Automation
Sentinel is automatable through four surfaces that all call the same underlying verbs, so anything you can do with one you can do with any of the others.
Every script is addressed by a Folder/Name identifier — just Name if it isn’t in a folder. / is reserved as the separator, and Sentinel enforces unique (folder, name) pairs. Run sentinel list (or list scripts in AppleScript) to see every configured identifier.
URL scheme
Fire-and-forget sentinel:// links — open one from a shell, a hotkey launcher, or another app.
AppleScript
The full scripting dictionary — start, stop, and read back state from a .scpt or Script Editor.
Shortcuts
Native App Intents with a script picker — build automations in the Shortcuts app, no typing identifiers.
CLI
A standalone sentinel binary for terminal use and shell scripts, with real exit codes.
Verb parity
| Action | URL | AppleScript | CLI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start a script | sentinel://start?script=IDENTIFIER |
start script "IDENTIFIER" |
sentinel start IDENTIFIER |
| Stop a script | sentinel://stop?script=IDENTIFIER |
stop script "IDENTIFIER" |
sentinel stop IDENTIFIER |
| Restart a script | sentinel://restart?script=IDENTIFIER |
restart script "IDENTIFIER" |
sentinel restart IDENTIFIER |
| Open a script’s live log window | sentinel://log?script=IDENTIFIER |
open log for script "IDENTIFIER" |
sentinel open-log IDENTIFIER |
| Get whether a script is running | — | get running of job "IDENTIFIER" |
sentinel status IDENTIFIER |
| Get a script’s captured output | — | get output of script "IDENTIFIER" |
sentinel output IDENTIFIER |
| Get folder / command / working directory / uptime | — | get folder/command/working directory/uptime of job "IDENTIFIER" |
— |
| List every script | — | list scripts format FORMAT |
sentinel list --format FORMAT |
| Quit (stops every running script) | sentinel://quit |
quit |
sentinel quit |
None of Sentinel’s verbs are destructive — start/stop/restart/quit are all safe to repeat or reverse, so the URL scheme’s lack of confirmation is by design.
Want real workflows instead of a verb list? See Guides.