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I added a full screen HTML web app to my home screen. Now I would like to open it with the Shortcuts Apps. The html app can't be opened with the Shortcut 'Open App' since it's not listing HTML apps or with the Shortcut ‘Open in Safari’ since this open the URL simply in Safari including the Safari UI, but not in standalone full screen.

Is there a way to open a full screen HTML app that has a shortcut on my iOS home screen with Shortcuts?

https://developer.apple.com/library/archive/documentation/AppleApplications/Reference/SafariWebContent/ConfiguringWebApplications/ConfiguringWebApplications.html

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  • Can you use a shortcut to open the URL of the app directly, without even using the home screen icon?
    – nohillside ♦
    Commented Mar 4, 2019 at 15:05
  • Also, what is a „full screen standalone HTML web app“? Is this a bookmark of a website, or something else?
    – nohillside ♦
    Commented Mar 4, 2019 at 15:06
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    With a more work than you were planning on, you could write an app that did want you want then invoke it by a Siri voice command.
    – historystamp
    Commented Mar 4, 2019 at 20:16
  • @nohillside I can open a URL directly, but then it won't be a full screen Web App. Also safari and web apps even if they have the same URL and are opened in the same device won't share session data if one is web app and the other one a website in safari.
    – Stan Wiechers
    Commented Mar 4, 2019 at 20:30
  • @nohillside added link to apple docs
    – Stan Wiechers
    Commented Mar 4, 2019 at 20:30

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You can use the webapp:// url scheme to open full screen HTML web apps. For example, after adding Threads to my home screen on iPad I am able to open the web app using:

webapp://www.threads.net

One interesting behavior: if you do not have the web app installed for that URL, or if you type a different/wrong URL, the webapp:// URL scheme will open another web app you have installed. In my case the system opened my Pool Suite web app using the URL above after I deleted the Threads web app.

Also worth noting that you can set a custom image icon when you add a shortcut to your home screen. If you don’t like the icon that a web app comes with, you could set up a shortcut this way with a custom icon that you like.

Note: I discovered this behavior using the iPadOS 17 beta. Your mileage may vary with older versions iOS or iPadOS.

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  • Nice one! That works ;) Note that you can tap and hold a webapp, click "Share Bookmark" and choose "Copy" to get the exact link of the website.
    – Thinkr
    Commented Aug 25, 2023 at 16:04
  • I'm not sure I understand where to put webapp://. Should i change the scheme In Safari, in shrtcuts, … ?
    – Jidé
    Commented Jun 8 at 9:05
  • I am curious: Who handles this in LaunchServices and how did you come to know it?
    – hym3242
    Commented Jun 8 at 15:22
  • @Jidé you just "open" it like any http:// link.
    – hym3242
    Commented Jun 8 at 15:23

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