JXA (JavaScript for Automation) is a scripting language that allows you to automate tasks on your Mac using JavaScript. Here’s a quick overview of its unique features and some code blocks for common macOS application scripting and automation tasks.
Declare variables using the var keyword. JXA is dynamically typed and variables can hold any type of value.
var app = Application("Safari");
var window = app.windows[0];
Functions in JXA are declared using the function keyword. They can take parameters and return values.
function clickButton(buttonName) {
var app = Application.currentApplication();
app.includeStandardAdditions = true;
app.click(app.button(buttonName));
}
JXA supports for and while loops for iterating over arrays or performing a task a certain number of times.
var app = Application("Safari");
var windows = app.windows;
for (var i = 0; i < windows.length; i++) {
console.log(windows[i].name());
}
var i = 0;
while (i < windows.length) {
console.log(windows[i].name());
i++;
}
Use if statements to execute code based on a condition. else if and else statements can be used to handle multiple conditions.
var app = Application("Safari");
var window = app.windows[0];
if (window.exists()) {
console.log("Window exists");
} else {
console.log("Window does not exist");
}
JXA provides built-in support for file manipulation, including reading and writing files, and interacting with the file system.
var file = File("/path/to/file.txt");
// Read the entire contents of the file
var contents = file.read();
// Write new contents to the file
file.write("New contents");
// Check if the file exists
if (file.exists()) {
console.log("File exists");
}
// Get information about the file
console.log(file.creationDate());
console.log(file.modificationDate());
console.log(file.size());
Here are some resources to help you learn more about JXA for macOS application scripting and automation: