Backup Safari Tabs - Scheduled

Step-by-Step: Create the Safari Tab Backup Workflow in Automator

1. Open Automator

• Go to Applications > Automator
• Choose New Document
• Select "Application" or "Workflow" (either works, but "Application" is easier to run via Calendar)

2. Add an AppleScript Action

• In the left sidebar, search for “Run AppleScript”
• Drag it into the workflow area

3. Paste This AppleScript

set desktopPath to (path to desktop folder as text)
set backupFolder to desktopPath & "Safari Tab Backups:"
set backupFolderPOSIX to POSIX path of backupFolder

-- Create backup folder if it doesn't exist
do shell script "mkdir -p " & quoted form of backupFolderPOSIX

set dateString to do shell script "date +%Y-%m-%d"
set backupFile to backupFolderPOSIX & "/SafariTabs_" & dateString & ".txt"

tell application "Safari"
    set tabURLs to {}
    repeat with w in windows
        repeat with t in tabs of w
            set end of tabURLs to URL of t
        end repeat
    end repeat
end tell

set AppleScript's text item delimiters to linefeed
set tabText to tabURLs as text

do shell script "echo " & quoted form of tabText & " > " & quoted form of backupFile

4. Save the Workflow

• File > Save
• Name it something like SafariTabBackup
• Save it to your Applications folder or Desktop

Step-by-Step: Schedule It to Run Daily

Option A: Use Calendar

1. Open Calendar
2. Create a new event at the time you want the backup to run
3. Set it to repeat daily
4. Add an alert > Custom > Open file
5. Choose the Automator app you saved (SafariTabBackup.app)

Optional: Add Cleanup Script to Delete Old Files​​​​​​​

find ~/Desktop/Safari\ Tab\ Backups/ -name "SafariTabs_*.txt" -mtime +7 -delete

Use “Run Shell Script” in Automator, save it as SafariTabCleanup, and schedule it weekly using Calendar.