iPhone Shortcuts for Claude Code: the 3 you actually need

If you want to run Claude Code from your iPhone using Siri + Shortcuts, you don't need 12 of them. You need three. This is what each one does, what to put inside them, and how the iOS Personal Automation glues them together.

The setup at a glance

Three Shortcuts on your iPhone:

1. Text My Agent. Siri-triggered. Dictates your prompt, sends it to Claude as iMessage, optionally reads the reply aloud.
2. Read My Agent, runs as a Personal Automation when an iMessage from Claude arrives. Reads the reply through AirPods or speaker.
3. Text My Agent (silent), same as #1 but no readback. For meetings, libraries, anywhere you don't want voice output.

The Mac side handles bridging iMessage → Claude Code → iMessage. That's covered in this post. Here we focus only on the iPhone Shortcuts.

Why three Shortcuts and not one

One omnibus Shortcut would have to ask you "speak the prompt or read the reply?" every time. That's friction, iOS Shortcuts work best when each one has a single, predictable behavior. Siri can fire the right one without you having to clarify intent.

The Personal Automation is what ties them into a loop: "every time Claude texts back, run Read My Agent." You're never manually triggering the readback.

Shortcut 1: "Text My Agent"

This is your voice-in. The actions inside it, in order:

1. Dictate Text, set "Stop Listening" to "After Long Pause." Don't auto-stop on a single short pause; you'll get cut off mid-sentence.
2. Send Message, recipient is the dedicated agent iCloud address (the one your Mac bridge polls). Body = the dictated text from step 1.

Siri trigger phrases (set under Shortcut Details): "text my agent," "tell my agent," "send my agent." Multiple phrases = better recognition in noisy environments.

Optional but recommended: turn off "Show When Run" in the Shortcut's settings. With it on, the Shortcut surfaces a UI sheet every time, kills the hands-free vibe.

Common gotcha

If you hear "I sent your message" but the Mac doesn't receive it: check your iCloud account is signed into Messages.app on the Mac AND that Messages.app on the Mac has the agent address as a "Send & Receive" address.

Shortcut 2: "Read My Agent"

This is your voice-out. The actions inside it, in order:

1. Get Latest Message, from the agent address (the same one your bridge sends from).
2. Speak Text, input = the message body. Pick a voice you like (Siri's default is fine, but Apple has nicer ones in System Voice settings).

Don't add a Siri trigger to this one. It runs automatically via a Personal Automation (next section).

The audio routing detail

If AirPods are connected, Speak Text plays through them. If not, it plays through the iPhone speaker. There's no built-in "only speak if AirPods" toggle, you have to add a conditional with "Get Connected Devices" if you want that. Most people don't bother.

Shortcut 3: "Text My Agent (silent)"

Same actions as Shortcut 1 but skip any post-send readback. This is for cases where you want to send a prompt but don't want Claude's reply spoken aloud, meetings, dinners, one-handed typing on the train.

Siri trigger phrases: "silent text my agent," "quiet message my agent." Both phrases distinct enough that Siri won't confuse them with the verbose version.

The Personal Automation that ties it together

This is the magic step most setup guides skip. Without it, you have to manually run "Read My Agent" every time Claude replies, defeats the hands-free purpose.

In Shortcuts app → Automation tab → New Personal Automation:

1. Trigger: Message → "Sender" = your agent's iCloud address.
2. Run Immediately: ON. (Without this, you get an iOS notification asking permission every time. Defeats hands-free.)
3. Action: Run Shortcut → "Read My Agent."

Once configured, every time Claude texts you, your phone (or AirPods) reads the message aloud automatically.

Permissions you'll hit

• Allow Untrusted Shortcuts, required to install Shortcuts shared via iCloud links. Settings → Shortcuts → toggle on.
• Microphone access. Shortcuts needs it for Dictate Text, iOS asks the first time.
• Messages access. Shortcuts needs it for Send Message + Get Latest Message. Asks the first time.
• Personal Automation enable, iOS may default to "Ask Before Running", you have to toggle it off in the Automation's settings.

What you can't do (yet)

• Voice memos that auto-transcribe, iOS doesn't transcribe voice messages locally. They arrive at the Mac as .caf files. The Mac side can transcribe with whisper.cpp, but that's a server-side step, not a Shortcut.
• Multi-turn voice conversations without dictating each turn. Siri Shortcuts can't loop dictation natively. You'd need a separate "continue dictating" trigger.
• Background voice recognition, iOS doesn't expose continuous mic listening to third-party Shortcuts. You have to invoke each one manually with "Hey Siri."

These are iOS limits, not Shortcut limits.

The fastest install path

Building these from scratch takes 30-45 minutes if you're new to Shortcuts. The 3 are pre-built in Remote Claude, install each by tapping an iCloud link. 6 seconds per Shortcut.

Three optimizations once it's working

1. Add a "Hey Siri, ask my agent" phrase

Faster than "text my agent." Siri recognizes "ask" intent more aggressively than "text."

2. Set the readback voice to Siri Voice 4 (premium)

Settings → Accessibility → Spoken Content → Voices → English → Siri Voice 4. Sounds way more human than the default. ~150MB download but worth it.

3. Use Focus modes to gate when readback fires

If you don't want Claude's voice during meetings: set up a "Meeting" Focus mode that disables the Read My Agent automation. Settings → Focus → Meeting → add Shortcut as a "Hide" item.