Shortcuts - Mac Ventura (13.2) keeps crashing

Hi Vilas_S,

First, thank you for your suggestion; that said, I doubt that will resolve the issue, the reason I suggest this is the issue happens on both Mac OS Ventura and IOS 16.

That being said, I have looked into the crash logs sent to Apple each time the crash happens on Ventura, and there’s no clue in my crash logs, that I can find as to the cause. It is the only app where it is happening. That said, I have some more details as to the likely cause, that being:

1. It doesn’t happen with any Gallery based and downloaded Shortcut
2. It only happens with ones I either have created (prior to removing them, as per my original note) or that I attempt to create.
3. It only seems to happen once I have started to create or edit a Dictionary inside the Shortcut. I was testing in a situation where I track medications I or my family use. It is setup as follows:

• top level of dictionary is family_member name based
• within each family_member, there is a dictionary named:
  • medication name

Therein, this dictionary keyword contained:

* medication

* number of pills

* frequency of use

* issuing physician

* physician’s telephone number

It is when attempting to (presently) create keywords at this level that the Shortcut crashes, or historically when it would crash (either attempting to revise some keyword’s associate text or number value) or adding a new medication and the dictionary details contained therein.

So simply put the dictionary should look like this:

Dictionary

• Family_member1
  • medication1 name
    • medication
    • number of pills
    • frequency of use
    • issuing physician
    • physician’s telephone number
  • medication2 name
    • medication
    • number of pills
    • frequency of use
    • issuing physician
    • physician’s telephone number
• Family_member2
  • medication name
    • medication
    • number of pills
    • frequency of use
    • issuing physician
    • physician’s telephone number

This Dictionary setup worked in prior versions of Mac OS, so it has me suspecting either the nested Dictionary setup is the cause (likely; but then what should I do?) or Mac OS Ventura 13.1 and especially 13.2 has changed something that is therein causing it. Also, I can say this is also happening on the IOS (IOS 16.2 and 16.3, after updating) in Shortcuts. That, leads me to think it might be more the Dictionary setup I have; but it does happen in other non-dictionary using Shortcuts, so that makes me think it is Shortcuts itself and any underlying common code/components Mac OS Ventura (on M1 based Mac) and IOS 16.

That said, thank you for reading and any help you, the community, can offer.

**I will also note, after having uninstalled all Shortcuts, in the app, disabling iCloud replication, etc., on both MacOS and IOS, I attempted to recreate the Shortcut from scratch. The script crashes again when working on the nested dictionary setup. I can create other scripts that don't use dictionaries without apparent issue. And running the original Shortcut with the nested dictionary seems to still work. But attempting to edit the dictionary is the point that causes the crash.

Hi merlinapple,

It continues on a New User account that I created, as well as on an existing User account that have never used Shortcuts, ever. As per my prior note as well, the crash occurs on my iPhone 14 (IOS 16.3) as well (I just tested it twice, once attempting to add a new entry into the existing original problematic Shortcut (called Pill Reminder) and also, thereafter, trying to create a new Shortcut with a nested Dictionary setup and again, both crashed at the same point, attempting to enter in the Key name in the 2nd level of the nested Dictionary (ergo the medication name)); this furthers my thinking that the cause is not my OSes and issues therein with possible corrupt settings/preferences; but with underlying code within Shortcuts that is common to both the MacOS and IOS, that has recently been updated and now, cannot function correctly and is therefore causing the crash. I say this as the underlying Shortcut that I had created and last updated in August 2022, had worked prior to Mac OS Ventura and IOS 16 without crashing.

Cheers.