iPhone Brain Dump Shortcut

Build runbook · ~2 hours · You build, not Claude (Claude can't reach into your iPhone).
Last updated: 2026-04-27

What this is

A single iPhone Shortcut that:

1. You tap the Shortcut from home screen (or "Hey Siri, brain dump")
2. iPhone records voice → transcribes (or you type)
3. Shortcut sends the text to Anthropic's Claude API with your braindump-router.skill content auto-loaded as system prompt
4. Claude returns a structured response: routed items into Reminder / Calendar / Task / Follow-up
5. Shortcut writes the Reminders + Calendar items via iOS APIs
6. Shows you a confirmation card with what was routed

Total time per dump: ~30 seconds. Hands-free. In the car. From bed. Wherever.

Why this is the right move

You spent 6 months building capture systems (BOS quickRoute, voice-intake, braindump-router skill, Signal OS scaffold). They're all backend. The missing piece is the FRONT DOOR — the thing on your home screen that gets you in.

This Shortcut is that door.

Before you start — prerequisites

The build — step by step

Step 1 — Save SKILL content to iCloud (5 min)

1. On your computer, open hookstreet-skills/braindump-router/SKILL.md
2. Save it as braindump-router-skill.txt in iCloud Drive (so iPhone can read it)
3. Confirm visible on iPhone: Files app → iCloud Drive → see the file

Step 2 — Create the Shortcut (45 min)

iPhone → Shortcuts app → "+" → "Add Action".

Add these actions in order:

Step 3 — Configure the API call (action #7)

URL: https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages

Method: POST

Headers:
- x-api-key: [your API key]
- anthropic-version: 2023-06-01
- content-type: application/json

Request Body (JSON):

{
  "model": "claude-sonnet-4-5-20251001",
  "max_tokens": 2048,
  "system": "[SkillSystemPrompt variable]",
  "messages": [
    {
      "role": "user",
      "content": "[UserDump variable]"
    }
  ]
}

In the Shortcuts JSON body editor, you embed the variables by tapping the variable chip when in the JSON field.

Step 4 — Add to home screen (5 min)

1. Long-press the Shortcut → Share → Add to Home Screen
2. Pick an icon (suggestion: 🧠 or ⚡)
3. Name: "Brain Dump"
4. Done.

Step 5 — Add Siri trigger (5 min)

Shortcut details → Add to Siri → Record phrase: "Brain dump"

Now: "Hey Siri, brain dump" → starts recording.

Step 6 — Test (30 min, iterating)

Test with a real dump:

"Remind me to follow up with Eli on invoice 20028 by Tuesday, also Mildred review is due ASAP, and Parker said 9332 lock needs new batteries"

Expected output: 3 routed items (Reminder + Reminder + Follow-up) shown in a card.

If output is wrong:
- Open Shortcut → tap action #7 → check the request was actually sent
- Tap the API response → check Claude returned what you expected
- If Claude returned something but Shortcut didn't extract it: action #8 dictionary key is wrong
- If Claude returned nothing: API key bad, or rate limit

Step 7 — Phase 2: actually create the Reminders (30 min, optional)

After Phase 1 works (display only), add actions to ACTUALLY write Reminders:

Same pattern for Calendar events using "Add New Event."

This is where it gets powerful — and where the Shortcut UI gets a little fiddly. Don't sweat it; Phase 1 (display only) is already 80% of the value.

Cost

Anthropic API pricing (as of Apr 2026):
- Claude Sonnet 4.5: ~$3 per million input tokens, $15 per million output tokens
- A typical brain dump (~500 input tokens + ~300 output) = $0.006 per dump
- 10 dumps/day = $0.06/day = ~$2/month

Negligible. Keep an eye on the Anthropic console for first month.

How to update the skill

When you tweak braindump-router/SKILL.md:

1. cd ~/hookstreet-skills
2. Edit the SKILL.md
3. Copy the updated file to iCloud Drive braindump-router-skill.txt (overwrite)
4. iPhone Shortcut auto-picks up the new content next time it runs (no rebuild needed)

Variations to add later

Each is a copy of the Brain Dump Shortcut with a different .skill file path in action #3. Once you have one working, the other 4 are 5 minutes each.

Troubleshooting

When to abandon this and use something else

If after 2 weeks of trying, you've used the Shortcut <5 times: the friction isn't the front door, it's the workflow itself. Reassess what actually gets in the way of you capturing.

Source

• hookstreet-skills/braindump-router/SKILL.md — the skill content this loads
• hookstreet-voice-intake/ repo — the Apps Script alternative if you want server-side instead of phone-side
• docs/SIGNAL_OS/prompts/extract-signal.md — more elaborate extraction prompt for longer-form input