How to use Book Tracker with Shortcuts and Siri

Book Tracker has a deep integration with Apple’s Shortcuts app. Unlike many apps that only expose a limited set of actions, Book Tracker makes nearly every action available in Shortcuts.

This means you can automate almost anything you normally do in the app, from adding books to logging reading progress, controlling the reading timer, and adding notes or quotes.

And because Shortcuts can be connected to Siri, you can run these automations with your voice.

👉 If you’re new to Shortcuts, check Apple’s official guide here: Use the Shortcuts app on iPhone or iPad.

What you can do with Shortcuts

Examples of actions you can automate with Book Tracker:

  • Add a new book manually → you can automate this by pulling book data from another source (e.g., a JSON file) and passing it to Book Tracker, so you don’t have to type everything by hand.
  • Edit book details → update metadata like title, author, format, tags, series, or position.
  • Log progress → by pages, percentage, or time.
  • Control the reading timer → start, pause, resume, or stop, with reading sessions automatically recorded.
  • Add notes or quotes to any book.
  • Search your library by title, author, or filters.

Example automations

  • Morning reading routine → start the Book Tracker timer, activate Focus mode, and play calm music.
  • Daily log reminder → every evening, Shortcuts asks how many pages you’ve read and logs them directly in Book Tracker.
  • Quote capture workflow → select text in Safari or Apple Books, trigger a Shortcut, and save the passage as a quote in Book Tracker.
  • Voice-only progress tracking → say “Hey Siri, log 20 pages in Book Tracker” and your Reading Status updates automatically.

Using Siri

All Shortcuts created with Book Tracker can be triggered with Siri voice commands:

  • “Hey Siri, start reading” → starts the reading timer.
  • “Hey Siri, add a quote in Book Tracker” → captures the currently selected text as a quote.
  • “Hey Siri, log progress” → prompts you to enter how many pages you’ve read.

How to set it up

  1. Open the Shortcuts app.
  2. Tap + Add Shortcut.
  3. Search for Book Tracker to see all available actions.
  4. Select an action (e.g., Log Progress, Add Quote).
  5. Configure it to apply to a specific book or choose dynamically at runtime.
  6. Save the shortcut and add it to the Home Screen, Lock Screen, or run it with Siri.

Best practices

  • Build shortcuts around your daily habits (morning, evening, commute).
  • Combine Book Tracker actions with other apps (Music, Calendar, Focus) for powerful workflows.
  • Use automation triggers (time, NFC, location) to make logging seamless.
  • Keep Siri commands simple and memorable for quick access.

✅ With Shortcuts and Siri, Book Tracker becomes a fully customizable reading companion, letting you log, annotate, and manage your books faster than ever.