Open a URL, do a thing
URL schemes are the universal automation backstop on macOS. Anything that can open a URL — Safari, Terminal, Raycast, Alfred, a Markdown link in Obsidian, a calendar event — can drive Shake It On.
The verbs
| URL | What it does |
|---|---|
shakeiton://enable | Turn shaking on |
shakeiton://disable | Turn shaking off |
shakeiton://toggle | Flip the master switch |
shakeiton://shake | Trigger one shake immediately |
shakeiton://snooze?minutes=15 | Pause for N minutes |
shakeiton://keep-awake?minutes=60 | Force-active for N minutes |
shakeiton://session?name=Render | Switch to a saved Session |
From Terminal
open "shakeiton://snooze?minutes=30"
open "shakeiton://session?name=Render"
open "shakeiton://toggle"URL-encode any session name with spaces: shakeiton://session?name=Conference%20Wi-Fi.
From Raycast / Alfred
Raycast: create a "Run a Shell Command" snippet:
open "shakeiton://snooze?minutes=15"Alfred: a "Run Script" workflow with the same body. Bind a hot-key and you have a quick-snooze in two keystrokes.
From Markdown / notes apps
URL schemes work in any Markdown link. Drop these into Obsidian, Bear, or your meeting notes:
[Snooze 30 min](shakeiton://snooze?minutes=30)
[Render Session](shakeiton://session?name=Render)From Calendar events
Add a URL to a calendar event's Notes field. macOS won't auto-fire it (that would be a security nightmare), but you can click it from the event details:
shakeiton://keep-awake?minutes=120A note on security
Every URL-scheme action posts a brief macOS notification confirming what happened ("Shake It On disabled by URL"). This is intentional — it means a malicious webpage can't silently disable your jiggler without you noticing.
URL scheme vs. AppleScript vs. Shortcuts
Three doors to the same room:
- URL scheme — universal, works from anything that opens URLs.
- AppleScript — best when you're already inside an AppleScript context (Hammerspoon, Keyboard Maestro, osascript).
- Shortcuts — best for no-code workflows that branch and combine multiple steps.