Linkable Mac Apps

This document lists apps that we know can be used with Hook, meaning that you can link their items together with Hook. The data are the result of our testing and/or Hook customers’.

Legend

  1. βˆšπŸ‘ : The app has reliable automation for linking which is used by Hook. Those apps are the best apps to use with Hook. Linking should work regardless of the language of the app.
  2. βˆšπŸ€” : The app does not have an adequate API for linking (possibly no API). However, Hook can currently link with it via “UI scripting” (user interface scripting). However, UI scripting is not as reliable as an API. Also, unless noted below Hook can only control the app in English, but supporting another language for a particular app just requires tweaking a script.
  3. βœ‹ : The app cannot currently be linked due to its lack of an API or its user interface.

For apps in categories 1 and 2. consider getting in touch with the developer to ask them to add the required API (AppleScript, JavaScript or x-callback-url) support. It’s easy for them to do, and it would be win-win for everyone.

See definitions below.

There are likely many other apps that work out of the box with Hook that are not mentioned here. We frequently discover new ones. If you know your favorite app works but is not listed here, please let us know via the Hook productivity forum or email (hook@cogsciapps.com).

Web browsers

  • Brave: βˆšπŸ‘
  • Chrome: βˆšπŸ‘
  • Microsoft Edge βˆšπŸ‘
  • Firefox: βˆšπŸ€” (English only)
  • Opera: βˆšπŸ‘
  • Safari: βˆšπŸ‘
  • Scrivener: βˆšπŸ€” (Supports deep-linking to particular documents in Scrivener’s binder. Uses Scrivener’s x-scrivener-item: URLs rather than hook://file URLs.)

Communication apps

  • AirMail: βˆšπŸ‘
  • Apple Mail: βˆšπŸ‘
  • MailMate: βˆšπŸ‘
  • Postbox βˆšπŸ‘. Per forum: √

  • Slack: βˆšπŸ€” (links to/from current Slack or DM channel. To link to a particular Slack message, get its URL directly from Slack per forum.)

  • Microsoft Outlook: πŸ€” (In Outlook, Hook relies on Outlook email IDs because Outlook does not provide a way to access emails by RFC-compliant email IDs. Archiving Outlook Exchange emails, or other events [Γ  la Microsoft] may change the IDs. hook://outlook email URLs are not shareable. ).

  • Spark by Readdle βœ‹: (Lacks automation).

  • Hey email app : TBD.

Other office apps (spreadsheets, presentations)

  • Apple Contacts: βˆšπŸ‘
  • JeditΞ© : βˆšπŸ‘ per forum.
  • Apple Keynote: βˆšπŸ‘
  • LibreOffice (Calc, Writer, Impress, Draw, ) : βˆšπŸ‘
  • Microsoft Excel: βˆšπŸ‘
  • Microsoft Powerpoint: βˆšπŸ‘
  • Apple Numbers: βˆšπŸ‘

  • BusyContacts: βˆšπŸ€” (Currently, in English only)

Integration with Microsoft Office requires Office 2016 or Office 365. Hook is not necessarily qualified for Microsoft “Insider Fast Builds”, which are pre-general release builds. Microsoft says those builds are “Best for Insiders who […] don’t mind the bit of risk involved in using unsupported builds.”

PDF Readers

Ebook readers

Task managers, Calendar apps, and Date-Focused note-taking apps

Outliners

Finder utilities, extensions and cloud storage

Information managers

Diagramming, graphic organizers and mind mapping

Development and automation tools

Word processors, text editors, note-taking apps and writing utilities

News Readers

  • ReadKit: βˆšπŸ€”

  • Reeder: βœ‹ (lacks automation)

News readers are not designed to open URLs. The reciprocal http(s) link back to the copied address will be opened in the default application (typically a web browser)

Media players, Audio-video editors

Other scientific/academic

macOS Utilities (misc)

Reference management software

  • Bookends: βˆšπŸ‘
  • Papers 3 (Readcube, formerly Mekentosj): βˆšπŸ‘ (uses hook://file links which means even if you stop using Papers, your links will work. It works with PDFs that remain on file system.)
  • Zotero: βˆšπŸ‘ (As of v. 124 of integration)

  • Papers 2020 by Digital Science & Research Solutions: βœ‹ (Lacks features of the prior version such as automation. Not recommended).

  • Mendeley: βœ‹ (lacks automation API)

Other (misc)

Web services

Hook can be used to link any web page to any other resource!

Given its emphasis on linking, for example we will simply pick one of a nearly infinite number of websites with which you can use Hook: Roam Research. Compare Hook 1.4 release notes.

What to do if your favorite app is not listed above as πŸ‘

If your favorite app is not yet linkable, in many cases it is possible for us or Hook users to add scripts in Hook’s Scripts preferences to make the app linkable. But if the app is not currently sufficiently scriptable, you may wish to contact the app’s developer, as described here, to request they make their app scriptable (or support the appropriate x-callback-url’s.)

Many apps are discussed on the Hook productivity forum.

Language and internationalization

The Hook display language is currently only English. Unless otherwise noted, apps marked as πŸ€” (UI-scripted) cannot yet be controlled by Hook if the macOS display language is not English.

If your macOS language is not listed for your favorite apps and you’d like support let us know.

Definitions and caveats

Per the glossary above, βœ‹ means that to our knowledge there is no (adequate) API for getting the address and name of the objects or documents managed by the app, or for creating objects in the app. Hook can make use of AppleScript, JavaScript and x-callback-URL. See Hook Integration, and Contacting developers of other apps to request scripting support.

We are not responsible for third party app developers (including Apple) ceasing to support their software or changing them in ways that make them less helpful for their customers and ours. If an app provides a URL or automated ID, by definition the URL should remain usable. That’s the whole point of a URL or ID.

The definition of “compatibility” is different for certain applications. For instance, apps like browsers are read-only, so they don’t require a “scripting interface” for creating new objects. News readers and some information managers work differently. News readers return an address (http//: or https://). When accessing web addresses, typically macOS invokes a web browser.