macOS Automator – Fixing 0.5 Second Delay in Automator Services

automatormacos

There is a 0.5 second delay between triggering a service (via the Services menu or a shortcut) and the service actually performing the actions. For some workflows that I run via a shortcut, this delay is pretty annoying.

Is there a way to get my AppleScript and shell scripts executed (almost) instantly via a shortcut?

This question has been asked before but it has no answers: Running services with keyboard shortcuts has a 0.5 second delay

Update: My solution.

Best Answer

Well, I decided to give FastScripts a shot, since I've heard positive things about it in the past. Guess what? Scripts run instantly now. It's a wonderful app all-around. If you're even slightly bothered by the delays I'd highly recommend it. Keyboard Maestro is probably great as well but FastScripts seemed more like the light-weight app that I was looking for.

Related Solutions

Location of services created in Automator

As others have said, services are normally in one of the Library/Services folders (~/Library/Services, /Library/Services, and /System/Library/Services). If just looking there doesn't turn it up, another option is to spy on what files are being opened when you invoke the service, with something like:

sudo opensnoop -n WorkflowService

... and then running the service, and looking through the results to see if you can spot the relevant file. If it isn't an Automator-based service, you might have to leave off the -n WorkflowService (although you'll have a lot more irrelevant files to sort through because you'll be seeing every file anything in the entire OS opens).

System Services in Automator won’t start

You could try running "Disk Utility.app", manually, and try to do the following:

Repair permissions.
Verify or repair disk.

If that doesn't work, you could try to narrow it down by starting from another volume with a different copy of the System Software.

That's worth a try I think.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Location of services created in Automator

System Services in Automator won’t start

Related Question