How to Share an Automation
ChassisWatch 1.2.0 and later can share one automation as a link. Send it in Messages, Mail, Slack, or anywhere else. The person who opens it sees exactly what the automation does on chassis.watch, then adds it to their Mac with one click. Nothing is uploaded when you make the link: the automation travels inside the link itself.
Share an automation
- Open Settings and go to the Automations tab.
- Right-click the automation and choose Share...
- The Share Automation As Link sheet lists what the person you send it to will see: the name, trigger, and every action, the full source of any script, environment values, and the names of files and apps.
- Click Copy Link, or click Share… to send it with Messages, Mail, or AirDrop.
Your passwords and secret values, and where your files are saved, are never included in a link.
Before you share, check the environment values listed in the sheet. They're included as written, so a token typed into a plain value would be visible to anyone with the link. Store anything private as a secret instead.
If the sheet says "This automation is too large for a link. Use Export to share it as a file.", export it to a file and send the file.
Open a shared link
- Open the link. It shows the automation on chassis.watch: what triggers it, every action in order, each script in full, and a Before you add it list of anything you'll need to set up.
- Read it through, then click Open in App. Your browser asks whether to open ChassisWatch. Allow it.
- ChassisWatch opens Settings with the Import Automation sheet, showing the same automation.
- Click Import.
The automation is always added turned off, so nothing runs until you've checked it. Open it, fill in anything it needs, then set Status to Enabled and click Save.
If you already have an automation with the same name, the new one gets a different name, for example "Mute on Tap Copy". The sheet tells you before you import. Your existing automation is never replaced.
If you open a link before you've finished setting up ChassisWatch, the link waits. The Import Automation sheet appears once setup is done.
Verified and unverified links
- Unverified: links made with Share. ChassisWatch hasn't reviewed the automation, so read its actions and scripts before you import it.
- Verified: ChassisWatch reviewed this automation and signed the link. If anything in the link is changed afterwards, it shows as unverified.
Verified only changes the label. A verified automation is still added turned off, and ChassisWatch still asks for any permissions it needs.
For verified automations you can add right away, see Automations.
What you set up after importing
- Secrets: the sheet shows "Enter a value for" and the secret's name. Links never include secret values, so enter your own.
- Files and apps: the sheet shows "Choose" and the file or app name. Links include names, never locations. For Open Application, ChassisWatch finds the app by itself if it's installed.
- AppleScript: the sheet shows Run Check Script. Each Mac checks an AppleScript before it can run, so open the action and click Check Script.
- Permissions: ChassisWatch asks for Mac permissions only when you turn the automation on or test it.
If the link doesn't work
- "This link can't be imported.": the link is incomplete or damaged, often because it was cut off when it was copied. Copy the whole link and open it again.
- "This link needs a newer version of ChassisWatch.": update ChassisWatch in Settings > About > Check for Updates, then open the link again.
- Nothing happens when you click Open in App: check that ChassisWatch 1.2.0 or later is installed on this Mac. Download ChassisWatch if it isn't.
For errors that show up after importing, when an action runs, see troubleshooting error messages.
