Apple Shortcuts and Deep Links
Drive PrimeTask from Siri, Apple Shortcuts, Alfred, Raycast, or the terminal using the primetask:// URL scheme. The fastest way to capture tasks from anywhere on your Mac.
PrimeTask's built-in rule engine is powerful, but it only sees what happens inside PrimeTask. The other side of automation is reaching PrimeTask from outside - say "Hey Siri, add a task" and have it land in your workspace; press a hotkey from Alfred and start a timer; kick off a sync from a terminal script.
PrimeTask registers the primetask:// URL scheme on your operating system. Any tool that can open a URL can trigger PrimeTask - create a task, start a timer, open an entity, navigate anywhere. It's the same contract whether you're calling it from Apple Shortcuts, Alfred, Raycast, a Stream Deck, or a cron job.
Deep links work on every license
The primetask:// URL scheme and the Copy Link action on tasks, projects, contacts, and companies are available on every PrimeTask license. A few specific commands (the CRM open ones) require Pro because they touch CRM data. See License Settings.
What you can do
Create a task from Siri
"Hey Siri, add a task."
Start or stop a timer
from a hotkey, menu bar, or Stream Deck button.
Open a specific task, project, contact, or company
from Obsidian, a Notion page, your email, or anywhere else that handles URLs.
Navigate to any PrimeTask page
from a shortcut - Dashboard, Tasks, Calendar, Projects, Reports, and more.
Copy a link to any entity
from PrimeTask's right-click menu and paste it anywhere.
The Siri Shortcut that starts it all
Here's a tested Apple Shortcut that captures a task into your Bugs Space via Siri:
Ask for Text
prompt: "Enter Task Name". Siri asks you for the task name.
URL Encode
takes the answer from the previous step.
Text
builds the URL: primetask://task/create?spaceName=Bugs&title= followed by the URL-encoded answer.
Open URLs
opens the text from the previous step.
Save the shortcut, add it to Siri with a phrase like "Add a PrimeTask bug," and you can dictate bug reports from anywhere on your Mac or iPhone. The task appears in your Bugs Space immediately.
Swap spaceName=Bugs for whichever Space you want to capture into, and you've got a one-shortcut template you can reuse for every Space.
One shortcut per Space
Build "Add to Personal," "Add to Work," and "Add to Client X" as separate shortcuts. Siri picks the right Space based on which phrase you use.
Command reference
Every command uses the same URL format:
primetask://category/action?spaceName=YourSpace¶m=valuespaceName is always required so the command targets the right Space even when PrimeTask is minimised or has several Spaces open.
Tasks
| Command | Example |
|---|---|
| Create a task | primetask://task/create?spaceName=Personal&title=Buy%20groceries&priority=high |
| Mark a task complete | primetask://task/complete?spaceName=Work&taskId=task-abc123 |
| Start a task (set In Progress) | primetask://task/start?spaceName=Work&taskId=task-abc123 |
| Open a task | primetask://task/open?spaceName=Work&taskId=task-abc123 |
task/create accepts: spaceName (required), title (required), description, priority (low, medium, high, urgent).
Timer
| Command | Example |
|---|---|
| Start timer | primetask://timer/start?spaceName=Work&taskId=task-abc123 |
| Stop the running timer | primetask://timer/stop?spaceName=Work |
| Toggle the timer | primetask://timer/toggle?spaceName=Work&taskId=task-abc123 |
Navigation
Open any PrimeTask page:
| Command |
|---|
primetask://nav/tasks?spaceName=Work |
primetask://nav/calendar?spaceName=Work |
primetask://nav/projects?spaceName=Work |
primetask://nav/dashboard?spaceName=Work |
primetask://nav/primeflow?spaceName=Work |
primetask://nav/reports?spaceName=Work |
primetask://nav/crm?spaceName=Work (Pro with CRM enabled) |
primetask://nav/settings?spaceName=Work |
Open a specific entity
| Command | Example |
|---|---|
| Open a project | primetask://project/open?spaceName=Work&projectId=proj-abc123 |
| Open a contact (Pro) | primetask://crm/openContact?spaceName=Sales&contactId=contact-abc123 |
| Open a company (Pro) | primetask://crm/openCompany?spaceName=Sales&companyId=company-abc123 |
Copy Link from inside PrimeTask
Right-click any task, project, contact, or company and choose Copy Link. PrimeTask copies a primetask:// URL for that entity. Paste it in Obsidian, Craft, Notion, email, or anywhere - clicking it opens PrimeTask at that exact entity.
Copy Link appears only when External Integrations are enabled in Settings. See External Integrations for the inbound/outbound story in full.
