For years, developers wrestling with complex Siri Shortcuts faced a frustrating paradox: Apple’s visual drag-and-drop editor, while accessible for simple tasks, becomes unwieldy for large-scale projects. Enter CherriLang (pronounced "cherry"), a purpose-built programming language that compiles directly to signed Shortcuts—bringing software engineering rigor to iOS/macOS automation.

Why Text Beats Drag-and-Drop

CherriLang isn’t just a syntax wrapper—it’s a reimagining of Shortcuts development. Where Apple’s visual editor forces developers to manage "magic variables" and manually chain actions, Cherri introduces foundational programming concepts:

#include 'actions/network'

// Define reusable custom action
action checkConnection() {
    const online = isOnline()
    if !online {
        alert("No internet connection!")
    }
}

// Invoke it anywhere
paste checkConnection

This approach enables modularity (#include directives for file separation), reusability (copy/paste for actions), and type safety (explicit or inferred types). The compiler optimizes output to reduce memory overhead—a critical fix for shortcuts that previously crashed when processing large datasets.

Engineering-Grade Tooling

CherriLang’s ecosystem sidesteps mobile constraints entirely:
- VS Code Extension: Syntax highlighting and file icons for local development
- macOS Build App: Compile projects directly via Xcode
- Glyph Search: Generate custom Shortcut icons outside iOS

The Bigger Picture: Scaling Automation

By treating shortcuts as compilable artifacts, CherriLang enables version control, code reviews, and automated testing—practices impossible in Apple’s visual environment. Features like rawAction() allow low-level tweaks while makeVCard() simplifies dynamic UI generation. This isn’t just about convenience; it’s about making complex automations maintainable over years, not months.

As Apple pushes automation deeper into workflows, tools like CherriLang signal a maturation of the ecosystem—where shortcuts evolve from playful scripts into mission-critical infrastructure. For developers, it’s a overdue leap from wrestling with bubbles and arrows to writing clean, scalable code.

Source: CherriLang Official Documentation