared or copied text, and reads the clipboard on a normal launch.
  7. Confirm metadata-poor text shows the cancellation prompt, saves nothing, and stops before Copy to Clipboard. Test WhatsApp and Telegram on a physical device.
  8. Copy and verify each shortcut’s iCloud link.
  9. Install each link on a device where that shortcut is not already installed and run it end to end.
  10. Add only the verified images and text URLs to ShortcutInstallationCatalog.
  11. Export fresh recovery copies after any workflow change.

Use Stop Sharing in Shortcuts to revoke a public installer. Deleting the local shortcut does not revoke its link.

Apple references:

Recovery Copies

For each shortcut:

  1. Open it in Shortcuts and choose Share.
  2. Choose Options → File → Anyone and save the exported .shortcut file to secure team storage outside the app bundle.
  3. Verify that another device can import the exported file.

Back Tap

If the Back Tap banner covers the conversation title before a screenshot is taken, turn off Settings → Accessibility → Touch → Back Tap → Show Banner. The screenshot animation and FrameReply input prompt still confirm that the shortcut ran.

Common Failures