iOS Shortcuts can call almost any web API and hand the response back to you as plain text, but most AI shortcuts still make you paste in your own OpenAI key before they’ll say a word. Blink AI skips that step. It runs on MincAPI, a free API the developer built and hosts themselves, so you open the shortcut, type a question, and get an answer without configuring anything first.
How it works
Run Blink AI and it asks for one thing: a line of text with whatever you want to ask. That message goes to MincAPI, the author’s own free service, and the reply lands back in your run a few seconds later. There’s no dashboard, no model picker, and no account screen standing between you and the answer.
The shortcut keeps roughly the last 11 messages of a conversation, so a follow-up like “what about next week?” still makes sense to it. Version 7.0, released in July 2026, rewrote the whole thing. The changelog just says “an overhaul,” which tracks: the current flow is noticeably leaner than a typical AI shortcut setup.
What you need
- Nothing extra. Blink AI runs entirely inside the Shortcuts app already on your iPhone. No sign-up, no API key, and no companion app to install first.
Adding it to your iPhone
- Tap Add Shortcut on this page to open Blink AI in the Shortcuts app.
- Scroll the preview to the bottom and tap Add Shortcut again to confirm.
- Approve any one-time network permission iOS asks for. That’s normal for a shortcut that talks to a server.
- Run it once from your Shortcuts library so it’s ready to launch from the Home Screen or Siri afterward.
First run
There’s genuinely nothing to configure before your first question. Tap the shortcut, type into the prompt that pops up, and wait a couple of seconds for MincAPI to respond. No login screen appears, and the only permission dialog you’ll see is the standard one iOS shows for any shortcut that reaches the internet.
Using it day-to-day
Ask Blink AI the way you’d text a friend: a quick question, a fact-check, a one-line request. It answers in a few seconds and holds onto enough context for a short back-and-forth on the same topic. Pin it to your Home Screen or a widget and it turns into a faster on-ramp for a quick answer than opening a full chat app and waiting for it to load.
Tips
Because the context window only covers about eleven messages, start a fresh run when you switch topics rather than trying to steer an old thread somewhere new. You’ll get a sharper answer that way. If a reply feels slow, that’s usually MincAPI’s free tier catching up rather than your iPhone stalling, so give it a second try before assuming something’s broken.
Quick answers
Do I need my own API key for this?
No key required. Blink AI runs on the author’s free MincAPI service, and that connection is already built into the shortcut.
Why does it forget what I asked earlier?
It only holds onto roughly the last 11 messages of a conversation. Once you’re past that window, older context drops off, so a long-running thread eventually loses the plot.
What actually changed in version 7.0?
The author rewrote the shortcut from the ground up in July 2026. Its changelog entry just reads “an overhaul,” trading whatever the earlier setup required for the current one-tap flow.
