This guide shows you how to create a powerful, multi-step workflow that prepares your entire studio for a podcast recording with a single button press. You will learn how to combine several actions into one Apple Shortcut and trigger it from your Stream Deck. You will need a Stream Deck, the Shortcuts app on your Mac, and any applications you wish to automate, such as Notion, a web browser, and Audio Hijack.
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Open the Shortcuts app on your Mac and create a new shortcut. Name it something descriptive, like "Start Podcast".
Add a Set Scenes and Accessories action to activate your desired HomeKit scene for recording (e.g., dimming lights, closing shades).
Add a Run Shell Script action. Use the command open -a "Brave Browser" "https://your-riverside-url" to open your podcast recording software in a specific browser.
Add a Split screen between action to arrange your show notes (e.g., in Notion) and your recording software side-by-side.
Add a Set the session action from Audio Hijack and set it to your primary recording session and change the status to Running. This will start your local audio backup.
Optionally, add a Turn Filming On action to activate a Focus Mode and an Add to Date action to set a timer for your recording session.
With your shortcut created, go to File > Add to Dock in the Shortcuts app.
Right-click the new shortcut icon in your Dock, go to Options, and select Show in Finder.
Open the Stream Deck configuration app. Drag the shortcut file from the Finder window directly onto an empty button on your Stream Deck.
Create a second shortcut for ending your podcast (e.g., "Stop Podcast") that stops the Audio Hijack session and runs a "Done Recording" HomeKit scene. Add this shortcut to another button on your Stream Deck using the same method.
This article demonstrates how to build and trigger comprehensive, multi-step podcasting workflows. By combining actions for smart home scenes, application launching, window management, and audio recording into a single Apple Shortcut, you can fully automate your studio setup and teardown process with the press of a button on your Stream Deck.
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