apple-flow-numbers

Apple Flow Numbers

Use this skill to reliably create and update Apple Numbers documents with:

• apple-flow tools numbers_create
• apple-flow tools numbers_create_workbook
• apple-flow tools numbers_add_sheet
• apple-flow tools numbers_append_rows
• apple-flow tools numbers_style_apply

Favor deterministic CLI workflows over ad hoc AppleScript. Use direct AppleScript only for read-back verification and debugging.

Current Capability Snapshot

• Supports wide tables:
  • numbers_create auto-expands columns to fit all headers.
  • numbers_create_workbook builds multi-sheet files from one JSON spec.
  • numbers_add_sheet adds initialized sheets to existing workbooks.
  • numbers_append_rows auto-expands columns to fit the widest incoming row.
• Supports insertion modes:
  • after-data, after-headers, at-end
• Supports styling operations:
  • colors (background_color, text_color)
  • font (font_name, font_size)
  • alignment (left|center|right|justified|natural)
  • number format (automatic|currency|percentage|scientific|fraction|text)
  • wrapping (text_wrap)
  • dimensions (row_height, column_width)

Quick Start

1. Create a Numbers file with headers:

apple-flow tools numbers_create \
  "/abs/path/tracker.numbers" \
  '["Date","Item","Category","Amount","Notes"]' \
  --sheet "Sheet 1" \
  --table "Table 1" \
  --overwrite true

2. Append rows (recommended default after-data):

apple-flow tools numbers_append_rows \
  "/abs/path/tracker.numbers" \
  '[["2026-03-04","Coffee","Food",15,"Morning"],["2026-03-04","Burger","Food",30,"Lunch"]]' \
  --sheet "Sheet 1" \
  --table "Table 1" \
  --position after-data

3. Verify insertion response:

• Expect JSON with "ok": true
• Check start_row and insert_after_row

4. Apply formatting/style:

apple-flow tools numbers_style_apply \
  "/abs/path/tracker.numbers" \
  '{"scope":"range","start_row":2,"end_row":20,"start_column":1,"end_column":5}' \
  '{"background_color":[255,245,230],"font_size":12,"alignment":"center","row_height":28,"column_width":160}'

5. Build a full workbook (multiple sheets):

apple-flow tools numbers_create_workbook \
  "/abs/path/workbook.numbers" \
  '{"sheets":[{"sheet_name":"Transactions","table_name":"Tx","headers":["Date","Item","Amount"],"rows":[["2026-03-04","Coffee",15]]},{"sheet_name":"Summary","table_name":"Summary","headers":["Metric","Value"],"rows":[["Total",15]]}]}' \
  --overwrite true

6. Add one more sheet to an existing workbook:

apple-flow tools numbers_add_sheet \
  "/abs/path/workbook.numbers" \
  '{"sheet_name":"Dashboard","table_name":"DashboardTable","headers":["Metric","Value"],"rows":[["Count",1]]}'

Input Rules

• Always use an absolute path.
• File extension must be .numbers.
• numbers_create headers must be a JSON array of strings.
• numbers_append_rows payload must be a JSON array.
• numbers_create_workbook requires {"sheets":[...]} with unique sheet_name values.
• numbers_add_sheet requires a sheet JSON object with sheet_name and non-empty headers.
• Safest append shape: array-of-arrays (for example: [[...],[...]]).
• numbers_style_apply target/style args must be JSON objects.
• Style target indices are 1-based.

Position Strategy

• after-data:
  • Best for logs and trackers.
  • Inserts right after the last non-empty data row.
  • Fills the top data region instead of jumping to visual bottom rows.
• after-headers:
  • Inserts at first data row.
  • Shifts existing data down.
• at-end:
  • Always appends to the physical end of the table.
  • Use when you explicitly want bottom append behavior.

Wide-Column Imports

If a CSV has more than the default table width, import directly with full headers and rows. The tool will auto-add required columns before writing data.

Standard Workflow

1. Define columns first.
2. Create or reuse target file.
3. Build rows as JSON.
4. Append with --position after-data unless user asks otherwise.
5. Verify first and last inserted rows.

Read-Back Verification

Use this AppleScript probe after appending:

osascript <<'APPLESCRIPT'
set p to POSIX file "/abs/path/tracker.numbers"
tell application id "com.apple.iWork.Numbers"
  set d to open p
  set t to first table of first sheet of d
  tell t
    set firstRow to (value of cell 1 of row 2 as text) & "|" & (value of cell 2 of row 2 as text)
    set lastRow to (value of cell 1 of last row as text) & "|" & (value of cell 2 of last row as text)
  end tell
  close d saving no
  return firstRow & "\n" & lastRow
end tell
APPLESCRIPT

Troubleshooting

• absolute path required:
  • Convert to absolute path before tool call.
• target document does not exist:
  • Create with numbers_create first or confirm path typo.
• Can't get sheet or Can't get table:
  • Provide exact --sheet and --table names.
• Connection invalid / AppleScript runtime failures:
  • Ensure Apple Numbers is installed (com.apple.Numbers; older installs may use com.apple.iWork.Numbers) and automation permissions are granted.
  • Avoid similarly named non-iWork apps (for example Numbers Creator Studio.app) for AppleScript automation.
  • Retry command outside restrictive sandbox context when needed.
• Rows appear too far down:
  • Use --position after-data and verify table has expected headers/data.

Done Criteria

• Tool command returns "ok": true.
• Inserted row range is sensible (start_row, insert_after_row).
• Read-back confirms expected top and tail data placement.