iPhone Shortcuts guide: pause before opening an app
Yixi combines a web page with iOS Shortcuts. Opening a chosen app brings up a breathing page in Safari; after the pause, you choose whether to continue. It needs a network connection and is not a hard blocker.
What you need
Use an iPhone, the built-in Shortcuts app and Safari. Start with one app. Open this site in Safari, since in-app browsers can prevent app switching.
Set up your first app in four steps
- Register or log in, then add an app in Settings. Remember its app key, such as xhs: the key in your shortcut must match exactly. Create an account · Open Settings
- Find URL scheme candidates in Settings and test one on your iPhone. Save it only if it really opens the intended app; listed candidates are not pre-verified.
- Open the signed-in setup guide, reveal and copy the full address for that app. Create a shortcut: Get Contents of URL (GET), then If Contents of URL contains https, then Open URLs inside that condition, using the returned contents. Open your personal setup guide
- In Shortcuts → Automation, add an App → Is Opened trigger for your chosen app and run the shortcut you created. Disable Ask Before Running (or select Run Immediately, depending on iOS), then open the app to test it.
The condition must be “contains https”, never “does not contain pass”. Keep fmt=text at the end of the address. Your personal guide generates the real address; this public page contains no user tokens. Do not share your personal setup page or shortcuts containing your token.
Check that it works
Use the connection test in your personal guide first: pass or a breathing-page URL means the address responds. Opening the target app should show the breathing page; after waiting, Continue should return to that app. Each additional app needs its own shortcut and automation.
Common questions
Why was there no pause?
Check that the app key matches, the app and automation are enabled, and the quiet window has expired. Yixi fails open during network or service failures; a pause is not guaranteed on every launch.
Why does Continue fail to return?
Retest the URL scheme in Settings using Safari. App updates may invalidate a scheme; a matching candidate name is not proof. In-app browsers can also block the hand-off.
Where are records stored?
Interceptions and choices are stored in your instance’s database. Its operator has database access. Self-host using the source documentation if you want to control storage yourself. Personal reviews, goals and setup pages still require sign-in.
English · 中文