Automating Contacts

Automating Contacts (JXA-first, AppleScript discovery)

Relationship to Other Skills

• Standalone for Contacts: Use this skill for Contacts-specific operations (querying, CRUD, groups).
• Reuse automating-mac-apps for: TCC permissions setup, shell command helpers, UI scripting fallbacks, and ObjC bridge patterns.
• Integration: Load both skills when combining Contacts automation with broader macOS scripting.
• PyXA Installation: To use PyXA examples in this skill, see the installation instructions in automating-mac-apps skill (PyXA Installation section).

Core Framing

• Contacts dictionary is AppleScript-first; discover there, implement in JXA
• Object specifiers: read with methods (name(), emails()), write with assignments
• Multi-value fields (emails, phones, addresses) are elements; use constructor + .push()
• Group membership: add ... to command or .people.push; handle duplicates defensively
• TCC permissions required: running host must have Contacts access

Workflow (default)

1. Inspect the Contacts dictionary in Script Editor (JavaScript view).
2. Prototype minimal AppleScript to validate verbs; port to JXA with specifier reads/​writes.
3. Use .whose for coarse filtering; fall back to hybrid (coarse filter + JS refine) when needed.
4. Create records with proxy + make, then assign primitives and push multi-values; Contacts.save() to persist.
5. Verify persistence: check person.id() exists after save; handle TCC permission errors.
6. Manage groups after person creation; guard against duplicate membership with existence checks.
7. For photos or broken bridges, use ObjC/​clipboard fallback; for heavy queries, batch read or pre-filter.
8. Test operations: run→check results→fix errors in iterative loop.

Validation Checklist

• Contacts permissions granted (System Settings > Privacy & Security > Contacts)
• Dictionary inspected and verbs validated in Script Editor
• AppleScript prototype runs without errors
• JXA port handles specifiers correctly
• Multi-value fields pushed to arrays properly
• Groups existence checked before creation
• Operations saved and verified with .id() checks
• Error handling wraps all operations

Quickstart (upsert + group)

const Contacts = Application("Contacts");
const email = "[email protected]";
try {
  const existing = Contacts.people.whose({ emails: { value: { _equals: email } } })();
  const person = existing.length ? existing[0] : Contacts.Person().make();
  person.firstName = "Ada";
  person.lastName = "Lovelace";
  
  // Handle multi-value email
  const work = Contacts.Email({ label: "Work", value: email });
  person.emails.push(work);
  Contacts.save();
  
  // Handle groups with error checking
  let grp;
  try { 
    grp = Contacts.groups.byName("VIP"); 
    grp.name(); // Verify exists
  } catch (e) {
    grp = Contacts.Group().make(); 
    grp.name = "VIP";
  }
  Contacts.add(person, { to: grp });
  Contacts.save();
  console.log("Contact upserted successfully");
} catch (error) {
  console.error("Contacts operation failed:", error);
}

Pitfalls

• TCC Permissions: Photos/​attachments require TCC + Accessibility; use clipboard fallback if blocked
• Yearless birthdays: Not cleanly scriptable; use full dates
• Advanced triggers: Delegate geofencing to Shortcuts app
• Heavy queries: Batch read or pre-filter to avoid timeouts

When Not to Use

• Non-macOS platforms (use platform-specific APIs)
• Simple AppleScript-only solutions (skip JXA complexity)
• iCloud sync operations (use native Contacts framework)
• User-facing apps (use native Contacts framework)
• Cross-platform contact management (use CardDAV or vCard APIs)

What to load

• JXA basics & specifiers: automating-contacts/​references/​contacts-basics.md
• Recipes (query, create, multi-values, groups): automating-contacts/​references/​contacts-recipes.md
• Advanced (hybrid filters, clipboard image, TCC, date pitfalls): automating-contacts/​references/​contacts-advanced.md
• Dictionary & type map: automating-contacts/​references/​contacts-dictionary.md
• PyXA API Reference (complete class/​method docs): automating-contacts/​references/​contacts-pyxa-api-reference.md