The Story Behind Beyond The Gallery
Let’s be honest, most people have the Shortcuts app on their iPhone or iPad, and have no idea what it actually does. It stays unopened, and often untouched, even though it’s one of the most powerful tools Apple has ever given us. But before it was called Shortcuts, it was something else entirely. It was originally Workflow, an app released in 2014 by a small team of developers who believed in the power of automation for everyone.
From Workflow to Shortcuts: A Bit of History
Workflow was a amazing!. It let anyone, without needing to write code, piece together workflows—mini-programs that saved time, helped with daily tasks, or made your device feel just a bit more like what you could do on a computer. Apple saw its potential and acquired it in 2017, rebranding it as Shortcuts the following year and deeply integrating it into iOS.
The question I had then was how could we share these shortcuts, and that’s how Beyond The Gallery came about.
The Problem to be Solved
When Apple released Shortcuts in 2018, I was incredibly excited, but I also noticed something was missing. There wasn’t a centralized, accessible way to find and share shortcuts. Yes, people were uploading links on Reddit, Twitter, or Google Docs, but there wasn’t a real community around it. No proper place to discover well-made shortcuts. No way to browse by category or see what’s popular.
So I had an idea: what if we created a place that made discovering and sharing Shortcuts fun, easy, safe, and accessible for everyone?
That idea became Beyond The Gallery.
What’s The Gallery
Workflow and the Shortcuts app both have had a tab called the gallery, where the team curates featured shortcuts that they think users will find useful. Beyond The Gallery got its name, because I wanted to provide a resource Beyond the Shortcuts Gallery.
Why Beyond The Gallery Exists
I built Beyond The Gallery because I wanted to solve three key problems:
Security and Trust: There are several shortcuts sharing sites out there, but many have shortcuts that may be harmful to a user’s device, and perform tasks that could open their device up to malware and other security issues. The solution to this would be to have a group review each shortcut as it is posted to our site.
A True Community Hub: I didn’t just want a place to share links. I wanted a place where creators could proudly share their work and users could explore shortcuts by category, get inspired, and learn how to get the most out of their devices.
Simplicity: Many websites and apps out there are complex or have a lot of sponsored content to work through to find the right shortcut. Beyond The Gallery was designed to have a similar user experience to the Shortcuts app so everyone can benefit from shortcuts that are shared.
The Beyond The Gallery App
Beyond The Gallery started as a website at beyondthegallery.app, but the goal was always to have an app in the App Store. Shortcuts is an app, and so Beyond The Gallery should be as well.
I am very excited that we’ve launched version 1.2 of the app, which has exciting new layouts for displaying shortcuts that have been shared on the site. I am excited as well for how the app will look and work in the future.
Getting Started With Beyond The Gallery
You can Join Beyond the Gallery by creating an account at https://beyondthegallery.app and then download the Beyond The Gallery app for Apple Devices.
