Creating Your First Automation

Build your first PhoneClaw automation workflow using ClawScript to automate app interactions

Overview

This guide walks you through creating your first automation workflow with PhoneClaw. You’ll learn how to use ClawScript’s core functions to click buttons, wait for actions, and chain commands together.

What You’ll Build

A simple automation that:

1. Opens Twitter
2. Finds and clicks the compose button
3. Types a message
4. Posts the tweet

This example uses Twitter, but the same patterns work for any Android app. PhoneClaw uses the Accessibility API to interact with UI elements across all apps.

Understanding ClawScript

ClawScript is a JavaScript-based scripting language that runs inside PhoneCalk using an embedded JS engine. It provides helper functions for automation:

• magicClicker(description) - Find and tap UI elements by description
• magicScraper(question) - Extract text/data from the screen
• delay(ms) - Pause execution
• speakText(text) - Provide audio feedback
• schedule(task, cronExpression) - Schedule recurring tasks

Your First Script

1. Open the Script Editor
3. Write the Automation
4. Here’s a complete script that automates posting on Twitter:
5. // Open Twitter app
   speakText("Opening Twitter")
   delay(2000)
   
   // Click the compose button (blue button with pen icon)
   magicClicker("Compose tweet button in bottom right")
   delay(1500)
   
   // Wait for compose screen to open
   speakText("Compose screen opened")
   delay(1000)
   
   // Click the text input field
   magicClicker("Tweet text input field")
   delay(500)
   
   // Type the tweet content
   speakText("Typing tweet")
   // Note: Text input requires accessibility service
   // You'll need to manually type or use system input
   
   // Click the post button
   delay(1000)
   magicClicker("Post button in top right")
   
   // Confirm completion
   delay(2000)
   speakText("Tweet posted successfully")
   

6. magicClicker uses vision AI to find elements by natural language description. Be specific but natural: “blue post button” works better than “button”.

7. Understanding the Flow
8. Let’s break down what each part does:
9. Speak and Delay Pattern
10. speakText("Opening Twitter")
    delay(2000)
    

11. Provides audio feedback and waits for actions to complete. Always add delays after clicks to let the UI respond.
12. Vision-Based Clicking
13. magicClicker("Compose tweet button in bottom right")
    

14. Describes the element you want to click. Include location hints (“bottom right”) and visual characteristics (“blue button”).
15. Chaining Actions
16. magicClicker("Tweet text input field")
    delay(500)
    magicClicker("Post button in top right")
    

17. Sequence multiple clicks with delays between them.
18. Test Your Script
19. Before running the full automation:
21. Run the Automation
23. PhoneClaw requires screen access during automation. Don’t lock your screen or switch apps while the script is running.

Common Patterns

Waiting for Elements to Appear

Use magicScraper to check if an element exists before clicking:

magicClicker("Settings button")
delay(2000)

// Verify settings screen opened
const screenTitle = magicScraper("What is the title text at the top of the screen?")
if (screenTitle.includes("Settings")) {
  speakText("Settings opened successfully")
} else {
  speakText("Error: Settings did not open")
}

Looping Actions

Repeat actions with standard JavaScript loops:

// Like the first 5 posts
for (let i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
  magicClicker("Heart icon to like the post")
  delay(1000)
  
  // Scroll to next post
  magicClicker("Next post below")
  delay(1500)
}

speakText("Liked 5 posts")

Extracting Data

Read on-screen text with magicScraper:

magicClicker("Open first notification")
delay(2000)

// Extract the notification message
const message = magicScraper("What is the notification message text?")
speakText("Notification says: " + message)

// Use the data in branching logic
if (message.includes("mentioned you")) {
  magicClicker("Reply button")
  delay(1000)
  speakText("Opening reply")
}

Error Handling

Add try-catch blocks for robust automation:

try {
  magicClicker("Submit button")
  delay(2000)
  
  const success = magicScraper("Is there a success message visible?")
  if (success.toLowerCase().includes("yes")) {
    speakText("Submission successful")
  } else {
    speakText("Submission may have failed")
  }
} catch (error) {
  speakText("Error during submission")
}

Real-World Example: Instagram Login

Here’s a complete example that automates Instagram account creation:

// Navigate to create account
magicClicker("Create account button")
delay(2000)

// Fill in email
magicClicker("Email address field")
delay(500)
// Type email via accessibility service

// Continue to next step
magicClicker("Next button")
delay(2000)

// Wait for verification code
speakText("Waiting for verification code")
delay(5000)

// Extract the 2FA code from screen
const otpCode = magicScraper("What is the 6-digit verification code shown?")
speakText("Code received: " + otpCode)

// Enter the code
magicClicker("Verification code input field")
delay(500)
// Type OTP code

// Complete setup
magicClicker("Confirm button")
delay(3000)
speakText("Account created successfully")

This example demonstrates multi-step workflows with verification codes, similar to the Instagram automation shown in PhoneClaw’s demo videos.

Debugging Your Automation

Use Speaking for Progress Tracking

speakText("Step 1: Opening app")
delay(1000)

speakText("Step 2: Clicking login")
magicClicker("Login button")
delay(2000)

speakText("Step 3: Complete")

Test Element Descriptions

If magicClicker can’t find an element, try different descriptions:

// Try these variations:
magicClicker("Blue send button")           // color + type
magicClicker("Send button in bottom right") // type + position
magicClicker("Arrow icon to send")          // icon + action

Check Delays

Adjust timing based on your device speed:

// Slow device - increase delays
delay(3000)

// Fast device - reduce delays
delay(800)

Next Steps

Voice Command Generation

Generate scripts by describing what you want

Schedule Recurring Tasks

Run automations on a cron schedule

Multi-App Workflows

Chain actions across multiple apps

ClawScript API

Full reference for all functions