Apple’s Shortcuts app has long been a favorite tool for power users seeking to automate everything from sending routine messages to logging health data, running daily writing prompts, or triggering smart home setups. But in iOS 18.5, users are running into a frustrating bug that hobbles one of its most commonly used features: the ability to copy or filter notes using the “Find Notes” action in Shortcuts.
Since the iOS 18.5 update’s release, iPhone users across Reddit, Apple’s Developer Forums, and Shortcut enthusiast communities have reported that the once-reliable “Find Notes”, “Get Notes” or “Filter Notes” action now fails to show filtering options like “Name contains,” “Folder is,” or “Body contains.” Without these parameters, targeting a specific note, such as a daily log, a content queue, or an automation-friendly storage note, becomes impossible.
If you rely on Notes + Shortcuts integration to drive any kind of automated task (for example, tweeting from a daily note, updating a running list, or archiving entries based on metadata), this issue might break your workflows entirely. While Apple has not officially acknowledged the bug, users and automation professionals have begun sharing effective workarounds.
Let’s break down what’s happening in iOS 18.5, why it matters, and what you can do to keep your automations running smoothly.
Copy and Filter Notes in Shortcuts is Broken in iOS 18.5?
In iOS 18.5, the “Find Notes” action in the Shortcuts app still appears functional at first glance. You can add it to a workflow, select it as a content source, and even choose it from search. But when attempting to add filters like targeting a specific note title (“Today’s Ideas”) or filtering notes by content or folder, the filter options simply don’t appear on iPhone.
This problem seems exclusive to iPhones running iOS 18.5. Interestingly, the Mac version of the Shortcuts app, running the corresponding macOS 14.5 (Sonoma) update, retains full filtering functionality. The inconsistency across platforms is making the issue particularly tricky for cross-device users and automators.
As of now, Apple has not commented publicly, and there’s no mention of this behavior in Apple’s iOS 18.5 release notes or developer documentation. This strongly suggests it is an unintentional regression rather than a deliberate change.
Why This Matters
While casual Shortcuts users might not notice, anyone who uses automation for productivity, content marketing, journaling, or social media workflows can be impacted in significant ways. For example:
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A writer who auto-generates daily ideas into a specific note (“Content Queue”) can no longer fetch that note to read or append content.
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A user who tweets one line per day from a pre-written list stored in Notes now can’t isolate that note without manual intervention.
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Automated backups or exports of Notes into Markdown, PDFs, or cloud files are rendered unreliable without targeted access.
Essentially, any workflow that previously depended on searching and selecting notes by title, content, or folder is now broken.
Workarounds to Copy and Filter Notes using Shortcut:
Despite the bug, several practical workarounds can help restore similar functionality, at least until Apple issues a fix.
1. Use a Mac to Set Up the Filter Notes in Shortcuts (Then Sync)
If you have access to a Mac running the Shortcuts app:
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Create the shortcut on your Mac with the “Find Notes” action and all necessary filters.
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Save and let iCloud sync it to your iPhone.
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Once synced, your iPhone will respect the existing filter, even if you can’t edit it directly on iOS.
This workaround is by far the most reliable and least disruptive, assuming you own a Mac.
2. Switch to iCloud Files Instead of Notes
If using a Mac isn’t an option, consider replacing your Notes-based automation with iCloud Files. Shortcuts can fully access .txt or .md Files stored in iCloud Drive using:
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Get File -
Get Contents of File -
Split Text,Get Item from List, etc.
This method is particularly effective for automations involving daily logs, tweet drafts, or task lists. For example, you can replace “Find Notes > Get Content” with “Get File > Get Contents of File” and store the same data in a text file like Shortcuts/TweetQueue.txt.
Bonus: file actions remain consistent across iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
3. Use Quick Input Instead of Notes
For lightweight workflows, you can prompt the user to paste or enter content at runtime using:
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Ask for Input -
Dictate Text -
Choose from List
While less autonomous, this approach avoids the need to locate a specific note entirely.
Apple tends to address Shortcuts bugs in minor point releases, especially when they affect basic automation use cases. If history is any guide, a fix may arrive with iOS 18.5.1 or 18.6. Until then, the file-based workaround offers the best mix of reliability, flexibility, and platform compatibility.
Final Thoughts
Shortcuts is a powerful tool for iPhone automation, but it lives in a delicate balance between user-friendliness and system complexity. When a core action like “Find Notes” breaks, it highlights how tightly coupled some automations are to Apple’s often-opaque backend logic.
For now, moving your workflows away from Notes or relying on your Mac to configure them is the safest path forward. And if you’re building content systems, tweet schedulers, or daily checklists, consider storing and accessing that data in Files, where the Shortcuts ecosystem remains more stable and consistent.
If and when Apple patches this regression, it will hopefully bring Copy and Filter Notes in Shortcuts back to their full potential. Until then, we adapt.
If you are looking for shortcuts that can make your life easy, at r/shortcuts, you can find a great number of very useful automations for your iPhone or macOS.
Have you encountered this issue? Let us know your workaround or setup in the comments.
