iPhone Photo Inbox
Local HTTP receiver for sending JPEGs from iPhone Shortcuts into Mac inboxes.
The Shortcut sends a profile, and the Mac decides the destination folder and
clipboard behavior.
Profiles
opencode
- Saves to
ai/inbox/photos/ - Copies a terminal-safe path to the clipboard
- Best for pasting into OpenCode running in a terminal
mattermost
- Saves to
~/Pictures/iPhone Inbox - Copies the image data to the clipboard
- Best for pasting directly into Mattermost
general
- Saves to
~/Pictures/iPhone Inbox - Does not modify the clipboard
- Useful for plain capture
All profiles show a macOS notification by default.
Start the receiver
Recommended:
IPHONE_PHOTO_TOKEN="choose-a-token" python3 scripts/iphone-photo-inbox/receiver.py
The receiver listens on:
http://MAC_IP:8787/upload
Find the Mac IP address on the current network:
ipconfig getifaddr en0
If that does not return an IP, use:
ifconfig
Shortcut config
Use a Dictionary near the top of the Shortcut:
mac_ip: 192.168.11.186
port: 8787
token: choose-a-token
profile: opencode
Build the URL from the dictionary:
http://[mac_ip]:[port]/upload?token=[token]&profile=[profile]
Use profile: opencode when the next paste target is OpenCode. Use
profile: mattermost when the next paste target is Mattermost.
Camera shortcut
Dictionary
mac_ip: 192.168.11.186
port: 8787
token: choose-a-token
profile: opencode
Text
http://[mac_ip]:[port]/upload?token=[token]&profile=[profile]
Take Photo
Show Camera Preview: On
Get Contents of URL
URL: Text
Method: POST
Request Body: File
File: Photo
Show Notification
Sent to [profile]
On the tested iPhone flow, Take Photo already produces a JPEG, so no
conversion step is needed.
Existing photos shortcut
Use this when sending existing images from Photos:
Receive Images and Media from Share Sheet
Repeat with Each Item in Shortcut Input
Convert Image
Image: Repeat Item
Format: JPEG
Get Contents of URL
URL: http://[mac_ip]:[port]/upload?token=[token]&profile=[profile]
Method: POST
Request Body: File
File: Converted Image
End Repeat
Show Notification
Sent to [profile]
Overrides
Profile folders:
IPHONE_PHOTO_OPENCODE_DIR="/path/to/opencode/photos"
IPHONE_PHOTO_MATTERMOST_DIR="$HOME/Pictures/iPhone Inbox"
IPHONE_PHOTO_GENERAL_DIR="$HOME/Pictures/iPhone Inbox"
Global folder override for all profiles:
IPHONE_PHOTO_OUTPUT_DIR="$HOME/Pictures/iPhone Inbox" \
IPHONE_PHOTO_TOKEN="choose-a-token" \
python3 scripts/iphone-photo-inbox/receiver.py
Default profile when the URL does not include profile=:
IPHONE_PHOTO_PROFILE=mattermost \
IPHONE_PHOTO_TOKEN="choose-a-token" \
python3 scripts/iphone-photo-inbox/receiver.py
Clipboard override for all profiles:
IPHONE_PHOTO_CLIPBOARD=image
IPHONE_PHOTO_CLIPBOARD=terminal-path
IPHONE_PHOTO_CLIPBOARD=path
IPHONE_PHOTO_CLIPBOARD=file
IPHONE_PHOTO_CLIPBOARD=none
Other useful options:
python3 scripts/iphone-photo-inbox/receiver.py --no-notify
python3 scripts/iphone-photo-inbox/receiver.py --reveal
Troubleshooting
Startup should print each active profile:
profile opencode: dir=... clipboard=terminal-path notify=True reveal=False
profile mattermost: dir=... clipboard=image notify=True reveal=False
After upload, expect:
notification sent
clipboard mode applied: terminal-path
saved ... profile=opencode
For Mattermost, expect:
clipboard mode applied: image
If files arrive but clipboard/notifications do not behave as expected, check:
- The Shortcut URL includes the intended
profile=. - The receiver log shows the expected profile.
- macOS Focus/Do Not Disturb is not hiding notifications.
- Terminal/Codex has permission for AppleScript automation if macOS prompts.