Apple’s macOS is built on powerful automation foundations, yet many of Apple’s own apps fail to support basic linking capabilities that knowledge workers and developers need. Apps like Messages, Notes, and Podcasts lack public APIs and don’t even offer a simple “Copy Link” menu item. This creates a fragmented experience where users cannot reliably reference or return to specific items — a fundamental requirement for serious digital work.

Meanwhile, Hookmark, a third-party app, demonstrates what macOS can do when its underlying capabilities are properly harnessed. It enables users to create persistent, contextual links — “omni-links” — to and from files, emails, notes, calendar events, and more. Hookmark leverages existing Apple automation frameworks to restore a sense of coherence and flow to one’s digital workspace.

This post critiques Apple’s unwillingness to expose the tools it clearly uses internally and calls for wider support of the Manifesto for Ubiquitous Linking. It ends on a hopeful note: there’s already a thriving ecosystem of link-friendly apps. All we need now is for Apple to catch up — and for developers to join the movement.

Read the full article on Substack:
https://luccogzest.substack.com/p/apples-macos-apps-are-the-weak-link