Use MindNode together with Apple Shortcuts to create powerful shortcuts that combine MindNode with other apps. You can create shortcuts that work with documents, nodes and tags.
Shortcut Actions
MindNode's Shortcut actions can be grouped in three category. Actions that operate on a document, node or tag
Document Actions
Document Actions are actions that operate on a document itself and not its content. You can use it to create, delete and export documents.
- Create Document: Creates a new document with the given title.
- Delete Documents: Deletes the specified document(s) from your library.
- Export Document: Exports the specified document to the selected format.
- Find Documents: Finds documents matching the given filters, such as title, modification date, or folder name.
- Get Current Document: Returns the document currently viewed in the app if it's running.
- Import Document: Imports a file into the app. Supports formats such as MindNode Classic, RTF, plain text, TextBundle, FreeMind, Xmind, OPML, and iThoughts X.
- Open Document: Opens the specified document in the app.
- Open Recent Document: Opens the most recently accessed document in the app.
- Rename Document: Renames the specified document to the new name.
Node Actions
Node actions interact directly with the contents of your documents. They include actions to create, filter or edit nodes.
- Create Node: Creates a new main node or subnode in the given document. The related node parameter is optional and defines the parent or sibling for the new node.
- Delete Node: Deletes the specified node(s) from a document.
- Edit Node: Modifies a node’s attributes such as title, shape, or notes.
- Find Nodes: Finds nodes in a document that match the given filters such, as title, level, or task state.
Tag Actions
Tag actions include an action to find tags in a specific document.
- Find Tags: Finds tags in a document that match the given filters, such as name or ID.
Sample Shortcuts
To help you get started we created a wide selection of sample shortcuts you can directly download.
Starter Shortcuts
Open from My Documents
Presents a list of your documents sorted by last modified date, then opens the chosen item in MindNode.
Open my latest document
Finds the most-recently modified document in MindNode and opens it immediately.
Quick-create a new document
Immediately creates a new document with no title and opens it in MindNode.
Dictate new document
Starts dictation, stops listening after a pause, and then uses the dictated text to create a new document in MindNode.
Create a new document
Prompts you to give a name for a document, then creates it and opens it in MindNode.
Batch-create documents
Given a list of text, this iterates through your titles and creates a new document for each; opens each document as it’s created.
Preview my latest document
Finds the most-recently modified document, exports it as a PDF, and previews it for you.
Rename document
Presents a list of recently-modified documents to choose from, asks you to give it a new name, then renames the document in MindNode.
Intermediate
Clean up my document titles
Finds all your documents with the default “Mind Map” naming, asks you to choose from the list (with all items selected by default), then repeats through the list one-by-one, showing an exported PDF as a preview and then asking you to rename each document.
Extract text from photo mind map
Asks you to select an image from Photos, extracts the text using Apple’s AI features, generates a bulleted list of the items, then asks you to name the new document before creating it in MindNode.
Document Exporter
Asks you to pick from a list of recently-modified documents, then presents pre-defined paths for exporting based on the media type. For example, PNGs are saved to Photos while PDFs are optimized, marked up, and then saved to Files. Plus, an extra JPG option.
Export latest document as Markdown
Finds the last-modified document, exports it as Markdown, then asks where you want to share it; options include Bear, Craft, and Ulysses.
Open from older documents
Presents a list of documents sorted by oldest first, then opens your choice in MindNode.
Clean up old documents
Finds your oldest documents with the default “Mind Map” title, asks you to pick which ones to preview, then shows you all of them in a row before presenting them again, and then finally deleting the ones you’ve double confirmed.
Import documents from MindNode Classic
Extracts the contents of your MindNode Classic folder in iCloud Drive, asks you to pick a file, and imports it into MindNode.
Back up MindNode Documents
Finds all your MindNode documents, exports them in the MindNode format, then creates an archive and asks you where to save it in Files.
Advanced
Export first-level nodes from document
For a given document, gets all the nodes at level 1, splits them by new lines, and copies them to your clipboard.
Update style of document nodes
Using a preset list of MindNode’s colors & HEX codes as well as shapes, lets you restyle all the nodes of a document in one pass.
Create document from input
Takes a given input, uses the first line as the document title and main node, and the rest as first-level nodes.
Add tasks to a document
For a given document, filters nodes that don’t have open tasks and presents them – then, iterates through marking each as an open task.
Mark tasks as completed
Asks you to select a document, then filters the nodes and presents the open tasks – then, it takes your selection and marks the tasks as completed.
Capture current link to document
Gets the URL from the Share Sheet or what’s on-screen, then adds the website title and link as a child node in the current/a new document.
Examine RSS feed as mind map
Takes a given webpage from the Share sheet or when open on the Mac, saves the site name, and creates a document with the last 25 available RSS items as nodes with open tasks.
Mind map folder structure
For a given folder, creates a document and iterates through the folder contents, creating new nodes and child nodes for each subsequent folder (if present). Works as a Quick Action in Finder and the Services Menu.
Note: this shortcut requests multiple permissions depending on the depth of the folder – grant Shortcuts full access within Settings > Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access.
Friends of MindNode
Ask ChatGPT for Mind Map
For a given prompt, asks ChatGPT to create a mind map – the shortcut saves the prompt, generates a Markdown file, and imports it into MindNode.
Export open tasks to OmniFocus
For a given document, gets the nodes with open tasks, formats them along with the document title for TaskPaper, and adds it to OmniFocus before opening your Projects perspective.
Map group structure from Ulysses
Asks you to select a group of sheets from Ulysses and creates a new mind map with each node representing a title and link back to each sheet.
Copy document links to Bear
Asks you to select from your documents, then iterates through each getting the document ID and appending it to a MindNode link, before adding the links and document titles as a new note in Bear.
Mind map Things projects
Updates an ongoing document of your current Things projects, adding each Area and its contained projects as nodes with URLs back to the item as links.
Add Apple Developer topics as tasks
Scrapes the page of Apple Developer videos to present the Topics, then sessions for that topic – then, takes your choices and creates a new mind map with each topic and session as separate node trees.
Export Shortcuts folders to MindNode
Retrieves the list of folders in Shortcuts—using a shell script on macOS and a slower loop on iOS—and uses the information to create a new mind map, which you can then reorder to your desire.
Set Shortcuts folder order using MindNode
Asks you to select a mind map containing an ordered list of your Shortcuts folders, exports the contents, and runs an AppleScript that iterates through, moving each to the top one-by-one until it matches your sort order.
Ask Sky about mind map
Takes a document, exports the PDF, and passes it to Sky to ask the LLM to analyze the contents, then shows the reply.