Ever shared a link to Notion and ended up with a half-empty page you had to fix by hand? That’s the whole reason this shortcut exists. You hit Share, type a quick note, and the page lands in your database already filled in, no app-switching required.
What it does
Share any URL from the Share Sheet and the shortcut creates a Notion page in a database you choose, then asks you for notes to drop in. YouTube links get special treatment: instead of stuffing the URL into the title like the stock share does, it pulls the real video title and adds a proper video block to the page. The same handling now covers Spotify podcast episodes too.
When the page is done you get a notification carrying its URL. Press and hold that notification, tap the blue link, and you’re looking at your new page.
What you need
The shortcut talks to Notion directly through its API, so a couple of credentials have to be in place before it runs:
- An Internal Integration Secret from Notion, which is what authorizes the shortcut to write pages.
- A Notion database the integration can reach, plus that database’s ID.
- A YouTube Data API key, used only to look up video titles when you share a YouTube link.
Adding it to your iPhone
- Tap Add Shortcut on this page from the device where you want it.
- Review the actions in the preview, scroll to the bottom, and tap Add Shortcut to confirm.
- Keep the four setup values from the next section handy before the first run.
First-run setup
There’s some plumbing to do once, and it’s worth getting right. You’re connecting four things: an integration secret, a database the integration can see, that database’s ID, and a YouTube key.
- Go to Notion’s my-integrations page, click New integration, fill in the basic information, and copy the Internal Integration Secret.
- Open the database you want pages saved to, click the three dots at the top right, choose Add connections, and confirm your integration. A fresh integration can’t see your workspace until you do this.
- Grab the database ID from the database URL. It’s the long string after the slash and before the
?— fornotion.so/example/e7bd26c5...939e7a81?v=..., the ID ise7bd26c5...939e7a81. - In Google Cloud Console, create a project, enable the YouTube Data API v3 under APIs and Services, then create an API key under Credentials and copy it.
Paste those four values into the shortcut’s import questions, and you’re set.
Using it day-to-day
Find something you want to keep, tap the Share button, and pick Save Link to Notion from the sheet. It prompts you for notes, so jot a line about why you’re saving it. A few seconds later the notification arrives with a link straight to the page. YouTube and Spotify podcast links build out their media block automatically, while plain articles just become a tidy page with your note attached.
FAQ
Do I really need the Notion integration, or can I skip it?
You can’t skip it — the shortcut writes through Notion’s API, and the API only works once an integration secret is created and that integration is connected to your target database.
Why does it want a YouTube API key?
It’s there so the page shows the actual video title instead of a bare link. If you mostly save articles, you’ll rarely touch it, but YouTube shares won’t resolve titles without it.
My page saved but the notification link won’t open. What gives?
Don’t tap the notification — press and hold it first, then tap the blue link inside. A plain tap often just dismisses it.
