Agent skill

apple-notes-hello-world

Create, read, and list Apple Notes using JXA and AppleScript. Use when learning Notes automation, creating your first automated note, or testing read/write access to Apple Notes from scripts. Trigger: "apple notes hello world", "create apple note", "read apple notes", "apple notes example", "osascript notes".

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Install this agent skill to your Project

npx add-skill https://github.com/jeremylongshore/claude-code-plugins-plus-skills/tree/main/plugins/saas-packs/apple-notes-pack/skills/apple-notes-hello-world

SKILL.md

Apple Notes Hello World

Overview

Create, read, search, and delete Apple Notes using JXA (JavaScript for Automation) via osascript. All examples work from the command line on macOS.

Prerequisites

  • Completed apple-notes-install-auth (permissions granted)
  • macOS with Notes.app

Instructions

Step 1: Create a Note

bash
# JXA: Create a note in the default folder
osascript -l JavaScript -e '
  const Notes = Application("Notes");
  const defaultFolder = Notes.defaultAccount.folders[0];
  const newNote = Notes.Note({
    name: "Hello from Automation",
    body: "<h1>Hello World</h1><p>This note was created via JXA at " + new Date().toISOString() + "</p>"
  });
  defaultFolder.notes.push(newNote);
  newNote.id();
'

# AppleScript equivalent:
osascript -e '
  tell application "Notes"
    tell account "iCloud"
      make new note at folder "Notes" with properties {name:"Hello AppleScript", body:"<p>Created via AppleScript</p>"}
    end tell
  end tell
'

Step 2: List All Notes

bash
# List notes with title and creation date
osascript -l JavaScript -e '
  const Notes = Application("Notes");
  const notes = Notes.defaultAccount.notes();
  notes.slice(0, 10).map(n =>
    `${n.name()} | Created: ${n.creationDate().toISOString().split("T")[0]}`
  ).join("\n");
'

Step 3: Read a Note's Content

bash
# Read note body (returns HTML)
osascript -l JavaScript -e '
  const Notes = Application("Notes");
  const notes = Notes.defaultAccount.notes();
  const target = notes.find(n => n.name() === "Hello from Automation");
  if (target) {
    `Title: ${target.name()}\nBody: ${target.body()}\nModified: ${target.modificationDate()}`;
  } else {
    "Note not found";
  }
'

Step 4: Search Notes

bash
# Search by keyword in note name
osascript -l JavaScript -e '
  const Notes = Application("Notes");
  const query = "Hello";
  const results = Notes.defaultAccount.notes().filter(n =>
    n.name().toLowerCase().includes(query.toLowerCase())
  );
  results.map(n => n.name()).join("\n") || "No results";
'

Step 5: Create Note in Specific Folder

bash
# Create a folder and add a note to it
osascript -l JavaScript -e '
  const Notes = Application("Notes");
  const account = Notes.defaultAccount;

  // Create folder if it does not exist
  let folder = account.folders().find(f => f.name() === "Automation");
  if (!folder) {
    folder = Notes.Folder({ name: "Automation" });
    account.folders.push(folder);
  }

  // Add note to folder
  const note = Notes.Note({
    name: "Organized Note",
    body: "<p>This note lives in the Automation folder.</p>"
  });
  folder.notes.push(note);
  `Created in folder: ${folder.name()}`;
'

Step 6: Delete a Note

bash
# Delete by name (moves to Recently Deleted)
osascript -l JavaScript -e '
  const Notes = Application("Notes");
  const notes = Notes.defaultAccount.notes();
  const target = notes.find(n => n.name() === "Hello from Automation");
  if (target) {
    Notes.delete(target);
    "Note deleted";
  } else {
    "Note not found";
  }
'

Note Properties

Property Type Writable Description
name string Yes Note title (first line)
body string (HTML) Yes Full note content as HTML
id string No Unique identifier
creationDate Date No When note was created
modificationDate Date No Last modification
container Folder No Parent folder

Output

  • Created a note via JXA and AppleScript
  • Listed, searched, and read note content
  • Organized note into a folder
  • Deleted a note

Error Handling

Error Cause Solution
Notes got an error Notes.app not running Add Notes.activate() first
Empty body Note has no text content Check note is not just an image
Can't make folder Folder already exists Check before creating
Slow response iCloud sync in progress Wait for sync; use local account

Resources

Next Steps

Proceed to apple-notes-local-dev-loop for development workflow setup.

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