“unknown actions” for Day One shortcuts on MacOS

  • Unknown's avatar
    gq7qq9qahz · Member ·

    Created or modified shortcuts on iPhone (iOS 26.4.1) and iPad (iPadOS 26.4.1) still results in “unknown action” when synched to macOS (Tahoe 26.4.1).

    Versions of Day One are up to date (v2026.7.x on all devices).

    I’m aware that v2025.21 had restored the shortcuts for macOS, but the above scenario is still unresolved.

  • staff-reid · Staff ·

    Hello @gq7qq9qahz,

    Would you be willing to share the shortcut with us so we can do some testing on our end?

  • Unknown's avatar
    gq7qq9qahz · Member ·

    Hello.

    Apologies for not responding sooner.

    For your testing purposes I created this following 2-step shortcut on my MacBook –> https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/b1b07906938f4658896212f574f5ffc4

    The following are observations from my own bit of testing (syncing between devices is via iCloud):

    1. This shortcut, when run from my MacBook, runs as expected and creates a new entry in my Day One “Personal” journal.
    2. When synced to my iOS devices, the Day One – Create Entry action is converted to a Journal – Create Entry action, i.e., Apple’s Journal app.
    3. If I duplicate this new shortcut in iOS, the synced macOS version reverts to the same actions as the originally created one.
    4. If I update the duplicated shortcut on my iPhone, replacing the Journal – Create entry with the Day One – Create Entry action, my MacBook fails to recognize that action and triggers an “unknown action”.
    5. If I re-write this shortcut (and save as a new one) on my iPhone, using a Journal – Create Entry action as the 2nd step, my MacBook sees this new shortcut as it was created (with the Journal – Create Entry action).

    If there’s anything else I can help you with, let me know.

    Thanks,
    /bernie

  • Unknown's avatar
    gq7qq9qahz · Member ·

    Hi @staff-reid.

    See my follow-up reply to your request. (Didn’t tag you in that reply).

    /bernie

  • staff-frank · Staff ·

    Hi Bernie,

    We’ve reproduced the issue on our end, and I can confirm what you’re seeing is real. Here’s what’s happening:

    When a shortcut is created on macOS and syncs to iOS, the Day One “Create Entry” action is being converted to Apple’s “Journal – Create Entry” action (Apple’s own Journal app). When that modified shortcut syncs back to macOS, the Mac app doesn’t recognize the Apple Journal action — which is what causes the “unknown action” error.

    On iOS 26, Apple’s Journal app appears to intercept the Day One “Create Entry” Shortcuts action and replace it with its own. This looks like new behavior tied to Apple’s deeper Journal integration in iOS 26, and we’re flagging it with our engineering team.

      Workaround that works today: Create and manage your Day One shortcuts directly on macOS and avoid editing them on iOS. Mac-created shortcuts should continue to work on Mac reliably. If you need a shortcut that runs on iPhone specifically, it will need to be a separate iOS-only build — but as you’ve discovered, the Day One action may get replaced by Apple Journal on iOS 26.

      I’m sorry this isn’t a clean fix, Bernie. We’ve flagged the iOS 26 interception behavior for our engineering team, and it’s on our radar.

    1. Unknown's avatar
      gq7qq9qahz · Member ·

      Hi @staff-frank. Thanks for the follow-up.

      Fortunately, most of the shortcuts I have that use Day One actions were created in iOS and are used almost exclusively on my iPhone and/or iPad. I’ll write new macOS specific versions for those I use on my MacBook.

      Not an ideal workaround, but I’m glad to hear it’s been flagged and I look forward to a resolution in a near(?) future update.

      Thanks
      /bernie

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