Real-world shortcut recipes
Add a task from Siri
The Siri Shortcut at the top of this article. Reusable for every Space.
Add a task with a priority
Build on the Siri shortcut. After the title input, add another Ask for Text for priority (or a Choose from Menu with Low / Medium / High / Urgent), and append &priority= + the value to the URL.
"I'm starting work" shortcut
Single URL: primetask://timer/start?spaceName=Work&taskId=<your main task id>. Bind it to a hotkey or a Stream Deck button. One click starts the timer on your main task.
"Done for the day" shortcut
Single URL: primetask://timer/stop?spaceName=Work. Pair with a system shortcut that also dims your screen and turns on Do Not Disturb.
Alfred workflow - quick capture
Keyword "pt" followed by a task name → builds primetask://task/create?spaceName=Personal&title=<encoded> → opens it. Now pt buy milk creates a task without leaving your focus.
Raycast Quicklink
Create a Quicklink with primetask://task/create?spaceName=Inbox&title={Query}. Trigger Raycast, type your task, hit Enter. Lands in the Inbox Space.
Stream Deck
Assign common deep links to buttons - start a timer on your main task, open Dashboard, navigate to a specific project, create a bug in the Bugs Space. Physical buttons for your most-used PrimeTask actions.
Terminal / cron
Run open "primetask://task/create?spaceName=Work&title=Daily+standup" on a schedule. Every morning at 8 a.m., a standup task lands in your Work Space automatically.
Enabling deep links
Deep links are opt-in - turn them on in Settings:
Step 1
Open Settings → External Integrations.
Step 2
Enable External Integrations.
Step 3
Allow the specific command types you want to accept (tasks, timer, navigation, open-entity). Leave the rest disabled.
Step 4
The Copy Link action appears in right-click menus once external integrations are on.
Every command run through primetask:// is logged to an audit log you can review in Settings. See External Integrations Settings.
Opt-in per command type
Each primetask:// command category is a separate toggle in Settings. Enable only what you use - tasks, timer, navigation, or open-entity. Commands that aren't enabled are rejected.
Things worth knowing
Deep links and automation rules are different features
Deep links are the URL scheme - they start PrimeTask from outside. Automation rules are the internal engine - they react to things happening inside PrimeTask. Most people use both.
Works on macOS and Windows
The primetask:// scheme is registered on both platforms. Siri Shortcuts are macOS-specific, but Alfred, Raycast (macOS), Stream Deck, AutoHotkey (Windows), PowerShell, and the terminal all work.
Space name or Space ID both work
Both spaceName and spaceId are accepted. spaceName is easier to type; spaceId is stable if you might rename the Space later.
Task IDs come from Copy Link
For commands that need a task ID (task/complete, task/open, timer/start), the easiest way to get the ID is right-click the task in PrimeTask and use Copy Link. The ID is in the URL.
Every command lives in the audit log
Every primetask:// command that runs is logged with timestamp, parameters, and outcome. Review the audit log in Settings → External Integrations to see exactly what external tools have done.
Common questions
"Do I need Pro to use Siri Shortcuts with PrimeTask?"
No. The primetask:// URL scheme and the basic commands (task create, task open, timer start/stop, navigation) are available on every PrimeTask license. A few specific commands (the CRM open-entity ones) require Pro because CRM itself is Pro.
"How do I build a shortcut that creates a task with a description?"
Add a second Ask for Text in your shortcut (prompt: "Notes"), URL-encode it, and append &description=<encoded> to the URL before Open URLs.
"Can a shortcut open a specific task I got in an email?"
Yes - if the email contains a primetask://task/open?... link (you or someone else generated it with Copy Link), clicking it opens that task in PrimeTask.
"What if the scheme doesn't work?"
Check Settings → External Integrations is on, and the specific command category is enabled. Run a simple test with open "primetask://nav/tasks?spaceName=Personal" from Terminal - that should open Tasks. If nothing happens, verify PrimeTask is installed and the OS knows about the scheme.
"Can I chain multiple PrimeTask commands in one shortcut?"
Yes. Apple Shortcuts lets you run multiple Open URLs actions in sequence. Chain a navigation command followed by a task creation followed by a timer start to build richer workflows.
"Does the audit log record what Siri creates?"
Yes - any command that goes through primetask:// is logged, regardless of the source.
Where to go next
| If you want to… | Read this |
|---|---|
| Configure deep-link permissions | External Integrations Settings |
| Understand the full inbound/outbound story | External Integrations |
| See all integration surfaces | Integrations Overview |
| Build internal automation rules | Building Custom Rules |
| Use the Command Palette for manual rules | Testing and Running Rules |
| Work with tasks and timers | Task Time Tracking |