Automating Numbers (JXA-first, AppleScript discovery)

Relationship to the macOS automation skill

• Standalone for Numbers, aligned with automating-mac-apps patterns.
• Use automating-mac-apps for permissions, shell, and UI scripting guidance.
• PyXA Installation: To use PyXA examples in this skill, see the installation instructions in automating-mac-apps skill (PyXA Installation section).

Core Framing

• Numbers AppleScript dictionary is AppleScript-first; discover there.
• JXA provides logic and data processing.
• Objects are specifiers; read via methods, write via assignments.
• Handle errors from Numbers operations using try/catch blocks and Application error checking.

Workflow (default)

1. [ ] Discover terms in Script Editor (Numbers dictionary).
2. [ ] Prototype minimal AppleScript commands.
3. [ ] Port to JXA and add defensive checks.
4. [ ] Prefer batch reads and clipboard shim for writes.
5. [ ] Use UI scripting only for dictionary gaps.

Validation Checklist

• [ ] Empty document handling works without errors
• [ ] Data integrity verified after batch operations
• [ ] Numbers UI remains responsive after automation runs
• [ ] Errors logged with specific Numbers object paths
• [ ] Sheet/table indices validated before access
• [ ] Clipboard shim restores original clipboard contents

Examples

Basic table read (JXA - Legacy):

const numbers = Application('Numbers');
const doc = numbers.documents[0];
const sheet = doc.sheets[0];
const table = sheet.tables[0];
const data = table.rows.whose({_not: [{cells: []}]})().map(row => row.cells().map(c => c.value()));

Basic table read (PyXA - Recommended):

import PyXA

numbers = PyXA.Numbers()

# Get first document, sheet, and table
doc = numbers.documents()[0]
sheet = doc.sheets()[0]
table = sheet.tables()[0]

# Read all rows with data
rows = table.rows()
data = []

for row in rows:
    cells = row.cells()
    if cells:  # Skip empty rows
        row_data = [cell.value() for cell in cells]
        data.append(row_data)

print("Table data:", data)

PyObjC with Scripting Bridge:

from ScriptingBridge import SBApplication

numbers = SBApplication.applicationWithBundleIdentifier_("com.apple.Numbers")

# Access document and table
doc = numbers.documents()[0]
sheet = doc.sheets()[0]
table = sheet.tables()[0]

# Read table data
rows = table.rows()
data = []

for row in rows:
    cells = row.cells()
    if cells:
        row_data = [cell.value() for cell in cells]
        data.append(row_data)

print("Table data:", data)

Batch write with clipboard shim (JXA - Legacy):

const numbers = Application('Numbers');
// Prepare data array
const data = [['Name', 'Age'], ['Alice', 25], ['Bob', 30]];
// Use clipboard for bulk insertion
const app = Application.currentApplication();
app.includeStandardAdditions = true;
app.setTheClipboardTo(data.map(row => row.join('\t')).join('\n'));
numbers.activate();
delay(0.5);
// UI scripting to paste
SystemEvents = Application('System Events');
SystemEvents.keystroke('v', {using: 'command down'});

Batch write (PyXA - Modern):

import PyXA

numbers = PyXA.Numbers()

# Prepare data
data = [
    ['Name', 'Age'],
    ['Alice', 25],
    ['Bob', 30]
]

# Get table to write to
doc = numbers.documents()[0]
sheet = doc.sheets()[0]
table = sheet.tables()[0]

# Clear existing data and write new data
table.clear()  # Clear table first

for i, row_data in enumerate(data):
    # Add row if needed
    if i >= len(table.rows()):
        table.rows().push({})

    # Set cell values
    row = table.rows()[i]
    for j, value in enumerate(row_data):
        if j >= len(row.cells()):
            row.cells().push({})
        cell = row.cells()[j]
        cell.value = value

PyObjC Batch Write:

from ScriptingBridge import SBApplication

numbers = SBApplication.applicationWithBundleIdentifier_("com.apple.Numbers")

# Prepare data
data = [
    ['Name', 'Age'],
    ['Alice', 25],
    ['Bob', 30]
]

# Get table
doc = numbers.documents()[0]
sheet = doc.sheets()[0]
table = sheet.tables()[0]

# Clear and write data
table.clear()

for i, row_data in enumerate(data):
    # Ensure row exists
    while len(table.rows()) <= i:
        table.rows().push({})

    row = table.rows()[i]

    for j, value in enumerate(row_data):
        # Ensure cell exists
        while len(row.cells()) <= j:
            row.cells().push({})

        cell = row.cells()[j]
        cell.value = value

When Not to Use

• General macOS automation without Numbers involvement
• AppleScript alone suffices (no JXA logic needed)
• Complex UI interactions beyond data operations (use automating-mac-apps)
• Cross-platform compatibility required (use CSV/pandas)
• Real-time collaborative editing scenarios

What to load

• JXA Numbers basics: automating-numbers/references/numbers-basics.md
• Recipes (tables, ranges, formatting): automating-numbers/references/numbers-recipes.md
• Advanced patterns (clipboard, performance, ObjC): automating-numbers/references/numbers-advanced.md
• Dictionary translation table: automating-numbers/references/numbers-dictionary.md
• Formulas and locale notes: automating-numbers/references/numbers-formulas.md
• Sorting patterns: automating-numbers/references/numbers-sorting.md
• UI scripting patterns: automating-numbers/references/numbers-ui-scripting.md
• PyXA API Reference (complete class/method docs): automating-numbers/references/numbers-pyxa-api-reference.md