Recovering Shortcuts Automation(s)

Accidentally deleted your Shortcuts automation(s) but have an iPhone/iPad backup on your computer? With Cowabunga Lite and iMazing, you can easily get them back without losing any data.

Important Notes:

Lost your Shortcuts automation(s) but have an iPhone/iPad backup? Don’t worry—I’ve got you covered! This method will help you recover your automation(s) without losing any data.

To get started, you'll need a few system files from your iPhone or iPad backup, along with specific files generated via the command line. This tutorial requires either a Mac or a Windows computer.

Sadly, iCloud backups won’t work for this tutorial since the system files in an iCloud backup are inaccessible.

Instructions:

Step 1:

Accidentally deleted your Shortcuts automation(s) but have an iPhone/iPad backup on your computer? With Cowabunga Lite and iMazing, you can easily get them back without losing any data.

First, install iMazing on your computer and navigate to the 'Backups' section. Select your most recent device backup, then go to the 'Overview' section and note your UDID for later use. Next, go to the Data section: File System → HomeDomain → Library → Shortcuts. Double-click the following files, create a folder, and move the files into it. Open the folder and proceed to step 2.
- "Shortcuts.sqlite"
- "Spotlight.dat"

Download iMazing

Step 2:

For Windows users, download SQLite, open the zip file and run sqlite3.exe. Next, run the following commands:
- ".open Shortcuts.sqlite"
- "PRAGMA journal_mode = WAL;"

For macOS users, open Terminal and run the following commands:
- "sqlite3` (drag the Shortcuts file into terminal)"
- "PRAGMA journal_mode = WAL;"

You can quit the command line apps after you get the files.

After running the commands above, you should have the following files in your folder:
- "Shortcuts.sqlite"
- "Spotlight.dat"
- "Shortcuts.sqlite-shm"
- "Shortcuts.sqlite-wal"

Step 3:

Download and install Cowabunga Lite, then open it. Now, connect your device, and make sure that Find My and iCloud Backup on your device is off.

For macOS users:
1. Open the Terminal and run the following command in Terminal: "open ~/Documents/com.leemin.CowabungaLite/Workspace".

In Terminal, run the following commands:
- "cd (drag your UDID folder here)"
- "mkdir -p ControlCenter/HomeDomain/Library/Shortcuts"

For Windows users:
1. Open File Explorer and copy/paste this address into the address bar (don't include quotes): "APPDATA%/CowabungaLite/Workspace", then right-click on your UDID folder and copy its path.
2. Then, open Command Prompt and run the following commands:
- "cd (paste folder path here)"
- "mkdir ControlCenter\HomeDomain\Library\Shortcuts".

Next for both macOS and Windows users follow the following steps:
1. Open your UDID folder and navigate to ControlCenter → HomeDomain → Library → Shortcuts.
2. Drag and drop the following files into the Shortcuts folder:
- "Shortcuts.sqlite"
- "Spotlight.dat"
- "Shortcuts.sqlite-shm"
- "Shortcuts.sqlite-wal"

Now, proceed to step 4.

Step 4:

Next, go to the "Control Center" section and enable it. Then, go to the "Apply" section and make sure the 'Setup Options' section is turned off to preserve your configuration profiles. For more details, please refer to the FAQ for Cowabunga Lite. Then, click "Apply Changes" (or "Apply Tweaks" if you're on macOS). Your device will display "Restore in Progress." Once the device restarts, you’ll reach the setup screen. Just follow the instructions to complete the setup process.

if you see the "Apps & Data" page with the "do not transfer data" option, select it and continue following the remaining steps.

If you're on iOS 17.2 or higher, you will encounter a new page during setup named "iPhone Partially Setup". On this screen, you'll find two options at the bottom: "Erase and Start Over" and "Continue with Partial Setup". Please select the option below, NOT the first one.